After seeing the recent FS thread from
@jumping@shadows I am having some serious GAS issues with regards to "budget" vintage hollowbody guitars.
I will never be able to afford a Fender or Gibson from the "golden" era, so if I ever did buy vintage it would probably be one of the other brands like, Harmony, Silvertone, Kay etc.
I love the gritty, lo-fi, blues tone of guys like Dan Auerbach, so thinking something with goldfoils would be a fun guitar to make some noise with. I also like the fuller, rounded neck profiles attributed to these guitars.
I am aware that these brands were student/entry model instruments back in the day so I am not expecting custom shop quality.
Have you owned or had any experience with a vintage guitar of such ilk? If so, what are your thoughts? What would you recommend based on your experiences?
Oh... and pics would be good
Comments
They can often be improved for sure, but make certain that the carcass is 100% rock solid or it'll just end up as wall art.
To find a good player you need a 'players grade' example whereby someone has already 'upgraded' it
I recall an old customer of both my Grandad and Dad, who owned an original late 50's Golden Hofner - Top of the range jazz box from Germany - And fine examples today are fetching 5 digits - I've known the customer for over 40 years - He gigged 2/3 nights a week in a 4 piece dance band - quick steps, fox trots etc and a few pop songs thrown in with The carpenters Goodbye to Love giving him the chance to shine - I only heard him play a bit in the shop - Knew him to be a competent player in that format - But had never seen the guitar - About 2/3 years ago he brought it in to the shop with a jack socket wiring issue and as me if I could look at it - I was excited to do so as I'd heard so much about this guitar - All I can say is that I was surprised and astounded as to how un-playable it was - I'd struggle to play even the easiest boogie boogie riff on the E+A strings - It was a bitch to play - So how he had managed to play 1000's of gigs on it, I'll never know
TBH, "good playing" and "cheap vintage guitar" are rarely said the same sentence - remember there was a reason folks aspired to own Gibsons etc when they had these cheaper-end guitars.
Back in the early 2000s, I was importing *a lot* of vintage US cheapies - Harmony, Silvertone, Kay, Supro etc at a time when they were *cheap*. I was paying $175-250 for them, when the exchange rate meant that they owed me around £120-200 landed. Genuinely, some were OK - some were "good for slide" - some were trash. But all found homes... now I see similar guitars (and indeed some of the guitars that passed through my hands) for £600-2k. Genuinely they aren't worth that, imho.
If you want a hollow body guitar, buy a retro-flavoured modern one - such as the Godin Kingpin, or similar. If the tone of the DeArmond pickup really is your thing (and tbh, its nice but not the most versatile pickup IMHO) get a modern recreation of one - as the originals are very patchy. Some are utter crap - but apparently sound "authentic" and apparently uncontrollable microphony is desirable by some...
Genuinely... try before you buy. Variable? MUCH.
Here you go @guitars4you
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/257763/vintage-1965-harmony-h74-meteor-goldfoils-bigsby#latest
https://reverb.com/item/76463645-hagstrom-viking-1965-sunburst?utm_source=rev-ios-app&utm_medium=ios-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=76463645
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Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
But don't give up the search - In fact enjoy it - But again as @impmann states, check out some of the 'retro' copies - the Guild spec'd Dearmond's are well worth looking at and by and large sensible prices, albeit rising - I sold a Starfire 2/3 weeks ago that was excellent
Like @penn 's Hohner above - They look so cool - But don't expect them to handle like a modern PRS
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
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