NGD - Artist Guitars Walnut58 Semi-Hollow

duotone

I placed an order for this late August & this arrived last week.  

I still haven’t plugged it into an amp yet. But I’ve tried it through studio monitors using Reaper & Helix Native & I’m happy with how it plays & sounds.  No fret buzz to report & everything works as it should.  It will definitely scratch my 335 itch.

https://www.artistguitars.co.uk/collections/guitars-electric-guitars-semi-hollow-electric-guitars/products/artist-walnut58-semi-hollow-electric-guitar-w-bro-17422

Further down the line on the first string change, I will probably remove the pickguard & decide if I prefer it without. Also will see if I can lower the action a little. There is a bit of play in the tuners, so they might be upgraded in the longer term. But for £269, including the hardcase I’m really impressed. 

Thanks to @BillDL for his advice & words of wisdom, which gave me the confidence to order from Artist Guitars. Tbh I had never heard of them before. 

What guage strings would you recommend for a guitar of this type, especially for practising jazz?

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BillDL

That's a really smart looking guitar @duotone I like the walnut (veneer I assume) figuring.  It was a pretty long wait, but I'm glad you are quite happy with it.  There's always a risk with recommending a particular brand or a specific guitar from that brand, especially if the recommendation is based on experience from a while back and the new guitar is from a long awaited new production run.  There's always the possibility that quality may have slipped a bit in the interim.

I would like to know what OEM company makes their hard cases, because they are also really good value for money.

I have my semi-aciustics (including the Artist ones) strung with my usual 10-46 Rotosound Yellows, and that suits me for a variety of styles, but I am not really a "jazz" guitarist.  The nearest I get is a jazzy blues style, and those strings are fine for my needs.  Perhaps others that play jazz will be able to offer better advice.

Dave_Mc

Wow that looks really excellent. Not just for the money. It's got a bit of an Eastman thing going on there. Is it a full-size 335 style or one of the smaller (339?) style ones?

I noticed on the Artist site that some of them (seem to be the exact same guitar, maybe in a different colour) are £269 *without* a hardcase... and some are £269 *with* one. Not sure what's going on there, but it looks like you got a pretty good deal if you need the hard case!

BillDL

@Dave_Mc.

 

The semi-acoustics with "58DLX" in the model name, for example "Brownburst58DLX", have an ebony fretboard, fret nibs, locking stop tailpiece, and push-pull coil split on both pickups.  Ignore the "roller bridge" in the specs.  That is the old spec. It now has a good quality locking ABS style bridge with brass saddles.  I told them about the wrong spec and they said the website would be changed to reflect this.  The "Bigsby" equipped version of this guitar has "58TRM" in the name.  £269 on its own or £329 with hardcase.

The ones without the "DLX" in the name, i.e. Brownburst58, Cherry58, Black58, are £269 with a hardcase and £199 (black and sunburst) or £219 (cherry) on their own.  They have unnamed but pretty good quality hardware (non-locking) and pickups, and have a composite fretboard they call "eco rosewood".  The body and neck are practically the same as the "58DLX" models, but I'm sure the fretboard doesn't have fret nibs.

The "Walnut58" at £229 on its own or £269 with hardcase, lies between the "58" and the "58DLX" models in terms of hardware and pickup quality.  The pickups are a slightly lower and more of a vintage output than the "58DLX" ones, and better sounding (in my opinion) than the "58" models.  This guitar has the same composite fretboard.

One of the annoying things I have found with Artist Guitars, and it's because they use a 3rd-party warehousing facility in the UK and clearly there isn't enough flexibility with mixing-and-matching, is that you can have a guitar on its own showing as out of stock but the same guitar as part of a package with hardcase showing as being in stock.  This wouldn't be so annoying if the guitar came in its case, but they come in separate boxes.  Otherwise I've had good fortune with the quality of the Artist guitars I have bought in the past.

Oh yes, you asked about the size.  I don't have a Gibson ES-335, but I think the Artist guitars mentioned above are almost the same size, or perhaps marginally smaller, but not as small as an ES-339 or an Ibanez AS.

duotone

BillDL said:

That's a really smart looking guitar @duotone I like the walnut (veneer I assume) figuring.  It was a pretty long wait, but I'm glad you are quite happy with it.  There's always a risk with recommending a particular brand or a specific guitar from that brand, especially if the recommendation is based on experience from a while back and the new guitar is from a long awaited new production run.  There's always the possibility that quality may have slipped a bit in the interim.

I would like to know what OEM company makes their hard cases, because they are also really good value for money.

@BillDL ;
Yes I’m definitely happy with it. Yeah it must be a veneer top.

I’m not sure who makes their hardcases, but for £40 extra I thought it was well worth getting. 

BillDL

I edited my previous comment with regard to string gauges, if you look back up to the comment you quoted.

duotone

Dave_Mc said:

Wow that looks really excellent. Not just for the money. It's got a bit of an Eastman thing going on there. Is it a full-size 335 style or one of the smaller (339?) style ones?

I noticed on the Artist site that some of them (seem to be the exact same guitar, maybe in a different colour) are £269 *without* a hardcase... and some are £269 *with* one. Not sure what's going on there, but it looks like you got a pretty good deal if you need the hard case!

I’m not 100% sure, but I can measure it @Dave_Mc if that’s any good?
Just noticed that for the hardcase it states: 

“This guitar case has been designed to fit a Gibson ES335, 345, 355 and the Epiphone equivalents. Externally, The depth of the case at the edges is 116mm and the depth at the centre measures 140mm.

