moving to electric

[Captain Jim]

Enjoy the move. I've been playing for over 5 decades; mostly electric until about 20 years ago (with some acoustic "dabbling" after the first 10 years. I enjoy both. A month and a half ago, I added another electric after reading about the Fishman Fluence pickups... an Epiphone SG Prophecy. The frets needed some work, but the rest of the guitar (after I filed and dressed the frets), especially those pickups, is great. I think the fret situation isn't typical.

My suggestion is to spend some time in your local guitar shops to see what feels and sounds best to you. Humbucker pickups sound different from single coil... try both and pick your preference. That SG Prophecy I mentioned above goes a different direction, with stacked printed circuit boards vs wire wrapped - a lot of variety of tones in that pickup pairing.

Then, neck profile and scale length. I've had a Strat and a Les Paul years ago, and they sound/feel very different. Body type/shape: I am a fan of the semi-hollow body; I own a T5 and a 335 (for 54 years now) - both very different tones.

Lots of choices with this move. Then there are amps and pedals - and that rabbit hole runs deep.

Back to that Fluence pickup system: there are 4 Epiphone models that have that. Besides the tonal variety, these don't buzz with the gain cranked up. I like it. A lot.

Since you have a couple nice acoustics, think of this as more of an expansion than a move. Good luck with the search.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Since nobody's recommended it yet, check out one of the Korean-made Gretsch Electromatic 5400/5600-Series hollows/semis (avoid the Chinese/Indonesian stuff - not built to the same tonal/structural standard IME): probably at the top of your preferred price range but has the vibe you say you're looking for, and built to a standard of QC/tone/playability that matches (and exceeds, in some cases) similar instruments costing 3-4 times as much - these are genuine professional-quality instruments that just happen to sell for intermediate-player/step-up prices, and there are a whole bunch of your fellow AGF'ers (myself included) who are happy owners...

The Gretsch G5420T Electromatic is a terrific guitar at a reasonable price.

Jack Fossett does a good job with his demos because he's a good player.



This video shows how well the Electromatic Gretsch compares with a much more expensive Gretsch:



I don't own one but I have been very badly tempted. The trouble is I have too many guitars, both electric and acoustic, and I can't justify buying another guitar to my wife or to myself.

But what a cool guitar!

- Glenn

[Bain]

Hi guys thanks for all your input, I don’t have any reason to want a hollow or semi hollow guitar except that I saw a internet clip on a hollow guitar and the way it sounded tone that sort of thing I feel the electric guitars solid body seem to miss out on the jazzy blues sound to my ear I could be wrong ofcourse .
When I say a budget I mean anything up to £300 I know I’m cheap but hey I may not gel with it.
I f I can question again I have a small fender amp and use a sound hole pickup that sometimes use could I plug in my future electric in to it.I think it is an accoustic amp not sure though
Thanks again guys

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by Bain

Hi guys thanks for all your input, I don’t have any reason to want a hollow or semi hollow guitar except that I saw a internet clip on a hollow guitar and the way it sounded tone that sort of thing I feel the electric guitars solid body seem to miss out on the jazzy blues sound to my ear I could be wrong ofcourse .
When I say a budget I mean anything up to £300 I know I’m cheap but hey I may not gel with it.
I f I can question again I have a small fender amp and use a sound hole pickup that sometimes use could I plug in my future electric in to it.I think it is an accoustic amp not sure though
Thanks again guys

Hey Bain, an electric and acoustic amps are different. Chances are you won't get that nice semi hollow tone you heard on that internet clip from an acoustic amp. You can always try though, it won't hurt anything.

I always tell people when they're getting their first electric guitar they also need a half decent electric guitar amp. The amp will give you ~50% of your tone ... and sometimes far more than that.

If you can, buy used to stretch your £.

[Rudy4]

I owned an Epiphone Casino very early in my playing life. I was attracted to the semi-hollow guitars by watching B.B. King and John Lennon.

