Vintage guitars vs. EBMM guitars

[Chris G]

Only once felt the need to try a proper 'vintage' guitar when I tried to find something built the same year I was born. Tried mostly SG's and didn't find anything I liked, didn't like the prices, gave up. Also tried an old Les Paul Custom a few months back which was really nice but it weighed far too much to be practical.

One of the best old guitars I owned was an early 1990's Ibanez RG 550 which was actually bits from two guitars. I sold it and regret selling it.

These days the oldest guitar I own is 2002 - all my guitars were bought new.

 

[dwells]

ive had my Luke pearl blue for 10 years and it sounds and plays better than my newer lukes???

 

[marantz1300]

my £1's worth.. that's 50 cents with the exchange..

shouldn't that be $2 at today's exchange rate?

 

[whitestrat]

The argument is that a nitro-finish allows the wood to breathe, while poly finish seals the wood.

I used to believe that... really... Until I played an EBMM which has poly...

 

[ShaneV]

I was thinking about this thread today while I was playing my Silo unplugged. It's getting to be eleven years old, and I think it's aged pretty well in the years I've had it. It's definitely starting to get that vibe that you get with settled wood, similar to some vintage instruments I've played. If my experiences are any indication, EBs will age great, I can't wait to hear my silo in 30 years


As for the nitro/poly argument, I think it's true of cheap poly used on many guitars these days. Go play a squire or something like it (or even some MIA Fenders from the last few years) unplugged, and it's so quiet and tinny you can barely hear a damn thing! I think that has something to do with the pile of finish they put on there dampening everything. EB guitars are finished well using modern substances. To me (comparing unplugged) my silo sounds a lot like nitro finished fenders, and much better than the poly finished ones. In my opinion, it's a matter of the care taken and the detail put into the process more than it is the precise chemicals used.

 

[marantz1300]

you can see the grain trough the paint on my silo.and the paints rubbed through in the forearm area.but it is old for a ebmm.19 this year.i had a mij strat that was thin skinned.it was the most resonant best toned strat i have owned.

 

[straycat113]

This is an old one that caught my attention and that I kind of found humorous. I have never had the itch for vintage guitars nor do I get the same rush even looking at them as I do newer guitars. It seems to me that since the vintage market got knocked up side the head monetarily wise it does not seem to have recovered its popularity as more players seem interested in new guitars than vintage ones that have never been more affordable to active musicians in 20 years.People tend to forget that when most of the classic vintage models were used and recorded on most of the greatest albums ever made they were predominantly still new guitars.

I just read an interview with Brian Setzer talking about his new instrumental album which he started off recording the first track with his 59 6120 Gretsch and the guitar started falling apart in his hands, in which he grabbed one of his new sigs and did the whole album with new guitars and plain out said old guitars are just not reliable. The same for probably the most neurotic compulsive tone hound in history Eric Johnson who has sold off all his vintage guitars but one as he finally realized that new guitars were more up to snuff after wasting so many years. How can some guy who probably does not even own an EB guitar make a statement like that, I own a 19 year old Ball and it cuts like a knife as well as being built like a tank as I never had any malfunctions with any part of the instrument.

They call George Gruhn the vintage guru and their is an 8 part video interview with him on Youtube talking about every aspect of vintage instruments. He clearly states that their is no comparison between a vintage acoustic guitar and a modern one as the tone difference is huge due to woods that are now illegal and banned from being used as well as the craftsmanship that was used. On the other hand he says that there are many guitar makers today who make electrics that rival the best vintage electric guitars from any era.

 

[e.mate]

holy f***in' thread resurrection I thought the issue is dead.....I was wrong

 

[JMD]

The guitar is a tool - It's all in the hands in the end......

