# One to watch, "Vintage" brand guitars.



## Kenmac

I posted this over in the Tokai forum and I thought I'd post it here as well to give people a "heads up" on this brand.

I came across these guitars when I was at a guitar shop here in Toronto called Ring Music. These guitars are made in Vietnam and the hardware and pickups are designed by Trevor Wilkinson. Not only do they have a regular lineup of Strat and Les Paul types but they also have "Relic" type guitars of those models which is what they had at Ring Music. Here's a link to their website: http://www.ringmusic.com/productlist.php?category_id=4 and at the bottom of the page you'll see the various models. Click on the name and you'll see what they look like. The Vintage V100 Icon was the one I was trying out. 

The prices for these guitars are ridiculously low for the quality you're getting. The V100 definitely had that LP sound and it was certainly the weight of an LP! If I wasn't in the market for a Love Rock right now (which I'll be getting soon) I would have picked this one up. These would make great backup guitars. Also be sure to check out the British homepage for these guitars at http://www.jhs.co.uk/vintageelectric.html Scroll down to the "V100 Icon Series" and be sure to check out the V100 "Lemon Drop" guitar which is based on Peter Greens Les Paul. I e-mailed the Canadian distributor inquiring about that model and I hope they get it over here. (Update: The Canadian distributor e-mailed me and told me that Ring Music would have the "Lemon Drop" guitars in 4 weeks time.) Of course the headstocks aren't exact copies like the older Tokais but these guitars definitely have a cool vibe to them. If you find one in your area try one out and I think you'll find it hard to resist buying one.


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## PaulS

Whoa... they certainly have quite a selection... Some look pretty dam nice .
The price is low... certainly give Epi's a run in the lower end.


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## rideough

I saw those at retrotown in Ottawa and the lemon drop is awesome...better than most Gibby's I've played lately!


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## Accept2

Vintage have long been good sellers in Europe where guitars are more expensive. I guess we are always last to get things in Canada...........


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## rippinglickfest

*Vintage*

They certainly look good
I'd like to buy the relic strat and throw a dense Warmoth neck on it


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## torndownunit

I have seen these before on other forums, but they were only available overseas. They make some cool looking guitars. I was really interested in their Les Paul Special and Jr. models, but couldn't find anyone that carried them in North America.

I think for awhile they were making EXACT copies visually of Fender and Gibsons, which means they wouldn't have been able to distribute them here. It looks like they have changed a few design elements now.


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## BHarris

http://www.jhs.co.uk/xvintagebass.html

fantastic collection of bass..

like to see these available over here!


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## torndownunit

I really like that wine red LP copy. I love wine red.










The V99 series has a Poplar body and maple neck (rosewood board). That must sound different. I have never seen an LP style guitar with those specs.


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## Kenmac

Thanks for all the responses guys. Yeah BHarris, I should have mentioned the basses and they have a "relic"-ed selection of those as well. So Ottawa has the "Lemon Drop" guitar? I'm jealous. I've got to wait another 4 weeks. :frown: I'm definitely considering picking one up when they do get here. I didn't try any of the Strat models as I'm really in the market for a Les Paul type guitar now but I'm sure their tones probably sound quite authentic. I've already got two Tokai Strats and a genuine Fender Strat. Torndownunit, yeah that would be an interesing combination for an LP type guitar and I'm wondering how it would sound. Once again, these guitars really do represent outstanding value for the money and I can't wait to try out that "Lemon Drop" model.


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## Rumble_b

Cool stuff. I read about them in a British mag a awhile ago but didn't think they were in Canada.


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## Kenmac

Rumble_b said:


> Cool stuff. I read about them in a British mag a awhile ago but didn't think they were in Canada.


Yeah I didn't even know they were here until I checked out the Ring Music website. On the JHS website they have PDFs of some of the reviews from a couple of the British guitar magazines and they rate them very highly.


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## Kenmac

*They're finally here.*

I know this is an old topic but I was just checking out the Ring Music website and they finally have some Lemon Drop guitars in stock. That was an awfully long 4 weeks huh? :wink: To be fair though, I was there about 2 months ago and they did order some but they were rejected because they didn't feel the quality was high enough. I'll be heading over there soon to check them out and, who knows, I just may end up with yet *another* new guitar! :smile:


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## david henman

...the vr100 series (lp double cut) definitely interests me!

-dh


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## stratovani

Somehow I don't think we'll see these guitars here in the States any time soon. I'm sure they're really sweet guitars for the price, but in my opinion (even thought I'm not a lawyer) they've got "lawsuit" written all over them, especially the LP copies. But I may be wrong, someone's probably working out a distribution deal even as I'm writing this!


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## LowWatt

Fantastic! I've been really curious to check out their 335 style guitar made of carved solid woods instead of the usual ply. Ring is a short walk from my apartment. I can't wait to see if the British mags are giving them great reviews on their own merits or because Vintage is one of their biggest advertisers. I'll find out the truth soon enough.


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## Kenmac

Actually what they were doing at first was duplicating Fender and Gibson guitars but they got wind of this and told them to stop, so now they do get close but not close enough to be sued. If you look at the body shapes and the headstock you'll see what I mean.



stratovani said:


> Somehow I don't think we'll see these guitars here in the States any time soon. I'm sure they're really sweet guitars for the price, but in my opinion (even thought I'm not a lawyer) they've got "lawsuit" written all over them, especially the LP copies. But I may be wrong, someone's probably working out a distribution deal even as I'm writing this!


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## Kenmac

Yeah Ring Music has a lot of them. They've even got the LP Junior type over there. They are worth checking out.



david henman said:


> ...the vr100 series (lp double cut) definitely interests me!
> 
> -dh


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## Kenmac

Lucky you! :smile: These really are surprisingly good guitars. I tried out the LP type and it really was a good playing and sounding guitar. No fretting out, no dead spots, no intonation problems. Ring Music also has some nice Vintage brand basses there as well based on the Fender designs.



LowWatt said:


> Fantastic! I've been really curious to check out their 335 style guitar made of carved solid woods instead of the usual ply. Ring is a short walk from my apartment. I can't wait to see if the British mags are giving them great reviews on their own merits or because Vintage is one of their biggest advertisers. I'll find out the truth soon enough.


