Pretty Interesting Video From Chappers

I can dig the message. In this age of internet purchases, it can be difficult to check the “feel”of a prospective acquisition. However, if one can perform the needed “setup” duties oneself…the whole experience becomes a bit less…”risky”.
I've only bought three guitars without playing them first. Two needed a lot of work. One was pretty good out of the box, but will eventually get some mods done.
 
I've owned several 335 style guitars, Gibson, Epiphone, an old 70's Matsumoko, and more. None of them felt right to me. The best was an Epiphone Sheraton. I decided to find the best 335 for under $500 used then make it mine. After trying a few I found an Epiphone Dot that felt right. I changed out the pickups to some custom wound hot pafs that I had had in several guitars. I purchased a premade wiring harness with CTS pts, switchcraft switch, etc I spent some time finding a setup I liked. The only other change was cosmetic, black Gibson knobs. All in I have under $1,000 cdn in the guitar. I'd put it against any 335 style guitar I've played. Everyone who has played it comments on how well it plays with no prompting from me.

2018-09-08 13.55.25 copy.jpg
 
Last edited:
I've only bought three guitars without playing them first. Two needed a lot of work. One was pretty good out of the box, but will eventually get some mods done.
Yeah, I hear you there. I have a mix that’s accumulated over the years. The only one of my online purchases that really required work was the T-40 that RVA refretted for me. Otherwise, I have received some respectable axes, from internet purchases…from the crescent moon Gibson husks, to the accidental eBay TL-Six, to the amazeballs The SG Deluxe(thanks again @gball ), and a couple of others that I didn’t have to travel to find.
Truth be told about the TL-Six…I think that the seller thought that there was a more serious issue with the electronics, when in reality a couple of the “P-style” pickup elements had become detached from their covers and had sunk into their routs. It took all of five minutes to fix during a string change.
 
I've owned several 335 style guitars, Gibson, Epiphone, an old 70's Matsumoko, and more. None of them felt right to me. The best was an Epiphone Sheraton. I decided to find the best 335 for under $500 used then make it mine. After trying a few I found an Epiphone Dot that felt right. I changed out the pickups to some custom wound hot pafs that I had had in several guitars. I purchased a premade wiring harness with CTS pts, switchcraft switch, etc I spent some time finding a setup I liked. The only other change was cosmetic, black Gibson knobs. All in I have under $1,000 cdn in the guitar. I'd put it against any 335 style guitar I've played. Everyone who has played it comments on how well it plays with no prompting from me.

View attachment 106551
Those Epiphone Dots are the first Epiphone guitars I ever heard anything good about back when Epiphone was considered cheap junk.
 
I gotta say the same about my semi-hollow Washburn. When I first got the guitar, I had envisioned all sorts of mods. In the end, I did very little besides cosmetic changes.
I’ve got a Washburn Cumberland acoustic that absolutely kills. But I knew a guy who was so self-conscious about the name on his Washburn semi-hollow, he sawed off the top of the peghead.

What a dope. They’re nice guitars.
 
I’ve got a Washburn Cumberland acoustic that absolutely kills. But I knew a guy who was so self-conscious about the name on his Washburn semi-hollow, he sawed off the top of the peghead.

What a dope. They’re nice guitars.

Wow. That's bizarre. So, he'd rather play an intentionally disfigured guitar?

Ah well.

Speaking of the Washburn acoustic, I had a friend once who played a Washburn acoustic. I couldn't believe the thing. I don't know what Washburn did when they built it, but it was the loudest acoustic guitar I ever heard...and I'm talking unplugged! It also had a nice, deep, rich sound.

Honestly, my Taylor is a bit of a disappointment. Acoustically, I really like the sound, but the Expression sound system (it's the Expression 1 system) just sounds bad. It's got this really annoying mid-range honk to it. My friend's old Washburn kills it plugged in, even with a run-of-the-mill piezo pickup. I'm strongly considering replacing the system in my Taylor with the LR Baggs Anthem.
 
I've owned several 335 style guitars, Gibson, Epiphone, an old 70's Matsumoko, and more. None of them felt right to me. The best was an Epiphone Sheraton. I decided to find the best 335 for under $500 used then make it mine. After trying a few I found an Epiphone Dot that felt right. I changed out the pickups to some custom wound hot pafs that I had had in several guitars. I purchased a premade wiring harness with CTS pts, switchcraft switch, etc I spent some time finding a setup I liked. The only other change was cosmetic, black Gibson knobs. All in I have under $1,000 cdn in the guitar. I'd put it against any 335 style guitar I've played. Everyone who has played it comments on how well it plays with no prompting from me.

View attachment 106551

That's a pretty Dot you've got there, Kerry!

You need to go post that up in the F-Hole Alliance thread I started awhile back:

 
Last edited:
Back
Top