One of the cheaper import versions would be fine to test the waters with. There are new model Casinos available in different colors:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...orn-olive-drab

You'll probably want to pick up a matching Jack Cassidy bass eventually...

If you are drawn by watching an internet video you should make sure exactly what you were watching. A full acoustic archtop is going to sound a lot different than a semi-hollow. A semi-hollow guitar tone will be 90% pickups, so be aware of that when deciding to purchase.

I played different electrics until the Telecaster light when off in my brain. The Tele satisfied my electric side for many years, and there's something visceral about it that many find to be the ultimate electric guitar experience.

Your amp is fine for playing at lower volumes. You can always pick up an amp specifically for electric guitar later when you have some time under your belt.

[RoyBoy]

Semi-hollows definitely have that sound. I have an Epi dot ES339 which is very comfortable. If I had it to do over, I'd probably go for an Ibanez Artcore. I've never heard of anyone being unhappy with theirs.

Gretsch guitars are great, I own one, but won't get you that classic blues tone you seek.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by RoyBoy

...Gretsch guitars are great, I own one, but won't get you that classic blues tone you seek.

Beg to differ; while they don't sound like a full-size humbucker, the Super Hi-lo'Trons in my 5622 can cop 90% of the vibe of an underwound P-90 straight up through my Bugera V22 (and with a little dial-twisting through my other amps) - great for cleaner styles, killer for roots/rockabilly-influenced stuff (just ask Brian Setzer), you don't need as much volume to cut through the band mix - and, strangely enough, my White Falcon can take me well into Strat tone territory. Maybe it's the fact that I've been a lifetime player, but once you master the idiosyncrasies of a Gretsch (they're not plug-&-play guitars like a Fender or Gibson - and were never designed to be) they can indeed be all-purpose instruments - even several jazz players (Harry Volpe, George Van Eps, Mary Osborne, Jimmie Webster, Sal Salvador) used them during their careers...

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

...I always tell people when they're getting their first electric guitar they also need a half decent electric guitar amp. The amp will give you ~50% of your tone ... and sometimes far more than that...

^^^^^ What he said ^^^^^

[TiffanyGuitar]

I agree. SuperTrons and FilterTrons can both get you blues tones. However, at least right now, I prefer the humbucker sounds I am getting from my Sheraton and 335.

I think for acoustic players (I was one exclusively for a really long time), a semi hollow or tele will feel more at home than anything more wildly exotic. You can play anything on a tele or one of the semi-hollows. In your price range, check out Gretsch Electromatic, Epiphone Dot, Ibanez Artcore, or the Squire Classic Vibe teles. These are all pretty comparable in quality (although the Korean Gretsch's in general are slightly better than the others). The Classic Vibe guitars are almost all heavy, but sometimes you will come across one that isn't. Finally, you need to build into your budget a good setup - it will make a big difference with your playing experience.

[rokdog49]

If your after the warmer/thicker thing in the blues/jazz vein, you really should go with a hollow (semi-solid) in the likeness of a 335 or whatever. Filtertrons are very versatile pickups and split coil humbuckers can be as well. Personally, P-90’s wouldn’t be my choice in that guitar for blues and jazz, but that’s me.
Then there’s the Tele or the Strat.
If you like Clapton blues ...the Strat. Buddy Guy plays a Tele. There are tons of blues players that use either.
You won’t get those tones out of a hollow body no matter what anybody says.
Good luck.
By the way, that Gretsch looks like a great bang for the bucks.

[roylor4]

As Dru said - amp gives you a HUGE proportion of your tone.

Some amps and guitars "play well together" and some do not. Once you pick a guitar, find a good amp that helps get you to the tone you hear in your head. A great guitar w/a $100 amp want get you far and vice-versa.

You can play the Blues & Jazzy stuff on anything. SRV - Strat, Muddy - Tele, BB - ES335. When playing Jazz headroom and the tone knob are your friend.....

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

...I have too many guitars, both electric and acoustic, and I can't justify buying another guitar to my wife or to myself...