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## stratovani

Kenmac said:


> Actually what they were doing at first was duplicating Fender and Gibson guitars but they got wind of this and told them to stop, so now they do get close but not close enough to be sued. If you look at the body shapes and the headstock you'll see what I mean.


Yeah, I see what you mean. They're pretty close but not exact. But knowing American lawyers one of them is going to look at them and think, "Hmmmm...."!


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## Yerffej

I saw them in a local store. Its just so weird. They have marks ground into them that are clear coated for preservation


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## PaulS

The local guitar shop has picked up this line and I had the oppurtunity to play/setup a Icon relic strat. They don't come well setup but the wilkinson hardware is nice to work with especially the trem. You can dive bomb this trem and it comes back in tune.... nice. The Wilkinson pups provide a nice strat sound and the feel of the guitar is good, almost real vintage. For 400 bucks they take my choice over a MIM strat. Waiting for the LP Junior to come in...


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## GuitaristZ

wow...anybody care to relieve the store of that one? thats amazing


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## Kenmac

Well I went over to the store earlier this evening and they had one of the "Lemon Drop" guitars on display and it looked okay but they did say on the website there were Lemon Drop guitars (plural) in stock so I knew there had to be more than one so I asked the sales guy if he had any more of them and at first he seemed kind of surprised but then he told me there were 2 more of them in storage downstairs and he got another guy to go down and bring up both of them. They were both in cases and they opened them up for me. 

The first one had a really nice tiger stripe finish on it and the second one had a similar finish but it was a lighter colour. I told him I wanted to try the first one so I did. It played well and sounded quite good. It also has an out of phase sound to it as the neck pickup is put in upside down just like Peter Green did with his Les Paul all those years ago. It sounds pretty cool to me, not like a typical Les Paul, more of what I would describe as kind of a "hollow" sound. Anyway I ended up buying the guitar and I'll take some photos of it tomorrow. The case is also nice, it's made by Kinsman and it's kind of a cross between a hard and soft shell case. Included in the case is the original tag and Q.C. control for the guitar. BTW if there are any Toronto Tele players out there reading this, they also have a nice Vintage Brand Tele there. BTW the price I paid for this guitar was only $499.99 plus tax. I bought a strap and strings for it as well and the case was $89.95 so all in all a good deal. They've got two Lemon Drops left now, who'll be next to buy one? :wink:


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## Hamm Guitars

I think I've seen these at Pongetti's in Hamilton if anyone out this way is interested.


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## Dr. Tweedbucket

Hamm Guitars said:


> I think I've seen these at Pongetti's in Hamilton if anyone out this way is interested.


those guitars look great from what I saw. Definately worth checking out :drool:


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## torndownunit

david henman said:


> ...the vr100 series (lp double cut) definitely interests me!
> 
> -dh


Ya I'd love to try that one out as well. The other one I really like is the Vintage VR100LM because I love LP Specials. The double-cut is mahogany though, and the Special is Poplar which is pretty odd. If it was Mahogany I'd be in the car trying to track one down. I am still waiting for someone to manufacture a budget LP Special copy that is mahogany.

The Teles look interesting as well.


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## Kenmac

*Pictures coming soon*

Thanks for the comments guys, I know I said I was going to post some pictures of this guitar last night but I've got a new computer system with Windows Vista on it so I was spending some time working on that and I also missed the Les Paul special on T.V. as well because of this.  I'll try to get some photos this weekend.


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## Tarbender

Well Kenmac I don't know if I should thank you or curse you. I took a stroll over to Ring Music at lunch time to try out the Vintage Lemon Drop, honest, I just wanted to try it out. Well it didn't take too long before my hand was in my pocket and my wallet was getting pulled out. This really is a sweet little guitar. A great neck, frets the way like them (a breeze to bend), great electronics and more dings than a Calgary stampede rodeo clown. OK - Thanks for turning me on to these, but watch out for hate mail when my credit card bill comes in!


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## Kenmac

:smile: I told you they were good guitars. Just out of curiosity did you get the one they had on the floor or did you get them to bring up the other one they had stored downstairs? They're not really that pricey though for what you get. Less than $500.00 for a guitar that really is a surprisingly good quality guitar is a steal.



Tarbender said:


> Well Kenmac I don't know if I should thank you or curse you. I took a stroll over to Ring Music at lunch time to try out the Vintage Lemon Drop, honest, I just wanted to try it out. Well it didn't take too long before my hand was in my pocket and my wallet was getting pulled out. This really is a sweet little guitar. A great neck, frets the way like them (a breeze to bend), great electronics and more dings than a Calgary stampede rodeo clown. OK - Thanks for turning me on to these, but watch out for hate mail when my credit card bill comes in!


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## Tarbender

I really don't understand why someone would do this to a perfectlly good guitar :










But man this baby can play. Don't ask me to compare it to a Les Paul cause I won't. Different beast - totally. But it is sweet, great playability, fantastic action and one of ther nicest necks I've played at any price. And some nice "quack" from the outta phase pickups. This is a real fun toy and it it'll probably take a long time before I get tired of playing it.


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## Kenmac

That's the one that was on the showroom floor. You should have seen the other one they had downstairs that the guy brought up to show me, it was a tiger stripe similar to mine but in a lighter colour but there's nothing wrong with this one. I agree with you about the "out of phase" sound. The funny thing is, early on when I was just starting to learn to play electric guitar back in the late 70's, I found myself putting the volume around seven and a half and that's what I've done with all my guitars and the "out of phase" sound on this guitar kicks in right around seven and a half! :smile: It really is a lot of fun to play and I'll take some pictures of mine tomorrow.



Tarbender said:


> I really don't understand why someone would do this to a perfectlly good guitar :
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> But man this baby can play. Don't ask me to compare it to a Les Paul cause I won't. Different beast - totally. But it is sweet, great playability, fantastic action and one of ther nicest necks I've played at any price. And some nice "quack" from the outta phase pickups. This is a real fun toy and it it'll probably take a long time before I get tired of playing it.


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## Tarbender

He told me that this was the only one he had left - truth or B.S., I don't know. All I know is the guitar kept going out of tune when I was trying it out. I liked the action and the setup so I bought myself a birthday present.

