If you’re looking for a guitar that’s not the same old Stratocaster or Les Pal clone, a Gretsch hollowbody might be what you’re looking for. The G5122 is a high-quality Korean import that yields great twang at an inexpensive price. What’s under the hood, then?

The hollowbody G5122 sports a laminated maple top, body, and neck. A 22-fret rosewood fingerboard is standard, as are the medium jumbo frets. The scale is 24.56″ with a nut width of 1-11/16″ (43mm). The guitar is also outfitted with two chrome-covered Dual-Coil humbucking pickups.

The hardware definitely adds to the guitar’s style. The G5122 features G-Arrow Knobs, standard Gretsch strap knobs, chrome hardware, and vintage-style machine heads. A Bigsby B60 vibrato (hey, this is a Gretsch after all, right?) and an Adjusto-Matic bridge complete the picture.

We tested the G5122 through a Dr. Z MAZ-18 NR combo and a Fender Twin Reverb. Through both amplifiers, the Gretsch just oozed vintage twang. We couldn’t help but playing some of our favorite Beatles, Chet Atkins, and even Brian Setzer licks. The stock pickups did a fine job of translating the naturally large sound of the guitar.

The clean tones were big, clear, and powerful. When we cranked the amps a bit, it had just enough grit to cut through a mix. This is definitely no shredder axe, so don’t buy it if you’re in a Dragonforce tribute band. But if you’re into classic rock, blues, jazz, or country, you could definitely find a use for the G5122.

It’s hard to find much to complain about with this instrument. One of our few complaints regards the tuners. Although they held their tuning just fine, they didn’t feel very sturdy. These could probably stand to be upgraded.

We have no complaints with the G5122’s fit, finish, and action. The Walnut Stain urethane finish is beautiful and gives the guitar a classy vibe that few others can match in this price range. Chording and lead work alike flowed with ease once we adjusted the bridge to our liking (and adjusted the truss rod properly).

The neck felt comfortable with very good action. Couple the ease of play with the guitar’s lightweight design, and you’ve got an instrument that you could keep strapped on all night comfortably. With a street price of around $700, the Gretsch G5122 is a great deal on guitar with classic vintage-vibe.

Looking for the most competitive price on a used or new Gretsch G5122? Then you need to visit Ray’s Guitar Shop today! They offer the cheapest prices on all used and new guitars, both electric and acoustic. It doesn’t matter if you’re shopping for a PRS McCarty, an Ibanez JS1200, or a Gibson Flying V, Ray’s Guitar Shop is the place to shop!

Few guitar makers have mastered the art of building excellent low-cost instruments as well as Ibanez. This excellence is reflected in the Ibanez AS73, where the price of the guitar doesn’t correspond to its quality. Made in China, the AS73 is a great hollowbody guitar at a competitive price. Let’s see what makes this guitar work.

The AS73 has a maple top, back, and sides. The mahogany neck sports a bound rosewood fingerboard with attractive pearl dot inlays.

A double-cutaway permits effortless access to all 22 of the guitar’s large frets. The guitar sports two humbucking pickups, an ACH1 pickup in the neck and an ACH2 pickup in the bridge.

We opted for the Transparent Cherry finish, though Ivory and Sunburst are also options. When you first pick up an AS73, the first thing you will notice is the build quality and how well balanced the guitar is on the whole.

We were particularly interested in the acoustic sounds. After all, it is a hollowbody instrument, so if doesn’t sound good acoustically, there’s not much point in purchasing it. Suffice it to say, we were very happy with what we heard. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a hollowbody guitar this good for even twice the price.

We also gave the guitar a workout using several different amplifiers (from a Mesa Boogie Mark V to a Fender Blues Junior), just to see what kind of sounds we could get from it. We were able to coax a variety of sounds from the guitar, and could see it being used in a variety of different circumstances.

We did have some very minor issues. The plastic nut is pretty cheap, and could stand to be replaced, but that’s a relatively minor repair for a good repairman. While the finish wasn’t 100% perfect, it was still excellent for a guitar at this price.

We’re always on the lookout for a great guitar at a solid price, and we hit a homerun with with Ibanez AS73. Who cares if it was made in China? If you want a solid, budget-priced hollowbody guitar, it’s not a bad choice.

