Electric Guitars

Gibson Les Paul Junior 1958

Gibson has managed to release a wide range of the Les Paul theme than most of the other companies can cope across their complete product. Right from the highly planned out Neal Schon model that is equipped with Floyd Rose bridge and sustainer pickup to the very simple 1957 LP Junior single cutaway, there is something for everyone in the LP line.

The Gibson Les Paul Junior which was introduced in 1954 was in fact the economic Les Paul model. It was the one of Gibson’s no-nonsense look with a single P–90 and at a very low cost, the LP Junior became an instant hit. By the end of the year 1957, the sales of Gibson’s very popular Les Paul Junior single cut away model had begun to decrease and the company explored some innovative ideas to keep an affordable, yet a very powerful guitar in the hands of young players and armatures. Retaining the same low price point that it had for the past three years, Gibson revamped Junior’s body shape into a brand new double cutaway design in July 1958. This latest double cutaway design allowed the players complete access to the Junior’s 22 fret fingerboard and this is an idea that has also been implemented on some of Gibson’s modernistic guitars and also the ES-335.

Design Similarities:

The Gibson LP Junior 1958 double cutaway has a lot of common features with the classic single cutaway model that was probably one of the most famous in the hands of Leslie West and which also went on to form the basis of Green Day front man Billy Joe Amstrong’s signature model but it deviates from that in several important ways. Just like all the other Vintage Original Spec Series instruments, the Gibson 1958 Les Paul Junior Double Cut VOS is handcrafted to reassurance and playability in the Gibson Custom shop. The complete outline of the of the guitar looks more rounder than a regular LP, that is partially an optical illusion caused by the almost symmetrical cutaways that are smooth and rounded  when compared to the sharply bevelled horns of the subsequent double cutaway model LP model released in 1961, which was later renamed as Gibson SG.

A simple classic:

The LP Junior series is a very basic one that Gibson manufactures. You might even view this as a guitar that is restricted in its range and abilitys but we are sure that we can talk you into otherwise and first, we would like to keep you informed on what it is constructed out of and how it has been assembled. The neck and body of the guitar is solid mahogany with a Satin finish nitrocellulose gloss over an attractive vintage sunburst. The rosewood fingerboard sports twenty two nickel silver alloy medium guage frets. The white dot markers aid in orientation while the headstock and machine heads are manufactured by Grover. The single bridge position P 90 pickup is handled through its tone and volume controls that leave the LP double cutaway 1958 with its vintage style Wraparound Bridge.

Body:

The body is a nice thick flat slab of mahogany that looks as though it is made out of four pieces that are laminated together.

Tuners and Nuts:

To maintain the vintage vibe of the ’58, tuners of the junior are covered tuning machines made by Grover and are not sealed. The 3 a side Classic headstock has a black face and gabled top. The white nut that is described as Corian has a perfect finish and this being an US made guitars, the standards of finish sit right at the top. The output jack is set in the edge of the body in a square black plastic plate.

Neck:

The fixed mahogany neck has the rounded vintage profile and it has a rake, which means, it is tilted back from its body. The slightly shorter scale of the guitar is definitely a throw back to its initial basic status and just adds a feather to its compact and no-nonsense attitude. The rosewood on the guitar had a very nice stripy nature and its fairly flat radius complimented the neck profile very well.

Pickups and Pickguard:

Gibson 1958 Les Paul Junior Double Cut VOS  Nitrocellulose finish Electric Guitar will not just be the desirable one that it is without its lovely Gibson P- 90 single coil pickup in its black housing with dog ears fixings. It is simply one of the truest and best of the class.

Construction:

As far as construction is concerned, hardware, the neck profile and electronics are period precise and the special nitrocellulose finish treatment gives it the sheen of a quietly aged vintage guitar. If we had anything ever to complain about the vintage specifications, then it would have to be the small strap buttons and that is the case in the LP junior too. We would recommend you to invest in some larger strap buttons.