Got the guitar home, took some pics, and started playing it and again, kept going out of tune. So I figured the strings hadn't been stretched so I gave them a little tug. 3 outta 6 strings came right off the posts. Now I don’t know if stores receive guitars prestrung or not, but I have to tell you that there is no way a quality guitar store should let a guitar out of its door in this condition. I stripped the old strings off and went to out new ones on and all the tuners were loose. Not just a half a turn, but 3 or 4 revolutions. Again, a store should not let a guitar of any caliber out of its door in that kind of condition. 

I do all my own setups and I’m pretty close to the bench mark settings with my preferences so I can say that the factory setup isn’t bad – not fantastic but not bad. A little buzzing in the higher end and I’ll wait till tomorrow to determine if it needs a fret dressing or not. But I did rip out the remaining 3 strings that were left on the guitar, and I could not believe what good strings did to the sound – yes, now we’re cooking with fire. I’ll re-assess this guitar in the morning after some well earned sleep and report back then.


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## Kenmac

That may be the truth as there were only 3 of them. You bought one and I did as well so maybe somebody else came along before you and bought one. I wouldn't doubt it. Sorry to hear about the experience with the tuners and you're absolutely right, they shouldn't have let it out the door. I'm going to be changing my strings as well as they had .010s on there and I'm used to .009s. I'm sure once you get things setup your way you'll be even happier with the guitar. Let us know how it goes.



Tarbender said:


> He told me that this was the only one he had left - truth or B.S., I don't know. All I know is the guitar kept going out of tune when I was trying it out. I liked the action and the setup so I bought myself a birthday present.
> 
> Got the guitar home, took some pics, and started playing it and again, kept going out of tune. So I figured the strings hadn't been stretched so I gave them a little tug. 3 outta 6 strings came right off the posts. Now I don’t know if stores receive guitars prestrung or not, but I have to tell you that there is no way a quality guitar store should let a guitar out of its door in this condition. I stripped the old strings off and went to out new ones on and all the tuners were loose. Not just a half a turn, but 3 or 4 revolutions. Again, a store should not let a guitar of any caliber out of its door in that kind of condition.
> 
> I do all my own setups and I’m pretty close to the bench mark settings with my preferences so I can say that the factory setup isn’t bad – not fantastic but not bad. A little buzzing in the higher end and I’ll wait till tomorrow to determine if it needs a fret dressing or not. But I did rip out the remaining 3 strings that were left on the guitar, and I could not believe what good strings did to the sound – yes, now we’re cooking with fire. I’ll re-assess this guitar in the morning after some well earned sleep and report back then.


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## Kenmac

*Photos finally up.*

Well I finally got around to taking some photos and reinstalling Photoshop on this new computer. You can see photos of the Lemon Drop guitar here: http://s145.photobucket.com/albums/r227/Netskenmac/LemonDrop/


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## 55 Jr

Bump.

I bought the blue strat a couple of weeks ago.

It's hangin on the wall at the office.

I like it a lot. Well made/light weight/very good pickups/trem/fast neck.

Looks cool in a cheezy/skanky kind of way.

Pics pending.

Best regards,

Brian


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## Tarbender

Congrats. Looking forward to seeing the pics.


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## Kenmac

lol. "Cheezy" "Skanky"? As Tarbender said, looking forward to the photos.:smile:



55 Jr said:


> Bump.
> 
> I bought the blue strat a couple of weeks ago.
> 
> It's hangin on the wall at the office.
> 
> I like it a lot. Well made/light weight/very good pickups/trem/fast neck.
> 
> Looks cool in a cheezy/skanky kind of way.
> 
> Pics pending.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Brian


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## PaulS

Local shop has picked up Vintage and he has a lemon drop coming in tomorrow, I'll be checking it out for sure. Tried the DC LP junior from Vintage and was quite impressed.


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## Ti-Ron

Tonight I went to try some Epi's G-400 in differents stores. After 3 models tryed I went to one conclusion that guitar in not for me. I really love the shapes but there something really bad with it. There's a problem between the neck and the fretboard, the a space. Like if they can make it fit properly. So I deicide to try an Epi LP custom! Wow amazing tone, amazine playability! It's remember me my first guitar. But since I read that tread about the Vintage brand thre's a question: Did the Epi worth the money or I can pay less to have the same quality? I ask that to you owners of the lemon drop: Do you thing the Vintage is better than the Epi? 'cause for 200$ of difference I'll take the cheaper one and keep my money for other stuff! 
Thanks to all!

:rockon2:


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## Tarbender

I'll be very honest with you. The Vintage Lemon Drop is the cheapest guitar I own. I have a couple of Les Pauls, a ES335, too many Telecasters to count and a few Strats. I play the Lemon Drop almost every day. Not because it's the best guitar I own, because it is just fun to play. Best money I've ever spent for fun. I'm sure once these guitars catch on in North America you will see the price go up. AND I wouldn't look an an Epi... not because they're bad guitars but because I think they are way over priced. C'est vira mon amie!


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## Kenmac

Well it depends as there are good Epis and bad ones. I used to have an Epiphone Les Paul with a gorgeous quilted top but unfortunately the pickups were thinner sounding than the actual Gibson Les Paul I owned. I ended up selling it and there's a part of me that wishes I still had it. It had the "open book" headstock just like the Gibson and looking back now I guess I really should have put new pickups in it. As for the "Vintage" guitars it's the same deal, there are good ones and bad ones. The ones they had here were really quite good especially for the price. I really like my Lemon Drop guitar and as Tarbender says, they really are fun to play. It doesn't sound *exactly* like a Les Paul but it's in the ballpark. Weigh all the factors like tone, playability, feel and price and if you like the Epi better, go for it. 



Ti-Ron said:


> Tonight I went to try some Epi's G-400 in differents stores. After 3 models tryed I went to one conclusion that guitar in not for me. I really love the shapes but there something really bad with it. There's a problem between the neck and the fretboard, the a space. Like if they can make it fit properly. So I deicide to try an Epi LP custom! Wow amazing tone, amazine playability! It's remember me my first guitar. But since I read that tread about the Vintage brand thre's a question: Did the Epi worth the money or I can pay less to have the same quality? I ask that to you owners of the lemon drop: Do you thing the Vintage is better than the Epi? 'cause for 200$ of difference I'll take the cheaper one and keep my money for other stuff!
> Thanks to all!
> 
> :rockon2:


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## PaulS

I find that the best Epi's are the actual ones they use to make like the Casino and the Sheraton models..