If you are searching for the absolute best price on a used or new Ibanez AS73, then you need to visit Ray’s Guitar Shop, which offers the most competitive prices on all new and used guitars (both electric and acoustic). Whether you want to buy a Fender, an Ibanez, or a Washburn, Ray’s Guitar Shop has what you’re looking for!

In the 1970’s, Ibanez got into serious legal trouble with their copy of a Gibson Les Paul. Probably the biggest reason Gibson got upset with Ibanez is that by many accounts the Ibanez copy was, at the time, a far better instrument than the real thing!

With the ART100, Ibanez proves that they can still make a killer single cutaway guitar at a great price. Let’s take a look at the details.

The Ibanez is equipped with a mahogany body and neck. The set neck also has a rosewood fretboard and 22 medium-height frets. Electronically, the guitar has two Ibanez Artcore pickups (a 1-S neck pickup and a 2-S bridge pickup).

Since it only costs $300 brand new, you really can’t complain about the ART100 a whole lot. It’s very playable, even though it doesn’t have the celebrated “Wizard” neck. This isn’t really a criticism, though. It just has its own feel.

Aesthetically, the ART100 is a winner. The fingerboard is absent of inlays save a custom inlay on the 12th fret, which looks pretty classy. Available in a variety of finishes, we opted for the Transparent Cherry and could find no significant finish flaws.

Regarding the sounds, the strengths are certainly the distorted and overdriven tones, though the clean sounds are certainly passable.

The stock pickups do a fine job, but if you want some different sounds, you could always swap out the stock pickups for some replacements.

Our only real real complaint is that it doesn’t ship with a case, but that’s a small complaint, given the guitar’s price. This is a great budget guitar at a price that can’t be beat.

Searching for the absolute best price on a used or new ESP ART100? Then you must visit Ray’s Guitar Shop! They offer the lowest prices on all used and new guitars (acoustic and electric). It doesn’t matter if you’re searching for a Washburn, an ESP, or a PRS, Ray’s Guitar Shop has what you’re looking for!

In a world dominated by Fender Stratocasters and Gibson Les Pauls, it’s easy to forget the power of a large, hollowbody guitar that offers some serious Duane Eddy-like twang. The Gretsch G5120 offers such a large sound at a price that won’t break the bank.

The G5120 is made primarily of laminated maple (body and neck) in order to trim costs. The neck also has a rosewood fingerboard and 21 medium-jumbo frets. Pickups are Gretsch Dual-Coil and come standard with chrome covers.

A Bigsby B60 vibrato tailpiece is standard, as is an Adjusto-Matic bridge on a beautiful rosewood base. The hardware is chrome-plated.

Since the type of guitar you play chooses the music for you in many ways, we broke out our best rockabilly and country-western licks upon playing the G5120.

This isn’t a shredder’s guitar, so don’t try to coax any Dimebag Darrell tones from this beauty, but what you do get is a clean, powerful, large sound that sounded simply amazing through our test amplifiers, a reissue Vox AC15 and a Fender Reissue Twin Reverb.

Even without a super-distorted sound, the G5120 has a huge, clean sound that begs to be played. Honestly, it was fun just strumming simple chords on the Gretsch. We were very impressed with the quality of the finish and fretwork and couldn’t find any problems with either. The Bigsby vibrato held its tune during most normal use, but it’s not a Floyd Rose, so save the dive bombs for later.

The biggest surprise we encountered was simply how easy this guitar was to play. We thought we would have to fight it a bit, but both chording and lead lines flowed with ease. This guitar is really a testimony to how far along Korean manufacturing has come.

Obviously, we were very impressed with the guitar’s quality, especially for a Korean-made guitar. If you’re seeking a quality hollowbody guitar for less than $700 new, you can’t go wrong with the Gretsch G5120.

If you are looking for the absolute cheapest price on a used or new Gretsch G5120, then you need to visit Ray’s Guitar Shop, which offers the lowest prices on all new and used guitars. It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for a Gibson SG, an Ibanez JEM77V, or a PRS Mira, Ray’s Guitar Shop has what you need!

The Fender Highway One Stratocaster is a USA-made guitar that has a different feel from both the American Standard Series (made in USA) and Standard series (made in Mexico). As you’ll soon see, the Highway One Strat is its own animal.

We critiqued a Highway One Strat that came in a classy Flat Black finish. In order to trim costs, Fender elected a light nitro satin finish for this series. In addition to being more budget-friendly, it has a particular look that we really liked. More than a cost-cutting measure, though, the lighter finish will let the guitar’s alder body resonate more freely over time.

