New Guitar Day-again

[Anfontan]

Once I saw the nice maple top on this guitar I had to get it. It's one of the Xaviere models by Guitar Fetish-the XV-835 with the maple top on a poplar body-it's lighter than most of my other Teles.

It was a pawn shop find-and it belonged to an old band member from years back. He bought it to try it, he already had a Fender Tele, and let this one go. Not a scratch on it and sounds sweet-at a great price as well!

 

[kidkage]

Beautiful.
It's amazing how great affordable guitars really are.
My favorite of my guitars is a stock Fullerton ST4 I got for $60
And it's competing with 11 others

 

[Chili]

At $200 from the GFS website, that's a great price. I like the maple neck. How does it play and sound?? Do I need to write another song to get a sample from you??

 

[dervish riff]

That looks nice, I haven't got to check out any GFS stuff locally, but it took until last year for Agiles and SX's to start turning up around here.

 

[kidkage]

Yeah I didnt know about GF, I might have to buy a few though, they definitely look like theyre great

 

[Anfontan]

Beautiful.
It's amazing how great affordable guitars really are.
My favorite of my guitars is a stock Fullerton ST4 I got for $60
And it's competing with 11 others

That's for sure kidkage, when I think back to the days when I started playing the quality of inexpensive guitars was pretty bad. I did score a Gibson SG-200 that had 2 very weak single coil pickups and slider switches to turn on the pickups-it was kind of like a Fender Mustang sort of-but it sure didn't work well for Black Sabbath and Ted Nugent stuff that my early bands were playing. Here is a photo of an SG-200-it was a short lived replacement for Gibson's Melody Maker guitar in the early 1970's!

At $200 from the GFS website, that's a great price. I like the maple neck. How does it play and sound?? Do I need to write another song to get a sample from you??

And for less than the website price it was a steal! The pawn shop was operated by the son of the previous band member and the dad had bought it to try, he only played it a couple of times I was told, and it has no wear at all that I can find so I tend to believe the story. He had a Fender Tele and decided not to keep the Xaviere-I remember that he bought a lot of gear when I played with the dad-he had married into money so he went through lots of stuff.
I like the maple neck too, I have a 74 Strat with the maple neck and maple will definitely give the guitar more top end to your sound. The neck has a very thin satin finish and feels a lot like bare wood-a nice broken in feel.
Yeah, I guess you will have to send me a song to play it on--just kidding Dave-but it will sure give a classic Tele tone to whatever I play it on. I'll try to get something posted shortly to let you have a listen.

 

[Anfontan]

That looks nice, I haven't got to check out any GFS stuff locally, but it took until last year for Agiles and SX's to start turning up around here.

Yeah I didnt know about GF, I might have to buy a few though, they definitely look like theyre great

It was so nice to see the guitar up close and play it in person-I bought a Xaviere XV-600 several years back and one of the Lap Steel guitars from Rondo and had to worry about how they would turn out. They both were very good especially the XV-600, it's a copy of a thin line Tele with 2 humbuckers, it has become my go-to guitar for live performances these days-it's in the picture below.

I first saw a picture of the maple top Tele on the local craig's list-the top looked so cool I went to check it out. When I saw it was a GFS Xaviere model and I knew the previous owner-I knew it was a good deal, just settling on the price was all that was left!!

 

[kidkage]

That SG looks like the type of guitar I would get for it's cool looks and cool story "Yeah SG-200 not many around (blah blah)"... but would be completely useless for the music I play

My dream is a Gibson Les Paul Custom. I don't know why. It's overpriced. But I guess that's what makes it a dream And with all the money Ive spent on these other guitars I could have 1 or 2 now but I wouldn't trade any of these. Knowing that they're so cheap but work for me is what makes them so important to me... I guess
I just bought 3 more from Rondo 3 weeks ago. And didnt plan on buying anymore... but now you all have turned me onto GF

 

[miroslav]

It was so nice to see the guitar up close and play it in person-I bought a Xaviere XV-600 several years back and one of the Lap Steel guitars from Rondo and had to worry about how they would turn out. They both were very good especially the XV-600, it's a copy of a thin line Tele with 2 humbuckers, it has become my go-to guitar for live performances these days-it's in the picture below.

I first saw a picture of the maple top Tele on the local craig's list-the top looked so cool I went to check it out. When I saw it was a GFS Xaviere model and I knew the previous owner-I knew it was a good deal, just settling on the price was all that was left!!

That's a very cool look for a Tele guitar...the flamed maple burst...very unique.

I had a few Rondo Agile guitars in the past...also some great bang-for-buck guitars.

Good luck!

 

[Anfontan]

That SG looks like the type of guitar I would get for it's cool looks and cool story "Yeah SG-200 not many around (blah blah)"... but would be completely useless for the music I play

My dream is a Gibson Les Paul Custom. I don't know why. It's overpriced. But I guess that's what makes it a dream And with all the money Ive spent on these other guitars I could have 1 or 2 now but I wouldn't trade any of these. Knowing that they're so cheap but work for me is what makes them so important to me... I guess
I just bought 3 more from Rondo 3 weeks ago. And didnt plan on buying anymore... but now you all have turned me onto GF

I have a Gibson Les Paul from the late '70's that's called 'The Paul'-it is built from Walnut and is a little more trebly that a mahogany Paul. I also have an Epi Les Paul Standard that nails the Les Paul sound so I installed a couple of P-90 pickups in the 'Paul'-and I really love the difference in the 2 guitars.
I blame the guitar craving on these forums...

