The Gretsch Pages: Discussions: Other Guitars: cheap Jazz Box?

cheap Jazz Box?

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- Rated: 10 ↑
Aug 22, 2008 5:02 p.m. Daddy-O:

shed eight to ten hours a day and see
- Rated: 14 ↑
Aug 22, 2008 5:02 p.m. MarkW:

dnba

One more plug for the Agile @ around $239 new. Worst case is pup replacements for around $100 or so.

Rondo Agile

They are a good value and Orange!
- Rated: 5 ↑
Aug 23, 2008 9:50 a.m. bohemian:

The 5th Aves with the P90 from the factory aren't out yet however the local dealer has been sending them to Lollar for a pickup installation. He will have one back in a few days

I have played the 5th Aves and like them a lot. Good value, fun to play , easy to play, cool sound ,cool look.

They would do better with an upgraded bridge and perhaps 13's or 14's instaed of the stock strings.

That's my current vote

If that doesn't ring your bell, have a look at the Ibanez Artcores, an alternative to the Joe Pass and Broadways
- Rated: 14 ↑
Aug 23, 2008 10:22 a.m. reverb11:

I own the Fifth Avenue. Plays great-- I have 12-52 bronze round Thomastiks on it now, but I think it would play well with flats too. Great guitar--reminds me of an old Harmony arch-top, except that it's actually playable.
- Rated: 15 ↑
Aug 23, 2008 3:39 p.m. AndyJ:

I have an aforementioned Alvarez AD65E for my "cheap" jazzbox. I like this guitar: it plays nice, the neck is thin, and it sounds great--it is a wee bit heavy, though. Cheap is relative b/c I did have to get quite a bit of work done to raise the P-90 so it would, in fact, pick up. I also had the pickguard professionally installed. Heck and I might even switch out the tailpiece. This is one of those guitars that if I were to sell it, I would never be able sell it at a price to re-coup the money I put into it. I guess that means I'll keep it.

Here's a pic:
- Rated: 0 ↑
Aug 23, 2008 9:10 p.m. JohnSpencer:

I 've had my G100CE for about a month now, and I love it!
- Rated: 56 ↑
Aug 23, 2008 9:23 p.m. yettoblaster:

I had a Godin 5th Ave. The "Kingpin" (with the P-90) isn't out yet.

I liked flatwounds on my 5th ave, and there's enough room to mount about any pickup you want under the strings by the neck.

My G100 had a nicer neck though.

Traded everything in on a Heritage recently though. Not a "cheap" jazzer, but pretty sweet and not real expensive either. My used one wound up being about three times as much as the guitars under discussion, but that is still reasonable, all things considered (especially since I blew through a couple cheap archtops before going for the h575)!
- Rated: 114 ↑
Aug 23, 2008 9:30 p.m. wenzel:

Go with the Gretsch!!!
- Rated: 37 ↑
Aug 23, 2008 9:35 p.m. roadjunkie:

I don't know! I still like this! Maybe I'm reaching out for my girly side

Sorry for the camera phone shot!
- Rated: 56 ↑
Aug 23, 2008 9:39 p.m. yettoblaster:

Don't do it!

I had a Dean Palomino.

Nasty sounding inert body. Those aren't P-90's, really. And the way they're mounted leaves very little adjustment possible. NONE on the bridge pu's body. That leaves only the pole screws.

You definitely want to play one before you buy one of those.

Absolutely NOT a traditional straight ahead Jazz sound guitar. Nasty midrange prominent and not much sustain, in my experience.

YMMV.
- Rated: 37 ↑
Aug 23, 2008 9:48 p.m. roadjunkie:

When then that settles that now doesn't it. The plan was to rework everything anyways. real p-90's and new harness but yes you're right! There are better starting platforms out there! Thanks I'll keep looking!
- Rated: 56 ↑
Aug 23, 2008 9:54 p.m. yettoblaster:

Oh the luthiery is ok on those Dean Palomino's.

But then they put a plank under the top to mount the pu's on.

Kinda lends it a nice "CARDBOARD guitar" tone!
- Rated: 31 ↑
Aug 23, 2008 11:21 p.m. do not be afraid:

yettoblaster:
My G100 had a nicer neck though.
really? how was the neck different? thicker? thinner? rounder? flatter? better crafted? or what? and, for that matter, how did the sound differ?

this is the kind of stuff i really need to know! so, if any of you have actually owned any of these guitars, or even just played them: how's the look? sound? feel? craftsmenship? “good” and “bad” help some, but, not really — yettoblaster's “‘CARDBOARD guitar’ tone” was much more helpful! i could almost hear it!

…

i went to Sam Ash today, but it was the last thing i did for the day, and was kind of beat by the time i got there, not to mention hungry (it was already supper time!), so i didn't play much — but, what i did play might just make this whole topic useless anyways!

okay, let me back up: i went in, looked around, and didn't see very much that interested me (well, they had a Pink Paisley Reissue Telecaster, but it was out of my price range, and not really what i was looking for, so…), but came upon an Epiphone Alleykat. i hadn't really considered it before, but it seemed like it might be an interesting “outside the box” choice, so i plugged it in and played a little bit, and wasn't quite sure what to think of it! so, i decided to try out some more familar gear, for the sake of comparison, and eventually ended up with an Epiphone Casino — if i had the money in my pocket at that very instant, it would have come home with me! as it was, i'm still recovering a bit from my last purchases, and wasn't planning on buying anything major quite so soon, and… well… i didn't have the money!