The guitar features a large 70’s style headstock with big frets, a vintage-style tremolo bridge, C-shaped maple neck (with choice of rosewood or maple fingerboard), 3 single-coil pickups with Alnico 3 magnets, and a special “Greasebucket” tone circuit. The instrument also ships with a gig-bag rather than the SKB hardshell case that comes with the Fender American series.

When we put the guitar through its paces, we were very pleased with the playability and the overall sound. It doesn’t feel like an American Standard or a Vintage Reissue, but that’s a good thing. It has a very resonate and alive tone that makes it a fantastic guitar in its own right.

We decidedly liked the pickups, which had a little more “punch” and dirt than American Standard pickups do. We especially dug the Greasebucket circuit, allowing you to lessen the highs without simultaneously raising the bass. This guitar is especially suited for blues and classic rock tones.

While we recognize not everyone will like the larger C-shaped neck, we loved the feel of it. It made techniques such as sweep-picking and fast runs flow much easier. The build quality, fretwork, and attention to detail was faultless on both the neck and the maple fretboard.

The guitar’s larger frets also give the guitar a feel that sets it apart from the American Standard and Standard series. Our opinion was that it made the instrument very easy to play.

The Highway One Stratocaster has a street price of less than $700, which makes it pretty hard to pass up. We loved everything about it – the large frets, the C-shaped neck, the Satin finish. It’s in all ways worthy of the name “Fender” on its headstock.

Want to find the cheapest prices on a new or used Fender Highway One Stratocaster? Then head on over to Ray’s Guitar Shop, which offers the most competitive prices on all used and new guitars (electric and acoustic). It doesn’t matter if you want a Fender Stratocaster, a Gibson Les Paul, or a PRS Custom 24, they can help you find the perfect guitar.

In 1983, Gibson introduced what was to soon become one of its most best-selling guitars, the Les Paul Studio. As its name suggests, the instrument was initially aimed at studio guitar players who wanted the Les Paul hallmark sound without all the aesthetic bells and whistles.

The immediate difference you’ll detect is the lack of body and neck binding. However, the Studio model still captures the meat of the classic Les Paul tone.

First, there’s the neck. It has that textbook Les Paul “feel,” sort of like a 1950’s Les Paul. It certainly adds to capturing the substantive Les Paul chunk. If you want to have that authoritative Gibson lead and rhythm sound, the pickups (490R and 490T) will help get you there as well. They sounded outstanding with both clean and distorted amp settings.

Despite its name, the Les Paul Studio has gained an outstanding reputation as a live guitar workhorse, due in no little part to its diminished weight. The chambered mahogany body make the Les Paul Studio an excellent guitar for gigging because it has the Les Paul sound without the Les Paul weight.

Our inspection model came stocked with a beautiful black finish with gold hardware. Try as we could, we couldn’t find any errors in the finish or fretwork. The instrument played very well with no buzzing whatsoever.

We particularly liked the rosewood fingerboard with its typical trapezoid inlays. It unquestionably had the Les Paul feel and sound. We believed it felt like a Les Paul that should cost twice what it did.

If you’re wondering what the distinctions are between a Les Paul Studio and a more orthodox Les Paul, it’s actually pretty simple. The Studio model lacks body and neck binding and has a chambered, lighter body.

It’s easy to understand why the Les Paul Studio is one of Gibson’s best-selling models, and we give it our highest recommendation.

If you need to find the cheapest price on a Gibson Les Paul Studio, then there’s only one place you need to shop. Ray’s Guitar Shop has the cheapest prices on all new and used guitars. It doesn’t matter if you’re searching for a B. C. Rich Bich, a Carvin Bolt, a Fender Telecaster, or a Gibson Flying V, Ray’s is the place.

Like the Fender Stratocaster, the Gibson Les Paul has become a guitar icon, loved by players in such distinct styles as rock, metal, blues, jazz, and country. From Slash to Jimmy Page, the devotees of the Les Paul are common.

For us plain mortals, there’s normally only one downside to owning a Gibson Les Paul. They don’t come bargain-priced!

A new Les Paul will cost well over $2,000, which is pretty darn expensive. So what are our choices if we don’t want to drop that kind of change?

Consider the Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus!

Even though it reads “Epiphone” on the headstock, the instrument sounds, feels, plays, and looks like a “real” Gibson Les Paul, just several hundred dollars cheaper. This made-in-Korea Les Paul model even bears Les Paul’s signature on the headstock. But how does it compare to an American-made Gibson Les Paul?

