Looking for my first Hollowbody guitar

[CASD57]

Honestly I don't want to deal with an older guitar, so in the current hollow body guitars in the $600 +/- area which one is worth buying? I already have a Semi-Hollow Epiphone 339Pro and I'm tired of trying to find the perfect acoustic, so I figured I'd give a arch top a go.... Current listings like Godin, Grestch, Etcc,

[slewis]

I'm no expert but I have a Godin Fifth Avenue Kingpin and a Gretsch 5422. I reeeeeelly like my Gretsch.

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by slewis

I'm no expert but I have a Godin Fifth Avenue Kingpin and a Gretsch 5422. I reeeeeelly like my Gretsch.

I'd like to have a Gretsch but it's pushing my money limit the Godin looks good tho

[letterk]

If you don’t mind slightly used, you can snag a PRS Hollowbody II for $650 at Dave’s. They go quick though.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by CASD57

I'd like to have a Gretsch but it's pushing my money limit, the Godin looks good tho

If you're OK buying used you can have a Korean-made Gretsch Electromatic 5420/5422 (single/double-cutaway respectively) - avoid the newer Chinese versions - or Godin CW II in the $600-700 range. Although there's a bit of stylistic overlap they're very different animals at heart: the Godin is a classic early-50's dual-pickup/single-cutaway jazzer in the mold of the first-run P-90 ES-175 (FYI Tony Bennett's guitarist uses one), whereas the Gretsch has that unmistakable rockabilly/British Invasion twang and chime; FWIW I own examples of both and IME they're about as good as it gets in a low-midpriced. traditional-style hollowbody - you can't go wrong with either one...

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

If you're OK buying used you can have a Korean-made Gretsch Electromatic 5420/5422 (single/double-cutaway respectively) - avoid the newer Chinese versions - or Godin CW II in the $600-700 range. Although there's a bit of stylistic overlap they're very different animals at heart: the Godin is a classic early-50's dual-pickup/single-cutaway jazzer in the mold of the first-run P-90 ES-175 (FYI Tony Bennett's guitarist uses one), whereas the Gretsch has that unmistakable rockabilly/British Invasion twang and chime; FWIW I own examples of both and IME they're about as good as it gets in a low-midpriced. traditional-style hollowbody - you can't go wrong with either one...

I see the Single P90 Godin also, How is that one ?

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by CASD57

I see the single P90 Godin also, How is that one ?

There are a couple guys on this forum who love theirs, one in particular who does some fabulous jazz solos - if you're looking for something in the mold of the early-50's Gibson ES-125/Epiphone Zephyr it's a good choice (BTW I own the now-discontinued, 5th Avenue all-acoustic version) - but I personally prefer the tonal versatility/flexibility of the 2-pickup CW II...

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

There are a couple guys on this forum who love theirs, one in particular who does some fabulous jazz solos - if you're looking for something in the mold of the early-50's Gibson ES-125/Epiphone Zephyr it's a good choice (BTW I own the now-discontinued, 5th Avenue all-acoustic version) - but I personally prefer the tonal versatility/flexibility of the 2-pickup CW II...

Being that I'm more into the rockabilly/British Invasion type music I'm drawn to the Gretsch but only the Streamliner hollow body due to cost, but.looking at the Ibanez AF75 series, which is a better guitar the Gretsch or. Ibanez? In that $400-600 area?
I know the Chinese Gretsch is frown a pond but it does have some good reviews at several different places

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by CASD57

Being that I'm more into the rockabilly/British Invasion type music I'm drawn to the Gretsch but only the Streamliner hollow body due to cost, but.looking at the Ibanez AF75 series, which is a better guitar the Gretsch or. Ibanez? In that $400-600 area?
I know the Chinese Gretsch is frown a pond but it does have some good reviews at several different places

I would love the Orange 5420 !!

[Steve DeRosa]

I'm an old Gretsch guy since 1964 - still own the Double Anniversary I bought brand-new in sixth grade - and the Indonesian-made Streamliners are Gretsch in name only, lacking the tonal response one expects from Gretsch instruments (the pickups are in fact full-size humbuckers with a slight upper-midrange bump, as are the Broad'trons being used in the new Chinese-made Electromatics), and the QC is about what you'd expect in a $400 hollowbody . If you're into older styles (as I am) and looking for "That Great Gretsch Sound" you're not going to get it there; as I said, seek out a good used Korean 5400/5600-Series Electromatic - it's at the top of your price range - and if you need some additional endorsement, check out the universally positive reviews over on the Electric Guitar subforum...

[6L6]

Over the past 50 years I've owned and played Pre CBS Fenders, ES-335's Gretsches, Guilds... some very fine instruments. But none of them compare to the tone of my 1960 Harmony Meteor w/Bigsby!

Absolutely the best playing/best sounding electric I've ever owned. You just can't beat those "Gold Foil" pickups in that solid wood hollow box!

Readily available within your price range.

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by 6L6

Over the past 50 years I've owned and played Pre CBS Fenders, ES-335's Gretsches, Guilds... some very fine instruments. But none of them compare to the tone of my 1960 Harmony Meteor w/Bigsby!

Absolutely the best playing/best sounding electric I've ever owned. You just can't beat those "Gold Foil" pickups in that solid wood hollow box!

Readily available within your price range.

GC has a bunch of Harmony Rockets for sale, similar to a Meteor??

[6L6]

Originally Posted by CASD57

GC has a bunch of Harmony Rockets for sale, similar to a Meteor??

My guitar was built in Chicago and is of all solid wood construction. I doubt the new ones at GC are built in the USA and are of solid wood. For sure, the pickups aren't the same.

Check eBay and get yourself an original. Forgot to mention the neck on mine is beefy and my hands love that!

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by 6L6

My guitar was built in Chicago and is of all solid wood construction. I doubt the new ones at GC are built in the USA and are of solid wood. For sure, the pickups aren't the same.

Check eBay and get yourself an original. Forgot to mention the neck on mine is beefy and my hands love that!

These say they are 60's era ?

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by CASD57

GC has a bunch of Harmony Rockets for sale, similar to a Meteor??

The Rocket was positioned lower in the line than the Meteor, essentially their entry-level thinline cutaway and available in 1, 2, or 3-pickup variations as well as two different finishes (redburst being the most common) over the years. Speaking from nearly 60 years of first-hand knowledge I'd be careful with these - they were beginners' guitars in their heyday, and while some of them were relegated to the closet and escaped the ravages of time, many of them were used and abused; they also weren't made to the standard we've come to accept in a modern entry-level guitar and, given the eccentric three-bolt neck joint and non-adjustable truss rods on many pre-1960's examples - to which we can add the long-term effects of the heavy-gauge Black Diamond strings that were standard record-shop/music-school fare - you'll probably be kissing a few dozen (or more) frogs before you find your princess...