Samick Greg Bennett Royale - First Impressions

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ธ.ค. 2024

ความคิดเห็น • 58

  • @RoyMichaelTaylor
    @RoyMichaelTaylor ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I have that guitar. The pickups are Duncan design, says so on the Gregg Bennett site. The tuners are Grover the site also says so. The nut is graphite. I have 3 of the Royales They actually get better over time. I gave been offerred more than I paid . I actually have several other designs by Gregg, all fantastic guitars and although budget price in the UK they were not in the US. The jazz guitars are amazing to play.
    The Royals have a chambered solid body. 4 Chambers in all.
    I bought my 1st Royale 40 having sold a Gibson Les Paul custom shop that was horrendous. Money nor name doesn't determine a great guitar good design and build does. I've been playing professionally since I was 14, now 73.

  • @Amp497
    @Amp497 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    I've owned a Greg Bennett Samick like this one since 2003, and it has been a pleasure to play. It is a solid and professional guitar in my opinion. One can always improve the electronics to one's liking on just about any guitar, and this one is no exception. I am satisfied with the factory electronics. The fretboard on mine is perfect in all respects. The tuners work as smoothly and solidly today as the day I purchased the guitar. Guitar playing friends have really liked the guitar. It gets my endorsement.

  • @GraemeCampbellMusic
    @GraemeCampbellMusic 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    They might not be Duncan designed but the pickups sound bloomin’ good to my ears

  • @malcolmhardwick4258
    @malcolmhardwick4258 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I got Greg Bennett sg with triple humbuckers. Guitar is amazing the neck especially as it feels like a real Gibson. Its my wow guitar of the year

  • @crwinters.guitar
    @crwinters.guitar 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Hi John, I bought one of these circa 2012 and it did indeed come with Duncan Designed pickups and Grover machine heads. No indication of a Wilkinson bridge. I think the partnership between Samick and Wilkinson may have already been on the way out by that time. Mine cost somewhere in the ballpark of $650, so it wasn't as much of a budget model at the time.

  • @timmyv694
    @timmyv694 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I have this guitar and mine was made in Korea with real Grover tuners and pickups that are labeled Duncan Designed. I love mine:) I suspect when they moved production to Indonesia cheaper parts were used

  • @alexwalker67
    @alexwalker67 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Hey John, I've owned the same Greg Bennett Avion AV3 set neck LPish guitar since 2001. It came with Grovers (still on, work fine) and Seymour Duncan Designed pickups. I have since upgraded to Bare Knuckle Rebel Yells and a bigsby. It's been a workhorse and I still use it, all these years later. Proper sleeper brand. Looking forward to your deep dive review of this one.

  • @robhargraves3805
    @robhargraves3805 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I have a Greg Bennett Samick Koa Wood acoustic guitar. It does have Grover tuners and a Fishman eq for the under saddle pickup. I’ve had it about 16 years from new.

  • @PeteAxeShields
    @PeteAxeShields 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Amazing - I have been looking at this very guitar and debating if I should buy one. It looks and sounds great for the money. So glad you did this review John, as I really appreciate your opinion. Oh at one time, they were real Grover tuners and yes, they are still Seymour Duncan designed pickups.( I enquired ) It also used to have a rosewood board and a buffalo bone nut.

    • @betterimagestudio4088
      @betterimagestudio4088 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Buy this guitar, you will not be disappointed..

    • @HippieHouseBand
      @HippieHouseBand 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@betterimagestudio4088 You are right "Hellofa" guitar for the money!

  • @HippieHouseBand
    @HippieHouseBand 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Hello John, Nice review. I wanted to draw your attention to the reason why the guitar does not clean up when you roll down the volume knob...(9:50) The Royale 3 is wired like the old 50's Gibson independent wiring. Treble bleeds will not help it. The input and output on the pot can be switched and that will cure the problem. The trade off is that you loose the independent volume control in the middle position.

  • @testfish24
    @testfish24 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    As always a truthful reliable review of my guitar, I am sure anyone thinking of getting one of these will not be disappointed thanks John, really pleased about that! as I stuck my neck out & bought it to add to my collection simply because I thought it looked great and was a bargain reduced to £222 including delivery from G4 music I couldn't resist - described as almost new - I was amazed when it arrived without a mark on it (absolutely like brand new) plus how well it was setup straight out of the box... it sounds great too as John has undeniably demonstrated...looking forward to your next video putting it this guitar through its paces
    P.S. its also available in quilted maple vintage sunburst

    • @davidrice3337
      @davidrice3337 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      I'm buying one in a few days -im left handed and I really don't know what it's going to sound like - sunburst Les Paul . 200 $ what do you think?

