any decent electric 6 strings for around $400

Terry Sneed · Post by **Terry Sneed** » 6 Jan 2005 10:03 am

I have a real nice Fender Montery acoustic/ electric that sounds really good, but the older I get the harder that thing is to fret.
I'm thinkin of sellin it and gettin an electric, there so much easier to fret. But I don't know much about the different brands of guitars, which models are good etc? I can't pay much over $400, and suggestions? I like a solid body and I like the way the fender guitars feel, but can't afford the american made tele and strat's. thanks
Terry

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Zum D10 /8x5 / session 500rd
steelin for my Lord

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 6 Jan 2005 10:29 am

Terry. There are some fine imported Fender guitars out there, you just have to look for them. I stop by Guitar Center here in Atlanta every so often and look through the $125-150 Strat things and found a nice alder body maple neck a few weeks ago. Two tone early 50s sunburst. $129. The grain structure in the neck is what to look for. Don't buy anything that is not slab cut with as tight a grain pattern as you can find. That won't totally assure you of not having a problem with the neck, as I am not sure just how much detail has been given to curing the wood in a $100 guitar! Anyway just look through a bunch of them until you find one that feels and sounds good to you. The electronics are not as good as you might like, but these can be upgraded. The Squire Strats and Teles are pretty decent also.

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 6 Jan 2005 11:36 am

Hey Terry, Musician's Friend or Guitar Center have the MIM Tele's and Strat's for $349.00 which are good enough to use for a professional gig if need be. I have a MIM Nashville Deluxe Tele which actually sounds better that one of my made in Made in America Teles. You can set these guitars up to play very nicely and the necks have a good feel to them also....JH

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Livin' in the Past and Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.

Terry Sneed · Post by **Terry Sneed** » 6 Jan 2005 12:45 pm

Thanks guys, Jerry what is the MIM Tele?
I just bought my wife a Fender Basman 100 off Musicians for $299 sale price. Regular price was $719. Zzounds and Music 123 both wanted $499 for the same Bass amp.
Terry

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Zum D10 /8x5 / session 500rd
steelin for my Lord

Thomas Bancroft · Post by **Thomas Bancroft** » 6 Jan 2005 2:00 pm

MIM = made in Mexico. Look for a used Japanese Fender. They are much better quality. I hate to recommend e-bay but that is where you find Japanese Fenders since they are no longer made for export from Japan. There are, however, dealers of Japanese Fenders you will find on e-bay. Or you may find someone in the USA selling one used.

John Rosett · Post by **John Rosett** » 6 Jan 2005 3:20 pm

terry-
i sent you an email, and i guess it was put in a "suspect mail" folder. the message is titled "inexpensive guitar".
john

Sidney Malone · Post by **Sidney Malone** » 6 Jan 2005 3:49 pm

You migh check out the Peavey guitars. I'm not a string player but a friend of mine is a good one who plays and American Strat and he says he can't tell much difference in the Strat & Peavey except the Peavey has hotter pickups.

This might not apply to all Peavey guitars but I think they're worth a look. I think they're still made in America too.

Ken Lang · Post by **Ken Lang** » 6 Jan 2005 7:31 pm

Terry. I'm not familiar with the guitar you have, but I wouldn't give up on it yet. There are a couple of things to try.

1. Drop down a gauge on your strings. Thinner strings are easier to push down. This may sacrifice some tone but may save $400.

2. Is the neck bowed in and do you have an adjustable nut at the top of the fretboard to adjust it?

3. Is there a guitar guru nearby who might be able to fix it to your liking?

4. Or do you just have a hankering for a new piece? If so, have fun in your search for a new one.

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 7 Jan 2005 7:46 am

Go to E-bay, and in the electric guitar section, do a search for RAVEN.

Raven guitars went out of business about 3 years ago when the company's owner suddenly and unexpectedly died. At the time of his death, he had about 350 unsold guitars, which are now being auctioned off in a court ordered estate sale of the man's assets.

These guitars which were made in Korea, are up there in the same league with American guitars costing $2-3,000.

I have one of the full size hollow body guitars (model RM 680) that I bought years ago, when the company was still in business, and I bought 2 of the thin strat shaped hollow bodies (model RP 450) from the estate sale for myself, and 4 more for other people who saw mine and wanted one like it. Another friend bought 2 of the solid body guitars, and loves them both. He says the model RP 350 is as good as his Les Paul Custom. Both the 350 and 450 have 24 fret necks.

There are still quite a few left, but once these are gone there won't be any more. This is a very hot deal, and it won't last much longer.

Terry Sneed · Post by **Terry Sneed** » 7 Jan 2005 9:12 am

Thanks to all. Ken I've tried light gauge strings and they just don't have tone like the medium gauge do. The MIM Telecaster sounds about right pricewise.
I'll check out the Raven guitars on E bay also. thanks
Terry

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Zum D10 /8x5 / session 500rd
steelin for my Lord

Terry Sneed · Post by **Terry Sneed** » 7 Jan 2005 1:28 pm

Mike, I looked at the Raven guitars on E-bay. they are really nice lookin guitars.
Which has the best tone, the solid or hollow body ? about what do they usually sell for?
The highest bid of about 10 guitars was like $260 with 2 days left to bid.

anybody else tried these guitars out?
Terry

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Zum D10 /8x5 / session 500rd
steelin for my Lord

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 8 Jan 2005 8:27 am

Which has the best tone, the solid or hollow body ?

Terry, that's subjective. It's like asking which color is best. Also, you can change the way they sound by replacing the pickups.

I recommend either the 350 (solid body), or the 450 (Thin hollow body). The 680 is a great guitar too, but will feed back if you play too loud or stand too close to the amp.

Some 680s have a problem staying in tune, This is caused by the tremolo, and if you replace the tremolo with a fixed string tailpiece, the problem disappears.