Action and Sound:

The action out of the box is quite good. You will find that the Gibson Les Paul Junior 1958 to be quality rich instruments which is mainly because of its light weighing Set Neck design and Mahogany body. The single strum of an E chord allows you to feel the entire guitar tremble against you. The Mahogany neck on offer is Gibson’s signature chunky but comfy Vintage C profile.

When the P 90 single coil pickup is plugged in, it creates a musical, chiming spotless sound which is a pinch of the control. With a bit more turn on the tone control’s dial, you will get a very acceptable Jazz. As you glide into the light crunch area, your smile will certainly broaden as the guitar shines for rock riffing and rhythm. To enjoy the warm prosperous lead sound that is worth dying for, just twist the wick up.

Package contents:

The package of the Gibson LP Junior 1958 includes a Gibson Custom Shop hardshell Case and a certificate of authenticity.

Conclusion:

If you are one of those artists who aspires to follow the footsteps of Keith Richards of Rolling Stones or Mick Jones of The Clash or our favourite Jhonny Thunders of New York Dolls, then the Gibson Les Paul Junior 1958 is exactly the guitar that you have to go for as these players opted for this one which resembles simplicity in itself and great tone. In the late 70’s, the punk guitarists rediscovered the Les Paul Junior and it became a firm favourites amongst some very famous players. And, here we are fifty years later and the simplicity of this humble guitar never ceases to inspire the new generations which is pretty remarkable, given the fact that we live in a digital, gadget drenched environment where bells and whistles seem to rule; clearly for some of us, “less is more”.

If you have never considered a Gibson Les Paul Junior 1958 because you think it is limited, it is time to think again. This is simply fantastic guitar and an affordable classic.

Check other Gibson Electric Guitars in this website.

Gibson 1958 Les Paul Junior Double Cut VOS  – Technical Specification Table

Washburn guitars have a dynamic 120 year history that began in Chicago 1883. Washburn continues to be a consistent leader in combining design, innovation, and technology to deliver the rich, bold sounds for a vast musical landscape.

In the following review we will see about the Washburn EA16 Electro Acoustic guitar that has been created with a performing musician in mind.

A serious beauty:

The EA16 guitar is an absolute beauty. It is just perfect for those who wish to be the style icons. The body and top of this electro acoustic is maple and is covered in black lacquer finish that has a very slight hint of fine gold sparkle. Its round sound hole has a thin rosette decor with colours that reflect a very stylish Art Nouveau sensibility. The substantial cutaway design assists access to the upper frets. The overall finish is excellent.

Features:

The headstock is a Dutch gable top and a flare paddle with 3 a side. The rosewood fretboard has a dry look and the solution is that, it can be softened with an application of the specialist lemon oil which is quite popular now-a-days. The white pearloid dot marker ornaments the fascia and it has been given a very nice finish with white binding. The white plastic nuts next to the fretboard have been cut cleanly. Its rosewood bridge is designed to be a very attractive butterfly with the plastic saddle compensated at the second string. Note that the strings are secured by the traditional bridge pins. A final touch has been given to this beauty with the Washburn logo offers a very nice traditional script.

Neck:

Coming to the neck of EA16 Electro Acoustic, it was a pleasant surprise. It is simply beautiful and sleek from front to back with a fine and liberal fretboard width. This gives the player a comfy flat feeling against palm while reaching around the thumb to damp the sixth string. The guitar almost gives a les paul feeling with an almost parallel profile from top to bottom. The heel is flat, rounded and feels extremely comfy to play with when you go for the twelfth fret. The frets of the guitar are medium thin and nicely polished.