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## 55 Jr

Still no photos up of my Blue Vintage strat.

My bad.

The "Icon Series V6" or what ever they call this thing.

I can tell you guys this:

My other guitars are a 1955 Les Paul Jr/a 1968 tele with factory bigsby/a 77 pre lawsuit Ibanez 2375 strat. That's some very nice stuff.

Compaired to these my Vintage strat is.............................

Amazing. Really. It's a very very good guitar. Neck is a little thin for my taste (I'm not wild about the flat radius and the 22 frets but some might like that).
The pups (Wilkinson) sound great very full with some real power at the bridge position. The mid and neck pups have a really nice chime to them.
The trem (Wilkinson) is great. Stamped steel/five springs holding it firmly against the body. I can pull this down and IT WILL NOT GO OUT OF TUNE! Period.
Graph nut and single string tree holder have something to do with this.
The body is light. Very light. It's a relief to play this thing. My tele and strat weigh much more that the Vintage strat.

The finish is the...........er cheezy/skanky part. On one hand/from a distance it looks really cool. A nice robins egg blue with "distressed" wear in MOST of the right places.

Upon closer inspection things will make you smirk a bit. You can plainly see the marks the sander made in the wood. It's a very crude attempt at a relic.

Yet way better than anything I could pull off.

The finish is.........well I'm really not sure what the finish is. The "worn" areas look like they have a thin coat of poly or something. The blue part looks like thinly applied paint with no laquer or poly to cover it. If ya got dirty hands it will plainly show on the finish.

No different than the walls in your kids bedroom.

I really need to post some pics.

So for now it's my hang on the wall at the office guitar. My take camping guitar.

But I could easily play an entire night plugged into my 65amps SoHo or 1965 Vibrolux Reverb and be very happy.

Compaired to the last Mex strat I played this cheezy blue strat kicks ass.

Best regards,

Brian


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## PaulS

I can back you on the tremolo setup. I tried an orange reliced Icon at the local shop and you could take the strings all the way down to flap and when it came back up it was still in tune, that's what impressed me the most about them. Now I'm off to check out the lemon drop and a tele by vintage.


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## 55 Jr

Pics:





























B


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## 55 Jr

More:




























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## 55 Jr

More:




























B


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## Tarbender

At last some pics! 

Need Pics

The fret ends look nicely finished, just like mine. I am very impressed by these guitars at the price they sell for. I've seen guitars at twice the price that didn't have the finished work as well done as these - the fret ends being an example.

Really nice looking guitar, and like my Lemon Drop, only under real close examination can you see that someone has done this with a belt sander after the fact.


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## Kenmac

Nice pictures 55 Jr. If you don't mind me asking did you get that for under $300.00 or so and did they throw in a gigbag or did you have to pay extra for it?


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## 55 Jr

Actually I paid too much for it.

I'm going to start another thread about the store.

It's a new shop here in Sherwood Park (just outside of Edmonton).

The first time I went in there they had the usual imported/low cost/poor quality stuff you would find in a mall store.

At the time they told me that they would "match the best price" on any item they had in stock.

Then they started bringing in some very cool stuff.

Chicago Boom Box amps/Heratage guitars/amps/Suhr guitars/amp/65amps/Bad Cat.

And the JHS Vintage Icon Series.

I told them about this thread and pointed out there were stores in Ontario that were selling these guitars for 320-340$ Canadian.

The owner suddenly didn't want to play.

380 was as low as he would go.

I mentioned the internet forums/places like this to him but he really didn't care.....

So if you are in Alberta be aware that the Vintage Icon Series Guitars are available here.....but at an increased cost.



http://www.rkmmusiccanada.com/

Best regards,

Brian


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## Maxer

Not trying to make excuses for the guy but maybe he paid too much for his consignment and is trying to pass on the pain. But I doubt it, really. I'm guessing he just wants to make more dough off of that gear than by rights what he ought to. Too bad he has such a bad attitude regarding this forum, too. Not that it's an all-powerful influence or anything, but he's definitely discounting the power of simple good will! Not very business-savvy in that regard, is he? Maybe he thinks he's doing very well indeed, charging a premium on a budget guitar line.

Anyway, though you paid too much compared to some places here, it seems it's still a really nice guitar. The only thing I don't like about it is some of the more obvious / less subtle relic marks.... but overall it's very sweet.

This thread still has me stoked, anyway... going to jump on my bike and ride over to the west side of town, take a look at these Vintages with my own eyes. I'm keen on checking out their take on the Telecaster.


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## Maxer

Well, went to Ring and saw their Vintage stuff. Fit and finish is great, and I'm very impressed by how much guitar you get for your buck. But I have to say this of the relic'ed stuff - the finishes are just... odd. There was one sweet magenta-ish-red Strat type (very retro-surf and it has the best relic job of the lot) but the paint itself was strange... it seemed like a good enough coat but it was slightly dimpled, like an orange peel finish except with smaller pits. It makes me wonder what kind of paint they're using (any lead in there, ferinstance, seeing as that's all over the news these days with toys and other goods made in China... hmmmm).

The relic LP types are really something... all those pits and strange, inexplicable marks, yet sealed under a gloss or satin finish... I don't get it. I don't like them at all, although the build quality and playabilty are all very good. I'm glad I went and checked them out, since I've been curious ever since this thread began. I saw the Lemon Drop Model and yeah, it's a lot of guitar for the money. But I won't be jumping on the bandwagon. The colour themes and textures just don't work for me personally.

One of the Ring staffers showed me a blue Vintage Strat, a relic, and then handed me a Custom Shop Fender Strat... he said simply, "three hundred and fifty vs. three thousand, five hundred." Clearly, he thought that the quality difference wasn't worth the cash differential. Neither did I. But a senior staffer present also got into the mix and pointed out that the only way Vintage could get away with those prices were to make them in an Asian shop, "unfortunately." I think he meant that the prices owe a great deal not merely to wage differentials but also an almost complete lack of worker health & safety considerations, let alone worker benefits, compensation for overtime and holidays and other refinements of later capitalism we tend to take for granted over here. So there is that to consider.

