Quote:
Originally Posted by joelhunn
(Post 7031183)
I’m mainly a fingerstyle acoustic player but play some blues progressions on the electric from time to time. I aspire to play jazz but am nowhere near that goal...Which would you keep and why?
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Keep the USA G&L - if you're serious about electric you need a solidbody - and sell/trade the PRS in favor of a hollowbody/semi-hollow; since you're mainly a fingerstyle acoustic player, one of these might fill the bill:
https://3263vihaxx3jy9zn2ikegau7-wpe...ognacburst.jpg
https://godinguitars.com/product/5th...i-cognac-burst
Same size/weight as an acoustic Seagull mini-jumbo (mine weighs just a tick over five pounds) with the familiar Godin family neck feel - close your eyes and you might not realize you're playing an electric - simple tone/volume/3-way controls, those twin P-90 dogears will give you all the blues and jazz tones you need (FYI Tony Bennett's guitarist was using one on tour for several years), and of course the usual Godin playability and attention to detail. FWIW my wife dislikes archtop guitars of any kind, but every so often when we've been working out an arrangement she'll say "This song really needs an archtop" and reach for the Godin - no small praise FYI, and for one who understands and appreciates these instruments there's a lot going on for under $1K...
My other suggestion - albeit coming from a different sonic/cosmetic direction - would be one of the Korean-made Gretsch 5400-Series Electromatics which, although Gretsch shifted production to China at the end of 2021, are still available as new-old-stock from a number of dealers if you look around; speaking as a Gretsch guy since 1964 and the owner of a MIK E-Matic, these are fully-gigworthy, professional-quality instruments that just happen to sell at a step-up/intermediate-player price (similar to the Godin), and stand head-shoulders-&-navel above their competition (with the exception of the aforementioned Godin CW II) in terms of QC/tone/playability. That said, I'll hasten to add that unlike your G&L/PRS (as well as other, similar instruments), a Gretsch is
not a plug-&-play guitar -
and was never intended to be: "That Great Gretsch Sound" is not everyone's cuppa tea, very much
sui generis - nothing else sounds
like a Gretsch
but a Gretsch - and that clear, crisp upper-midrange twang and chime can be very unforgiving of poor technique and right/left-hand coordination; good news is that it's an incentive to practice (the 24.5 - 24.6" scale - depending on model - is also very easy on the fingers) and if you're the kind of guitarist who thinks a bit "outside the box" (pun intended) and wants to create his own signature tone in a sea of cookie-cutter Fender/Gibson derivatives, this is the sound of Messrs. Atkins, Cochran, Eddy, Salvador, Harrison, Van Eps, Stills, Young (Neil
and Malcolm), Setzer, as well as countless other professional and semi-pro players who have used them at one time or another. IME once you get familiar with their idiosyncrasies they're arguably the most versatile hollowbodies on the market, credibly covering every genre short of death metal without losing their unique sonic identity, while also offering a visual vibe all their own - and in this price range you could do
far worse than either the Gretsch or Godin... :guitar: