Gretsch 2420. When had an interest in playing Jazz I went to local music store and check out the lower priced Jazz/ Archtop guitars. I played a couple of Ibanez models and the salesman said try this Gretsch. It was miles better than the Ibanez guitars. It has a very nice neck and fretwork for a guitar at this price range.The pickups are more like a Gibson humbucker than the normal Gretsch Filterton. I still have it, I cant say that about some other guitars I have owned.
With my low income, which is considered below the poverty line, I only buy guitars and violins from Chinese artisans. I have purchased their replicas of the Gibson L7c with 3-tone burst, and the Gibson Johnny Smith signature with 2-tone burst: both @ $335 & $370 respectively. And I followed Rich's recommendation for 46 gauge strings with 13's & 15's for 1 & 2. Lovely sound for an amateur like me. I'm a violinist by trade; but guitar, piano, keyboard, bass and drums are a lot of fun to compose for & record.
Hey Rich, love your playing and channel. Wish you would do a Ibanez AF95 in dark Amber review. I like to hear this cheap, spruce top guitar in your hands. Thanks
I bought the Grote for $189, but I had to polish the frets, and file the fret ends, and I replaced the nut with a Tusq nut. I also put Grover tuners I had lying around. I also raised the P90 pickup with a spacer. Total cost: $250 maybe. Great guitar now.
I bought a prototype of a New York Pro Single Cutaway Arch top called "Sunshine". I paid $125 and threw in a new Strat copy that I paid $65 for. I put $700 in that beautiful axe. With jumbo frets and a Seymour Duncan 59 PAF and Imperial Grovers that guitar was the best guitar I've ever had and I've had them all. I wish I could find one of those original New York Pros. They were cheap and very well built.
Finally an easy question. The best GUITARS are always the ones people will just play great SHOW TUNES on for us who love the songs. Your heart and great right tunes create the good-enough guitar. Anybody who doesn’t “get that” is cheated by marketing-related manipulating. Jazz SONGS beat “instrument-material-construction” to us hungry listeners😊 Of course Thanks for Rick who can hammer every aspect about getting more tone of YOU that folks already want.
Amen...I had a few songs in the instrumental charts and satellite radio, recorded with squier and cheap peavey tele.30 years of playing make the tone...All far east guitars are so good now, they are cut with cnc robot machines...they are in tune, great intonation, good pickups...I had a 2k guitar I sold recently, because I prefered my 250usd peavey to it..and I am a longlife pro guitar player and producer...just never was a kind of brand junkie, also not about clothes...which is the same story, same factories in asia for nike as for noname shoes
Hi Rich....can you please ask your friends at Eastman to reintroduce the T145 SMD? Near impossible to find a used one. With a Bigsby tailpiece it could cover jazz and country gigs with ease.
Have you ever come across a Washburn J6-s Made in Korea in the 90's? It's basically an L5 copy one model is even called the "Montgomery". I have been searching for one of those at a reasonable price used..I hear it's a lot of guitar for the $$!!!
I bought the Delta Rose several years ago. Plays ok and it's small and lightweight. Not going to get the soft jazz tone out of that body but it sounds good and decent setup and action. I like it overall but for real jazz tone you need a larger archtop.
If you're going after the jazz guitar look you're not going to get much of an archtop for $400 I'm afraid. But if it's the sound of a humbucker on the neck position I like the Epi ES339 because of it's compact size. Then there's the Ibanez AS73...another double cutaway. I like the dot neck version....reminds me of the old LR10 Lee Ritenour Model but at a fraction of the price. D'angelico offer the DC Mini Premiere but it's more money and the color choices are not to my liking. Some Gretsch archtops are in the ballpark price wise but sound thin and tinny to my ears.
Merry Christmas, Rich & your friend too. In case you didn't know, every time you see a Chinese guitar where they hide the headstock, its a replica, sir. I have the whole Gibson collection! (:^D Not worth much today. But tomorrow, you never know...
