Many of you will probably have noticed my posts recently about MIJ SGs. Well, I now have a Greco SG in cherry which I collected on Sunday and so far I'm very impressed.
The neck (long tenon, apparently!) is extremely comfortable, pretty chunky unlike your typical SG, which is right up my alley. The pickups are stock Japanese humbuckers but I have no complaints about their performance at all...both clean and driven, they deliver great tones. The action is almost ridiculously low but why make life hard for yourself?! It's one of those guitars you can noodle away on for ages and totally lose track of time...
I must give credit to Villager, who was a most genial host and extremely informative about Grecos, Orville by Gibsons and Tokais. As someone who has trawled numerous Japanese guitar websites, I was initially a little sceptical about this General Unrest bloke (Villager's eBay ID) selling these guitars which I could theoretically import myself. And it takes away the thrill of the chase! But...it also takes away a huge amount of risk. He gets good stuff.
I know you read eBay auctions for guitars and most of them have a superlative description about how great this rare, "lawsuit" MIJ instrument is (and they're so often "lawsuit", aren't they? Must've been the longest law case in history if you believe the hype!!) and how it's in wonderful condition...hyperbole central, right? And frequently the reality is they're a low-end model in rather a sorry state or at least a little more 'relic'd' than you'd been led to believe. Also, the sellers talk it better than they walk it. It could make one cynical...
Which is why it was really refreshing to meet Villager in person and become acquainted with some of his guitars. The quality of his instruments allows them to speak for themself.
In particular people in the UK who are interested in MIJ guitars should check out his website and watch his eBay auctions. There is no 22% to be added to the price! And it's been a while since I was able to take that out of the equation when looking at guitars for sale...
I'm still going to be addicted to seeking out elusive MIJ guitars on the net, because it's fun! But for serious purchases of quality guitars, the General is the first stop.
Here! http://www.japanguitars.co.uk (Needs an SG page, though!
)
The neck (long tenon, apparently!) is extremely comfortable, pretty chunky unlike your typical SG, which is right up my alley. The pickups are stock Japanese humbuckers but I have no complaints about their performance at all...both clean and driven, they deliver great tones. The action is almost ridiculously low but why make life hard for yourself?! It's one of those guitars you can noodle away on for ages and totally lose track of time...
I must give credit to Villager, who was a most genial host and extremely informative about Grecos, Orville by Gibsons and Tokais. As someone who has trawled numerous Japanese guitar websites, I was initially a little sceptical about this General Unrest bloke (Villager's eBay ID) selling these guitars which I could theoretically import myself. And it takes away the thrill of the chase! But...it also takes away a huge amount of risk. He gets good stuff.
I know you read eBay auctions for guitars and most of them have a superlative description about how great this rare, "lawsuit" MIJ instrument is (and they're so often "lawsuit", aren't they? Must've been the longest law case in history if you believe the hype!!) and how it's in wonderful condition...hyperbole central, right? And frequently the reality is they're a low-end model in rather a sorry state or at least a little more 'relic'd' than you'd been led to believe. Also, the sellers talk it better than they walk it. It could make one cynical...
Which is why it was really refreshing to meet Villager in person and become acquainted with some of his guitars. The quality of his instruments allows them to speak for themself.
In particular people in the UK who are interested in MIJ guitars should check out his website and watch his eBay auctions. There is no 22% to be added to the price! And it's been a while since I was able to take that out of the equation when looking at guitars for sale...
I'm still going to be addicted to seeking out elusive MIJ guitars on the net, because it's fun! But for serious purchases of quality guitars, the General is the first stop.
Here! http://www.japanguitars.co.uk (Needs an SG page, though!
)
