Tone Tone Tone!

I was looking at these...are they nice guitars? When I saw the price I figured not so good. Was it set up out of the box or did you take it in?

The reviews are great and it looks like a nice guitar.

Thanks

Yes they're very nice guitars. The quality of the contruction and the detail of the binding, INSIDE the F-Holes was a surprise. There is one small blem on the finish down by the knobs, but its nothing you can see looking at it straight on. I have a black one. It is a beauty.

Out of the box it was setup correctly if just a tad high, but still completely playable.

I had my tech here at my local shop to a fret job, Leveling and shaping as necessary and he set it up for Flat 10's. Oh my I love this thing. I don't play it a whole lot, but every now and then I get in that mood and let it rip. For the 150 + the 100 Fret job I got into this, I think its worth it...absolutely.

That'll be .02 cents please :)

I had my tech here at my local shop to a fret job, Leveling and shaping as necessary and he set it up for Flat 10's. Oh my I love this thing. I don't play it a whole lot, but every now and then I get in that mood and let it rip. For the 150 + the 100 Fret job I got into this, I think its worth it...absolutely.

That'll be .02 cents please :)

Why did it need a fret job?

Well I wanted him to give it a once over, since I didn't pay very much for it I figured I could spend a lil extra to have a real pro give it some Mojo. I wanted to make sure the Frets were all level and if needed to be re-shaped correctly.

There were a few frets... up the neck, 'tween 10 and 14 if I remember that weren't very level, then he dressed up the bottom edge of them for a more smooth feel on the Bottom.. floor side of the frets.

Try this and you may see what I'm trying to say here. Next time your in a music store.. go and look at the Fenders.. Look at the MIM Frets and Neck real close up. Look at the shape(s) of the frets as they go up the neck. Also feel where the fret wire meets the fingerboard on the edges. Then go find a $1000 plus, American and/or Custom shop and give it a look over. You should see and feel a difference. :) :)

I had my tech here at my local shop to a fret job, Leveling and shaping as necessary and he set it up for Flat 10's. Oh my I love this thing. I don't play it a whole lot, but every now and then I get in that mood and let it rip. For the 150 + the 100 Fret job I got into this, I think its worth it...absolutely.

That'll be .02 cents please :)

Why did it need a fret job?

Just to be clear, this is not sarcasm: Because it cost $150. Well executed, careful fret finishing is one of the first things deleted to keep prices down.

I had my tech here at my local shop to a fret job, Leveling and shaping as necessary and he set it up for Flat 10's. Oh my I love this thing. I don't play it a whole lot, but every now and then I get in that mood and let it rip. For the 150 + the 100 Fret job I got into this, I think its worth it...absolutely.

That'll be .02 cents please :)

Why did it need a fret job?

Just to be clear, this is not sarcasm: Because it cost $150. Well executed, careful fret finishing is one of the first things deleted to keep prices down.

Exactly.. The story goes like this... when I got this guitar and Played on it a few days I was so impressed with it, I took it down to the local shop to show my buddy and ask his opinion... I was actually quite proud that I had found a Gem for only $150 bucks. Anyway, he then turned me onto the notion of dressing the frets in this way.

At first I thought, yeah, this guy is yanking my chain and feeding me some BS to get some $$ out of me. Well he showed me what he was talking about, as I suggested to Mike.

He showed me different Fret shapes and finished on where the frets meet the ends (Sides) of the finger board on the High End guitars he has in his store. I then asked how much he'd charge and figured OK, lets try it.... etc. etc... so the story goes.

I've since had him dress my Accoustics and they're like different guitars. So easy to play now.

I'm glad you posted this explanation. It's a good illustration of the fact that most players don't actually know how good a fret job (leveling, recrowning polishing, edge dressing) can be until they've actually experienced a good one. Most guitars -- including many costing $1000+ -- come with merely adequate fretwork.

Great thread! I have an OE-30, and I like it a lot. After reading this thread, I think I may take it in for a setup.