I saw a nice Vintage tele model there but it was in gloss black and I've decided I want an organic Tele - a natural blonde look and that's that. But sheesh - $299 before tax... it's tempting as hell. The neck felt great, the fret edges were fantastic and even. It's good work, that's for sure.

Then, since I was kind of in the neighbourhood, I popped over to Capsule and salivated over a couple of Reverends... man, these are handsome guitars. Definitely more dough than the Vintage line, but talk about serious, stylin' guitars. There was a Pelham Blue Daredevil as well as a Charger 290 (I think that was its name)... I like how these cats do their headstocks, logos and the overall commitment to quality control and playability. Very impressive. Maybe there will be one in my future.

Also checked out the offerings at Remenyi, Songbird and Steve's... I was looking to check out some higher-end Yamaha Pacificas, specifically the Mike Stern model, which is another riff on the telecaster theme, but very blonde with great wood grain. Alas, no one had the kinds I was looking for. Then I had to bike home and recharge with a beer.


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## 55 Jr

Maxer said:


> Well, went to Ring and saw their Vintage stuff. Fit and finish is great, and I'm very impressed by how much guitar you get for your buck. But I have to say this of the relic'ed stuff - the finishes are just... odd. There was one sweet magenta-ish-red Strat type (very retro-surf and it has the best relic job of the lot) but the paint itself was strange... it seemed like a good enough coat but it was slightly dimpled, like an orange peel finish except with smaller pits. It makes me wonder what kind of paint they're using (any lead in there, ferinstance, seeing as that's all over the news these days with toys and other goods made in China... hmmmm).
> 
> The relic LP types are really something... all those pits and strange, inexplicable marks, yet sealed under a gloss or satin finish... I don't get it. I don't like them at all, although the build quality and playabilty are all very good. I'm glad I went and checked them out, since I've been curious ever since this thread began. I saw the Lemon Drop Model and yeah, it's a lot of guitar for the money. But I won't be jumping on the bandwagon. The colour themes and textures just don't work for me personally.
> 
> One of the Ring staffers showed me a blue Vintage Strat, a relic, and then handed me a Custom Shop Fender Strat... he said simply, "three hundred and fifty vs. three thousand, five hundred." Clearly, he thought that the quality difference wasn't worth the cash differential. Neither did I. But a senior staffer present also got into the mix and pointed out that the only way Vintage could get away with those prices were to make them in an Asian shop, "unfortunately." I think he meant that the prices owe a great deal not merely to wage differentials but also an almost complete lack of worker health & safety considerations, let alone worker benefits, compensation for overtime and holidays and other refinements of later capitalism we tend to take for granted over here. So there is that to consider.
> 
> I saw a nice Vintage tele model there but it was in gloss black and I've decided I want an organic Tele - a natural blonde look and that's that. But sheesh - $299 before tax... it's tempting as hell. The neck felt great, the fret edges were fantastic and even. It's good work, that's for sure.
> 
> Then, since I was kind of in the neighbourhood, I popped over to Capsule and salivated over a couple of Reverends... man, these are handsome guitars. Definitely more dough than the Vintage line, but talk about serious, stylin' guitars. There was a Pelham Blue Daredevil as well as a Charger 290 (I think that was its name)... I like how these cats do their headstocks, logos and the overall commitment to quality control and playability. Very impressive. Maybe there will be one in my future.
> 
> Also checked out the offerings at Remenyi, Songbird and Steve's... I was looking to check out some higher-end Yamaha Pacificas, specifically the Mike Stern model, which is another riff on the telecaster theme, but very blonde with great wood grain. Alas, no one had the kinds I was looking for. Then I had to bike home and recharge with a beer.


Hey Max.

Sounds like a fun day.

You made some really good points there. The whole overseas/low cost thing is something to consider. I first heard these guitars were made in Vietnam. The JHS site says they are Korean guitars.

Since the blue color is clearly paint it's possible there are some lead issues. That being said It's been a long time since I've been drunk enough to want to lick a guitar.

So tomorrow I change strings. I'm putting a set of tens on there.

Check out these machine heads:










Never seen anything like this.

Part of the reason the trem works so good?

It really is a cool guitar.

B


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## Rumble_b

Did you guys see any of the non relic strats at any of these stores?? I'm liking what I'm hearing about these guitars but I don't like the relic look. I like that to happen naturally.


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## Maxer

Hey, 55... good to hear from you. Yeah, what I saw of the hardware on all the Vintages I liked. Pretty reassuring. I'm confused, too, about the origins of these babies. The guys at Ring thought China but they weren't willing to commit one way or another. Seems about right to me, considering the prices... anywhere else I'm thinking you'd have to add a hundred or two hundred or more, but perhaps I'm wrong.

As to your machine heads and how they work with the trem, I can't speak to that... maybe someone else a little more knowledgeable on the tech side can speak up. Cheers!


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## Maxer

Rumble, I didn't spot any non-relic Strats at Ring, though I may have missed them if any were there. I was really jonesing on the red strat with the light relicing I had mentioned, even though I have enough Strat type guitars (all Washburns, actually). It was just such a cool colour and the aging was the best of the lot. I'm thinking that the kind of beast you're looking for would give the MIMs and Squires some stiff competition, though.


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## PaulS

The lemon drop finally made it, this one is nice, good frets and great feel. Tried it out through a Gison Skylark EA5 with the volume at about 9. Totally killer sound, the middle setup with the out of phase is cool and by playing with the volumes there are a lot of tones there. I have it home tonight for a try out but the way it's looking is it's not going back.... The shop also got another Icon Strat in tobacco sunburst which felt really good, a LP Junior single cut, and a Vintage Tele non reliced. The tele is in Butterscotch and looks nice, haven't had a chance to try it out ... Yet... because the lemon Drop got my attention.


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## Robert1950

I thought these guitars were made in Viet Nam ???


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## 55 Jr

I had heard that to.

