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Topic: any opinions for entry guitar.. Ibanez GAX30?? |
Jeff Strouse
From:
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
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Posted 22 Jul 2004 12:30 pm |
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I've started looking for a decent, but inexpensive electric guitar, and liked the Ibanez GAX30 model. It's $159 at my local music store.
I noticed it said "22 Medium Frets". What does this mean compared to "large"? Are there different scale lengths in standard guitar, just as the steel guitar has many different scale lengths?
The tone I like is more of a warm, smooth jazz rhythm style, and I also like the Bill Haley Rock n'Roll style...(more smooth and clean, rather than twangy).
Can those types of tones be obtained on pretty much any guitar (multi humbucker pickups and amp settings), or should I look at another entry level model guitar for that type of musical sound?
Thanks for any replies!
 [This message was edited by Jeff Strouse on 22 July 2004 at 01:31 PM.] |
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Chris Scruggs
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Posted 22 Jul 2004 12:45 pm
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By medium frets they mean a medium gauge of fret wire. It is probably a 24.75" or 25.5" scale.
I would recommend you spend $199.99 on a Squier Standard Telecaster. Check out Samash.com
This will hold it's value better, and is, well, a perfectly fine Telecaster for only 200 bucks. I'm all for supporting a local music store, but I am sure the Squier is a better instrument(not to mention it looks better, too!).
The Tele neck pickup is very good for smooth Jazz and the Bill Haley sound. Especially with flatwound strings. If you want even a darker sound than that, the Squier Fat Telecaster comes with a Gibson style humbucker in the neck.
The only thing better than a Tele for that kind of stuff would be a hollowbody, but a descent hollowbody will cost a bit more.
Chris Scruggs[This message was edited by Chris Scruggs on 22 July 2004 at 01:50 PM.] |
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Ken Lang
From:
Simi Valley, Ca
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Posted 22 Jul 2004 7:40 pm
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I've got a squire strat I bought some years ago. The band at the time said it sounded great.
Don't know nothin about Ibanez. I suspect that these days, most entry level guitars play well. It just depends on the sound you want. |
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Toby Rider
From:
Fort Worth, Texas, USA
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Posted 22 Jul 2004 9:40 pm
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Medium frets means that they are sized halfway between "jumbo" frets (they type that are commonly found on heavy-metal/shredder-type guitars) and "vintage" frets, which are what they put on the Mexican Telecaster & strats.
Yes, there are indeed different scale-lengths for guitars. Fender Teles & strats are 25.5" scale, which is longer then Gibson Les Pauls.. The longer the scale, the more punchy & "Twangy* the tone you will get out of the guitar.
The Mexican Teles are about $300, and they are good enough that with modifications you can play it on pro gigs.
[This message was edited by Toby Rider on 22 July 2004 at 10:44 PM.] |
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Steinar Gregertsen
From:
Arendal, Norway, R.I.P.
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Posted 23 Jul 2004 2:01 am
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I bought a Jay Turser Tele for $200 recently, and apart from a nut that could have been better cut, it was amazing value for the money. Well worth considering..
Steinar
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www.gregertsen.com
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Tim Whitlock
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 23 Jul 2004 5:20 am
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Jeff- For the sound you describe, I think the Ibanez would be a good choice. Korea is putting out some pretty good hollow body jazz boxes at unbelievable prices. For a little more, this Washburn looks pretty good, too. It's very similar to my DeArmond, which I definitely prefer to my Tele, for jazz or swing.
Washburn jazz box
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Jim Peters
From:
St. Louis, Missouri, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 23 Jul 2004 6:52 am
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| Check out Ibanez artcore series. JP |
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Darvin Willhoite
From:
Roxton, Tx. USA
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Posted 23 Jul 2004 6:54 am
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Jeff, Peavey has a new JFI semi hollow body, (ES-335 style) that is a really nice guitar. I tried one at the Texas show and bought one as soon as I could find one. It played really well right out of the box, but the strings were bad. I put on a new set of my favorites and tweaked the action a little and it plays great, anything from Jazz to Rock.
The workmanship is amazing for such a low price. Musicians Friend had them for $299 with free shipping. Peavey does not offer a case yet but you can get a pretty good gig bag for around $35-$40. The body is a little longer than an ES-335 so those cases won't work. I got the red one by the way and it is eye-popping pretty. The JF-1 and the Nashville 112 make a great Jazz rig.