Can someone explain to me the significance of "flat" or "semi-flat" strings. If they make that much of a difference, I'd like to try some. What brand(s) should I be looking at?

Edit: I forgot to add that, if you're looking for a nice hollow-body to round out your collection, this one is not too shabby.

glad you like the flat wound strings, i put flat fenders on mine and i really like it. not sure if i will keep it that way but for now the jazz type stuff sounds really nice.

mine was set up out of the box. no leveling, and no snares on the fret ends either.
i couldn't believe it when i took it to my local shop (they have a luthier on site) and he told me not to waste my money on a set up and proceeded to walk me thru it out to show me why.
it's not a $600 dollar guitar but it's as good if not better then the few Dots, and several ibanez in the $400 range i played at MF.

i turned down a blue model because the finsh looked like it was applied by a drunken blind person. also several of the ones they had on the floor had slightly twisted necks and were made in china. the black one i had brought up was made in indonesia.

Scott_R, the tobacco model looks killer, i almost got one of those instead

Epi Dot case was $49 on sale and the sales chick said it wouldn't fit :roll:

Exactly Scott. That's what Got me interested in this guitar.. to round out my arsenal. And for the price I figure.. shoot why not.

Anyhoo. The flat wounds I use D'addario Chromes.. I thought they were 10s but they're actually 11's.

Anyhoo They're just that.. FLAT Wound. If you look at em you'll see the FLAT part. I guess the WOUNDED strings are made with more of a Ribbon type wire rather than a Round wire.

The difference? to me is feel. they're super smooth, they don't have that squeak to them. Also I might be a tad off on my word usage.. but they seem to be less bright in sound... I hesitate to use the word dull cuz they're not.

Alot of Jazz guys like/use them. My instructor has them on his ES135 and I thought I'd try em on my OE 30. I've since had 3 sets on it.

Lefty, I gotta get me one of those cases! It looks good in there :)

I got the blue one first. I didn't like it all once I got it. The sunburst is gorgeous. The picture really doesn't do it justice.

Dagwood, thanks for the explanation. I'm going to go out and get some flats tomorrow.

Flats are "thumpier" sounding, and will not sustain as well as round wounds. This has a distinct advantage for some styles of music (jazz) and has become the associated sound with others (surf, rockabilly). The jazz advantage is that the lack of sustain works really well for comping -- less fatiguing too. Plus many of the more dissonant jazz chords sound best if they are not held (sustained). Also, the extended chords used in jazz are more likely to show up imperfections in tuning and intonation if allowed to sustain -- especially if the string rings with lots of complex harmonics, as do roundwounds. So the fast attack, rapid decay and more "rounded" fundamental dominated tone of flatwounds make complex jazz voicings sound clearer and nicer.

Flats are "thumpier" sounding, and will not sustain as well as round wounds. This has a distinct advantage for some styles of music (jazz) and has become the associated sound with others (surf, rockabilly). The jazz advantage is that the lack of sustain works really well for comping -- less fatiguing too. Plus many of the more dissonant jazz chords sound best if they are not held (sustained). Also, the extended chords used in jazz are more likely to show up imperfections in tuning and intonation if allowed to sustain -- especially if the string rings with lots of complex harmonics, as do roundwounds. So the fast attack, rapid decay and more "rounded" fundamental dominated tone of flatwounds make complex jazz voicings sound clearer and nicer.

Well....duh....who didn't already know THAT? :wink:

Just kidding. Thanks very much for the detailed explanation. I understood about every third word :?

I have a blue one, and it's beautiful. And all it needed out of the box was tuning.

I had it setup when I took it in to get fixed just because. The action was a tad high, but not enough to care about. It now plays unbelievably, though.

It is totally solid, sounds awesome, and was cheap. Everybody should have one.

The flats are smoother on my fingers, and they sound warmer that regular rounds. I think they are D'Arddio or whatever. I was surprised at what a difference these strings made. Playing in Am or Dm will make you cry.