Control Panel:

The all-important control panel sits on the top edge of the body. Though it seemed to be a bit crowded at the very first glance, it is actually intuitively placed and easy to use. In terms of controls offered, the panel has a slider for Volume and individual slides to control Treble, Middle, Bass and Presence. And yet another special extra on the EA16 is the onboard chorus which has an on/off button along with two small control knobs for Rate and Depth. All the controls run plus or minus 12 dB. In the bottom of the guitar, you will find a single strap button and two outputs; one is an XLR marked Low-Z Balanced for direct inject into a mixer, the other is a standard jack marked Hi-Z. The battery partition mechanism adopted by Washburn must be appreciated; it has a frame into which the nine volt battery slides and the cradle is constructed in such a way that the battery can be inserted only in correct orientation. Once the battery is inserted, the cradle slides into a hole in the control panel, which again fits only in one way. Beneath the receiving chamber, you will find two big springs that dock in securely with the battery’s terminals.

The aboard Chorus is a plus for occasional use, but there is always the danger that you will get hooked, in which case an off-board unit in your effects loop would be a sensible upgrade.

Tuners:

The Washburn EA16 Electro Acoustic electric guitar offers just more than pretty looks.� The 18:1 ratio Grover tuners will keep you in tune and they have large kidney knobs. When the guitar comes from the warehouse, it is wildly out of tune, but the groovers smoothly bought them back into tune at the first time of asking.

Sound and Action:

When it comes to the acoustics, the first thing that you would notice about it is its bright and zingy tone which is dedicated by the maple construction. The tone shows good range of differentiation, depending on where you will be striking the strings. The tone was nothing less than breath taking. The amplification is good and you will certainly appreciate the extra scope available on the eq in a band situation. Straight out of the box, the guitar has good low action which makes it an immediate pleasure to play. The EA16 now comes standard with the B-Band A3 preamp. The B-Band technology is certainly a modern marvel.

Warranty:

The Washburn EA16 Electro Acoustic Guitar comes with one year warranty for parts and labour.

Verdict:

If you are looking for an electro acoustic guitar in your armoury, the Washburn EA16 Electro Acoustic certainly deserves your attention. It is very much a Hybrid and is a compromised solution between an amplified environment and an acoustic instrument. The tone is bright and enthusiastic to sculpt it to your needs and venue. The XLR out is a complete boon and a huge bonny for the live musician. Overall the Washburn EA16 is an excellent, flexible instrument for the price asked.

Washburn EA16 Guitar – Technical Specification Table

The need for a performance instrument is well understood at Epiphone and hence, for over 130 years, they have been passionately designing and making guitars and basses that are built to perform. They have been continuously offering time tested designs, top quality electronics and consistent performance. In the following review, we will see about Epiphone’s one of the most elegant guitars, Epiphone Les Paul Custom Plus Vintage Sunburst Electric Guitar.

Design:

As we just said, the Les Paul Custom Plus Vintage Sunburst is one of the most elegant guitars that Epiphone has ever manufactured. It features all the exclusive appointments like multiple binding, block inlays and gold hardware. In addition to this, the beautiful flame maple top gives it great looks. Its body is mahogany/alder and has bound body, neck and headstock. The guitar is also available in other Heritage cherry sunburst.

Features:

The Epiphone Les Paul Custom Plus Vintage Sunburst Electric Guitar also features two alnico classic humbuckers, 24.75” scale, 22 frets set neck joint and 1.68” nut width. The neck is the Les Paul standard mahogany and rosewood fingerboard with block inlays. The controls include 2 volume, 2 tone controls and three way toggle. Hardware will last for ages and strap buttons are tight.

Sound and Action:

This is one of those guitars that is just perfect for any style. The switch is clean and had no noise. As far as action is concerned, it was perfect. It met the factory standards as set in manual; only the pickups needed very small adjustments. It does provide a very fast playing action because of the maple, the neck is very smooth. The humbuckers give very crunchy sounds and the bridge pick up is great for lead, rock, metal, punk etc and the neck for blues. The 3rd option allows you to use both pickups, and control the output of each one: This option allows you to find the exact tone you are looking for. This guitar will sound great unplugged, clean, or with heavy distortion.