Check this link/mag review:

http://www.jhs.co.uk/reviews/G&BICON REVIEW.pdf

They state made in Korea.

That being said it wouldn't be the first time a mag got something wrong.

Best regards,

Brian


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## PaulS

The shipping box they arrived at the store in had made in Vietnam.


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## Kenmac

The Lemon Drop really is a well made guitar, especially for the price and it sounds like you've got a good one. I agree, that "out of phase" tone is pretty cool. I was playing mine earlier today actually but I'm going to have to change the strings to a lighter gauge as I tend to do a bit of bending. You're going to like that guitar Paul. 


PaulS said:


> The lemon drop finally made it, this one is nice, good frets and great feel. Tried it out through a Gison Skylark EA5 with the volume at about 9. Totally killer sound, the middle setup with the out of phase is cool and by playing with the volumes there are a lot of tones there. I have it home tonight for a try out but the way it's looking is it's not going back.... The shop also got another Icon Strat in tobacco sunburst which felt really good, a LP Junior single cut, and a Vintage Tele non reliced. The tele is in Butterscotch and looks nice, haven't had a chance to try it out ... Yet... because the lemon Drop got my attention.


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## 55 Jr

PaulS said:


> The shipping box they arrived at the store in had made in Vietnam.


Looks like the magazine was wrong about Korea.



B


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## PaulS

Took the lemon drop out tonight to a bit of a basement jam, ran it through my Epi Jr (with Bitmo mods) cranked and did a take on All Right Now by free and it played very well. I am really surpised with the quality of hardware and build. Stayed in tune through some pretty big bends. And yes it really is a FUN guitar to play, hard to set down actually.....


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## Kenmac

Yeah they do have a certain "vibe" to them. So what did the other guys at the jam think of it?



PaulS said:


> Took the lemon drop out tonight to a bit of a basement jam, ran it through my Epi Jr (with Bitmo mods) cranked and did a take on All Right Now by free and it played very well. I am really surpised with the quality of hardware and build. Stayed in tune through some pretty big bends. And yes it really is a FUN guitar to play, hard to set down actually.....


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## PaulS

Everyone that seen it thought it was really cool, as for the playing I usually use a Tokai LR custom so not much difference to there ears but mine noticed a lot. It has two HB's with some funky tones going on, great hardware and a real nice feel to it, and it stays in tune... these are some of the things we hope for... and I got change in my pocket. Seriously though these models are sure going to give the MIM strats, Squiers and Epi's a run for the money. The owner of the local music shop is getting in a least 4 or 5 at a time now, he says he is going to replace his middle line with them.


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## Kenmac

So you have a Tokai Love Rock as well huh? It's good to hear that these Vintage brand guitars are getting noticed. They really are great "bang for the buck" guitars. 



PaulS said:


> Everyone that seen it thought it was really cool, as for the playing I usually use a Tokai LR custom so not much difference to there ears but mine noticed a lot. It has two HB's with some funky tones going on, great hardware and a real nice feel to it, and it stays in tune... these are some of the things we hope for... and I got change in my pocket. Seriously though these models are sure going to give the MIM strats, Squiers and Epi's a run for the money. The owner of the local music shop is getting in a least 4 or 5 at a time now, he says he is going to replace his middle line with them.


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## PaulS

Yep, two of them and I love them...


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## bobb

Vintage has gone beyond the Peter Green Lemon Drop with their latest offering. A copy of Eric Clapton's Cream era "Fool". Haven't seen a Canadian price yet but it's £799 on JHS's website. Not cheap for a Vietnamese guitar.


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## Maxer

Can't say I care for it, myself... the front is one thing (I still wouldn't buy it) but the colour scheme and compostition of the back? _C'est terrible!_

Goes to show that taste is in the eye of the beholder. However, I agree with you - Vintage makes decent stuff. I've toyed with the idea of buying a nice tomato red Strat relic at Ring... it's quite beautiful and it's insanely cheap.


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## Kenmac

Not exactly my cup of tea but I think Robert1950 may be interested in something like this as he's a big fan of SGs. 



bobb said:


> Vintage has gone beyond the Peter Green Lemon Drop with their latest offering. A copy of Eric Clapton's Cream era "Fool". Haven't seen a Canadian price yet but it's £799 on JHS's website. Not cheap for a Vietnamese guitar.


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## Tarbender

Well I got tired of looking at the silly bare spot on the back on my Lemon Drop where someone with a belt sander thought it would look "relic'd" that way. So out came the sandpaper, rolled up my sleeves and an hour and a half later I'm looking a one really nice piece of Mahogany. It still has some slashes in it, but they look genuine instead the amateur attempt at the factory and it looks infinitely better. I'm going to shoot a couple of quick coats of nitro tomorrow.


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## Tarbender

OK... did a couple of coats of laquer... I'll probably wait a couple of days (weeks) before buffing:






















It is starting to look soooo.... gooddddddddd

Hope I can wait before buffing


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## JSD's Guitar Shack

That looks pretty good, nice job....:food-smiley-015:

I was checking out the Vintage line at the MIAC show last month and the relic'd models really didn't do it for me. Looks like they took a grinder with a rough wheel to it and left a lot of deep gouges like mentioned above. Some of their other models looked decent and the price doesn't seem too bad. I was considering bringing is some to see how they sell. The only thing that concerns me about the line is they seem to be made all over the place, some had made in China stickers others didn't, I think some are made in Vietnam as mentioned on the UK website. I can't see them being very consistant in quality that way.


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## Chito

Just chiming in about consistency. After reading the comments about Vintage guitars here, I bought one of the Vintage tele here in Ottawa for my nephew who is just starting out on guitar. After I got home, I thought the guitar was too heavy for a tele, the ends of the frets needed a lot of work. I thought the hardware was okay but in the end I felt it wasn't worth the $300+ I paid for it. I ended up exchanging it for a used PRS SE Custom for a $100 more. Of course the SE ended up with me. hahahaha


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## Tarbender

Well I finally finished the final polish and buffing and I'm real pleased with the result. It's still got some of that relic'd flavour to it but much more refined now. The blem's, gashes and knocks, together with the intentional sand through areas really add some character to the guitar.































