OS
I am pleased
I was mildly impressed with this guitar. I have often wanted a hollowbody guitar of this style, but did not want to spend a lot of money, only to discover that I didn't like it.
This guitar is surprisingly well built, but acoustically... the tone was very thin. I upgraded the bridge to a ResoMax (by GrapgTech) bridge and the "sound" improved 100%.
The pickup that comes with guitar is 'spot-on' and the tuners are sufficient, they do not need replacing, but I upgraded to locking tuners.
Overall, I am very pleased with this guitar!
This guitar is surprisingly well built, but acoustically... the tone was very thin. I upgraded the bridge to a ResoMax (by GrapgTech) bridge and the "sound" improved 100%.
The pickup that comes with guitar is 'spot-on' and the tuners are sufficient, they do not need replacing, but I upgraded to locking tuners.
Overall, I am very pleased with this guitar!
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K&
....very good instrument for its league!!
Archtop guitars in my view are the top league to compete. There are excellent instruments out there and their field is upper level to meet key standards. Well, this guitar has to be compared on price standards.
And there is really good !! Is the lowest cost archtop I ever played with. It stands good against its peers (...always in the tail but never out of it). In addition it has a very special sound unplugged which I use in some recordings. I liked it! Also the look is great.
And there is really good !! Is the lowest cost archtop I ever played with. It stands good against its peers (...always in the tail but never out of it). In addition it has a very special sound unplugged which I use in some recordings. I liked it! Also the look is great.
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J
Old school glory.
This beast sounds electric even when it's not plugged in. A real blast back to the days when an amp that distorted was described as, 'Faulty.'
I love the sound acoustically, it is quite loud and electrically it does the job. The output is weaker than a modern 335 style and the pick up hums a bit. Turning down the tone control gets rid of that. The finish is 95% with just a few minor imperfections although the scratch plate has a few bare patches around the edge. In spite of having a large frontal area, its shallow depth makes it comfortable to play. A good buy.Goodbye.
I love the sound acoustically, it is quite loud and electrically it does the job. The output is weaker than a modern 335 style and the pick up hums a bit. Turning down the tone control gets rid of that. The finish is 95% with just a few minor imperfections although the scratch plate has a few bare patches around the edge. In spite of having a large frontal area, its shallow depth makes it comfortable to play. A good buy.Goodbye.
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PR
Beautifully finished.
This guitar has a couple of features that leave some other more expensive jazz guitars well behind. One being the bound F hole's, a remarkable feature on a budget guitar. Plus the balance & playability (a comfortable feeling) while actually playing this big beauty.
I find that most of my favourite "licks & riffs" fall into place so easily, actually making me happy, whether performing in my kitchen or in local venues.
It's also very easy to eq when plugged in, almost flat "tmb" for me. Unplugged is pleasant enough too, small sessions with friends are no problem for her, loud enough to push in a few "lead breaks" if the mood takes.
All round, an easy to play and OK sounding guitar.
Well pleased with my purchase, a great looker too.
I have done 14 solo gigs with this guitar now, its size makes it easy to accomplish quite complicated solo's, as it doesn't move around so much.
The guitars features attract much interest, one p'up & large, large body, but an electric guitar.
I get the happy smiles every time I pick this guitar up.
UPDATE! This big old guitar has become my favourite now for a few reasons, one reason is, watching videos of me doing gigs with this, it's size is certainly a plus "I'm told" simply by its presence on stage, almost like another performer with me. I have had no tech problems with it whatsoever, it holds its tune as good as my Gretsch, tuners are smooth and silent, electrics have been superb so far, no fret buzz, action is adjustable so no problems there.
Wow for this price, it certainly "does it" for me.
Thomann brand make some really great music gear, this is just one example. 👍
I find that most of my favourite "licks & riffs" fall into place so easily, actually making me happy, whether performing in my kitchen or in local venues.
It's also very easy to eq when plugged in, almost flat "tmb" for me. Unplugged is pleasant enough too, small sessions with friends are no problem for her, loud enough to push in a few "lead breaks" if the mood takes.
All round, an easy to play and OK sounding guitar.
Well pleased with my purchase, a great looker too.
I have done 14 solo gigs with this guitar now, its size makes it easy to accomplish quite complicated solo's, as it doesn't move around so much.
The guitars features attract much interest, one p'up & large, large body, but an electric guitar.
I get the happy smiles every time I pick this guitar up.
UPDATE! This big old guitar has become my favourite now for a few reasons, one reason is, watching videos of me doing gigs with this, it's size is certainly a plus "I'm told" simply by its presence on stage, almost like another performer with me. I have had no tech problems with it whatsoever, it holds its tune as good as my Gretsch, tuners are smooth and silent, electrics have been superb so far, no fret buzz, action is adjustable so no problems there.
Wow for this price, it certainly "does it" for me.
