Help me find my ideal guitar, PLEASE! (jazz, player, top)

[RomaniGypsy]

I feel like I'm the world's pickiest guitar shopper, and I'm not even that great of a guitar player.

Below is the guitar I play. Ibanez Artcore hollow body. Only differences between mine and the picture is that mine has an actual Bigsby tremolo (not the Ibanez-branded tremolo) and mine has a roller bridge.


I need a new guitar, because the Ibanez is getting worn out (jack doesn't work, one volume pot crackles, top has a surface crack, mods I've done to it probably messed it up, etc). I'm looking for the following, in no particular order:

-24 frets (or more!)
-Tremolo which does a decent job staying in tune (Bigsby is okay if it screws into the guitar body, Wilkinson is okay, NO Floyd Rose!)
-Knobs that are out of the way, like on my Ibanez
-Solid body preferred, semi-hollow may be okay, hollow probably won't work because tremolo can't be screwed into the body.
-Really nice blue color (turquoise, medium blue, etc)

^^^^Those first three are absolutely non-negotiable. I MIGHT sacrifice the color, but I know what I like and I may as well like looking at it too. I'm also not looking beyond 6-string guitars... I'd have little to no use for more strings.

I can't do Strat-style guitars because my strum style causes me to hit the volume knob while I play.

I don't want anything that looks "metal", because I play mostly "oldies" for elder care facilities and other senior audiences. I've liked my hollow body but I now have an acoustic simulator pedal which would sound better with a solid body guitar.

It seems like most of what I find at guitar stores comes REALLY CLOSE to what I want, but doesn't quite hit the mark. As in, "this one looks great, has the right knob profile, and has the right tremolo, but only has 22 frets"... or "this one has 24 frets and the color is beautiful, but there's no tremolo", etc.

I've been in contact with a guy from Kiesel (Carvin) about getting a guitar customized. Before I drop $1,500+ on a customized guitar, I want to know if there's anything I'm missing - any guitar that would suit my purposes without me having to spend a fortune on a guitar. I play all the time, so it'd have to be able to take a beating. Do y'all have any ideas - or do I have to pony up for that Kiesel to get what I want?

[SATX56]

Check out this place.....

Guitars | Guitar Center


http://www.guitarcenter.com/search?N...re+hollow+body

[JustMike77]

For electric guitars, I like Gretsch or Gibson. For a lower price point, I like Epiphone. The Guitar Center website is an EXCELLENT place to shop, they have most everything.

[RomaniGypsy]

Originally Posted by SATX56

Check out this place.....

Guitars | Guitar Center


" Ibanez Artcore hollow body" Results | Guitar Center

Originally Posted by JustMike77

For electric guitars, I like Gretsch or Gibson. For a lower price point, I like Epiphone. The Guitar Center website is an EXCELLENT place to shop, they have most everything.

I've spent hours going through the guitars on this site. Figured I could save time, and possibly examine stuff that Guitar Center doesn't carry, upon the recommendation of someone else. (For example, Guitar Center doesn't carry Kiesel - nobody does. I wouldn't have known about Kiesel were it not for my dad.)

Epiphone's website doesn't show that they make anything that fits the bill. I just checked today.

Same with Gretsch. Their hollow body and semi-hollow guitars are GORGEOUS but none of them has 24 frets. I don't know if Gretsch does much with solid body guitars.

Gibson - yeah, I'd do it, but I'm not paying $4,500 for a custom 24-fret SG with tremolo when I can get that Kiesel for 1/3 that price.

[BMI]

I play a Gibson SG myself, I like Gibsons best, the sound, the neck.

Maybe a Les Paul Junior. Like legendary Leslie West played.

My best friend plays a Charvel, has a Floyd Rose though.
I really like it, very versatile, split coil active pickups, 24 frets.

He also has an Epiphone Casino, just like John Lennon played 1966-69.
Very nice tone, it's hollow though, fully hollow unlike an ES-335.

Steve Marriott of Humble Pie / Small Faces played a Epiphone Coronet solid body,
that looked kinda "SG" like. Sounded really good thru Marshalls.

[thriftylefty]

There is a a lot of competition in the archtop market. Now that the D'Angelico name is back a lot of luthiers are stepping up their game. Not that the D'Angelico is superior per ce, but that name means a lot to buyers. I once found a shop that had a Gibson L5, a Washburn and a Heritage, all big bodied jazz boxes. I tried them plugged in and unplugged. I couldn't find any discernable difference to warrant the price variances.

If you have trouble hitting the knobs you might want to go with one that has a large 18 bout like Heritage.When you add the Bigsby it might absorb some of the resonance from the top. That may not be an issue, Ted Nugent stuffed his archtop guitar with acoustic foam. For an undecided buyer I would considered two things, your price point and if you are ever going to sell or trade this guitar.