Hey, you're a long-timer and an ex-mod - we look to you for inspiration...

Originally Posted by rokdog49

If you're after the warmer/thicker thing in the blues/jazz vein, you really should go with a hollow (semi-solid) in the likeness of a 335 or whatever. Filter'trons are very versatile pickups and split-coil humbuckers can be as well. Personally, P-90’s wouldn’t be my choice in that guitar for blues and jazz, but that’s me.

Then there’s the Tele or the Strat.

If you like Clapton blues ...the Strat. Buddy Guy plays a Tele. There are tons of blues players that use either.

You won’t get those tones out of a hollow body no matter what anybody says.

Good luck.

By the way, that Gretsch looks like a great bang for the bucks.

In order:

• A hollow or semi is definitely the first choice for warmer/thicker - but also more "airy" - tones, and I've been playing Gretsch instruments (with four different pickups - vintage Hi-lo'Tron, late-Baldwin Filter'tron, Super Hi-lo'Tron, and reissue PAF Filter'tron) all my life; that said, P-90's are still an excellent option if you want a classic early-Bop era tone - FYI first-generation P-90 Gibsons were the go-to for many A-list postwar jazz/blues players, and if you like those fat upper-mids (and/or want to hit the front of your tube combo harder to get some hair and raunch in your tone) a P-90 axe is what you're after. FWIW I keep two in my rotation - a goldtop LP (for harder blues/rock stuff - and I've yet to find a better surf guitar ) and a Godin CW II (for jazz comping, clean blues, and roots/rockabilly) - and you'd be remiss if you didn't give a couple P-90 guitars a test drive...
• I've owned a Tele (first-run late-CBS '52 reissue), own a Strat, and between my White Falcon and 3-PU cats'-eye 5622 I can cover 90+% of what my Fenders do/did: twang, quack (that middle pickup in the 5622 comes in real handy when I don't want to haul two guitars), crystalline neck-pickup rhythm, chicken-picking - and the center block in the 5622 lets me push things deep into OD territory (think Alvin Lee's 335 with a Gretsch sensibility and you'd be close)...
• If you're a serious electric player and you don't already own a Gretsch, you should - and if you're on a limited budget and can't afford the MIJ Professional Series, the Korean-made 5400 (hollowbody)/5600 (semi-hollow)-Series Electromatics are fully-gigworthy pro-quality instruments that just happen to sell for under (often well under during Coupon/Holiday sales at the big-box retailers) $1K: QC/playability is head-shoulders-&-navel above anything else in this bracket (FYI the newer Chinese 5600's don't measure up in either tone or appointments), and if you've ever had a jones for one of the iconic Brooklyn guitars - White Falcon (single- or double-cut), Viking, Country Gent, 6120, Nashville, Anniversary, "Nesmith" 12-string - they're all represented here. Unfortunately the aforementioned 3-PU model has been discontinued for several years, but may still be available as NOS if you look around (or used on Reverb for $600-800 depending on condition) - here's mine:

Originally Posted by roylor4

As Dru said - amp gives you a HUGE proportion of your tone.

Some amps and guitars "play well together" and some do not. Once you pick a guitar, find a good amp that helps get you to the tone you hear in your head...When playing Jazz headroom and the tone knob are your friend...

