I'm happy to report...

Make sure you get a real one.
 
Officials: More Than $1 Million In Fake Guitars Found At Jersey City Mail Center
http://newyork.cbslocal.c...rsey-city-mail-center/


Well, that is debatable whether they are worth that much or not. Comments are good though on that article.
 

MakeShift
Are you going for the P90 sound Rain? The Casino's sound really nice as well with P90s. Love my Dot 335 with Gibson Classic 57 plus in the bridge. I just have to complete it by putting a Classic 57 or 490r in the neck.

I wasn't exactly sure, I knew I wanted semi-hollow and a tremolo. But after hearing demos, I'm quite enthusiastic about those P90s. Dot was the first thing I thought - actually, I remember you'd mentioned yours a while ago - but I really wanted a Bigsby (or similar).
 
The other option, the least expensive,  would be a Wildkat, but the Riviera ($500) is more to my liking. Also noteworthy was their Emperor Swingster:
 

But at that price ($699), I'd go all the way and buy a Gretsch G5420T.
 
 
 

 

teego
Don't know how much you are wanting to spend but I have a friend who is wanting to sell this guitar
Here is guitar no longer made. pre Fender Guild X160 w/deluxe hard shell case. $1,700.00 if U know anyone. I am original owner. Serial # 000068 and has never been on the stage. It is a beautiful guitar..excellent for Jazz or Rock. If you are interested let me know and I will pm you his info.

That is an awesome guitar - probably worth more than my entire rig. Man I wish I had that kind of money! But unless we hit the big time with those songs I'm working on, I'll have to make due with a cheaper alternative and bit of good old ingenuity. 

So you've decided to venture into the under-used genre of country-polka-rap, eh? 

The  Epiphone with the 3 P 90's looks like a real sweet guitar  I can find a use for that 
 
Kenny
 

yorolpal
I bought an Epi Nighthawk reissue last year. It was made in Indonesia and was beautifully put together. Workmanship...impeccable. Don't know where the Riviera or the Swingster are produced but Epi is turning out some great bang for the buck pieces lately.

I have a Standard Les Paul and a Les Paul Traditional Pro. Both made in China, set up in the US. 
 
The standard has better finition. Visually, it's hard to find anything wrong with it. The electronics never gave me trouble.
 
The Traditional has much better pick ups (Epiphone's version of a Classic 57 and a Burstbucker) but the switch started behaving after a few months, the finition is anything but flawless (the faux-binding was applied pretty sloppily, as was the paint job, the aforementioned faux-binding is actually oddly stained in a couple of spots).
 
I love that guitar and the way it feels, the way it sounds, the fat neck and the raw finish of it, but visually it's very, very easy to spot plenty of little things that weren't done properly. 
 
In both cases, the bridge was completely tarnished after a few weeks. As was the upper side of the chrome finished pick up on the Standard. By comparison, my Gibson SG is still perfectly fine after almost 6 months.
 
I'm guessing that their Les Paul Tribute model would be the best of both worlds, with the better pick ups but w/o compromising on the workmanship. 
 
But if not for the fact that I love the feel of the Traditional Pro so much and its fat neck, the Standard is actually a better guitar, one of the ones that was better put together. I guess I may change the pick ups eventually...
 
 
 
 

MakeShift
Changing out pickups on LP's is really fairly easy. I worry more about scratching or burning the guitar than the actual process it's self. The Dot 335 was a bit more of a challenge with no back panel to access. I ended up taking that one in to technician to change out. I watched the guy do most of the work from a ways off and he made it look so easy. I don't think I could get my fingers through the F holes and do some of the work like he was doing. Obviously he had quite a bit of practice with the Gibson hollow bodies.

I wouldn't even try on the LP - I don't trust myself with tools. Anything beyond changing the truss rod cover I dare not attempt. Too bad that the luthier who used to take care of my guitars had to move to California last January. 

Moshkiae

Rain
...
I had my wife listening to a snippet of the latest thing I've been working on last night and her reaction was worth all the energy I've put into it, a hundredfold. We knew that was it.
...
I've always needed that sense of unity when working on something, I need things to be there for a reason and relate to one another. And it also allows me to start and be really creative because now I know which rules I have to bend and twist. :P
...

It's awesome to see someone say this. And even more special that you have someone with whom you can share this.
 
That's the ultimate in inspiration, and sometimes it takes you forever to get it all out, but many times, it also gives you so much that you can't stop! And not help getting it all out!
 
Channel as much as you can and don't stop! Remember that the feeling might not be there tomorrow! That should motivate you endlessly!
 
If I may, and not that I know/understand enough of this stuff, I would like to suggest stop worrying about the special guitar or such, and stick to the stuff in your head that needs to come out. You can get them out with a 29.95 guitar that is on sale at Kmart!, if you have to! And special for me, are any sentences or words that are also there, btw ... which is where all my poetry comes from. It's like I see words floating all around in the middle of the visionary experiences. Quite psychedelic in some ways, but way further than that!

Thanks Mosh.
 
As for the guitar, currently, I don't have time to mess with sounds and the SG just won't leave my hands - it is the easiest thing to play in the universe. OTOH, it does have a very "in your face" sound, w/ lots of bite - it can cut through a dense mix like no other - which is great if you happen to have multiple guitar tracks.
 
