Quote:
Originally Posted by pax238
...I'm looking at selling the Eastman T184MX-LS...and replacing it with a Godin Kingpin II, which has a slightly narrower nut and what appears to be a less chunky neck...
My question is more about the sound. I'm a rhythm guitar player and singer. We play mostly roots music (blues, country, rockabilly, with some rock stirred in for seasoning). I play with a pick. I use a Tech 21 SansAmp NYC Para Driver DI that gives me good control over EQ and drive/grit/dirt into a PA system...
What might I lose and what might I gain?
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I own a Kingpin CW II (the discontinued blonde version), and even speaking as a hardcore Gretsch guy I'm hard-pressed to think of a better instrument in this price range for the type of music you're doing (FYI that's pretty much how I use mine, with some jazz comping thrown in). As I'm sure you're aware it's a classic single-cut/twin P-90 full-hollowbody in the mold of the early-50's Gibson ES-175/Epiphone Zephyr Regent (the same type of guitar used by the A-list players to play those styles when they were new) with the added advantage of exceptionally lightweight construction (mine weighs just a tick over five pounds - virtually identical to the Seagull mini-jumbo acoustic, whose neck dimensions it also shares) which gives it an airy resonance much like a good vintage Gretsch - a marked contrast to the "thud-&-mud" of typical laminated jazzboxes. The all-carved Eastman semis are fine guitars - if not for the 1-3/4" neck I'd probably own a T186 right now - but IME you're gaining a world of hand and shoulder comfort, with no sacrifice in either tone or QC; FWIW my CW II is one of exactly three guitars I've owned over the last six decades that needed
no setup whatsoever - and if it's good enough for Tony Bennett's guitarist (I tend to think both he and his boss know a little something about tone) it's good enough for any application I may find short of death metal...
Again speaking from extensive experience, if you have a critical ear the CW II doesn't play well with PA DI or modeling rigs:
this is an old-school hollowbody in every sense of the word, and sounds its best when matched with period-style equipment; while you can get away with an analog SS amp for jazz or
clean blues/country (I use a Fender Frontman 212R or Randall RB-120 1x15" combo - or a Tech 21 Trademark 10 for jamming with acoustic instruments) it really comes into its own with a low-/mid-powered tube combo, especially if you venture into rock or like a bit of tubey-sweet mojo in your blues excursions. While my go-to is a first-series "blue-light" Bugera V22 (Deluxe Reverb power with channel-switching/low-level capability, for around $400 - enough grunt for a 600-700 seat house), IME a Vox AC15 or vintage-voiced Fender (Blues Junior, '65 Princeton/Deluxe Reverb RI) would also be a good choice: mike up (or step up to a Bugera V55 for a few bucks more) for the big houses or outdoor gigs, go guitar-cable-amp raw for everything else, and IME you'll never look back...
Finally, if you find the Godin's neck still doesn't suit your needs you might consider a
Korean-made (avoid the current Chinese stuff) Gretsch Electromatic 5420/5422 hollowbody: slightly less expensive than the CW II (also somewhat heavier, in the 7-pound range) with QC/tone/playability comparable to "big-name" American instruments at 3-4 times the price and honest-to-Chet blacktop Filter'tron PU's, they'll cover all your preferred styles with the added advantage of a slimmer/narrower neck (just slightly thicker than my Brooklyn-original '64 Double Annie) and shorter scale (24.6" versus 24.84"). Be advised, however, that any Gretsch is by nature
sui generis - they're not plug-&-play guitars like a Gibson/Fender (or even the Godin)
and were never intended to be - but if you want that Atkins/Setzer/Harrison vibe in your playing, nothing else sounds (or looks)
like a Gretsch
but a Gretsch, and you'll have to spend substantially more for comparable quality...
Good luck...