Yeah getting a good new arch top at 400 bucks is almost impossible, but there are hidden gems in the used market between 400 and 600 that are pretty good options. The one you mentioned is a quality choice and I believe there was an aria pro II version of that samick back in the day as well. You can find used Korean made Washburns at that price range that are nice or even an epiphone joe pass emperor ii at that price used will be nice as well.
When is Heritage going to update their headstock shape, as it’s the ugliest in the business. I would bet that the headstock on the Heritage is an absolute deal breaker. You get an amazing guitar, but that headstock is a loser. Greetings from Boxford, MA, love your work.
Please do not call a cheap something with laminated top an "archtop". If you want a true archtop, a solid spruce carved top jazz guitar, it comes at a price, and always will. You get what you pay for... sad, but true. This borders with heresy 😉
At 400 bucks, if you want a jazz sound, you’d be better off getting a budget tele, putting a good humbucker in the neck, and putting on some thick strings. It’s easier to get a good solidbody at a budget than an arch top. Just a fact of life. Personally, I’d recommend a used epiphone joe pass model which you can find between 400-500 usually. New, good and 400 bucks in the arch top world is nearly impossible.
Lol. I gave my best recommendation, which is the Ibanez Artcore. Did you miss that part? The fact is, there is not much of a selection for under $400 and I don't advise anyone to buy a jazz guitar so cheap because you'll end up wanting something more expensive right away, which I stated in the video. Sorry you're so upset but thanks for watching!
Gretsch 2420. When had an interest in playing Jazz I went to local music store and check out the lower priced Jazz/ Archtop guitars. I played a couple of Ibanez models and the salesman said try this Gretsch. It was miles better than the Ibanez guitars. It has a very nice neck and fretwork for a guitar at this price range.The pickups are more like a Gibson humbucker than the normal Gretsch Filterton. I still have it, I cant say that about some other guitars I have owned.
With my low income, which is considered below the poverty line, I only buy guitars and violins from Chinese artisans.
I have purchased their replicas of the Gibson L7c with 3-tone burst, and the Gibson Johnny Smith signature with 2-tone burst: both @ $335 & $370 respectively.
And I followed Rich's recommendation for 46 gauge strings with 13's & 15's for 1 & 2. Lovely sound for an amateur like me. I'm a violinist by trade; but guitar, piano, keyboard, bass and drums are a lot of fun to compose for & record.
Hey Rich, love your playing and channel. Wish you would do a Ibanez AF95 in dark Amber review. I like to hear this cheap, spruce top guitar in your hands. Thanks
I bought the Grote for $189, but I had to polish the frets, and file the fret ends, and I replaced the nut with a Tusq nut. I also put Grover tuners I had lying around. I also raised the P90 pickup with a spacer. Total cost: $250 maybe. Great guitar now.
Would be great if you can get a Kingpin Godin with one P-90 and share your thoughts about it
Cort makes a lot of guitars for different companies
I bought a prototype of a New York Pro Single Cutaway Arch top called "Sunshine". I paid $125 and threw in a new Strat copy that I paid $65 for. I put $700 in that beautiful axe. With jumbo frets and a Seymour Duncan 59 PAF and Imperial Grovers that guitar was the best guitar I've ever had and I've had them all. I wish I could find one of those original New York Pros. They were cheap and very well built.
Finally an easy question.
The best GUITARS are always the ones people will just play great SHOW TUNES on for us who love the songs.
Your heart and great right tunes create the good-enough guitar.
Anybody who doesn’t “get that” is cheated by marketing-related manipulating.
Jazz SONGS beat “instrument-material-construction” to us hungry listeners😊
Of course Thanks for Rick who can hammer every aspect about getting more tone of YOU that folks already want.
Amen...I had a few songs in the instrumental charts and satellite radio, recorded with squier and cheap peavey tele.30 years of playing make the tone...All far east guitars are so good now, they are cut with cnc robot machines...they are in tune, great intonation, good pickups...I had a 2k guitar I sold recently, because I prefered my 250usd peavey to it..and I am a longlife pro guitar player and producer...just never was a kind of brand junkie, also not about clothes...which is the same story, same factories in asia for nike as for noname shoes
Hi Rich....can you please ask your friends at Eastman to reintroduce the T145 SMD? Near impossible to find a used one. With a Bigsby tailpiece it could cover jazz and country gigs with ease.