Warranty:

The Epiphone Les Paul Custom Plus Vintage Sunburst Electric Guitar comes with limited lifetime warranty.

Verdict:

Epiphone Les Paul Custom Plus Vintage Sunburst Finish Electric Guitar is one of the bests available in the market when it comes to design. It plays all styles and once you start playing this Epiphone you would not even think about buying a Gibson. We recommend this guitar for those guitarists who like to play all styles. It is a brilliant guitar with a furiously awesome sound; go try it.

Check other Epiphone Electric Guitars in this website.

Les Paul Custom Plus Vintage Sunburst Guitar – Specification Details

Electric Bass Guitars have the basic normal working principle like any other electric guitars. They are generally the 4 string models, but by and large, nowadays we find 5 string and 6 string electric bass guitar models as well. These Bass guitars have a solid body and comprise of electronic pick ups which is the inevitable part, as it is responsible to catch the various vibrations that are created due to the plucking of strings. These vibrations are transmitted to the amplifier by the pickups, after which the amplifier amplifies or enhances the sound and volume of the vibrations. Generally tuned in one octave lower note, the bass guitars have provision for extra strings which help guitarists to widen their playing range.

Groove Natural Electric Bass Guitar is one of the noted electric bass guitar models, which come in a wide variety of colours and unique features. They require a special bass guitar amplifier, which again have their own unique features which can be easily distinguished from the general amplifiers available in the market.

Design and Ergonomics:

The Groove natural 4 string electric bass guitar has a solid alder body, which means its body is laminated hardwood like mahogany. It has a polished softwood colour, and the neck is made up of maple wood. The fret board, which comprises of 20 frets is made up of rosewood. With a length of 114 centimetres, and a weight of 3.08 kilograms, the groove electric bass guitar is of rather normal size and weight, rather a bit light weight. Towards the base of the guitar, on the main body, there are two single coil bass pickups, which are used for sound enhancement. And other than that, like any other electric bass guitar, this instrument also has an implanted volume and tone controller switch and rotatable knob, and also has a scratch plate. Overall, looks are quite casual and basic, just that the laminated wood finished might be very appealing to certain users.

The Groove Amplifier:

The 10 Watt Groove Bass amplifier is CE Tested, which means, by European laws and standards, the product has been approved for quality assurance tests. The amplifier has a standard 3 pin triple main plugs and has a volume knob for controlling the volume, and 3 tone knobs for appropriate sound modulation and modifications by the user. It also has a headphone socket and the amplifier has front speakers, which are protected by a metal grill.

The Tutorial DVD:

The Tutorial DVD is a very useful accessory that comes along with the Groove Natural electric bass guitar package. It helps and guides beginners with audio visual videos to watch, listen and learn to play the basics. It teaches the users to play along with bar riffs and how to play solid bass lines and tabs and fit into a groove. The DVD also includes introduction to 12 different bar blues, fingering exercises along with some pop and rock songs and also teacher users to pick up the basic slap techniques as well. This region free DVD is really a helpful one for beginners and aspiring guitarists.

Package Accessories:

Other than the Groove Natural Electric Bass Guitar, the package also contains few other accessories:

• A 10 Watt Bass Amplifier, which has a special headphone socket for self practice, without making noise.
• A 3m guitar lead.
• 3 plectrums which are heavy gauged.
• A guitar strap for the electric bass guitar.
• A padded guitar case, with an extra zip pocket for storage and backpack straps for conveniency in carrying the instrument.
• A Tutorial DVD

Verdict:

The Groove natural electric bass guitar is a good package on a whole for beginners to start playing right after the instrument is out of the box. The appearance is also very classy, with the alder body laminated wooden finishing, with a rosewood fingerboard and a maple neck. The two coil pickups, which are connected to the Groove bass amplifier, enhances the sound to quite an extent. The sound is not only loud, but it is also very neat and clear with minimal static related problems. The packaged 10 W amplifier also has a pretty interesting feature which allows the users can plug in their headphone to the amplifier, for a quiet private practice. Moreover, the tutorial DVD provided in the package is an additional boon to the users, as they can very easily learn the basics and techniques for playing the guitar, and it is also a very good guide to groom the users to fit in the groove with the instrument. Concluding it, the Groove Natural electric bass guitar is quite a catchy one, and is worthy enough for learners and budding guitarists.