That's a very cool look for a Tele guitar...the flamed maple burst...very unique.

I had a few Rondo Agile guitars in the past...also some great bang-for-buck guitars.

Good luck!

I am very protective of the Xaviere at this point-it's staying in a case since it has no scratches or dings that I can see. Gotta take care of the new girl in the guitar harem, you know!

 

[Chili]

That's a very cool look for a Tele guitar...the flamed maple burst...very unique.

Yeah, ever since I saw Muttley's flamed maple hollow body Tele, I've been lusting after one. There's a kit from Grizzly Industries that looks real nice, solid alder, too. $295. Link Here And then this Xaviere for about $250 with case, made from poplar.

What kind of difference would I hear between the two types of wood. I'm guessing the Alder is heavier, so maybe more sustain...

 

[Zaphod B]

Nice score, Anfontan!

 

[Anfontan]

Yeah, ever since I saw Muttley's flamed maple hollow body Tele, I've been lusting after one. There's a kit from Grizzly Industries that looks real nice, solid alder, too. $295. Link Here And then this Xaviere for about $250 with case, made from poplar.

What kind of difference would I hear between the two types of wood. I'm guessing the Alder is heavier, so maybe more sustain...

From what I've heard, the Grizzly kits are good quality stuff-alder is a good wood for a Tele too, I think. I used my alder bodied Red Tele (actually a very cheap Johnson brand copy) on the country song you wrote that I played on-it has a nice twangy tone but I can rock out on it as well.
I think that the maple cap on the new Tele adds a lot of high end that poplar by itself would not have. You might PM Muttley with some questions or visit the Tele forum-http://www.tdpri.com/

Nice score, Anfontan!

Thanks Tommy, didn't you post a picture of a nice Tele in the last few years or so yourself?

 

[Zaphod B]

Thanks Tommy, didn't you post a picture of a nice Tele in the last few years or so yourself?

Si, Signor Anfontan, a Fender Deluxe Ash in butterscotch. Yummy. Or maybe you're thinking of the Xaviere Strat clone (XV860? 870?) with the nice flame maple top in lemonburst. Also yummy.

 

[muttley600]

From what I've heard, the Grizzly kits are good quality stuff-alder is a good wood for a Tele too, I think. I used my alder bodied Red Tele (actually a very cheap Johnson brand copy) on the country song you wrote that I played on-it has a nice twangy tone but I can rock out on it as well.
I think that the maple cap on the new Tele adds a lot of high end that poplar by itself would not have. You might PM Muttley with some questions or visit the Tele forum-http://www.tdpri.com/


Thanks Tommy, didn't you post a picture of a nice Tele in the last few years or so yourself?

As far as my judgement goes and these things are always subjective, maple has a lot more "bite" than alder or poplar. It's also far too heavy for a solid build which is why when I used maple for the whole body I hollow it out. That way it also brings in a bit more "mellow" to tame the bite.

 

[TelePaul]

This thread has me jonesing after another Tele. The new US specials are getting good write-ups...could probably justify it given they've Texas Specials. Hmmm. Maybe a Trev Wilkinson or G & L...

 

[guitaristic]

Sweet guitar. I love maple necks!

 

[Chili]

As far as my judgement goes and these things are always subjective, maple has a lot more "bite" than alder or poplar. It's also far too heavy for a solid build which is why when I used maple for the whole body I hollow it out. That way it also brings in a bit more "mellow" to tame the bite.

As far as a Maple veneer on top of alder or poplar, is there much of a difference?? I'm looking at possibly getting either the GFS that Tony mentioned (maple on poplar) or the Grizzly kit (maple on alder). I've never done a kit before, but it looks like it is within my abilities. If there's not much difference in tone then it will mostly come down to price as the wife is buying... Thank Mutt, you opinions matter.

This thread has me jonesing after another Tele. The new US specials are getting good write-ups...could probably justify it given they've Texas Specials. Hmmm. Maybe a Trev Wilkinson or G & L...

This is a set of Texas Specials in the Free Ads section by NotCardio. He's looking for trades.

 

[TelePaul]

This is a set of Texas Specials in the Free Ads section by NotCardio. He's looking for trades.

Haha, I know, I gave them to him in the first instance! Figured I didn't need them after turning my Nashville deluxe into a bastard-caster.

 

[muttley600]

As far as a Maple veneer on top of alder or poplar, is there much of a difference?? I'm looking at possibly getting either the GFS that Tony mentioned (maple on poplar) or the Grizzly kit (maple on alder). I've never done a kit before, but it looks like it is within my abilities. If there's not much difference in tone then it will mostly come down to price as the wife is buying... Thank Mutt, you opinions matter.



This is a set of Texas Specials in the Free Ads section by NotCardio. He's looking for trades.

Maple veneer - diddly squat difference.

Maple cap - you would expect to get a bit more "bite" than alder or poplar. How much is in the lap of the Gods. Personally I like a tele that has that bright attack so it kind of suits me which is why I built two when I had one commissioned.

I use it a lot as it really cuts through the mix even when using the out of phase setting and the top end rolled off. It's one of those guitar sounds that you can hear without it setting the snare off every time you dig into it.