'Vintage ' brand guitars anybody ?

[Fourth Feline]

Hi,

I recently took a gamble on the 'Vintage' VSA 575 Archtop Jazz guitar - as one came up ( new) at a great price .  I was delighted to find that it played great straight out the box , sounded nice - and did not even need a fret levelling !

 I was  even more pleased to find that when I fitted heavy 'Thomastik' 12 gauge tape wound strings - the action was incredibly low and ' played like butter ' .  As this is the guitar I will be using to pursue my future musical education - I have of course sent my beloved 'Stormy Mondays' off to be colour matched, as although the stock ( Wilkinson ) pickups are pleasant, the maple construction deserves a warm, soft set of S.M.s  If it had have been Mahogany or Bubinga construction e.t.c. - I might have leant towards the Mississippi Queens for added ' bite' - but on this occasion I feel AIV Stormy's will be the optimum 'lifetime' pickups - and voice it closer to the ES175 it so closely resembles and shares the same wood composition with.  Finally, I am going to fit my prefered choice of  rosewood top to the existing rosewood inlaid ' floating' bridge base  - as it comes with a conventional metal 'tune-o-matic' top piece as standard.

I did used to have ( many years ago ) an Epiphone 'Joe Pass' - but as ( relatively ) nice as I got it set up, it just cannot compete with the sheer ease that this ' Vintage' plays with.  Playing a set of 'Jazz' 12s - genuinely feels as buttery as 9s or 10s on a non- archtop, when set up correctly as an archtop.

When I have added my own 'personal touches' this next week  - I will post photos if asked.


So, anybody else heard of / used the 'Vintage ' brand ?  :)

[elijen]

I was considering Vintage LP model prior to getting my Caddy. These guitars seem almost to good to be true. Cheaper models do not seem impressive, but the more expensive ones are great. The guy in the shop told me a couple of well known Croatian guitarists (I know the guys he was talking about;very experienced, wouldn't play just anything) bought Les Paul models. One of them even took it as his main axe for session playing (he had the logo removed and probably changed the hardware, though).

http://www.jhs.co.uk/vintageelectric.html
http://www.jhs.co.uk/vintageadvance.html

[Adam.M]

I damned well nearly applied for a Job in their offices a bit back, you do know they're based just outside of Leeds? :)

I need to find somewhere where i can try them, i've been after a Vintage SG for years as they're apparently better than the Epi's and much cheaper.

They make a good Les Paul, especially that Peter Green model... the only thing i've heard to avoid is their bolt ons, the strats really, they usually get a 6/10 with reviewers but the LP's get 9/10 almost all the time.

I really want to try some! so annoying that whilst their based in Leeds, theres none to be found in Leeds...

Glad your that happy with yours, Makes me want one even more though.

Though looking at the website... i think their prices have gone up a bit?

[Pete24v]

The Les Pauls i've tried have been great, a friend of mine has the Trev Wilkinson designed AV2HNF which is next on my shopping list. It was set up perfect straight out of the box too.

[maverickf1jockey]

I had a Metal Axxe model with a Wilkinson Floyd Rose and the hardware was shockingly bad.

Perhaps they could all be improved by replacement of said items with better manufactured parts.

[AndyR]

I've had one of their resonators for years now - pretty good, got me going on using a resonator, and at the time was the best "entry-level" option I could find for a metal bodied single-cone jobbie. But it could do with a better cone, it can sound a bit banjo-like.

I've wondered about their SGs several times. I found a used one in a 2nd hand shop in Cornwall when I was on holiday a year or so back - I nearly bought it, it was very nice. Glad I didn't, when I got home and checked it out on the web, I found they were cheaper new!!

[Twinfan]

I've played a couple of the LPs, and they're really good for the £250 or so you can get them.  I was really impressed.

[Fourth Feline]

I damned well nearly applied for a Job in their offices a bit back, you do know they're based just outside of Leeds? :)

I need to find somewhere where i can try them, i've been after a Vintage SG for years as they're apparently better than the Epi's and much cheaper.

They make a good Les Paul, especially that Peter Green model... the only thing i've heard to avoid is their bolt ons, the strats really, they usually get a 6/10 with reviewers but the LP's get 9/10 almost all the time.

I really want to try some! so annoying that whilst their based in Leeds, theres none to be found in Leeds...

Glad your that happy with yours, Makes me want one even more though.

Though looking at the website... i think their prices have gone up a bit?

Hi Adam,

I got a great deal online for my specific guitar , with dv247.com - who supplied the r.r.p £435 guitar for £ 254 - absolutely brand new and boxed packaged 'straight from factory' .  Considering that it is a proper hollow bodied convex surfaced archtop - with a really close grained and beautifully inlaid rosewood neck, it is incredible that one can even 'get the wood' for that price.   It does seem a shame that J.H.S  are only out at Garforth - and yet Leeds folk have to order from / travel to 'the deep south' to try one .   