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Darvin Willhoite
Riva Ridge Recording
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Ben Slaughter
From:
Madera, California
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Posted 23 Jul 2004 8:35 am
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I'm not familiar with the Ibanez you're talking about, one of the biggest things for me is the feel of the neck. Seems like a lot of the Ibanez guitars that I've played had wide thin necks which I don't like. I like the old fat Tele necks. But I know some people (manily rock n rollers) that swear by that Ibanez neck.
Feel means a lot for me. Guitar Center is a great place to go test out a bunch of guitars and figure out what you like.
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Ben
Zum D10, NV400, TubeFex, POD, G&L Guitars, etc, etc.
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 23 Jul 2004 8:42 am
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Hey Jeff,
You mentioned that you like the Bill Haley type of playing and the warm jazzy things. For that the first thing you need to do is stay away from a Telecaster of Stratocaster or any other single coil instrument. Someone mentioned an Ibanez Artcore. I play some gigs with and Elvis impersonator and I use an Artcore for that 'cause it has a good Scotty Moore sound. Ibanez makes some very good low end guitars that you can get for under $200 almost anywhere. What I'd recommend is the Ibanez Artist body style. They have one which is a double cutaway with two humbucking pickups and will get you the sound you want. Also Epiphone has just come out with a 335 style guitar for $299 which is awesome. I'm getting one this weekend. They're equipped with two humbuckers, have all black hardware, and only have one volume and tone as opposed to the normal 2 tones and 2 volume knobs. Ibanez also makes a Strat style solid body with 2 humbuckers which is pretty good too. All in all, I've been buying some low end guitars in the last few years as the quality's really came up, especially the one's made in China like the Artcore and the Epiphone I mentioned. Go to the Musician's Friend website and you can see and price any of the guitars I've mentioned. Have a good 'un, JH
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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.
[This message was edited by Jerry Hayes on 23 July 2004 at 09:44 AM.] |
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Pookie Anselmi
From:
Galliano, Louisiana, USA
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Posted 23 Jul 2004 10:44 am
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Jeff, if you wind up with a low end solid body, stay away from those with a whammy bar.
My son has an Ibanez solid body and it doesn't stay in tune well because of the whammy bar. I own two Ibanez guitars and love them. I own a George Benson model(1978)
and a Joe Pass model(1980) and they play great. Just go to several stores if possible and try as many as you can and decide from there. Good luck.
Pookie Anselmi |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 23 Jul 2004 12:26 pm
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| I have an Ibanez GAX70, which is like the GAX30 only with separate volume and tone controls for each pickup. I play it more than my Warmoth Tele or my Gibson 335 because it is very lightweight. It has a very open, "woody" sound which I like because I am using a clean tone these days. With the humbuckings, however, it won't bite or twang like a Fender no matter what. The wood and bridge and overall workmanship are very good, but one of these days I'll probably upgrade the tuners, pickups, pots and wiring. The neck is a bit thinner than most Gibsons or Fenders, but not at all the "flat-wide" configuration of Ibanez's heavy metal guitars. There are some newer Peaveys around this price point which are supposed to be good too. |
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Chris Scruggs
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Posted 23 Jul 2004 1:37 pm
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Scotty Moore used a Gibson ES-295 with single coil P-90 pickups. Bill Haley's guitarist used a Gibson Les Paul with single coil P-90 pickups. Jimmy Bryant's smooth country jazz tone was nothing other than the neck pickup of a single coil Telecaster.
If you want to avoid the bright "Tele sound", use the neck pickup. The neck pickup on a Tele is very warm(especially with flatwound strings). The Squier Telecaster is only $40.00 more than the Ibanez, and it will retain it's value better, and is still a real Telecaster made by Fender, as apposed to a copy guitar like an Ibanez or a Peavey.
On the behalf of Humbucker guitars, Squier also has a Fat Telecaster which also costs $199.99, but has a Gibson styled humbucker in the neck position, which is the jazzy pickup selection you refer to.
I am personally a hollowbody guitarist who makes my living playing a Gibson ES-135 and ES-295, but for your price range, the Telecaster is your best bet.