Gretsch Streamliner series, Used The Loar LH-300, GFS Xavier
The problem is, music store don't have as much stock as they used to, so you can't find what feels or sounds the best.
Why don't you pick up a grote and give us a review? Interesting single pup guitar with some good reviews.
Have you ever come across a Washburn J6-s Made in Korea in the 90's? It's basically an L5 copy one model is even called the "Montgomery".
I have been searching for one of those at a reasonable price used..I hear it's a lot of guitar for the $$!!!
I've worked on several through the decades. Mostly good guitars, but some needed a neck reset which is expensive.
The Gretsch G2420 Streamliner.
I’ve seen the Ibanez Artcores; a lot of good players use them.
How about a Samick ZL-2 by Greg Bennett
I meant a JZ-2 Greg bennet by Samick
Ibanez is world class - even their student series. And can't forget about used stuff - already depreciated.
Johnson jh100 Delta Rose?
I bought the Delta Rose several years ago. Plays ok and it's small and lightweight. Not going to get the soft jazz tone out of that body but it sounds good and decent setup and action. I like it overall but for real jazz tone you need a larger archtop.
If you're going after the jazz guitar look you're not going to get much of an archtop for $400 I'm afraid. But if it's the sound of a humbucker on the neck position I like the Epi ES339 because of it's compact size.
Then there's the Ibanez AS73...another double cutaway. I like the dot neck version....reminds me of the old LR10 Lee Ritenour Model but at a fraction of the price.
D'angelico offer the DC Mini Premiere but it's more money and the color choices are not to my liking.
Some Gretsch archtops are in the ballpark price wise but sound thin and tinny to my ears.
Merry Christmas, Rich & your friend too. In case you didn't know, every time you see a Chinese guitar where they hide the headstock, its a replica, sir. I have the whole Gibson collection! (:^D Not worth much today. But tomorrow, you never know...
SS frets with rounded ends.
Samick Lasalle used...can find one as low as 500$
Yeah getting a good new arch top at 400 bucks is almost impossible, but there are hidden gems in the used market between 400 and 600 that are pretty good options. The one you mentioned is a quality choice and I believe there was an aria pro II version of that samick back in the day as well. You can find used Korean made Washburns at that price range that are nice or even an epiphone joe pass emperor ii at that price used will be nice as well.
Dont know how good they are but there alot
The Donner is $400 on sale
Sure a 37 Gibson L5 ,only 399 at Walmart .
Ibanez. Same as. " Ive. Been. Had"
When is Heritage going to update their headstock shape, as it’s the ugliest in the business. I would bet that the headstock on the Heritage is an absolute deal breaker. You get an amazing guitar, but that headstock is a loser. Greetings from Boxford, MA, love your work.
Please do not call a cheap something with laminated top an "archtop". If you want a true archtop, a solid spruce carved top jazz guitar, it comes at a price, and always will. You get what you pay for... sad, but true. This borders with heresy 😉
EART
At 400 bucks, if you want a jazz sound, you’d be better off getting a budget tele, putting a good humbucker in the neck, and putting on some thick strings. It’s easier to get a good solidbody at a budget than an arch top. Just a fact of life. Personally, I’d recommend a used epiphone joe pass model which you can find between 400-500 usually. New, good and 400 bucks in the arch top world is nearly impossible.
I totally agree, but would put a CC pickup in it
Why ask a guy who doesn't have any idea what brand/model is a good guitar for under $400?
What a waist of time
Lol. I gave my best recommendation, which is the Ibanez Artcore. Did you miss that part? The fact is, there is not much of a selection for under $400 and I don't advise anyone to buy a jazz guitar so cheap because you'll end up wanting something more expensive right away, which I stated in the video. Sorry you're so upset but thanks for watching!
Learn to spell before you criticize a master.
Dude,,settle down....