i've played Casinos many times before, and always loved them, but this time it just “clicked”, and i realized how perfect for me they were! that guitar just "fit" me like a glove, in every way possible: looks, sound, feel — everything! i'm definitely thinking that i might have to buy one next, and put my Jazz box desire on hold!

oh well…
- Rated: 204 ↑
Aug 23, 2008 11:55 p.m. Proteus:

Fickle youth.
- Rated: 31 ↑
Aug 24, 2008 12:34 a.m. do not be afraid:

well, what i'm thinkin' now is: my Dot is lying around almost dead — the body is just fine, and could be easily revived, but all the vital organs are missing! — and i could probably bring it back to life as a reasonable approximation of either a Casino or a Jazz box (and, since it's going to be a semihollow either way, is there even that much of a difference?)

are Dots really that hard to rewire? and i mean the whole damn thing here, not just a boring ol' pickup swap! eek! it sends shivers down my spine just talkin' 'bout it…

edit: and i did say that i've never been very good at making decisions!
- Rated: 204 ↑
Aug 24, 2008 12:52 a.m. Proteus:

Nono, a Dot bears little relation to a Casino or a JBox. The point of both of THOSE is that they are HOLLOW hollow. Jazz boxes will vary in bracing and posting, but a Casino doesn't even have a sound post. WIIIDE open. Like it's ALIIIIIIVE.

Dot's got a big ol' plank down the middle, just a solidbody that weighs a little less.

But no, it wouldn't be that hard to wire. Pain the patoot, for sure, but not rocket science or anything. And if you already have it, you surely ought to make it functional.
- Rated: 31 ↑
Aug 24, 2008 1:08 a.m. do not be afraid:

well, no, i knew that Proteus! i was just saying that i might get “close enough” (for now), that i can kind of put one of my now two GAS problems on the back-burner for the time being, and concentrate on just one! or not… i don't know…

i guess i could just do what i was planning on when i stripped the thing (2 humbuckers and Jimmy Page wiring!), but then i'd have 3 things going at once: bringing my Dot back to life (for when i need those Classic Rock and Blues sounds), and buying both a Jazz box (for Jazz, obviously) and a Casino (for whatever a Casino is good for! Beatles impersonations?)

i need a job…

heck, i need a life…
- Rated: 204 ↑
Aug 24, 2008 1:29 a.m. Proteus:

Wellsir...I know what you mean.

This is all just distraction; any music it's in us to make can be made on pretty much any guitar or two.

Time to get busy, stop talkinbout it...and just do it?
- Rated: 14 ↑
Aug 24, 2008 6:19 a.m. MarkW:

The DOT is basically an ES-335 with cheaper components. The neck is also a little "fatter".

Quite a few Jazz guitarists have and do play on 335's. Put a set of 57 pup's, new harness, pots and a good switch and you will have a jazz box that also will rock very nicely.

Basically you will be playing the neck pup with the tone rolled back and that should get you where you want to go initially.

But if you get in to it, it won't be your last...
- Rated: 37 ↑
Aug 24, 2008 6:23 a.m. Rocketman:

I used to own a EPI Sheraton II and it was GREAT.

It was cheap but looked, played and sounded fantastic. Would make a great jazz guitar I think.
- Rated: 41 ↑
Aug 24, 2008 2:23 p.m. dubkitty:

I had no idea at all that Alvarez were making archtops. if they're anywhere near as good as the jumbo flattops i played this summer, they would be absolutely killer.

really, if i can't get a jazz tone out of the variety of guitars i already have i should just be taken out and shot, but the thing is that the big jazz boxes make me play differently. i'm not sure if it's my response to what the guitar does, or simply a result of how you have to hold them and play them due to their physical dimensions.
- Rated: 15 ↑
Aug 24, 2008 3:17 p.m. AndyJ:

dubkitty said: I had no idea at all that Alvarez were making archtops. if they're anywhere near as good as the jumbo flattops i played this summer, they would be absolutely killer.

Alvarez made these in the late 90's/early 2000's. Mine, as you can see, is basically a knock off ES125 (I added the 125 pickguard as they were made sans p'guard). They did make a single cutaway version w/a P-90 and a Piezo under the saddle. I bought mine off eBay last fall for $550.00.

As I said in my original post, they are a tad heavy, and it doesn't have the best acoustic tone I've ever heard. I have recorded with it acoustically w/a Shure 57, but I also had it plugged in my Champ w/ the mic about 6ft back and blended the two signals. It sounded pretty cool. The p-90, once I had two spacers put under it sounds just like a p-90 should. The neck is pretty thin (not the baseball bat neck like most trad archtops) which is great for my tiny girly hands. Add some TI 13's and there you go . . .
- Rated: 43 ↑
Aug 24, 2008 3:50 p.m. Tsar Nicholas :

Rocketman said: I used to own a EPI Sheraton II and it was GREAT.

I still have one and don't think I'm ever going to let it leave me either.
- Rated: 43 ↑
Aug 24, 2008 3:50 p.m. Tsar Nicholas :

This post has been deleted
- Rated: 13 ↑
Aug 24, 2008 5:17 p.m. DeArmond:

Mark Wrote -

"One more plug for the Agile @ around $239 new. Worst case is pup replacements for around $100 or so.

Rondo Agile

They are a good value and Orange!"

You are right, great value. I bought mine, well the wine reddish one with the intention of changing the pickups and modding it. Since it's so inexpensive I thought I could learn how to mod a guitar without risk of messing up an expensive one. It's soundly made. Very sound. The strings that came with it I don't like and I don't really like the pickups but I plan to try my hand at installing P90s and do a setup on it and maybe put a Bigsby on it. Spruce top and wannabe flamed maple back for that price, can't be beat.