 

[Jack FFR1846]

fast forward to 4:01

YouTube - ‪Relicing An Electric Guitar Body (Session 1)‬‏

 

[e.mate]

fast forward to 4:01

LOL ....brilliant

 

[ZeRaskolnikoff]

I agree. My decision to buy a Silo was based ONLY on the tonal quality of its wood and the overal design of the guitar (yes, neck bought me too). Before that I never had a soft spot for EBMM, in fact I was indifferent to any make... I just tried several of their guitars and they all resonated like crazy. I didn't even plug them into the amp, b/c if I didn't like the pups, I could always replace them. To me the biggest thing about EBMMs - they do sound like a 10 y.o. from beginning. ANY EBMM I ever tried was like that.

 

[banjoplayer]

fast forward to 4:01

YouTube - ‪Relicing An Electric Guitar Body (Session 1)‬‏

Well the part with the kids is funny, the rest is jabberwocky imho
I always thought of relicing, that it´s like cheating on a computer game. It´s not real... no mojo to the instrument. I like how real worn out guitars look (f.e. Steve Morse's #1), but relicing is just silly

 

[Fun111]

Lol, holy thread resurrection!

I've never tried to make general statements about these being better than those. I like vintage/traditional guitars so I bought a USA 57 Reissue Strat, which I adore but it wasn't an every day instrument for me, hence my JPX, which I love just as much. The way I see it, the Strat is where it all began, and is iconic, the JPX (for me) is how far it's come and is the most technically advanced guitar that still sticks to the same basic ideas (shape, layout, etc). That's not why I bought the JPX, but I think it's cool how that worked out

I know guys that do this though, I let a friend of mine try an 1978 Tele I did a bit of work on (nothing major, the owner didn't mind) and he thought it was the greatest tele of all time, but if I hadn't told him it was a 1978 he probably wouldn't have cared. I personally thought it was one of the worst USA Fenders I've ever seen! Age has an effect on some people, which I get, but...

...yeah...

Each to their own, eh?

 

[luv]

I'll take a brand new Al

 

[straycat113]

Jack that was really hilarious, especially when I saw the guitar with wheels on both ends which I thought at first was a contraption the guy made till he pulled up to show the kids on bikes lmfao. Fender and Gibson both came out of the shoot swinging with classic guitars, but every classic design was completed before both companies hit 1960 and though both have tried neither has come remotely close to making a winner in 50 years which is mind boggling.

 

[walleye]

musicman guitars are forward thinking and up to date. to get the most out of a strat in my opinion, you woiuld have to upgrade it... silent circuits, new bridge, locking tuners? yeah why not.

and as for wood aging. i don't totally get it. Say a company cuts down an alder tree, the tree was what, 700 years old? (i dont know much about trees). Is there something special about dead wood that's been already hacked into shape that ages differently to a tree thats still in the ground? does it age differently? The microstructure of wood can change over time, which to my understanding is the point of the roasted maple run that mm did. the question is, does a woods microstructure change differently over time after its been hacked up compared to when its been in the ground? if no, then i doubt the 40 years would make much difference, considering the 700 or so that its been on the earth

the real argument killer is that no one but big poppa and the crew really know about the materials that they use. take a 50 year old strat and a block of alder that was cut 50 years ago and has been in storage somewhere, have they both aged the same? yes probably. there are too many variables to make either side of the argument acceptable.

and lastly, les pauls selling for $20 000 on ebay? stupid. i dont get it at all

 

[Mpcoluv]

For the Poly Vs. Nitrocelluose Lacquer debate...
Fullerplast is/was poly. So the super fiesta red '64 strat has a poly sealant under the nitro.
There is some magic in a good guitar that has been played for 30 years. However I would defy anyone to tell the difference listening to a recorded track from a good Pre-CBS strat and a good Silo special, providing the silo had vintage type pups.
I personally think my MM-90 AL sounds a lot like an old strat...
Much of the vintage crazyness is due to famous folks playing them in the 60s and 70s when the new instruments were not all that great.
EBMM makes a rock solid quality product. Back when I was actually playing a lot of bar gigs, I quickly found that the old vintage stuff was not a reliable as some of the quality newer instruments.
Back then, I had an early AL and a Zion model T that I used for Fender type tones. Why, when I did have old fenders at home? Because they were much more reliable in the heat of battle.
Same now....I need me a silo special though I think...