    • @thegaindane
      @thegaindane ปีที่แล้ว

      I'm thinking of getting one of these. Is it a heavy guitar? How is the balance when playing?

  • @waynekieft4952
    @waynekieft4952 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I have a Samick les Paul ,beautiful guitar sounds great,looks amazing and is so smooth to play!

    • @davidrice3337
      @davidrice3337 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Getting ready to buy one for 200 - what do you think -i don't know much about them

    • @waynekieft4952
      @waynekieft4952 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@davidrice3337 Hello David, you really can’t go wrong my friend the fit and finish is awesome,low action that plays like a knife through butter,even the pups sound great,may be not to everyone’s liking but later on you could swap them out.I own guitars from the big four and this puts most of them to shame.Even the tuners are surprisingly good and holds tune well once you have stretched out the strings.3 out of my five students have the AV3 and they love them,much to the annoyance of the other 2 that payed nearly 600 pounds for Epiphones that were junk in comparison.Hope this helps you out mate,sorry for the late reply only just noticed your message!

  • @thebrokensound
    @thebrokensound 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    This must be a later released guitar from samick. The older ones built in Korea were made of nato. And the neck was as well but only one piece with a scarf joint and had a rosewood fretboard. Indeed at that time, they came with graphite tusq nuts, Grover tuners, and Duncan designed pickups. When they moved production to Indonesia, they rereleased the royal as the RL30 and RL40. Those came with a 3-piece maple neck and rosewood fretboard. Still blamed of nato and had Grover tuners and Duncan designed pickup. Greg pulled his design out from samick. They then started using cheaper woods and hardwares this was around 2012 and they stopped electric guitar production in 2013 and only made acoustics. He later went on to design his own brand of Ethan Hart guitars. These were built by master luthiers at Sami k in small batches and are amazing instruments .
    Nice review mate.

  • @floydherring2451
    @floydherring2451 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I bought one of these back in 2005/2006 and mine definitely has Grover Tuners and Duncan Designed humbuckers. It also has a graphite nut. It was not a budget guitar either - it cost me $699 ( on the never-never) if I remember correctly. Mine was made in Korea. I thought that Samick quit making these but they still show on their web page as a RL-3AM. Perhaps this was a later run of this guitar? - because that description simply says "covered pickups" and nothing at all about the tuners. An interesting thing that still seems to be true is this: " The sides and the center block are made from one piece of wood, rather than two sides and the center block. This creates a more rigid structure to mount the neck, top and back into. The result is uncommon attack and sustain, without sacrificing the rich, full tone. It is more like a solid body with incredible tone and warmth or fullness." Greg Bennett gave a good review of this guitar way back when, and it can be found here: th-cam.com/video/KZuW5EMzQZk/w-d-xo.html This is a fantastic guitar with a very dark tone. Greg Bennett also designed a couple of very nice telecasters, (Formula FA-2, and Formula FA-1). I have both. FA-2 has three Duncan-designed pickups and the FA-1 has 2 pickups. I have seen where he also put out a double humbucker version.

    • @JRobsonGuitar
      @JRobsonGuitar  3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Cheers mate 👍

    • @shawnwright5332
      @shawnwright5332 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@JRobsonGuitar the original Royale came with Grover's and Duncan design you have the new one made exclusively for gear for music they stopped about 2 years ago with the Grover tuners Duncan design pickup etc......... The old ones really rock!!!!!

  • @betterimagestudio4088
    @betterimagestudio4088 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    I own 5 samick guitars.. 2 ultra matic 4...1 av6... 1 rl4.. and 1 hj 650gs.... My AV6 did a super mod.. A set of Kent Armstrong MotherBuckers w/coil split on both tones... Almost any sound you want from 1 guitar... The neck profile for me is perfect not too thin not too thick.. Excellent budget guitar? No!!!
    Excellent pro guitar, if you are on a budget!!!
    By the way my RL4 does have Grover tuners...
    Also keep up the good work. Love your reviews... I always get the best info from your channel.

  • @jasonezzell6901
    @jasonezzell6901 ปีที่แล้ว

    I have one of these and don't play it enough. Thanks for reminding me it's a great player! By the way, mine definitely has Grover tuners and Duncan Designed pickups. Wonder if maybe the one you were loaned had some mods. Thanks for the great video!

  • @jeronimomartinezfabregas
    @jeronimomartinezfabregas 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    2:52 Or maybe a thinline Les Paul, or a Single Cut ES 335, with a PRS-ish headstock...lovely sounds!

