I really miss my electric days for some reason and have been thinking about going back to my roots in music...Blues. So I'm stashing the accoustic, turning up the cd player and see if I still have it. I'm not totally set on Gibson so if you've another suggestion or opportunity, I'd be interested to hear about it. Thanks.
If you are really interested in a Gibson style guitar, I would look at the various clones before buying the real thing (new or used). Of the newer brands, I would look at Hamer and Heritage. Hamers in particular are built superbly - I own a Newport and is by far one of the best built guitars I've ever played (that includes my vintage Les Paul Custom). You should also check out 70s era japanese copies, specifically Tokais and Grecos. All of these choices tend to be better built than Gibson's (which have been spotty in quality since the 60s).
Sure you don't wanna strat for the blues? It will be hard to get that stevie ray or gilmour sound with the double humbuckers. What are you willing to spend?
Wow, I admit that its been a while, but I must be totally out of it. I was in a guitar shop last week and noticed not one gibson but lots of clones. I asked the guy behind the counter why they weren't selling Gibson and this younger kid behind me says something like, "I heard bad things about them". I looked incredulously at the kid and walked out...the nerve that some 17 year old was telling me Gibson has a bad rep. But by your reply, I might have to dig a little deeper and not let my FAAARRRR past influence my future guitar. (Sheeesh, take a little ripvanwinkle guitar nap and the whole world changes.) Thanks for the advice. I'll take a look at Hamer and Heritage. I had a Greco back in the mid 70s...briefly...ever so briefly, and was not happy with it. (next guitar was the SG). As for Fenders, never owned one. For the longest time I associated Fender with rock and Gibsons with the blues. I know, not scientic...it was just how my mind was programed all those years ago. (I know why I thougt that: first time I heard the blues being played live, it was on a Gibson Les Paul) Maybe now I'll reconsider a Fender. Curious though, is there a reason why Gibson has this bad rep?
Gibson has a bad rep because it is a huge corporation now. They churn out a whole ton of guitars which means that there are going to be more duds among the chaff. I would recommend playing them and not buying them sight unseen off the internet. They also pushed out a lot of their smaller dealers earlier this decade with stricter buying requirements, so only the most successful independent dealers still carry them along with Guitar Center. That 17 year old kid was probably a hater who's never even played a Gibson and gets off on playing knock offs like Rondo. I'd stay away from Heritage and Hamer because they have terrible resale value. You'll spend $2-3K brand new and be lucky to get 1/3 of that back on ebay. But it's good if you're buying used, I guess.
Korean made Epiphones from 2000-2005 are pretty damn good. I own a 2003 Zephyr Blues Deluxe and a 2005 Custom Shop ES-175, and they are both great guitars. They are my main blues axes. Since my band is a very traditional blues band, I like playing hollow bodies because the tone is more old-school than a Strat or any other solid body guitar. Stay away from new Epiphones however...they are now made in China and are pure crap.
Not necessarily. Lots of high end Strats will run you $2-3K just like Gibsons. Also, the single-coil Strat sound is only type of blues sound popularized by SRV (for better or worse). Don't forget there's also the smooth humbucker sounds of Jimmy Page and Peter Green.
You can get a brand new american strat or tele for under 1000. Yeah but thats more of the overdrive rock sound, the op seemed like he was looking for more of a pure blues sound. You can also do what i did and put a seymore duncan humbucker on the strat and you still keep that root blues sound but also get a little bit of that page/santana overdrive.
I have a '79 Gibson SG and aside from the frets starting to wear slightly, it still sounds and plays great. That said, it's not for sale. I need to get some work done on it. I hear "Lone Star Guitar" is the place, but I'm more near the Austin area these days. Can anyone recommend someone known for good work in that area? I have the fretwork on the SG, and having come across a right handed acoustic lately, I'm thinking of seeing if someone can convert it to a lefty for a reasonable price? Sorry to throw a tangent in the thread.
Everybody, thanks for your responses! I'm slowly relearning everything I seem to have forgotten. 1616, although swapping pickups is not a new thing to me, I like your idea...would love to play Samba Pa'Ti again. (eh, excuse me, would love to TRY to play Samba Pa'Ti again.) RocketMan Tex, really? Epiphones? LOL @ myself. I would have never given Epiphone a consideration. Wrong...sorta. I loved me some BB King back in the day and really thought about that hollow body. My issue there is getting comfortable in my easy chair and playing. That body is just too big to play while snuggling with the wife . (she'll love that one!) Again, everybody, BIG TEXAS SIZE THANKS! And if my friends truly convince me that I'm worthy, ya'll get a free CD of my first recording......hahahahahahahaha, right!
I know that people most often associate Fenders (Strats & Teles) with the blues, and everyone has different tastes, but for me, there is no one guitar that is synonomous with the blues. The fact that Albert King played a Flying V should be testament to that fact since most people associate those with heavy metal. For me, nothing beats the sound you can get with a hollowbody and either P-90s or humbuckers. BB King & Freddie King are both known for slinging the Gibson ES-335. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/k_rd8y8A2oE&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/k_rd8y8A2oE&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> You could be a little unique though and find a 60s Guild Starfire... a la this vintage Buddy Guy clip. His tone is amazing. I just got a '66 Guild Starfire XII (12-string) and I have already decided that my next guitar will be another Hoboken-era Guild.
