Gordon Smith guitars

[morley]

A bit of a dead thread but I had to add my 2p
I had a GS2 and it was a fine guitar. I hated the nut but it sounded excellent. Excellent but I agree, not a precious instrument. Just a tool.
Recently I got this Graf and it's superb at any price, let alone what t cost me.... 
It plays extremely well and feels way more solid than the GS did (not that the GS was an issue as it felt as solid as my 62 SG shaped LP JR that I had for a while)
It's got a proper nut and the sound it puts out on the bridge makes it my favourite for now. Sublime. I have and have had plenty of quality guitars and it stands up to them no issue. I think a good older Gordon Smith is a bargain but like any guitar, best to try it out first.

[Philly Q]

That's a cool-looking guitar, I like the maple neck and binding.

By coincidence, revisiting this thread after nearly a year, I've just sold my old GS1 which I'd had for over 20 years.

[dave_mc]

^ that's very nice :D

[Andrew W]

That is a gorgeous guitar. Equal parts class and zero nonsense. Great stuff!

[morley]

Thanks guys! I agree, it's very nice!
The good thing about the GS series is that you can always find them for not too much if the urge hits you again!

[Dirt Biter]

I first bought a second hand Gordon SMith GS1 about 25 years ago, it was a 1980 manufactured guitar and was a bit beat up but one thing in it's favour was the sustain of the wood. It would last for ever. I was unhappy with the sharp edges on the guitar as most of my playing is seated and it cut the hell out of me so I stripped it down and 'Womanised' it, giving it nice soft curve edges.
I opted to install a Kent Armstrong HRE-1 PU, after talking with the man himself, in place of the stock GS PU of which I had no qualms with but I love the edge that the KA's have. I held onto this for years while also acquiring a top of the range GS Geminii that was out of this world. I sold the GS1 to a mate at a later date and regretted it as soon as I did so.

The Geminii was just incredible with tone and sustain and the wine stained bookmatched flamed maple was perfect. Unhappily, divorce forced the sale of this.
A little bit later I got the chance to obtain a maple clad Honeyburst GS Classic T and  although I have never been a fan of fender shaped things it took a while to like this but after a pro set up it grew on me and gave twangier twangs that a telecaster.
Along came a GS1 12 string at a price that would have been stupid to refuse and it ended up in my guitar stack. This again got a Kent Armstrong HRE-1 fitted to it and sounds just right.

The latest is that I have just bought back my original GS1 from the mate I sold it to at a slightly inflated price but well worth it. It is going to get a respray from me as it has been gigged hard but is still in prime condition.

So, as far as GS quality goes - the GS1s are base level guitars and made to work for years and they do. The higher end guitars such as the Geminii and the Classic T are just that, high end. Excellent build quality, great wood choices and excellent finishes. You would not get a geminii the likes of that I owned for anything less than 1,750 when the originals marketed around 600.

All in all, I would have a Gordon Smith before anything else but then I'm not biased, just lucky with the ones that I have owned

[Telerocker]

That's a sweet guitar for sure.

[Dirt Biter]

My original GS1 Just came home yesterday!

This is serial number 00383. It actually dates to July 1980 making it a venerable 33+ year old gem.






My sadly missed Geminii that I sold when broke and regretted ever since.



My Classic T.



The rest including my GS1 !2 stringer.

[gwEm]

I like what you've done with the GS1, the Gemini looks really nice too.

[FRockStar]

I've thought about getting an explorer made by Gordon Smith but never been entirely convinced that I'd be happy with the product. I've seen a few of their second hand SGs in shops that have looked very rough and ready and I haven't been tempted to even try them. I'm quite into natural, rustic looking guitars but...somehow they just looked really cheap and slapdash. Like they were made from someone's kitchen table in the shed. I have a Gibson SG special faded brown that I've BKd up that I really love (maan).

A mate used to play a GS2 ( I think ), years ago, that his dad had made for him in matte black. It was actually a pretty nice guitar to play from what I remember. I jammed on it a few times.

I think that now, if I get an explorer made, I'll go to Feline, as I've heard nothing but good things about their guitars. And you can pay in installments. And I feel they would be very helpful and knowledgeable.