  • @Spartanm333
    @Spartanm333 ปีที่แล้ว

    In terms of the spec brands, look at the original videos featuring Greg Bennet himself - initially these guitars DID have Grovers, a graphite nut, Duncan designed pickups and Wilkinson heavy duty bridge... 11 years ago, so the Samick Wiki web page is out of date, thats all. Like Encore at launch the guitars were high spec and over time the parts were reduced to 'no' brand alternates for cost.
    You cannot have it both ways, a sub £300 price tag for a maple top semi hollow body guitar in mahogany / maple AND branded hardware? If you want that, go for a £500 Epiphone Made By Gibson Sheraton Pro ll.
    OR you could mod this guitar as you go along since at its core it is a very decent guitar as you say John. Gotoh locking tuners, PRS 57/08 or Tonerider Alnico ll Classics (on a budget) pickups and swap out the bridge and stop tale for Wilkinson. It would be a smasher and not a Gibson clone / wannabe.

  • @guitarandcamera3392
    @guitarandcamera3392 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Greg Bennett Malibu (similar to PRS Silver Sky) has Groover tuners and Duncan Design pickups. 😊

  • @lexluthier8290
    @lexluthier8290 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    I have an older Greg Bennett Malibu (solid-body - SSS type) which I bought second-hand (or third or fourth?). It's been a bit mistreated in the past & I'm in the process of restoring it, but it has got Grovers at the pointy end which I'm pretty certain are original. I believe that older model Royales (and other Bennett signature models) did have Grovers & SD designed pickups, but Samick have downgraded the specs in recent years to keep the pricing competitive.
    Samick and Cort are two of my favourite makers as they made guitars for just about everyone at some point, and their own-badged instruments (especially the higher end ones) are on a par with branded instruments costing twice as much.
    Look forward to hearing more from the Royale! Cheers John.

  • @farrelknight1724
    @farrelknight1724 ปีที่แล้ว

    I have this exact guitar plus 2 more and all 3 have Grover tuners. It says Grover on the tuners. Love them. My pickups all have Duncan “designed”on them. Mine are all made in Korea as well. Thanks for great videos !!

  • @wesboundmusic
    @wesboundmusic ปีที่แล้ว

    Nice presentation of this beautiful instrument (and as you can see in my profile pic, I'm holding one myself, got it in 2017, never regretted it). The different, slightly smaller form factor was among the salient pro's in deciding in favor of this guitar next to some competitors, some of which were twice or three times the expense. It's a semi-hollow, but built from one block of mahogany with the sides carved out, and also considerably smaller than an ES-335, which I found to feel much better in line with the fact that I'm of a small build myself, so... it felt just nicer to hold and handle. It took me a bit of getting used to and warming to it, but in retrospect, I don't think I've loved a guitar better than this one for what it was made for. And its versatility in terms of sound and genres is off the hook, really! Can't say one bad thing about it. ;-)

  • @davethehermit8482
    @davethehermit8482 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Alright John. I had a Samick 12 string a while ago. Was a bastard to keep in tune but sounded OK. Thanks for another great video!

  • @famtoonen18
    @famtoonen18 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Great video again mate. I've acquired the Harley Benton Aeolus for the same reason, it looks familiar, but it is different.

  • @monmixer
    @monmixer 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Even if those pick ups say Duncan Design that is just a name. They are not made by him.
    Duncan Design pickups are manufactured in factories in China and Korea, not by Seymour Duncan. Duncan Design pickups are only available as original equipment manufacturer (OEM), which means they only come with new guitars and are not available aftermarket. Some say that Duncan Design pickups are of lower quality and sound compared to Seymour Duncan pickups because they are not made in the USA and are not quality checked to the highest degree.

  • @Leepal1969
    @Leepal1969 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Really like the look of this guitar, I was not familiar with them before.

  • @budDG9298
    @budDG9298 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I currently have three GB's, a Royale RL4, a Torino TR2 and a Malibu MB30 and all three of them have Duncan Designed pickups which are clearly marked and all of my tuners say Grover on them as well. It's weird that this one doesn't. They also all say Made in Korea. I know that production was stopped on electric guitars for awhile, so I'm wondering if production wasn't started again at some point in Indonesia with lesser spec'd guitars using his original designs?

  • @capecodcdog
    @capecodcdog 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Great review John. I have a Samick Greg Bennett acoustic (w/piezo pup and eq/tuner) I bought about 15 years ago. It was good quality, a real "honey for the money". It actually does have Grovers. As you would say it "punches above it's weight". I also bought my daughter a "plain" (no electronics) when she was learning. Also had grovers. Again, this was a great guitar for the money and chose it over the "name" brands in the shop at the same price (some even cost more) and I thought at the time the Samick GB series was better for the money.
    Thanks again for your honest review. 👍🏼

  • @jonmatthews4254
    @jonmatthews4254 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Sweet playing, looks cool.

