Ricochet, thanks for the info about Regal and Johnson. :) Brand names seem to get bought and sold like any other commodity these days. It's now hard to know where most things we buy started out, who did the various elements of design, manufacture, assembly etc. and real "history" can be hard to come by.
Yes, I get the odd Johnson joke now. Oddly enough I'd never heard "it" referred to with that word before. Until a young friend of ours visited and said "I see you've got a big red Johnson then" and burst out laughing. "Huh?" I said. :?
I wasn't hearing that slang term much either, until the "Big Johnson" T-shirt fad of a few years back. But it seems to be pretty well known now.
A Regal wouldn't be nearly as much fun. :wink:
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Maybe the 2 companies will merge, then you'll have a Regal Johnson, and you'll be able to play with your "sceptre" :twisted:
Immature? Of course I'm immature Einstein, I'm 50 and in a Rock and ROll band.
New Band site http://www.myspace.com/guidedbymonkeys
The whole "Johnson" thing is why Randy Johnson is called "The Big Unit".
Bettie Page is the most beautiful woman who ever lived. You better recognize, G!
I bought a new Johnson Tele copy a few months ago. Very cheap in Us but harder to get here in Aus. I am very happy with it. As you'd expect with a cheap chinese copy there are a few issues. 1 or 2 of the tuners are a bit loose but not a major issue. I've replaced the neck pickup with a nice GFS lipstick & waiting on another gfs hb for the bridge. These pickups sound great for the price. I'm also waiting on a new fender bridge with brass saddles. I hope this will fix the sound a little. The middle (especially G) strings are kind of flat & twangy. The setup was pretty off when I got it too, very hard to get the intonation right. I know it sounds like I've had to replace a lot to get the sound I like but I would have to do a bit of that even on a $2000 guitar so it doesn't really bother me much if it means I got the guitar & sound I want. Plus it's fun :lol:
I currently use a Danelectro nifty fifty which I got off ebay which sounds really nice, very vintage sounding tones. They go together really well.
I wouldn't buy the Johnson if you are into metal or thrashing, but if like me you like a little 60's, blues, modern clean or twangy tone it's a great buy. It's not a thrashing guitar. I bought it based on the good reviews at harmony central compared to other guitars in the same price range (on a strict budget, dang it). I'm really happy with it & it's great to use as a project guitar learning how to set it up, change parts etc. If you can get one in the US for $120, get one. The strat copies from what I saw didn't have reviews quite as good.
I really do like the Regal Johnson idea. :lol:
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Earlier this year, I found a Johnson JS-050-¾ "Mini Strat" in a local pawnshop. I ended up paying close to full retail for it, but that was my first electric six-string. I was looking for something with a cutaway body, and that's what I ended up with. I came out of that pretty well, considering my lack of research on it. (And no "test drive" before it left the shop.) :roll:
At the time, I didn't know a Strat from a Tele or a single-coil from a humbucker, but I've done a bunch of learning since then. The company wasn't terribly helpful ("We don't have user manuals, but it has standard Strat controls."), but I found a ton of info via the 'Net.
The high E string was broken already, and the B let go shortly after I got it home. The .010 GHS Boomers that are on it now were/are a good investment. 8)
It's been a good little axe, and a lot of fun. I plan to someday open it up and see what it needs for shielding, then maybe do some modification to it, something along these lines: http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/sw2.php
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Doug C.