We surveyed a transparent Blue Les Paul Standard Plus Top, and I have to say the instrument has one of the most lovely tops I’ve viewed in this price range. The figuring is absolutely exquisite, and is wondrously complimented by its creme-colored binding and chrome hardware.

In the looks department, the Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top is one extremely lovely instrument.

Having owned a Gibson Les Paul Standard for a couple of years, I was interested to see how the Epiphone Les Paul would stack up, and I have to say that I was really impressed. The slim-tapered neck is reminiscent of the 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard neck and in many ways was much speedier than my Gibson Les Paul Standard with a 50’s style neck.

The fretwork overall is quite well done, though maybe not as good as my Gibson. The rosewood fretboard had a real nice feel to it, and the frets were smooth and well-polished overall.

The Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top boasts alnico classic pickups, which definitely capture the classic Les Paul Sound. Nonetheless, I prefer changing pickups in most of my stock guitars, and the Epiphone is really no exception.

I’m personally partial to Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz Pickups, so I would likely add those to the Epiphone, but this isn’t really a necessity.

The stock Epiphone pickups sound very nice as they are, and they just might suit your needs as is. I did notice some “squealing” at high volumes, but it wasn’t that much of an bother.

The compromises in a model such as this guitar aren’t readily obvious. Epiphone saves money by having a veneer flame top glued to non-flamed maple. Likewise, where Gibson Les Paul Standard bodies are made from a single mahogany slab, the Epiphone mahogany body is laminated, as is the neck.

The plus side to the cutting costs with this model, though, is that the Epiphone Les Paul will really weigh far less than a similarly equipped Gibson, which anyone who gigs with a Les Paul can value. Overall, we think this instrument is a solid guitar for the price and one that could bring you much playing pleasure for years to come.

If you are looking for a great deal on an Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top, then look no further! Ray’s Guitar Shop has the best deals on all new and used electric and acoustic guitars available on the Internet. Go visit Ray’s Guitar Shop today!

While you have to careful about picking up your music history from “Guitar Hero,” even playing the super-popular video game for five minutes will teach anyone that the Gibson Les Paul is an inescapable part of rock and roll history. Since its introduction, the identifiable design and sound have been part of the landscape of popular music, especially rock and blues. Though the shape and primary sound have remained the same, Gibson has made slight changes to the particulars, from neck thickness to pickup selection.

The last major round of revisions made to the Les Paul Standard come about in 2008. Some of the alterations have received positive critiques while others have not. We’ll take a look at the particulars and let you decide for yourself.

Here’s a rundown on the changes Gibson carried out. The new Les Paul Standard now includes Strap Locks (Dunlop), chambered body, Grover Locking Tuners, TonePros bridge/tailpiece, Neutrick output jack, and a setup via Plek. If you’re familiar with Les Pauls, you’ll straightaway observe the lighter weight, due to the chambered body.

We were mildly afraid that the chambered body would have a bad effect on the tone, but, luckily, it didn’t happen. The trademark Les Paul sustain was here in all its glory, as was the typical thick, meaty tone. We were glad, though, that the instrument was a bit lighter. If you’ve played with a Les Paul strung over your shoulder, you know what we mean.

Since I usually replace tune-o-matic style bridges with TonePros, the upgraded bridge and tailpiece are a welcome addition, as is the Plek setup, which resulted in a solid playing and sounding instrument right out of the box.

We did have to make a modest truss rod adjustment, but for an instrument that was shipped halfway across the country, that’s regular procedure. For the record, though, this instrument was ready to take to a gig straight out of the box. Not bad.

We were also very impressed with the finish, which was a flamed Heritage Cherry Sunburst. Try as we could, we found no troubles in the fit or finish. While a matter of individual taste, we’re also appreciative they chose to omit the pickguard, but it is included should you want to install it.

The neck profile has also undergone a transformation. It now has an asymmetrical profile, which is thicker on the bass side and thinner on the treble. Though it sounds a bit odd, the end result is a good one: increased playability.

It’s sort of a cross between a 50’s profile and a 60’s profile, but in one instrument. We don’t know if we should thank Gibson or Plex, but the fretwork was the finest we’ve seen from a stock Gibson, as was the setup.