Check other Bass Electric Guitar models in this website.

Groove Natural Electric Bass Guitar – Technical Specification Table

Epiphone has become a household name in the home of guitarists throughout the world. This company was founded in the year 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos. You might have found that there are lot of similarities between the Epiphone guitars and that of the Gibson models; think no more as the Epiphone company was bought by the Chicago music company who also owned the Gibson guitar corporation in 1957.

In the following review, we will see about one of the most famous models of Epiphone, the SG G-310 Electric Guitar. This guitar is based on the 1967 Gibson SG and it has all the SG styles and features that you would ever want, but at the affordability of a bolt-neck.

Design:

Black is a finishing that can never be a failure and the Epiphone G-310 SG style Electric Guitar is a black beauty too. Made out of alder with chrome hardware, the guitar is also available in Ebony (EB), Red (RD) and also Vintage White (VW). For the delight of the left handed guitarists, Epiphone also offers the guitar in left handed ebony. The body of the guitar is incredibly thin and very comfortable to sit down and play with.  Its SG style body has a Tune-O-Matic bridge, rosewood fingerboard and Mahogany neck. It has a bolt-on neck and the strap buttons are not of the superior kind. The electric guitar has rosewood dot fingerboard inlay and stop bar tailpiece which allows to have more sustain and string change.

Special care given:

Unlike some of the cheaply designed models, all the Epiphone models come with a fourteen degree headstock that offers more force at the nut which allows you to get extra sustain with fewer tuning problems caused by the “string-tree” devices. With Epiphone’s exclusive double vacuum waxing process, you are ensured with optimal performance.

Reliability and Durability:

Durability and reliability can be never a question with an Epiphone Electric Guitar as they are simply solid. For unparallelled reliability as well as ease of service, Epiphone wiring harnesses feature quick-connectors.

Features:

Epiphone G-310 SG Style Electric Guitar comes with a full pick guard and two hot open-coil humbucker controls. The G-310 also sports full volume and tone controls that includes a three way selector switch, two volume and two tone knobs. The SG G-310 has scale length of 24.75” and nut width of 1.68”. The neck will suite the standards of most of the heights.

Sound:

Epiphone G-310 SG seems to suit most of the styles well, and it will be a special treat for players of Hard Rock, Blues, Metal and Mordern Vibes. Try any AC/DC and some other classic rock, you will realise how responsive the guitar is. The guitar does great with low and mid range distortion; but if you decide to crank the distortion up all way, you might end up with a little unwanted noise. The guitar works better even with not distortion at all. The sound is pretty decent considering its price tag. The squeals are nice and solos seem to be pretty clean. Overall, the sound is rich with a very good blend of bass, mid range and the highs.

Action:

The action on the Epiphone G310 is lovely. The solos on this are better than what you would get out of its competitors like the ESPs and Jacksons.

Package:

The guitar package also includes a six feet cable and tool for tightening the neck. It fits inside any of the universal coffin cases as well.

Warranty:

The non-locking tuners of the guitar come with a one year manufacturer’s warranty. However, the Epiphone G-310 SG electric guitar gets limited lifetime warranty.

Verdict:

The Epiphone G-310 SG electric guitar is great for beginners and pros alike. This will be your ultimate pick if you are just into basically any rock and do not have lots of dough. The only thing we were left wishing for is a tremolo on it; but alas, this is probably the best you will be able to find that this budget. The guitar carries all the style of a venerable SG at a down to earth price. A great first instrument!

Epiphone G-310 SG Guitar – Technical Specification Table