Thomann brand make some really great music gear, this is just one example. 👍
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b
total bang for the buck
okay, so this guitar is great.
the unplugged sound is rich and resonant, plugged in, the humbucker is very clean and bright, when playing at higher volume you can feel whole guitar vibrate against your body, also, it generates some beautiful feedback.
neck has medium thickness, but feels great, the tuners are... i would say okay, they stay in tune just fine
Pros: sound, body shape is really comfy, the pickup is mounted on the neck, not to the body which has its own unique sound, tuners are okay, you can tottaly use this guitar as an quieter acoustic. the electronics are working fine, guitar is really light, about 3 kg
Cons: the finish is not perfect everywhere, the pickguard is just a piece of wood, but you can take it off, there is a fret buzz on few places, trust rod cover also looke bit cheap
Guitar was shipped very well, strings very bit high, but intonation was really close to perfect, but as every guitar it needs a bit adjustment
another thing, the brige is not mounted or glue to the body, it just sits on the top and strings hold it in place,
overall 7/10
the unplugged sound is rich and resonant, plugged in, the humbucker is very clean and bright, when playing at higher volume you can feel whole guitar vibrate against your body, also, it generates some beautiful feedback.
neck has medium thickness, but feels great, the tuners are... i would say okay, they stay in tune just fine
Pros: sound, body shape is really comfy, the pickup is mounted on the neck, not to the body which has its own unique sound, tuners are okay, you can tottaly use this guitar as an quieter acoustic. the electronics are working fine, guitar is really light, about 3 kg
Cons: the finish is not perfect everywhere, the pickguard is just a piece of wood, but you can take it off, there is a fret buzz on few places, trust rod cover also looke bit cheap
Guitar was shipped very well, strings very bit high, but intonation was really close to perfect, but as every guitar it needs a bit adjustment
another thing, the brige is not mounted or glue to the body, it just sits on the top and strings hold it in place,
overall 7/10
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L
Jazz Box
It's not perfect but the price is! For jazz I've found switching to a heavier gauge flat wound strings has really developed the sound, also the action is at the truss rod & bridge needs to be reset higher to 1. get a more pronounced projection 2. To get rid of most of the fret buzz. These are minor adjustments that can be done yourself or by a competent guitar shop. There is 100% no need to change the solitary bridge pickup on this model, it's perhaps one of the best parts of the guitar. I've not been disappointed with the purchase of this guitar and use it regularly for playing jazz events.
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M
Really comfortable Manhattan
I really enjoyed the time with Manhattan. Things I enjoyed the most were the neck and the acoustic sound. Half of the times I didn’t even plucked myself to amp because I lost myself noodling acoustically.
Pros are the two things I already mentioned but two another pros are that it is really lighweight and bridge height is easily adjustable. And it's visually darn beautiful (mahagony stars really out from it)
For me there were only one con - I really hoped that pickup would be jazzy and little bit less trebly. Of course you can adjust treble with tone knob, but I really wanted it to be originally smokier and with less treble. Three words - too much treble in pickup.
Speaking in past tense because I switched from Manhattan back to stratocaster. I just realised that I’m a strat guy. If I could afford another guitar not for exchange then I would’ve kept that lovely Manhattan.
Pros are the two things I already mentioned but two another pros are that it is really lighweight and bridge height is easily adjustable. And it's visually darn beautiful (mahagony stars really out from it)
For me there were only one con - I really hoped that pickup would be jazzy and little bit less trebly. Of course you can adjust treble with tone knob, but I really wanted it to be originally smokier and with less treble. Three words - too much treble in pickup.
Speaking in past tense because I switched from Manhattan back to stratocaster. I just realised that I’m a strat guy. If I could afford another guitar not for exchange then I would’ve kept that lovely Manhattan.
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B
One problem
The only thing on the guitar that Im not satifyed with is the freting, some buzz on 11th fret. But its a super guitar for the money
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F
Fell for the look, ended up with a nice guitar.
For the price this guitar is pretty good. I changed to my favourite strings and it feels and plays great.
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L
Amazing guitar for the price.
Acoustically it's quite good, and the pickups certainly arent bad either.
It plays really well after a good setup, but i think the 6th fret is a little high; my friend got one too and he's got a couple of deadspots on the neck, so keep that in mind.
The tuners and/or nut aren't the best, and you will have to carve out the string spacing on the bridge yourself.
The paint job is decently consistent, the one i got was much brighter than the one pictured, but my friend's one was basically akin to the pictures, so maybe they fixed this after i bought mine, but i'd keep that in mind.
All in all: i love this guitar and bring it everywhere, i would reccomend it to both those who want a cheap archtop, and ones (like me) who will add and modify various aftermarket parts.
It plays really well after a good setup, but i think the 6th fret is a little high; my friend got one too and he's got a couple of deadspots on the neck, so keep that in mind.
The tuners and/or nut aren't the best, and you will have to carve out the string spacing on the bridge yourself.
The paint job is decently consistent, the one i got was much brighter than the one pictured, but my friend's one was basically akin to the pictures, so maybe they fixed this after i bought mine, but i'd keep that in mind.
All in all: i love this guitar and bring it everywhere, i would reccomend it to both those who want a cheap archtop, and ones (like me) who will add and modify various aftermarket parts.
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