As Roy said - and take this in the spirit in which it's intended - you'll need to be looking at a mid-/high-powered combo (25W+ tube/50W+ solid state - analog in the latter case) with 12"/15" speaker(s); when Leo Fender and Everett Hull (founder of Ampeg) developed the first big-power tube guitar amps in the mid/late-1950's, they were directed at jazz/pop players in need of sufficient clean power for large theaters and Vegas nightclubs - not rockers pushing them to OSHA-hazard volume levels - and since that's exactly how you'll be using yours, you'll want to buy as much headroom as your wallet/living arrangements/musculoskeletal health will permit (FYI big power tends to be heavy - just ask any owner of a Twin Reverb or AC30). IME the Bugera V22 1x12" combo is a good entry point in a tube amp - enough power for a 600-700 seat hall, and relatively inexpensive - and there are any one of a number of used analog solid-state amps (older Peavey Bandit/Special, Fender Frontman 212R "blackface-Twin clone," pre-1985 Randall "orange-stripe"/"grey-stripe" RG-120 combos) that can be had at reasonable prices and would suit your needs. Personally, I'm not a fan of the new generation of compact 1x8"/1x10" solid-state jazz amps - there's a certain natural response to a 12"/15" speaker integral to traditional jazz/blues tone, that no amount of EQ can duplicate - and since the whole idea of this style of music is guitar-cable-amp sonic simplicity, you don't need the bells and whistles of a planned-obsolescence modeling rig...

[Scott of the Sa]

when I decided to get back into Electric guitars after a 12 year absence, I began looking for an Archtop. I wanted an electric that felt like an acoustic. I bought a Washburn J6 and kept that for many years. In 2014 I played a D' Angelico Excel and was happy with the sound. I am into the single cut away, and now single pickup guitars.
I also bought a Tele kit way back in 2003 and I have had fun with that guitar.

[PTony]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Since nobody's recommended it yet, check out one of the Korean-made Gretsch Electromatic 5400/5600-Series hollows/semis (avoid the Chinese/Indonesian stuff - not built to the same tonal/structural standard IME): probably at the top of your preferred price range but has the vibe you say you're looking for, and built to a standard of QC/tone/playability that matches (and exceeds, in some cases) similar instruments costing 3-4 times as much - these are genuine professional-quality instruments that just happen to sell for intermediate-player/step-up prices, and there are a whole bunch of your fellow AGF'ers (myself included) who are happy owners...

+1 also, if possible buy the guitar that FEELS and SOUNDS best to you. Even if it’s over your budget. It’s best to buy what you want, and have a guitar that you will actually enjoy playing.

Let me be clear...I’m not saying you have to spend a lot to get a great guitar. That’s just not true... today at least. 40 years ago...diff story.

Going to a shop and try as many as you can. I recommend being blindfolded and have someone hand you guitars. Same amp. Same settings. You may be surprised what you like.

Used is always a great place to start. Less money lost out of pocket. Either way, enjoy the process. It’s a big part of the fun!

[Bain]

Hi guys I cant thank all of you enough, some great info and advice to be sure.
I would love to be able to spend what I like on a new archtop and amp but the thing is .. I could but I just play at home I don’t do open mic or that sort of thing ,so I think it would be pointless ,saying that even at home alone I still want the sound of that smooth jazz tone and maybe a bit bit of dirty blues sound , but I am not willing to spend to much cash just for home . S o maybe a cheap archtop say #300 and I’ll use the amp I have ,just for home maybe I won’t get the sound of that smooth jazz but I am sure I’ll get rather close to it , do you think? If needs be I’ll just stick to my Martin and Furch
Thanks again guys 👌

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by Bain

Hi guys I cant thank all of you enough, some great info and advice to be sure.
I would love to be able to spend what I like on a new archtop and amp but the thing is .. I could but I just play at home I don’t do open mic or that sort of thing ,so I think it would be pointless ,saying that even at home alone I still want the sound of that smooth jazz tone and maybe a bit bit of dirty blues sound , but I am not willing to spend to much cash just for home . S o maybe a cheap archtop say #300 and I’ll use the amp I have ,just for home maybe I won’t get the sound of that smooth jazz but I am sure I’ll get rather close to it , do you think? If needs be I’ll just stick to my Martin and Furch
Thanks again guys 👌

If you are going to use an acoustic amp just save your money and forget buying a guitar IMO. You won't get Blues tone at all and Jazz tones will be marginal, at best.

Acoustic amps are voiced for acoustic guitars, not electric and you will almost certainly be disappointed in the tone achieved through it, regardless of electric guitar choice.

Not trying to be negative, just trying to keep you from wasting your $.