I do not recommend the model they call TGR, as this guitar is designed specifically for playing heavy metal rock and roll.

Our fellow forumite Ken Lang has a 680 hollow body, His is something of a rarity in that it is green, and has a quilted maple top. Most, including mine, are blond with a spruce top. (Both tops are laminated like a Gibson 175, rather than solid like an L5). Ken would you like to give us your opinion of the guitar?

The prices are averaging around $350 by the time the auctions end. Everybody raises their bids during the last 2 minutes of the auction.

Webb Kline · Post by **Webb Kline** » 8 Jan 2005 9:39 am

What did Fender do that they lowered the MIM prices? THey must be different than the older MIM models because I had a '69 Tele thinline reissue MIM that has been selling at Guitar Center for $699. That was a great guitar, but I am suspect of any $300 MIMs.

Scott Fritz at Schoolhouse Music near here often has used G&L Tribute Teles for $3-350. They are awesome guitars and everyone I've seen in there looks like brand new. I'd go that route before spending that much on a new guitar. Scotty's about as straight a shooter as they come. Terry, if you email me if you want his number.

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MCI D10 8+5, ZB 11/10 8+3 Early 30s Dobro, Harmony Lap Steel, ad infinitum

erik · Post by **erik** » 8 Jan 2005 11:25 am

Regarding MIM new vs old I think it has something to do with parts made in US but assembled in Mx, OR, parts made in Mx and assembled in Mx, OR, parts made in China but assembled in Mx. This would account for price variations.

Terry Sneed · Post by **Terry Sneed** » 8 Jan 2005 2:46 pm

Thanks Mike, and all. I hope they still have some of those ravens after I get my wifes Bass amp paid off.

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Zum D10 /8x5 / session 500rd
steelin for my Lord

Darvin Willhoite · Post by **Darvin Willhoite** » 8 Jan 2005 5:17 pm

If you would like a 335 style guitar, check out the Peavey JF-1. It is an import, but it is very well made and beautifully finished. It sells for $299 shipped free. They do not offer a hard case for it yet and it won't quite fit into a 335 case, but there are padded gig bags available that will fit it for around $50. I had to do a little tweaking on the action on mine, but it plays and sounds really good now.

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Darvin Willhoite
Riva Ridge Recording

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 9 Jan 2005 3:36 am

You know, all of us have a favorite that we recommend, and chances are every single one of our various recommendations is a really good guitar.

This web site user reviews of just about every brand. You can read what people who own these different guitars say about them.

http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data4/#man

I've made several purchases (including my first Raven jazz guitar that I bought when the company was still in business) on the basis of these reviews.

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 9 Jan 2005 5:33 am

I must add, reading reviews at Harmony Central really makes me appreciate the intelligence level and spelling abilities of pedal steel guitarists. I'm especially fond of the reviewers who have been playing "2 years" and play "Pink Floyd, jazz, rock, country and blues, Metallica and techno", use six different fuzztones chained together and earnestly assert that the original pickups "sucked, man."

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 9 Jan 2005 11:47 am

Dave is right. The web site is overrun with teenagers who think music was invented by Jimi Hendrix. Also, at least some of the reviews are not actual reviews at all, but hype disguised as reviews, written by the manufacturers.

Nevertheless, there's a lot of good stuff there, and when a particular brand of guitar gets consitantly good reviews, it's a good sign. BTW, the model RP 450 Raven I just bought has 36 positive reviews.

There is a company called AGILE that makes several different models of Les Pauls. (They all look the same, but the internal construction is different on the different models.) One of our fellow forumites, Frank Estes, owns one of these and has written a very glowing review of it. Frank and I don't always agree on things, but I trust his judgement on this, and I'm seriously thinking about buying one of these guitars, based in part on what he wrote.[This message was edited by Mike Perlowin on 09 January 2005 at 04:20 PM.]

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 12 Jan 2005 4:09 pm

So Terry, what did you finally get?

Terry Sneed · Post by **Terry Sneed** » 13 Jan 2005 12:16 pm

Nothin yet Mike. If I were to get one of the Raven guitars I think I'd want the 350 solid body. I've always liked solid body guitars.
I'll probly have to wait a while now before I get a guitar. Got to get my wifes bass amp paid for and my new True tone pup I just ordered from Jerry. I still have my Fender acoustic, that is if they ever find an imput jack for the thing.

terry

Terry

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Zum D10 /8x5 / session 500rd
steelin for my Lord

Mike Brown · Post by **Mike Brown** » 13 Jan 2005 1:03 pm

Hey Terry, check out the new Peavey JF-1 here; http://www.peavey.com/products/new/jf1.cfm

Really good sounding and great playing instrument. I'll e-mail the retail on it.

Mike Brown
Peavey Electronics Corporation

Rich Weiss · Post by **Rich Weiss** » 13 Jan 2005 10:06 pm

Mike, pleas e-mail me the retail as well.

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 14 Jan 2005 2:19 am

Mike, is the new guitar fully hollow or does it have a solid block like a 335? Does it have a small silid block under the tailpiece like a PRS?

Terry Sneed · Post by **Terry Sneed** » 14 Jan 2005 1:00 pm

Thanks for the e-mail Mike Brown. Very nice lookin guitar for sure!

Mike Perlowin, I went to our local music store this mornin, and found me an american made strat they had for Half price. Regular price was $860+ dollars. Man that thing plays good and feels great! I couldn't pass that deal up. I put it on layaway, gonna pay it out. couldn't afford to pay cash, just bought my wife a bass guitar and amp.

Terry

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Zum D10 /8x5 / session 500rd
steelin for my Lord

[This message was edited by Terry Sneed on 15 January 2005 at 11:34 AM.]