Other than the tacky relic job, this really is a well made guitar. The fret ends were nicely rolled and were well seated. The nut was cut right and the bridge hardware is first rate, and the setup was great right out of the box. I tweaked it a little and now it plays as well as some of my $1000.00 plus guitars. When I bought this guitar I wasn't crazy about it's looks but loved the way it played and sounded,(which is how I judge a guitar). Now with the back and sides re-done, I'm tickled pink with the looks and playability.


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## Kenmac

That does look nicer. Did you leave the front alone?



Tarbender said:


> Well I finally finished the final polish and buffing and I'm real pleased with the result. It's still got some of that relic'd flavour to it but much more refined now. The blem's, gashes and knocks, together with the intentional sand through areas really add some character to the guitar.
> 
> 
> 
> Other than the tacky relic job, this really is a well made guitar. The fret ends were nicely rolled and were well seated. The nut was cut right and the bridge hardware is first rate, and the setup was great right out of the box. I tweaked it a little and now it plays as well as some of my $1000.00 plus guitars. When I bought this guitar I wasn't crazy about it's looks but loved the way it played and sounded,(which is how I judge a guitar). Now with the back and sides re-done, I'm tickled pink with the looks and playability.


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## Tarbender

All I did to the front was shine it up a bit with some buffing compound and ran some 3000 grit around some of the rough spots.


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## Tarbender

Got a lot more pic's if anyone want's to see me brag :smile:


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## 1PUTTS

55 Jr said:


> Check out these machine heads:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Never seen anything like this.
> 
> Part of the reason the trem works so good?
> 
> B


Those look like very similar to the Wilkinson EZ-Lok machine heads ('cept those look like the Kluson style). Two holes perpendicular to each other - you go through one hole, wrap once or twice, go through the other hole, tune it up to pitch and cut. Pretty easy and seems to stay in tune very well. I got them at GuitarFetish.com


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## a Pack of Wolves

iv'e played a bunch of vintage brand stuff in stores lately and i'm really impressed with all the models i've seen and played.

great price values.


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## garretrevels

Where can I get a VIntage V100GT in North America?

I'd love to try one


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## torndownunit

Look at the first page in the thread. It has a link to Ring Music.


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## garretrevels

thanks, I saw that, but it doesn't have any info on the site, the catalog is offline


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## torndownunit

YOu could try calling them. WHen I was on their site a month or so ago they still had vintage in stock.

Oddly enough, a store in my town carries them too. But they don't ship product out. They are a really small store.


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## Kenmac

Ah, this old thread has come back to life again. :smile: Yeah, what a drag that the catalog is offline now. Garret, I guess you checked out the second link for the JHS homepage? They're definitely not pricey guitars, as a matter of fact I'd say they're an outright bargain. I was over at the 12th Fret today and I was enquiring about the new Taylor electrics and the salesman told me the lowest priced model in the range was over $1,200.00 and the highest was $2,400.00! FWIW I still enjoy playing my "Lemon Drop". It's a keeper as far as I'm concerned. Yeah, I hope Ring puts their catalog page back up soon.


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## Maxer

Agreed on the value for money proposition; some strange relicing ideas but fundamentally their guitars are sound. Haven't been to Ring in some months... must get over there and see what they have these days.


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## rollingdam

here is a shameless plug for the For sale Forum

http://www.guitarscanada.com/Board/showthread.php?p=103102#post103102


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## garretrevels

thanks I emailed their Canadian distributor and his gonna let me know on monday the closest dealer to me in Nova Scotia.

I really would like a gold top with p90s.

I also have a faded Gibson LP Special on my list, so if I don't find a Vintage V100GT or I don't end up getting the Gibson, I may hit you up on that Lemon Drop you have listed, given the great reviews, if you still have it by then

thanks for the heads up


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## zontar

I just played a couple of their Strat style guitars today--nice necks--unfortunately one was bowed a bit and it shorted out one of the higher frets--but that should be easily remedied. The other one was fine. They had several Vintages there--copies of Strats, Teles and Les Pauls. And oddly enough the name of the store? Vintage Music!


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## Arc Angel

How are the priced in stores near you? I checked the out at Ring Music in the past, but its a shop known for HIGH prices compared to any and all competitive stores in Toronto. Try $200-$300 more for MIM Fender Classics compared to ANY store in Toronto. 

At Ring's prices, they weren't that appealing. Am I missing something?


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## zontar

I think the ones I saw were about $300-350 or so. The MIM Strats at the same store were $500-550. Although I think he'd be willing to deal a bit. I'm not positive on those prices--those weren't the main ones I was looking at. (Although the foam green MIM Strat was tempting.


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## Rick31797

*Vintage*

The guitar's look great and the hardware has wilkinson quaility.. where they fall short and saved money is the body wood.

Most of these guitars are made of poplar or bass wood body.These species of wood are softwood and the cheapest to buy.
I did see one model made out of mahogany.. That would be the one i would be looking at.

Being a woodworker i just can't see buying a guitar made out of basswood/ popular. But i know there are other higher end companies using it also. I think Parker guitars has some bass wood models.

Rick


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## al3d

Where can you see canadien or us price on those beauties?


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## torndownunit

Rick31797 said:


> The guitar's look great and the hardware has wilkinson quaility.. where they fall short and saved money is the body wood.
> 
> Most of these guitars are made of poplar or bass wood body.These species of wood are softwood and the cheapest to buy.
> I did see one model made out of mahogany.. That would be the one i would be looking at.
> 
> Being a woodworker i just can't see buying a guitar made out of basswood/ popular. But i know there are other higher end companies using it also. I think Parker guitars has some bass wood models.
> 
> Rick


Ya I was dissapointed to see their Gibson Special copy is made of Poplar. I am always on the lookout for budget Special copies, and there's looks really nice. But having played a few Poplar guitars, I just can't imagine it suiting that type of guitar.


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## al3d

My nephew is looking for his first LP style guitar and guess what, one JUST like this poped up localy for sale at 275$...are they good instrument?..worth the 275$?...

Taking the picts from a member here but they are identical instruments.

any advice is welcome.


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## Tarbender

Best bang for the buck I've come across in a long time. I probably play this guitar more than my other Gibson Les Pauls and after my mod on the back (see page 8 on this thread), it even looks as good. If you don't want it at that price, I'll take it!


