Good Value Semi-Hollow/Archtop guitars.

M

MatchBookNotes

New member
I've tried a few of the Ibanez Artcore, a couple Tele-thin lines, and play on a friends Epi Dot and a PRS semi-hollow which all sounded fabulous(the tele the least of course). But which ones have the best bang for the buck or would be worth a shot?
I've heard bad things about Oscar Schmidt which is a subsidiary of Washburn?

Are the top discount brands best?
 
I think the washburn hb30 or hb35 are great bangs for the buck.
I have 3 of them and they all get their far share of play time.
You may need to replace pickups depending on what your doing
with them. I think the Oscars are a cut below typical washburn
quality though.
 
I've always loved the thinline teles but, IMO, save up a little more and play around with some Gibson ES-135s... I got a brand new one (on sale) a few years ago for around $700.00... Out of all my electrics, it sees the most play. Seems like if you could save up a little more you could get something better that (hopefully) wouldn't disappoint you. But your best bet would be to play them all (if you have a chance) and figure out which one suits you best.
 
i don't know what price range we're talking about and i've only been thinking about it recently, but after reading some history and reviews on the white falcon and also reviews of the current gretsch budget version, i've been daydreaming about what it'd be to have one of these:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/prod...-Hollow-Body-with-DualCoil-Pickups?sku=513282

i'm sure one could even bargain down at a local store.

i've never played a bigsby, though, i'll have to try it out.
 
That is a beautiful grestch, i would love to have one. But I would be looking at the $499 and under seeing as i'm below the $10/Hr range and happen to live with a significant other. D'oh.
 
Of all of the axes mentioned I think the Washburns are the best bang for the buck in a semi-hollow bugdet buy.
I am a cheerleader for Gretsch guitars ... I have been playing on one since '1963 or 1964 and I love the thing.
On the other hand I also play a Gibson ES335 ... it is the most versatile guitar I own ... If it was me I would save the bucks and go for an ES335 or a higher end Gretsch ( avoid the lower end Gretsch models because IMO they don't measure up)
 
keep an eye out for some older japanese knock offs. I picked up a 70's Vantage 335 used from this board for barely nothing, put new tuners and a setup and it plays really well. I may upgrade the pups, but the stock ones actually sound pretty nice as is. total cost < $200.

Daav
 
MatchBookNotes said:
Are the epiphone Alleykat and Wildkat guitars as good of quality as the dot studio?
Click to expand...

I believe the dot studio is pretty much the bottom of the barrel in epiphones archtop line - though i have never played an alleykat or wildkat, id have to say they'd be better quality than the studio.

Something to think about - The alleykat has a humbucker in the bridge and a mini humbucker in the neck. The wildkat has p90s and the studio has 2 humbucker. Although - my experience w/ epiphone - your better off changing out the stock PUs.

Personally, i have the dot (not the studio), and w/ some upgrades (Seymour duncans, new toggle, pots, tuners, jack and nut) its a great guitar.
 
btw, check out rondomusic.net, they have some semi-hollows there, you might like.

also, music123.com currently has some b-stock epi dots for $279 and while there's no guarantees, what they shipped to me as "blemished" had no issues whatsoever, but it wasn't a guitar.

check it out.

and pickups are probably a throwaway on most of these anyhow, even epi and washburns, unless maybe they specifically say "alnico", then maybe.
 
I have to throw out a vote for the Ibanez Artcore. You can pick up an AM73 for under $300 and its alot of guitar for the money.
 
i second the artcore. great players, not very refined but get the job done, cheap and build like a tank. i swapped the bridge pu for a p-90 on mine to make it more versatile.
 
Ebay is always a gamble for guitar purchases, but I bought a (barely) used 2002 Heritage H575 for 1200 that was originally 3300... plays beautifully, and since they are built using the old Gibson factory equipment, they are virtually identical to ES-175s. You can find 575's on ebay for anywhere between 800 and original 3000+ prices. Just another option.
 
I put in a vote for the Artcore's as well. I had one for a while - nice true hollow body. I just didn't play it very much.

My fav semi-hollow for any price is the Hamer Echotone - The day I bought it I auditioned the Gibson 335, Epi Dot, and a few others. The Echotone really stood out. I think it's the Hamer neck that I like so much for playability. It's the basic 335 clone - very nice fit/finish. I'm not a fan of humbuckers, so I put in Duncan Phatcats (P-90/Soapbox/Single coil). These are fairly inexpensive $270 - 400 ranges.

I also like the 60/70's Japanese clones - they have a character all their own. I think replacing the tuners is standard practice on those. But they can be very nice playing/sounding guitars.
 
It's probably out of the price range you're considering BUT Gibson's (new) 339 looks to be a very attractive guitar............a 335 the size of a Les Paul ;)

:cool:
 
My hollow body guitars are an Ibanez Artcore AG75TBS (trapeze tail piece), and a Peavey JF2 EXP (Bigsby vibrato tail piece). I'd tried several Ibanez Artcore AFS75T's, as well as a Gretsch Electromatic G5120, when I was looking for a hollow body with vibrato (a rockabilly box). For what I was going for, the Ibanez wasn't quite right, but it's a good bang-for-the-buck hollow body. I loved the Gretsch, especially through a Fender Hot Rod DeVille 410, but it lost the "fight" for my available dollars (at the time) to a used Fender Bass VI. I ended up buying the Peavey several months later, having tried it when it was new, then happening across it with the used gear, at the same store.

Another that I've tried, that you might consider, is the Epiphone AlleyKat. The same as with the Ibanez, the Epiphone AlleyKat is a good bang-for-the-buck hollow body, but it just wasn't right for me. I can also say, from experience (immediately after having tried the Gretsch), stay away from the Carlo Robelli hollow body guitars. When I switched from the Gretsch to the Carlo Robelli, as soon as I took the amp off stand-by, feedback from hell ensued that absolutely was not an issue when the Gretsch was plugged in.

Before I forget, and if you don't necessarily need a vibrato, there's the Peavey JF1 EXP.

Matt
 
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