Whenever I play a solidbody guitar, I play a Fender Telecaster or a Fender Jazzmaster. If you want to spend $500.00, I would recommend a hollowbody Epiphone like a Joe Pass, a Casino, or a Riviera model.
Basically, if you want to drive an inexpensive car, you can still drive a Ford or Chevy. Don't settle for a Le Car or a Dae Wu.
CS
[This message was edited by Chris Scruggs on 23 July 2004 at 02:39 PM.] |
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Jeff Strouse
From:
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
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Posted 25 Jul 2004 2:14 pm
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Well, I went to the music store today for a couple of hours and tried a bunch of different guitars (I kept these notes with me to compare, too!). Now I'm more confused than when I started! 
The guitars that seemed to have the sound my ears liked best, were the Gibson Les Pauls, in the $500-$900 range). I think most had two double humbuckers, with the classic style look. I tried a $350 Gibson in the same style, but it didn't seem to be in the same tone league as the $550 one. Maybe I didn't have the tone settings accurate.
My observation of the budget priced electric guitars, is that they had too brassy of a treble tone. Some had a decent warm tone, but I would have to keep them in the warmer "neck" tone position all the time. The Gibson, however, seemed a lot more "treble-friendly," in that it had the best tones on warm, and the full treble was tolerable (not too raunchy).
Does anyone know of an entry level Les Paul with a similar tone, or do I have to spend five or six Benjamins to get "that" sound? The cheapest Les Paul Gibson my music store had was about $350.00. I would think Gibson would have a model in all price ranges. I'm trying to keep the budget within $150 to $200. Maybe I should wait awhile, and save up for a higher priced model?
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John Floyd
From:
R.I.P.
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Posted 25 Jul 2004 2:36 pm
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| Quote: |
| You mentioned that you like the Bill Haley type of playing and the warm jazzy things. For that the first thing you need to do is stay away from a Telecaster of Stratocaster or any other single coil instrument. |
Jerry
You have obviously Lost your memory. Bill Haley's sound came from Single Coils several years before Humbuckers. Too much viagra will make the blood rush from your brain. 
Chris Scruggs , You are right on my friend.
I'd like to refresh everybody's memory a little. The great Cd that Earl Erb did a few years back was done with a Telecaster with single coil pickups, Duncan Quarter Pound single coils. This is The same Cd that he sent out over 60 copies to Forumites that requested it. He had about the best tone I have ever heard on any guitar, solid body or archtop.
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The Southern Steel Guitar Convention at Saluda, SC Since 1987
For informstion on the Shriners Childrens Hospitals, go to:
http://www.shrinershq.org/hospitals/geninfo.html
[This message was edited by John Floyd on 26 July 2004 at 02:35 AM.] |
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 26 Jul 2004 4:21 am
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Yo John,
It's true that those old tunes were cut with the P-90 equipped Gibsons but here's a fact that can't be disputed. Jimmy Bryant later went to a humbucker equipped Gibson as did Scotty Moore and Frank (Franny) Beecher the guitarist for Bill Haley. As you know, I play mostly Telecaster in my band but my favorite all around guitar is my humbucker equipped 1980 Ibanez Artist. If I could only have one guitar that'd be the one I'd keep. Since my last post on this thread I've gone to Guitar Center and purchased the Epiphone guitar I talked about. They're $299.00 and are worth every penny. I got the black one with all black hardware. It's the 335 style with the center block and all but only has one volume and one tone knob with a 3-way toggle switch in the center. The input jack is on the bottom of the guitar like a Tele instead of the face like is normally on a 335 style. These are great guitars for the money and I might go back and get a red one too in a couple of weeks. Have a good 'un...JH
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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.
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Jeff Strouse
From:
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 26 Jul 2004 9:33 am
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Hey Jeff,
That's not the one, it's farther down the main page and called the "Dot Studio". It's the same price. I have one of those also in the natural finish and I belive it's made in Korea. This is a made in China guitar and in my opinion it's a better guitar. It only has one volume and tone know and a 3 way toggle switch. They come in red, blue, black, and brown I believe. I got the black one and they're great. The fretboard is pretty flat which is great for bending and slide. I lowered the action way down like I like it and there are no buzzes at all. The thing has black hardware which is also cool. I think you'd like one of these. If there's a guitar center in your area you should try one out....Have a good 'un...JH
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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.
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