Suits - Gibson 335 or similar and Ibanez AS93.

Note: This is not suitable for an ES339. This case is not suitable for the Gibson ''Dave Grohl'' DG335 model guitar as it has a Firebird style headstock which makes the guitar too long for the JC450 case.”

RE Prices: Mine has the cheaper VLPA Humbuckers, whereas the more expensive guitars have the Artist Bullbuckers coil-splitting pickups.

Offset

Wow.  That's a lot of bang for your buck I must say.  That figured top looks lovely as well.  HNGD!

Dave_Mc

Thanks @BillDL I just noticed that myself there now about the DLX models when I was looking at the Artist site. I just came back now to say that I'd figured it out myself but I was too late, you'd already posted! If I'd paid more attention earlier when I was looking at the Artist site I'd have saved you the bother of typing all that, sorry!

That's interesting about the walnut one, though- so it's kind of an in-between model then? Also aren't the Bullbucker pickups quite hot (in the bridge position at least)? I'm not sure that's necessarily an upgrade for that type of guitar, lol.

EDIT: Not to throw the cat among the pigeons, but how would you say they compare to Harley Bentons? or Vintage?

@duotone Thanks for offering to measure it, but I don't think there's any need- what you found out about the hardcases suggests they're more or less the same size as an ES-335. Thanks!  EDIT: And yeah £40 for a hardcase seems very reasonable! EDIT: Oh sorry I can't help with the jazz strings question, I don't play any jazz at all!

BillDL

The Vintage Reissued VSA-500 is approximately 335 size but has slightly offset horns and a cutaway heel for better access.  The neck profile on it is thinner in feel (not measured it though) than the Artist semi-acoustics. To my mind the Vintage feels more slinky and expensive than my Artist semi, my Washburn HB-35, my Ibanez AS-73, and my Harley Benton HB-35.  Overall it feels less "sturdy", for example the thinner feel to the headstock, but not in a cheap or flimsy way by any means.  What I have found is that the Ibanez AS-73 and Vintage VSA-500 (mahogany necks) have a brighter acoustic sound than my Artist, Washburn and Harley Benton (maple necks) and this is perceptible when amplified.  The others tend to sound more mellow acoustically and amplified, but that could easily be solely or mainly down to the pickups.

The Bullbucker pickups are a good all-round factory produced pickup that sits between "vintage" and hot.  Although I haven't transplanted a set into various other guitar types to see how they respond, I have enough Artist guitars of various types with them fitted to know that I prefer them to most other pickups fitted to "affordable" guitars.

duotone

Offset said:

Wow.  That's a lot of bang for your buck I must say.  That figured top looks lovely as well.  HNGD!

Cheers @Offset ;

Dave_Mc

BillDL said:

The Vintage Reissued VSA-500 is approximately 335 size but has slightly offset horns and a cutaway heel for better access.  The neck profile on it is thinner in feel (not measured it though) than the Artist semi-acoustics. To my mind the Vintage feels more slinky and expensive than my Artist semi, my Washburn HB-35, my Ibanez AS-73, and my Harley Benton HB-35.  Overall it feels less "sturdy", for example the thinner feel to the headstock, but not in a cheap or flimsy way by any means.  What I have found is that the Ibanez AS-73 and Vintage VSA-500 (mahogany necks) have a brighter acoustic sound than my Artist, Washburn and Harley Benton (maple necks) and this is perceptible when amplified.  The others tend to sound more mellow acoustically and amplified, but that could easily be solely or mainly down to the pickups.

The Bullbucker pickups are a good all-round factory produced pickup that sits between "vintage" and hot.  Although I haven't transplanted a set into various other guitar types to see how they respond, I have enough Artist guitars of various types with them fitted to know that I prefer them to most other pickups fitted to "affordable" guitars.

Brilliant, thanks very much for that detailed reply @BillDL . (LOL I wasn't even expecting you to have the HB semi-hollow, I just meant in general! That's even better  )

That's very interesting about the maple versus mahogany neck thing- kind of the opposite of what received wisdom would suggest! But maybe it's the pickups or electronics, as you said- or received wisdom might well be wrong! Or maybe it's the thinner neck on the Vintage? (I don't mind a thinner neck. Or a brighter tone, usually.)

The Artist does look more "right" i.e. more "like a 335"! I think there was an older Vintage model that looked more like a 335 but they had to stop doing it to stay the right side of Gibson, I think...

Artist says on its website that the Bullbuckers are based on the JB/Jazz set... going by specs that's plausible but they don't seem to be exactly the same either (the resistance is a bit lower I think).

duotone

BillDL said:

I have my semi-aciustics (including the Artist ones) strung with my usual 10-46 Rotosound Yellows, and that suits me for a variety of styles, but I am not really a "jazz" guitarist.  The nearest I get is a jazzy blues style, and those strings are fine for my needs.  Perhaps others that play jazz will be able to offer better advice.

Cheers @BillDL ;;;

I think I’m gonna give these Thomastik jazz strings a try: https://www.thomastik-infeld.com/en/products/guitar-strings/jazz-guitar/jazz-swing

BillDL

Thomastik-Infeld strings are really good quality, but not cheap.  I use their SB111 Spectrum Bronze 11-52 acoustic strings on my acoustic guitars.  They have a much "softer" feel than normal "bronze" strings and 11s seem to give as much "body" to the sound as 12s as normal bronze strings.