[Fourth Feline]

I had a Metal Axxe model with a Wilkinson Floyd Rose and the hardware was shockingly bad.

Perhaps they could all be improved by replacement of said items with better manufactured parts.

The Wilkinson hardware is fine and functional on mine, but of course ( for example ) the Wilkinson (gotoh copies ) of the gold plate, green tulip headed machine heads feel lighter than a £ 60 set of Gibson originals - albeit they tune precisely and hold tune solidly. Ditto the 'Wilkinson' pickups, pleasant and articulate, but they are not going to sound like a £ 190 set of B.K.P.  My point is that ( for me )  if the woods/ construction / acoustic tone / majority of the guitar is good  -  you at least have a choice to 'plug 'n' play' straight from the box, or do what all we incurable hobbyists do - and change smaller details and personalise it .  After all, the whole concept / market of B.K.P. is based on the fact that we are not even completely happy with £2,000 guitars - 'straight from factory'.   :)

[Fourth Feline]

I've played a couple of the LPs, and they're really good for the £250 or so you can get them.  I was really impressed.

Nice to hear that you have "had a hand in"  Dave, as I am more familiar with / therefore can appreciate your tonal and financial tastes and insights. I could of course have waited till I sold everything else off this year -  then bought some 'top ticket' Jazz Box ;  but then realised that if I could get a good  copy at a 1/10 th of the price and then 'ice the cake' by fitting  parts I already had - or cost very little, that would be better.

I guess this disqualifies me from the 'Rock club ' then  .... 

[Bob Johnson]

I've just done some work on a Vintage "Peter Green" LP. After changing the pots, selector switch and pickups it turned out to be a very nice guitar. the quality of the timber used in it seemed pretty good but I guess that could be a bit of a raffle depending on what the factory had in stock on the day they did that run.

[PhilKing]

A friend of mine had a S/H Lemon Drop model in his shop so I tried it out and it felt very nice.  It was so nice that I considered buying it!  I didn't in the end (because I was also buying a BC Rich from him).

[dave_mc]

i've tried a bunch of the advances, and my experience is that they're variable... some have been very nice indeed, some not so nice. to be fair, some of the worse ones i've tried felt like they'd been in the shop for a long time, but still... i'd want to try the one i was buying if i were buying one, and unfortunately that means you don't get the best internet prices. which means i'd be less likely to buy one, as to be honest i'd only really consider them at the best 'net prices i've seen, as when they're pushing £300, i'd be more inclined to save slightly more to get an MIJ tokai or similar. those new MIJ tokai strat (ish) copies can be had for £300, and based on the MIJ tokais I have tried i'd assume they're quite a bit nicer than the vintages...

the one thing i would say about the advances, though, is that they appear quite well thought out, they sound pretty good and have quite cool pickup choices and hardware- they do things that most other budget brands don't do, and which you'd have to pay quite a bit more money to get from another brand. just a shame the QC weren't a bit better... :(

[Transcend]

I damned well nearly applied for a Job in their offices a bit back, you do know they're based just outside of Leeds? :)

I need to find somewhere where i can try them, i've been after a Vintage SG for years as they're apparently better than the Epi's and much cheaper.

They make a good Les Paul, especially that Peter Green model... the only thing i've heard to avoid is their bolt ons, the strats really, they usually get a 6/10 with reviewers but the LP's get 9/10 almost all the time.

I really want to try some! so annoying that whilst their based in Leeds, theres none to be found in Leeds...

Glad your that happy with yours, Makes me want one even more though.

Though looking at the website... i think their prices have gone up a bit?

I told you theres one NEW in a shop down road from my house for £80

:P

also ive told you many times that Dolphin in hudds have LOADS of them

[Adam.M]

I damned well nearly applied for a Job in their offices a bit back, you do know they're based just outside of Leeds? :)

I need to find somewhere where i can try them, i've been after a Vintage SG for years as they're apparently better than the Epi's and much cheaper.

They make a good Les Paul, especially that Peter Green model... the only thing i've heard to avoid is their bolt ons, the strats really, they usually get a 6/10 with reviewers but the LP's get 9/10 almost all the time.

I really want to try some! so annoying that whilst their based in Leeds, theres none to be found in Leeds...

Glad your that happy with yours, Makes me want one even more though.

Though looking at the website... i think their prices have gone up a bit?

I told you theres one NEW in a shop down road from my house for £80

:P

also ive told you many times that Dolphin in hudds have LOADS of them

THATS MILES AWAY... for someone who walks everywhere.

Getting to where you live also takes like, 3 months on the bus :P

Maybe i'll come nab that 80 quidder but i just got this strat so, wait 'n see...