Ever wondered how good Orvilles really are?

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Joop

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Joined
May 10, 2008
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Location
Heiloo, Holland
Dear Orville lovers,

Some time ago, I decided to get on the hype train and buy an Tokai '79 LS100 Reborn. In order to provide for the cash I decided to sell my Orville and my Orville by Gibson, both Les Pauls, both Fujigen made and the by Gibson was a real 59R, fret edge binding, '57 classics, etc.

I eventually sold my ObG on Ebay to a guy that had many vintage guitars and he loved it! So, finally I had my just Orville for sale. The guitar was a Vintage Sunburst, near mint with 2 dimarzio super distortions. Check out my classified adds in this forum a while ago and you will find the link to the pictures of both guitars. Oh, and i forgot to say, both guitars had faber kits, alluminium tailpieces, Gotoh bridges and gibson deluxe tuners.

Now here's the story. I once had an Ace Frehley inspired Gibson custom shop '68 Custom Reissue guitar with 3 dimarzios. The guitar it self was a dream, great sound and beautiful paint job, but the neck was the baseball bat type (D shape?)and I didn't like it being used to my Orville. So, I decided to sell it and make upgrade my Orville with a.o. Dimarzios to replace the Gibson.

I sold the Gibson to a local professional guitar player. He already had about 30 guitars at that time, quite a few custom shop ones from both fender and gibson. He thought it was a really nice guitar, with a good sound and with a good stage appeal.

So, when I had my Orville for sale, I phoned him and asked if he was interested. About a year earlier he already had tried out my ObG after one of his performances and needless to say, he liked it very much (he probably thought that that was the guitar I was selling). I wasn't sure about what he would think of the Orville so I was a bit nervous when he said that he was doing a gig in my village and asked if I could bring the guitar because he was going to use it that night as his main guitar. I was pretty confident that he would like the neck and feel of the guitar, but the guitar had never been outside of my living room, let alone be played by a professional guitar player that has many expensive custom shop guitars.

I was standing near the door when he walked in and I handed the case to him.He was actually talking to the door guy when he was inspecting the guitar, so I thought he was not very impressed.. After a while, he said "this is a really nice guitar and in mint condition". Needless to say, I was pleased with that although I of course knew that the condition of the guitar was great. But how would he feel about it when it was plugged in?

After he set up his equipment (he was doing a one man performance with backing tracks) he started playing. His sound is normally always very nice, he uses a digitec effects unit through a small amp and then via a mixing pannel through a stereo PA system. Anyway, when he started playing and I was completely blown away by the sound. It was rich, full and yet very smooth. And throughout his performance you could tell that the guitar was exactly doing what he was trying to get out of the guitar and that he enjoyed playing the guitar. It was really obvious! Every harmonic, every bend was exactly perfect and I think he tried to make the instrument fail but it didn't. I know that that sounds strange, but he was playing it like some one testing a sports car and see just how hard he could throw it around corners. He played and played and was really loving every minute of it (and so was I!). He never had to re tune the guitar during the entire gig. Needless to say that after the performance he was sold and hence, so was the guitar! He even commented "better than a gibson"

The guy's name is Mario Nunes. Check out his page on face book here and you will also see a good part of his guitar collection as well as some videos. I must say, the videos don't capture very well his sound but it gives you an indication. Here is a link: http://www.myspace.com/marionunes

When a guy that plays professionally (in 2009 he had 375 performances!) and owns many expensive guitars (he told me that the Orville would be his 39th or 40th guita0) loves a guitar and doesn't want to put it down, it means something about the quality of the guitar.

So, all you Fujigen Orville owners, invest in some decent hardware and some decent PU's and you will have a guitar that can stand up to almost anything. The guitar is probably a lot better than most of us can make it sound, but trust me, in the hands of a good guitarist with a nice sound, your Fujigen Orville is a world class player!!!

Cheers & enjoy!

Joop
 
I can't say enough great things about my '95 Fujigen Orville Goldtop. I recently dropped a pair of Duncan Antiquities into it and can't put it down. Everything about it screams 'Old Gibson' - except the name on the headstock. :p
 
Scott, That is a very special Orville you have; by far the best one I ever owned & the 8 lb. 7 oz. weight is oh so nice :)

I bet that girl really sings with those SD Antiquities 8) ...............

glad to know you're still diggin' her :D
 
Rich,

Nice to see you chime in. That is the one guitar I'm grabbing if the house is on fire and I've gotta get out! :wink:
 
I agree Jop.
I do the same when I?m able.I just let a good player not focused in brand playing my guitars and there it goes....Surprise surpries about certain odd brands(not so odd now because we gave knoledge for free about them). My LS-320 is on the radar with several good musicians but I guess I?d never sell it,has something special and in fact I sold and will sell other guitars as good as it I have in my collection before it.This will be my heritage to my sons....

