Lets look at our guitars thread

[SWoll]

singlecoil said:

SWoll said:

Also, if I do go ahead I'll have to organize the shipping myself as too far from me to collect, any advice on the best option?

Thanks in advance all. .

You can buy decent suitable boxes from ebay, get the sender to wrap in a load of old newspapers, squashed cardboard etc. Pacelforce are the only people who will insure it for appropriate money at a reasonable extra cost, get them to collect it from the sender.

Fortunately it comes with a hard case so hopefully a bit of bubble wrap and a couple of black bags might do the job from a packaging perspective, assuming I can talk the seller into doing it.

Will give Parcelforce a look. Cheers.

[languagetimothy]

languagetimothy said:

Yahonza said:

I like these entry level Martins, especially the ones with cutaway. Here is mine, a Road Series, Sapele all through, very solid feeling, and sounds good amplified. The pickup system on these is really good. It has 12's on it though and I'll probably change them to 11's.

Very nice, I had a look at many including something similar to that. Eventually I just had to make a decision as we have a pizza restaurant gig next week. Good to have an excuse. And yeah I’ve been impressed with pickup systems in these. Not sure about the sound hole tone and volume controls, my other one has two simple dials on the shoulder along with a tuner “screen” The other one….yeah I know looks much the same but isn’t.

Update. So did that gig, i used the above Martin through a Marshall AsD50. (The other was a spare) Spot on, I checked occasionally but hardly had to adjust tuning even a little, over various songs from hard to soft strum to picking and “lead” bits. And this was outside in the restaurant garden (I’m in Portugal).. so yeah..happy with that. Band overall complimented on great sound.

[hooters123]

SWoll said:

Looking for a bit of advice chaps. I've done the usual rounds over the years and looking for something a bit different to add to the current collection.

Came across Gordon Smith guitars as the idea of something made in England appeals, and have found what looks to be a really nice, recently built, used example for a reasonable price. I've put the spec through the GS configurator and it's about a third of the original cost as a pretty high spec.

Obviously they aren't an easy guitar to get you hands on in order to get a feel for them so I'd be interested in thoughts from anyone who has one.

Also, if I do go ahead I'll have to organize the shipping myself as too far from me to collect, any advice on the best option?

Thanks in advance all. .

I used to have a GS2 (I think that was the model!) back in the late 90's early 00's. Sold it to finance the purchase of a Les Paul, kinda wish I hadn't as it while it was a little "different" (think plank of wood, slightly odd shape to hold) it was somehow quite inspiring to play and had a lovely tone to it. Was listening to a recording I did with it a few days ago (which I won't subject you to!) and brings back fond memories.

[gazza285]

hooters123 said:

SWoll said:

Looking for a bit of advice chaps. I've done the usual rounds over the years and looking for something a bit different to add to the current collection.

Came across Gordon Smith guitars as the idea of something made in England appeals, and have found what looks to be a really nice, recently built, used example for a reasonable price. I've put the spec through the GS configurator and it's about a third of the original cost as a pretty high spec.

Obviously they aren't an easy guitar to get you hands on in order to get a feel for them so I'd be interested in thoughts from anyone who has one.

Also, if I do go ahead I'll have to organize the shipping myself as too far from me to collect, any advice on the best option?

Thanks in advance all. .

I used to have a GS2 (I think that was the model!) back in the late 90's early 00's. Sold it to finance the purchase of a Les Paul, kinda wish I hadn't as it while it was a little "different" (think plank of wood, slightly odd shape to hold) it was somehow quite inspiring to play and had a lovely tone to it. Was listening to a recording I did with it a few days ago (which I won't subject you to!) and brings back fond memories.

Missed this first time round…

I’ve got three Gordon Smiths currently, and have owned three others, all of which I now regret selling.
Very easy to play, with thin necks and wide nuts generally, and great pickups. If they suit you then they are great.

Only caveat here is all mine were built in the old Partington factory, not the new one…

[hooters123]

gazza285 said:

Missed this first time round…

I’ve got three Gordon Smiths currently, and have owned three others, all of which I now regret selling.
Very easy to play, with thin necks and wide nuts generally, and great pickups. If they suit you then they are great.

Only caveat here is all mine were built in the old Partington factory, not the new one…

The original question and now your response has got me looking on eBay again... I was looking earlier this year and nearly bought a similar GS again.

[lockhart flawse]

I have previously placed two custom orders with GS but ended up cancelling because they just never got on with building them. To get exactly what you want they are worth the money I think but otherwise I would buy a used one.