It’s hard for us not to think of a Les Paul without thinking of the sound of a Les Paul cranked up through a Marshall, so we ran the Gibson through a reissue Marshall JCM800 half-stack. We liked what we heard, though you do need to know that the chambered body gives the instrument something of a ES-335 sound when cranked. Think old Clapton.

We were also surprised by the pickups, since we’re used to installing aftermarket pickups (e.g. Seymour Duncan), but the Burstbuckers did the job laudably. They emphatically let you know that you’re playing a Les Paul, since all the heavy sounds are here.

For all the preferential changes in the new Les Paul Standards, there are a few alterations that we just didn’t get. For starters, we’ve never been a fan of locking input jacks. Granted, Neutrik jacks are as high high-performance as you can get, but that’s not the point. It’s more of a pain than a help, and we wish they hadn’t assumed all guitarists would want such a “convenience.”

Even worse are the control pots (volume and tone), which are all mounted on a PCB board. In fact, all the electronics (pickups, selector switch, and jack) are coupled to this board. In some ways it’s cool, but it could make the once-simple act of changing a pickup much more involved. We’d pass on the PCB, if left to us.

Still, these concerns are modest. Overall, the new Gibson Les Paul Standard is a outstanding guitar in many ways, and we sense the spirit of classic Les Pauls here. Gibson also now makes a “Les Paul Traditional” that might appeal to folks who want a more orthodox Les Paul. Obviously, Gibson has something for everyone in their Les Paul series.

If you are shopping for the absolute lowest price on a used or new Gibson Les Paul Standard, then you need to visit Ray’s Guitar Shop, which offers the lowest prices on all used and new guitars. It doesn’t matter if you’re shopping for a Fender Stratocaster, an Epiphone G-400, or a PRS McCarty, Ray’s Guitar Shop has what you’re searching for!

In addition to being a great guitarist, tone connoisseur Eric Johnson has a well-deserved reputation of being somewhat finicky about his tone. I mean, this is a guy who can tell the difference between brands of batteries in his effects pedals, so it’s safe to say he’s a stickler for details.

When Fender announced that they would be bringing out an Eric Johnson Artist Stratocaster, it became instantly evident to me that EJ wouldn’t put his name on anything that wasn’t absolutely first-rate.

Taking a classic vintage ‘57 Stratocaster as the beginning point, Johnson and Fender’s design team made several modifications to guarantee that this guitar would be Eric’s baby down to the last pickguard screw.

For starters, the EJ Stratocaster has an ultrathin, Custom Shop-quality nitrocellulose lacquer finish, which ultimately results in more resonance since you don’t have a thick coat of paint “choking” the sound.

Eric also had some definitive thoughts about what to do with the neck, which led to some terrific results. The fretboard uses a fast 12″ radius, and the neck is a single piece of quartersawn maple, attractively finished with thin-skinned glossy lacquer and a vintage tint.

The pickups in the Eric Johnson Strat have earned a lot of attention and rightly so. The design team went through nineteen different pickup styles before they eventually landed on the production models, and the work was worthwhile. These pickups are simply some of the greatest Stratocaster pickups we’ve had the joy of hearing.

The wiring configuration mimics Eric’s preferred Strat modification, so the tone controls affect the neck and bridge pickup, not the usual neck/middle configuration.

Johnson also dislikes string trees (he believes they negatively affect tuning), so his signature model uses staggered tuners, eliminating the need for string trees.

The tremolo cavity is left bare as well, with no plate covering it and no paint inside the tremolo cavity, which Johnson asserts has a positive effect on the tone.

All of these particular modifications and suggestions leave us with an instrument as intriguing as the artist who inspired it. Though it pays homage to Fender’s vintage history, it nevertheless is a soundly modern instrument in many ways.

The pickups have a chime, punch, and bounce that rank them, again, as some of the best Strat pickups we’ve ever heard. The playability is first rate as well, so don’t hold back in trying some of your “Cliffs of Dover” licks.

Add the classy vintage-inspired case, and you’ve got a guitar that’s guaranteed to only increase in value. Don’t put this one in the closet, though. This guitar demands to be played, so go buy one and have some fun!

If you want to locate the cheapest price on a new or used Fender Eric Johnson Stratocaster, then you need to visit Ray’s Guitar Shop today! Ray’s Guitar Shop offers the lowest prices on all used and new electric and acoustic guitars, including Fender guitars and basses. Visit their website today for the cheapest guitar prices online!