Chas, I just noticed, this has a traditional Bigsby tailpiece, or "whammy bar"...great for live playing in certain situations, but a real tuning headache in the studio.

I'd get a 335 Pro or DOT.


Russ

Yup, Bigsby tremelos are not something you really wanna use. I even hate the tremelo on my Fender Stratocasters for the tuning problems they cause. The only reliable tremelo is the Floyd Rose. But I don't like having to use an Allan's key to change broken strings. But at least they are good for keeping tuning. I simply have stopped ever using a tremelo arm.

The trade off between single coil and humbuckers is very much a matter of personal taste. Humbuckers have less hum and are warmer but P90 single coils do have more hum but they also have a better high end response. It is just a tradeoff.

Ok, ordering the DOT (in Sunburst). Although you guys didn't specifically say so, I got the strong impression that I should get it professionally set up. Guess I'll change the strings as well (to the 'lite jazz flat wounds') although I don't have a clue what the difference is - I just want it to get close to that classic jazz guitar sound.

Thanks guys, I'll spend that extra $100 I saved on a couple of bottles of Maker's Mark .

chas

Chas, if you go thru Sweetwater, you probably won't need a general set up, but rather some fine adjustments by the main player to suit his/her preferences.

They have an excellent pre-shipment crew..better than a lot of repair shops, and they go over each instrument before shipping.

Replacing strings and adjusting string height at the bridge is a piece of cake any good player can do in 15 minutes.

The 4 or 5 instruments I got from Sweetwater within the last couple of months (I know...it's a sickness)came with perfectly set intonation AND....ready for this?...A small bag of candies (Sweetwater....get it?).


A good choice and a good supplier.

Now, I wonder how long it will take for them to send me my commission check (LOL)?

YOU should woodshed on guitar Chas. A couple of hours together would help you learn all the basic rules. From there, it would be a piece of cake.

Most good key players I know play at least "passable" guitar.


IT'S FUN!


Russ

Oh, I just saw that you wanted a guitar like Wes would play. He did not play a semi-hollow. He played a big hollow body. Ephiphone does make a 175...$495.00, I think. When he finished his career, Wes was playing an L-5, but played a 175 for years.

Lee Ritenaeur and George Benson play semi-hollow. For your application, a semi-hollow is probably the best. Not as sweet, but more versatile, and does not feed back as easily. Benson played big hollow guitars (demoed for Guild at one time when I did). Breezing, his break-thru fusion album was played on an L-5. He switched to his own branded semi-hollow when he became more recognized by the masses as a Fusion player.

(POP quiz will follow)...sorry for the rant, but you're in MY area of interest now!

R.