Conference napalm::guitar

    There's also Heritage, made at 225 Parsons in Kalamazoo, the old Gibson
    factory.  Can't tell ya much else, but they are pretty-looking guitars.
    \Gary

    
    	Steve Dandrea can elaborate on the Washburn ES model (HB-something)	
    	which seemed like a real nice axe, but flexed a bit at the neck 
    	joint under Steve's tasteful yet rowdy bends.  

    A good friend of mine used to have an old Aria copy of a 335.  It was
    the most beastly looking green-burst color, but played pretty nice. 
    The pickups sucked (IMVHO) though.
    
    I could have killed him when I found out he'd gotten rid of it, I
    wanted it!
    
    Greg

    Back in spring of 1989, I bought (and kept for one day) a Washburn copy
    of the Gibson ES335.  The price was $400 and the quality was "ok".  I
    bought a new Am Std strat after returning the Washburn.  When I played
    the Washburn, it actually flexed from the weight of my right elbow
    resting on the "top/rear" section of the body!  You could hear the axe
    going out of tune as I moved up the fretboard.....I could pull the neck
    back and get a nice tremelo....double ack!  I had looked at the axe and
    tested it several times in the store while sitting and resting the axe
    on my leg....I got it home, put on the strap, stood up, played it for a
    few minutes, took it back....the bulldawg needs solid body
    guitars...strats...Les Pauls....durable stuff!
    
    Steve

	re  Heritage...

	I saw one a week or so ago at the Minor Chord ("minor chord" ? (-: )
in Acton.,  looked nice, around $700....hmmmmmm   The sales guy even 
told me the Gibson/Heritage story, complete with the Fender/G&L parallel.
Anyway, nice axe - typical ~1/2 price its blueprint.... though 
arguably its more a  "Real Gibson"  than a real gibson is (-:

	R

PS	Let's not start a  "Real Strats"  vs  "G&L Strats"  rathole 
	{not here anyway :-) }

    
    Well, having just got back from the Philippines, I can tell you that
    the cheapest Gibsons are available in vast quantities there for about
    $50.00!! Also, racks full of Ovations at similar 'savings'. The catch?
    
    Well they are all home grown guitars complete with Gibson (or Ovation)
    names. From a distance they look like the real thing. Up close though
    the finish is abysmal and they play like nothing you've ever tried.
    There is NO chance that anyone who can even play 3 chords would be
    lulled into thinking these are genuine because they are so bad. Perhaps
    that's why Gibson turn a blind eye? You can get these in REPUTABLE
    stores in Manila!
    
    Richard
    Reading, UK
    

    If you're considering buying a semi, keep in mind that building one of
    these is much more complex than building a solid. Many companies either
    haven't quite figured out how to assemble a body with the right amount
    and type of wood in the right places, or believe that if it looks okay
    from the outside, no one will notice what it sounds like. Consider too
    that if it is done right, it will be more expensive than an equivalent
    quality solid. 
    
    Original Epi semi's from between  1958 and 1969 were made by Gibson and
    are equivalent in quality to similar Gibson models (Sheraton=ES-355,
    Riviera=ES 335).  These don't tend to be much cheaper than Gibsons
    these days. 
    
    In 1970, Gibson turned to a variety of foreign factories to build
    Epiphone guitars, with mostly poor results. Sometime in the '80's
    (I'll admit I wasn't paying attention) they started improving the
    quality .
    
    Recent Epi's are Korean made. The one's I've seen have cheaper hardware
    and are not as well-finished as current Gibsons, but they appear to
    represent good value.
    
    I've never been a Guild fan, but I know lots of players who are. Guild
    has probably made the best ES copies in the Starfire series. The SF-IV
    is similar to an ES-335, the SF-VI matches a 355. Original models of
    these are cheaper than similar Gibsons. I don't know what their current
    production is like; quality of original ones varied from okay to very
    high. 
    
    Ibanez semi's are reasonable quality. I owned a 2630 for several years
    and thought it was okay, but not in the same class as a 355, especially
    in tone. The current version is the AS200 (I think), which is used by
    John Scofield
    
    I've had a couple of Heritage H-555's, which looked pretty  but didn't
    work for me.  Wimpy tone (a common Heritage problem) and neck joints
    that weren't as solid as I'd like. Not all that cheap, either. Good
    points were nice wood and good workmanship.
    
    Aria, Hohner and Yamaha semi's that I've tried didn't impress me at
    all.
    
    Gibson invented the semi and still does it best. Except for some
    custom-made guitars, I have never played a non-Gibson semi that sounded
    right. Gretsch even made a virtue of this. Most others have a honky
    sound with too much mid-range and too many  uncontrolled resonances.
    
    If you want a new guitar and can't afford a Gibson,
    try the Ibanez or Epiphone.
    
    Danny W.

e .7	Thanks Danny, I appreciate that.  

	I'm finding new re-issue Sheratons to be around $350, used around $250
 they're probably adequate instruments {for ME, at this point in time, etc}
 I havn't yet found any Rivieras, but expect to be in Alston some time this
 week...... errr, just browsing, I'm broke, so its safe (-:

	R