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## Arc Angel

al3d said:


> My nephew is looking for his first LP style guitar and guess what, one JUST like this poped up localy for sale at 275$...are they good instrument?..worth the 275$?...
> 
> Taking the picts from a member here but they are identical instruments.
> 
> any advice is welcome.


If you can get the Lemon Drop at that price, its a good deal. Are you sure its a LD? Note the neck pickup.


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## traynor_garnet

My local store just got these in. I played a reliced strat and it was pretty good. It _did_ require a setup but the hardware seems nice. The neck felt a little "flat" to me though . . .

They said they are getting in some Gibson types. I'm really interested in trying one of their P90 equipped guitars (LP or Special). Anyone own or play one of these?

TG


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## Tarbender

Yeah, I got one. And it's probably the most fun guitar I have. It has great action, plays well and has some real funky kinda sounds. I wasn't crazy about the way it looked, so I did my own re-finishing to it. At the end of the day I figure it's a best bang for buck guitar I've come across in a long time and I pick it up before my Les Paul most of the time.

And let me qualify that. When I want to play for fun, I pick up this guitar and have fun. When I want to play some serious music, its the Les Paul, or the 335 or my Tele. But for sheer fun, this guitar can't be beat:

*Original:*










After:


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## Kenmac

I see this thread's been revived. :smile: Very nice job on refinishing that Vintage, Tarbender. I personally haven't played my Vintage for the past 3 weeks or so but as you say, it is a fun guitar to play.


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## cheezyridr

that's beautiful kksjur


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## noobcake

A local store started carrying Vintage guitars and I would not buy them sight unseen. The QC seems to be pretty hit or miss, one of the SGs that they had actually had a drop of paint on the fretboard. The guitar played decently, but paint on the fretboard...that's just really bad quality control.


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## edward

We have a local shop carrying Vintage, Strum on Picton Main Street. Website is www.strummusic.ca. They have a link to the Vintage website and a video of an LP model in action.


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## PaulS

The local shop here carries them. Out of all the ones I've tried, which is quite a few, the Lemon Drop is the best bang for the buck. Not to keen on the out of phase thing but that can be cured. The one I have has had the pups changed out and wired as normal, it is a great player. A lot of them seem to suffer from fret sprout, so you got to check them out.


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## 6string_rodder

*Sounds good...*

I've been looking for a cheap-ish line to carry in my shop, but have been really reluctant to go with the off-brand stuff, just out of past experience.... but it seems like these axes are getting pretty good reviews everywhere, and have been around for a while.
I'm going by the distributor's Wed. to check them out. I'll post my review here...


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## Tarbender

I'll be very interested in hearing your opinion. Mine has to be at least 3 years old and I'm wondering if the newer guitars have lesser quality components or woods. And if any constuction shortcuts have resulted an inferior product or if they have improved thier quality control. When I bought mine all I had to to was intonate it. The setup was pretty good out of the box. And no issue at all with the fret ends. So I hope thay are as good now as they were then.


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## Kenmac

6string_rodder said:


> I've been looking for a cheap-ish line to carry in my shop, but have been really reluctant to go with the off-brand stuff, just out of past experience.... but it seems like these axes are getting pretty good reviews everywhere, and have been around for a while.
> I'm going by the distributor's Wed. to check them out. I'll post my review here...


Well as Tarbender said, when they were first introduced they were great "bang for the buck" guitars and probably still are, if they've kept the quality up. I've had my "Lemon Drop" for about three years now and it's a solidly build, good playing guitar and the Peter Green mod really gives it a unique sound. Let us know if you're planning to get them into the store and what you think of them.


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## zontar

Kenmac said:


> Well as Tarbender said, when they were first introduced they were great "bang for the buck" guitars and probably still are, if they've kept the quality up. I've had my "Lemon Drop" for about three years now and it's a solidly build, good playing guitar and the Peter Green mod really gives it a unique sound. Let us know if you're planning to get them into the store and what you think of them.


I've tried some over the years--mostly the Strat copies.

Some have been very nice--some had great necks.

Others had rough frets and odd feeling necks.

So check them out--you may get one of the good ones, you may not.
Be prepared to try out a number of them, but don't be surprised if you find a good one quickly.


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## bcmatt

Just saw this new Jerry Donahue Tele:




Looks pretty sweet.... maybe one of the more awesome Teles out there... wonder what it's worth???


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## Tarbender

Street price is suppose to be @ $499.00.


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## flyswatter

These come up on kij all the time around my area -- must be some defunct local dealer who sold a ton before I moved here. The Vintage seem like a good way to get a cheaper axe with specs close to the real thing. I like Les Paul & SG Juniors with the single p90s, and the Epiphones these days all seem to come with the full HB on those starter pack Juniors. So the Vintage might be the way to go for this type of guitar.


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## Jaybo

I can't believe how old this that is Ha. But a great read. I'd really like to try one out now


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## Kenmac

Jaybo said:


> I can't believe how old this that is Ha. But a great read. I'd really like to try one out now


Yeah, I'm surprised that this came back to life. This was one of the first posts I made on this forum. BTW I don't have the "Lemon Drop" anymore. I sold it awhile back. It wasn't because I didn't like it, but I was just using my other guitars more and I figured I may as well sell it to somebody who'll get more use out of it..


----------



## Rollin Hand

The one Strat model that I played (probably around the time this thread was started!) was great, but too much $$ at the time for an offshore-made Strat, especially when the Mexican Fenders were price-comparable. But you could dive bomb that bridge all day without going out of tune.....


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## torndownunit

flyswatter said:


> These come up on kij all the time around my area -- must be some defunct local dealer who sold a ton before I moved here. The Vintage seem like a good way to get a cheaper axe with specs close to the real thing. I like Les Paul & SG Juniors with the single p90s, and the Epiphones these days all seem to come with the full HB on those starter pack Juniors. So the Vintage might be the way to go for this type of guitar.


I found the hardware and electronics on them much better than a lot of mid level epiphones or Fenders at the time. Used, they were/are a great deal. But ya, they cost more new then than the Classic Vibes do think.


----------

