Hi there.
This is my first post in this forum, so i will try to keep this short.
I am a bass player. Still, for quite a long time i wanted to buy a guitar. I am not trying to be a guitar player, bass is the one for me, still a guitar would be helpful while writing some riffs (and it would be another medium for me to express my self, not to mention the fact that i`d be able to make my guitarist comprehend my ideas easier). To make a long story short i`d like another axe, period.
I am a Fender fan. Most of my fav guitarists (Gilmour, Hendrix, Clapton etc) are Fender fans. ....Still i am a sucker for Gibsons Les Paul. The looks. The attitude.... It`s like cheating your wife. I like Fenders, but sometimes you have to follow your passions, i can never imagine my self with anything else than a Gibson Les Paul (...did i mention that my bass is a Stu Fender Jazz Bass :) ).
Anyways... all that stuff was neccessery to understand my background, sorry if i tired you.
So here comes a friend of mine, guitarist and collector, and offers me one Orville (by Gibson) for about 700$ (that is 500 Euros). Now i live in Greece, and that makes buying authentic american instruments quite expensive. An american Les Paul costs 3500Euros (roughly 4000$ or more). A Studio model -new- goes for about 3000Euros (2.250$???). Anyways 500Euros is not quite cheap, nor expensive. So my question is, what`s about Orville. He bought it via E-bay and its in good shape. Black with white finish. It had a long neck (or sth like that, meaning the neck goes deeper into the guitars main body, for better sound/resonance transmission, another feat of american Les Paul available via the custom shop -hence more money). Still Orville are worth the hype. If it was cheaper (around 300-400 euros) it would be a bargain... but 500euros? Should i opt for an Epiphone (for sure i cannot afford 3500 Euro for an american LesPaul :( ) The fact that its made in Japan how does it affect it (compared to an american equivelant?). If i change the magnets (in due time) what would it change in overall sound -and actual value? In the long run i know that the Orville factory is closed. Does that mean that in case something happens to this guitar, like a knob, or the bridge or one of the keys brakes, can parts of american Les Paul be tranferred to an Orville, or there is a compatibility problem???
Any suggestion is welcomed. Please keep in mind that i`m new to this. Try to be as simple as possible. Also try to be as objective as you can be. Most likely this will be the only quitar i will i aquire for a loooooong time and the possibility to buy the object of my lust (an american Les Paul is out of the question ...due to cost). Note also that i am no fan of the net, so this transaction is simplier for me (buddy bought it via net, has another Orville, and sells it...).
Thanks in advance.
I hope i didnt bore you to death.
Hi,
I'm not the smartest string on the guitar nor do I claim to have any knowledge in comparison to the geniuses that float around here but I've been around music for almost 50 years and to be honest I've never heard of Orville. But that means nothing.
If you've played it and it seems solid and you like it overall, that has its advantages. Saying you have limited access to other places to purchase instruments certainly will get you focused on where you can. I can't think that a guitar will wear out or fall apart without some help so you could have it for years without fail.
Without too much consideration to appearance, I doubt there isn't too much you couldn't replace should you have a major malfunction. (Whatever that might be.)
If the guitar works to your satisfaction and you can afford it, no reason not to consider it. The best test is when on your lap it will rest. :D
Bish
"I play live as playing dead is harder than it sounds!"
May be obvious but did you do a Google search on Orville gutars. Couple of links with info are here:
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Orville
Some more info:
http://www.orangeguitar.com/aboutorville.htm
There are other sites the search brings up but maybe you have read these.
Robbie