[Chubbyross]

I picked this up recently. I'd seen it advertised new on the Andertons website months ago and thought it was the coolest looking guitar I'd ever seen, despite having an aversion to relic'd guitars. Browsing on the Andertons site a few weeks ago I saw that it was up for sale in the used section, £1.5k below their new price. It's a Hansen Telecaster, made by Henning Hansen in Denmark, and is one of the lovelist guitars I've ever played. Mahogany body and neck, with a rosewood fingerboard, pickups made by Hansen himself. It has a beautiful, unique warmth to it but can snarl like a vintage Tele when you want it to. It's definitely a keeper.

[SmithCorona]

Beautiful. How is the neck profile? I saw the same and have been very tempted by a Hansen, already having three Fender Teles.

[Chubbyross]

SmithCorona said:

Beautiful. How is the neck profile? I saw the same and have been very tempted by a Hansen, already having three Fender Teles.

It's a shallow C neck. It's one of the best I've played. It's especially comfortable due to the unlaquered mahogany. Your hand glides effortlessly. I can't vouch that they're all like that as this one was specced like that by Andertons - lots of them are maple. You can pretty much spec exactly what you want if you speak to them, although the lead time is rather long as it's just Henning and one other who build them. I emailed Henning a few weeks ago to ask if he'd build a tele with P90s. He said yes but I'd have to go through Andertons to order.

It's really one of the best guitars I've ever played. I was slightly sceptical when Andertons were raving about them on their videos but they have such a unique sound and characteristics. It's one of those guitars that you have lying around the house all the time and pick up often.

[Chubbyross]

I forgot to add that it’s light, seriously light. And I’ve never played a guitar that has so much natural sustain, presumably due to the lightweight mahogany he uses.

[SmithCorona]

That's great insight. Thank you for sharing. And enjoy playing it. All of my teles are maple/rosewood, I have a relic neck which is super fast and smooth but your description of the mahogany really intrigues me. I think a p90 equipped one would be a great addition to my collection. A trip to Guildford is overdue!

Also, the relic job is perfectly judged.

[President Merkin]

Have to say that Tele is lovely. I'm not normally a fan of relic'd guitars but I know a looker when I see one.

[Kinky]

Slightly off-topic and sincere apologies in advance, but I'm wondering if anyone knows if there's a way to value a guitar online.

I've got a late '79 Ibanez AR-400. I can't find many online references to align a value to; nothing on eBay or reverb (current or sold/completed). Searched for AR400, AR-400 and also AR 400. Same on Google, FB,

The obvious answer is to take it up to Denmark St., but sadly I have absolutely no time to do so (between work and domestic commitments).

There is a US reverb ad from ~7 years ago, for £1,450ish and one from Spain, also ~7 years ago for £2,284.

Totally stumped!

[Chubbyross]

Kinky said:

Slightly off-topic and sincere apologies in advance, but I'm wondering if anyone knows if there's a way to value a guitar online.

I've got a late '79 Ibanez AR-400. I can't find many online references to align a value to; nothing on eBay or reverb (current or sold/completed). Searched for AR400, AR-400 and also AR 400. Same on Google, FB,

The obvious answer is to take it up to Denmark St., but sadly I have absolutely no time to do so (between work and domestic commitments).

There is a US reverb ad from ~7 years ago, for £1,450ish and one from Spain, also ~7 years ago for £2,284.

Totally stumped!

I would have a go at contacting someone like Andertons via email with several photos of the guitar, along with a full description. It also depends on what the valuation is for. Are you looking to sell it, trade it in or value it for insurance purposes? If you're looking to sell it, whether privately or to a shop, you might be dissapointed with the price if it's a guitar that no-one is familiar with. The bigger names and models tend to hold their value more - think Strats, Les Pauls and Teles, more so when they're from a classic era - again, the aforementioned guitars will have a higher premium if from classic eras, such as 50s or 60s.

The AR400 is a relatively rare guitar so you could also try contacting someone like ATB Guitars in Cheltenham to see if they could either value it or buy it from you.

[Kinky]

Chubbyross said:

The AR400 is a relatively rare guitar so you could also try contacting someone like ATB Guitars in Cheltenham to see if they could either value it or buy it from you.

Thank you so much for the pointer in their direction. Anyone who has Bernie Marsdens collection is well worthy IMHO.

I'll drop them an email and some pics tomorrow

[Chubbyross]

Kinky said:

Chubbyross said:

The AR400 is a relatively rare guitar so you could also try contacting someone like ATB Guitars in Cheltenham to see if they could either value it or buy it from you.

Thank you so much for the pointer in their direction. Anyone who has Bernie Marsdens collection is well worthy IMHO.

I'll drop them an email and some pics tomorrow

You're welcome. Best of luck with the valuation. ATB have some amazing stuff. I was lusting after this for some time:

https://www.atbguitars.com/1962-fender-stratocaste...

Now sadly sold.