TRegarding Orvilles by Gibson 335s I had one and it was a good guitar but with a bit thin neck.I just got a Greco SA-900 recently I favour this one better than Orville,wider neck and very nice made with a very goo wood selection and thin laquer finish.Just wonder how good a SA-1200 would be if this model is so good sounding!
 
I was sold on a Tokai but then I spotted an Orville on eBay, read great reviews here and elsewhere about them so I'm severely tempted to get it, just can't tell if it's a genuine one, looks ok to me though. Have posted a topic about it in the Orville section of this forum, hoping to get an answer soon as you know what these eBay lots are like! I've contacted the seller too and he's got a Make me an Offer option on the listing, I know he'll sell for ?500 - is it worth it? It's left handed BTW. Here's the link too:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190377686887&fromMakeTrack=true#ht_500wt_1176
 
Hi,

From what I can see and read, yes it is worth it. Iti is a Fujigen made Orville and those are the best. The PU combination could be very nice but that is always personal and depending on your music style and equipment. If you do buy it, maybe you want get some good tuners, a Faber kit and alluminium tailpiece and you will have a great guitar. Good luck!!

Joop
 
noisybrother said:
Thank Joop, what tuners do you suggest? Gotohs, Grovers?

Hey noisy, see you're in Loughborough, I spend my weekdays there now!

If the original tuners work just leave them, the tuners on the OBG's I've had have been perfectly fine.
 
JohnA said:
noisybrother said:
Thank Joop, what tuners do you suggest? Gotohs, Grovers?

Hey noisy, see you're in Loughborough, I spend my weekdays there now!

If the original tuners work just leave them, the tuners on the OBG's I've had have been perfectly fine.

I missed out on it, someone hit the BIN before my offer was considered. Looks like I'll be checking out Tokais at the weekend then ;)

Whereabouts in Lough? I work in Stanford-on-Soar just outside Lough itself.
 
Hi, first of all John
About the tuners, John A is correct, if they work fine and the guitar stays in tune ( a little Big Bents nut sauce which is a type of silicon which you add at the nut to facilitate smooth gliding of the strings will help and will avoid those snaps you sometimes hear when tuning your guitar)
you shouldn't change anything. If the Big Bents nut sauce does not help, perhaps you should think of changing your tuners (machine heads). I have good experience with Gibson Deluxe tuners.

Concerning the Faber kit, please have a look at what I think is www.tokaiguitar.de

The Faber kit is a a system to lock your tailpiece more tightly to the body of the guitar. It improves sustain and adds clarity to the tone. Even when played accoustically, the guitar will sound louder and brighter.

Hope this helps.

Joop
 
It was a bit of a 'mare, I offered ?475 which was declined then I offered ?500 then I got another decline email, this was 'cause someone hit the BIN button, as mentioned above :( I kicked myself a little as the BIN was only ?20 more than my offer.

To my surprise I got an email from the seller saying that a Hungarian buyer had hit the button and this was a UK only auction so he was cancelling the bid. Naturally he offered it to me on a ?500 BIN, obviously I agreed. Then he sent me the link, by the time I got there the Hungarian had beat me to it again, by a matter of 40 seconds ;(

So then I get another email from the seller saying he'll sort it out, another email later and I managed to hit BIN and win it. Phew! At least it's saved me a trip to a guitar centre up north from me where I was going to see a Tokai tomorrow, thanks to the guys on here and the Tokai forum I am confident this is going to be a great guitar. Spending spree over, for now!
 
noisybrother said:
Whereabouts in Lough? I work in Stanford-on-Soar just outside Lough itself.

I'm working in Holywell park, and living in Quorn Mon-Fri, away from all my guitars :(
 
rabpal said:
What guitar centre up there has a lefty Tokai then? :lol:

Rockem in Rotherham have got an LS95F new for ?729 free shipping, no case though:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tokai-Love-Rock-LS95F-Electric-Guitar-Heritage-Cherry-L_W0QQitemZ400105992010QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item5d282cef4a#ht_3478wt_1161
 
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