But for this project, I'll eventually need something a bit beefier because I am after something that's got a bit more of a live feel, so layering tracks isn't really the best idea. I need a guitar that will take a bit more room sonically, sound a bit more rich and not so much gnarling. I need the sound of wood.
 
For the time being, I can tweak it a tiny bit and get an approximation, as I prefer not to slow down the inspiration and to interfere with it. But for the final steps and live, I'd want a semi-hollow.

Well, Rain, I'm blaming this one on you, bud.
As of 1:30 this afternoon, a Riviera P93 is on its way here from ZZounds.
I stewed on it for a while, but their "Pay as you play" 8 payment plan put it in reach.
The Gretsch is still on my someday list, but for now, the Riviera will be just fine.

57Gregy
There's an Epiphone Dot Studio at the pawn shop up the road. The price seems a little high for a used Dot ($285), seeing how some new ones can be had for ~300. It plays great, I like the thin neck and I've always wanted an ES-style guitar. I blame Alvin Lee for that.
So I convinced myself that I couldn't afford another guitar to sit on a stand with the other guitars I play maybe once a week, then the saleslady says, "we have layaway".
Arrrggghhhh! Why do they do this to me?

First, I am glad you have found something that you are both happy with, that is great!
About the guitars:
PAwnshop: Make them an offer of 210.00 (never pay asking price unless you have to) and work up to a meeting point, maybe 245.00, if you want it. End of the month is a good time to get a deal at a GC if they have not met their sales quota.
I have had my eye on an Epiphone ES-339 Pro in natural. I like the idea of a slightly smaller body but I don't want or need a bigsby. Can you add a Bigsby on the cheap?
Rain, if I were you I would consider, since it is only 2 or 3 hundred dollars, make a down payment with someone like Sweetwater and get the guitar you really want. It isn't like it is 2 or 4 thousand dollars... and I can tell you from a lifetime of experience... settling for something that will approximate what you really want, never really does it. It is like trying to get the Marshall sound without buying a Marshall, you can do it but you'll likely spend more than you would have on a real Marshall but you'll likely have a better amp if you do. If you try to get it cheaper... well, you'll never quite get there and you'll soon be looking again. Have you played all these guitars? Personally, I like to play any main guitar I buy before I buy it, most guitars are like Levi's jeans. You don't know if they fit until you try them on, the tag means nothing.
Good luck and if possible, don't "settle" over the matter of a couple hundred dollars... get what you really want. Find a way. Just my 2 cent.
 
J

jbow

57Gregy
There's an Epiphone Dot Studio at the pawn shop up the road. The price seems a little high for a used Dot ($285), seeing how some new ones can be had for ~300. It plays great, I like the thin neck and I've always wanted an ES-style guitar. I blame Alvin Lee for that.
So I convinced myself that I couldn't afford another guitar to sit on a stand with the other guitars I play maybe once a week, then the saleslady says, "we have layaway".
Arrrggghhhh! Why do they do this to me?

First, I am glad you have found something that you are both happy with, that is great!
About the guitars:
PAwnshop: Make them an offer of 210.00 (never pay asking price unless you have to) and work up to a meeting point, maybe 245.00, if you want it. End of the month is a good time to get a deal at a GC if they have not met their sales quota.
I have had my eye on an Epiphone ES-339 Pro in natural. I like the idea of a slightly smaller body but I don't want or need a bigsby. Can you add a Bigsby on the cheap?
Rain, if I were you I would consider, since it is only 2 or 3 hundred dollars, make a down payment with someone like Sweetwater and get the guitar you really want. It isn't like it is 2 or 4 thousand dollars... and I can tell you from a lifetime of experience... settling for something that will approximate what you really want, never really does it. It is like trying to get the Marshall sound without buying a Marshall, you can do it but you'll likely spend more than you would have on a real Marshall but you'll likely have a better amp if you do. If you try to get it cheaper... well, you'll never quite get there and you'll soon be looking again. Have you played all these guitars? Personally, I like to play any main guitar I buy before I buy it, most guitars are like Levi's jeans. You don't know if they fit until you try them on, the tag means nothing.
Good luck and if possible, don't "settle" over the matter of a couple hundred dollars... get what you really want. Find a way. Just my 2 cent.
 
J

I saw that ES-339 online last night - looks sweet, and if not for the fact that I'm really stuck on the Bigsby, I'd get that one. 
 
As for getting the one I really want, until we get the green card and I'm authorized to work, my wife provides for the both of us and she already spoils me, so I try to be budget conscious. I can sometimes sell gear to raise part of the money for what I need, but she's already bought an awful lot of things for me and the home studio, including my SGJ and a bunch of other guitars. In this case, I'll try and raise the money for a while and maybe suggest the rest as a birthday present or something...
 
 

The key word for what I want to do arrangement-wise is "sparse", at least for the guitars. I think that it's more a matter of conjuring a kind of tone that has the sonic density to stand on its own, something chunky, woody. The Les Paul gets me pretty close, but, why not get the right tool for the task, right? :)

Thanks, Robert! :)