I'm primarily a Bass player , and stand steadfast by my Ibanez GSR 390 , but I've been interested in buying an electric guitar , primarly to replace my Hobmer (yeah i know....crappy) . The thing is I seem to be getting a Givson Blue Diamond in what seems to be an ok deal considering it's buying price . The thought thats occured to me is that it might just be a good deal to buy that guitar and then change the strings and the pickup , and use good pickups , rather than buying a 12 or 14 k Ibanez and changing picks 3 years down the line . I think I can get a set of 3 fender standard pickups (Stratocaster ones) for about 8 k or something . I could install those . It seems like a good idea to experiment with things , and I get an electric guitar in the process , which even if it does does out crappy , I could sell it off , or something , and keep the pickups for future use . I would like some of the IGT pro's to handle this thread and let me know if it's a good idea or what ?? Givson Blue Diamon facts (Stuff I got from their site which seemed to be important) 1 Rosewood Fretboard - This seems cool , since lot of the professional guitars use this ; 2 Toon Wood Neck and Body - Bit worried about this , since im not aware of the quality of Toon Wood ; 3 Strings and Pickups - Plan to change so doesnt matter .
I actually wonder what Toon wood means. The body of an electric should be made of maple, alder or ash, or some other medium density wood. If you're unsure, rap the guitar with your knuckles, it should be firm and make a solid sound, you don't want a soft thudding sound. I think Toon is a freudian slip for 'Tone' wood, which is basically the collective term used for all wood suitable to guitars. Maple/Rosewood/Ebony fretboard is a matter of preference. I like Ebony the best, but it is very expensive. If you're buying a rosewood fretboard, inspect the grain carefully. If the grain is too open (it looks like a sponge) the board will be difficult to play on. Good Rosewood will have a pretty tight grain structure, with pores in the grain direction. All rosewood is not equal. Maple fretboards can be a little sticky from the lacquering, and because of its white colour will become dirty with time. Other things to watch for are the playability and feel - I've seen the Indian electrics have pathetic fretwork and horrible weight balance. If you're replacing the pups you're advised to rewire the guitar completely, there are plenty of help diagrams on the web to show how a Fender Standard is wired. I'm not much of an electric player so at this point some of the others can jump in and point you in other, more relevant directions of tone.
As far as the refurbshing and rewiring goes , I plan to go through the entire thing completely , have it given to some professional , who can get it done , along with the installation of the pickups and the strings changes , so thats not a concern . I've send a mail to the manufacture requesting them of the actual wood they are using in their guitars , hopefully , they'll give me a solid answer . Primarily the 'toon' wood thing is what 'm most concerned about . If it turns out to be rubbish , along with the Rose wood fret board which I shal have to examine closely now , I'll probably have to bogart the deal .
I saw your thread at UG with the pics. Don't get that guitar, I would need a new bridge and tuners on that instrument as well.
You seem pretty confident that this seems to be a crappy guitar dude , so I'm gonna trust you in that case .
I'd suggest getting something like a J&D,Java or Gb&A and changing pickups...i've got a J&D and i love it, played the java the other day for 5.5k it was really good (maple neck).. Putting in fender pickups in givson does'nt make sense honestly..
@zing = You cant believe how long was Lmao over that comment.......lol.....'= Excellent Crappy Guitar' Ok , so better Idea is to get a less crappy guitar , such as a Gb&A and change pickups ?? Hmm......I'm in the market for cheap Solid body guitars , coz I wanna do some modding , which one would us guys suggest would be in the sweet spot , just enough to have a good body and neck and tuning machine , and semi standard pickups , but in return a cheaper price ??
Umm OK I was really wrong about toon wood. There is indeed a softwood called tun/toon wood. It is commonly used for sitar tops of the finest sitars in India, and is very close in properties to Spanish Red Cedar. Wheeras it is not a figment of anybody's imagination, here's some reading on it: https://www.acousticguitar.com/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=12;t=003354 So sorry for the disparaging comments earlier. On the other hand, I'm still not so sure it's good for a solid-body electric, as it's mainly a top wood.