  • @ThelBosch
    @ThelBosch 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Am I the only one that has problems with chorus on the clean sound in demos? This is not potshot at John. I *love* his videos and information. Been subbed for a while now. Plenty of ppl do it on their clean sound demos and I assume it must be me. I never use chorus, so judging the clean sound of a guitar with it on doesn’t help me much. I had a Fender M-80 chorus when I was young and I used it until I had burnt out on it I think. Anyone else have thoughts?
    Cheers, John! Thanks for the videos and again, no slight on you regarding my chorus issue.

    • @JRobsonGuitar
      @JRobsonGuitar  3 ปีที่แล้ว

      No worries mate. Funnily enough, the chorus thing was bugging me too. On that Yamaha amp, the effect is much more pronounced on the recorded sound (it's USB'd into the PC & recorded in Audacity) than it is "in the room" if you see what I mean. I think I'll turn the amp fx off & use outboard pedals which give me a more honest representation of what's being recorded 👍

  • @nigeleaston7993
    @nigeleaston7993 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Hi John love your vids and am usually around for the Friday night piss up.. How about a vid on great "chords" ie Hard days Night. the A major twixt The Cowboy Song and "Boys" on live and Dangerous, G aug on Shouting in a Bucket Blues Etc etc , Nice to see
    ATB
    Nigel

  • @wandisatriawan4557
    @wandisatriawan4557 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    i'm from indonesia i just bought a guitar grag banneett samick indonesia. and i like the guitar

  • @veteransseason1535
    @veteransseason1535 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    ⭐️

  • @henryfordcastro
    @henryfordcastro 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    I have this and two avions, the LP knockoff, all great although I do prefer the indonesian made ones. The major reason I got them is the 1 5/8" nut width! :-)

  • @nigelvonshredman
    @nigelvonshredman 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    It’s not ripping off a 335 as you say but it is directly ripping off a Collings SoCo LC

  • @johnhowe4079
    @johnhowe4079 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I like the sound whats your setup ?

    • @JRobsonGuitar
      @JRobsonGuitar  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Cheers mate. I record direct into my PC via an interface & use Positive Grid Bias Amp 2 for tones 👍

    • @johnhowe4079
      @johnhowe4079 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@JRobsonGuitarThanks for the reply. Although the Greg Bennett stuff is great many in America are not familiar with Greg Bennett. Having said that, you can have a guitar made in any country, but it's the design and material that matters. Depending on model you can get nice wood, pickups etc. The cool thing is that he made a lot of guitar headstocks straight on, no string bending.
      Duncan Design pickups have a copper grounding, which increases the inductance, and lower clearity a bit, in order to increase output. You can take the copper shielding on the single coils off, not sure what exactly goes into the design of the humbuckers. The guitar sounds great ! I assume the duncan design are the same in my daisy rock guitar of that era!

  • @0000song0000
    @0000song0000 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    but how does it compare with the streamliner grestchs?
    Gretsch are sexy as hell but the "low tier" ones have sharp fret edges... you mention your Samick has no fret sprouts (yet, at least)
    is it heavy?
    does it neck dive?
    thank you for your in depth review

    • @Amp497
      @Amp497 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      The guitar is surprisingly light, and there is no neck dive.

    • @davidrice3337
      @davidrice3337 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Amp497 I'm fixin to buy a Greg Bennett Avion (similar to a Les Paul) I'm a rt hander who plays left so my choices are limited - I came across this in a pawn shop - I probably do not need it but it just seems like a well made dude - it had shitty strings on it so I don't know what it's going to sound like but for 200$ what the hell - it's kind of a red sunburst looking finish - good call on my part or no?

  • @geteese
    @geteese 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    How much does this guitar weight?

  • @mytoobusr
    @mytoobusr 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Here's the man himself talking about its design and manufacture. If its still made the same way, then its an all in one piece of mahogany which has had the wings of the body routed... just leaving the centre. I have a lefty version in claret/wine. Had it for almost 10 years
    th-cam.com/video/KZuW5EMzQZk/w-d-xo.html

  • @iainlove2343
    @iainlove2343 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I have one of the else and it is better built and set up than my Gibson Custom Shop 355
    Total bargain, buy one seriously

  • @leonardgould6657
    @leonardgould6657 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    NICE PREAENTATION, JOHN-!- I fully appreciate your insight on this Guitar 🎸 👍 -I come at this from a b Epiphobe Emperor Joe Pass Jazz Box, w/ SEYMOUR DUNCAN '57 ORIGIBALS, AND!, I like the SOUND andd Look of t g is Gregg Bennett c model! I believe this puppy would really howl with some S D 's - oh, they are MORE PRICEY!; in NORTH AMERICA! (CANADA& U.S. ) - THMKS. YOU GET A FOLLOW! SALUT!