Besides the Fender Jag/Jazzmaster's who makes is a good surf guitar for under $1000.00? I liked the Reverend brand but their P90 p/u models dont have the tremolo bars (which I need). What about the Eastwood guitars? Thanks, Mike
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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »
Good Surf Guitar with P90's and Tremolo?
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Joined: Jan 01, 2008 Posts: 24 Atlantic Beach, Florida 
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Posted on Jan 13 2009 09:55 AM
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Joined: Apr 21, 2006 Posts: 852 Connersville, Indiana, USA 
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Posted on Jan 13 2009 10:21 AM
Reverend guitars used to have a Les Trem option available on their guitars having a stop tailpiece. It would work more like a Bigsby vibrato than a Strat or Jaguar/Jazzmaster tremolo. All I know about the Eastwoods is, two of their models have both P90 pickups and tremolos (Jag/Jazz style): the Hi-Flyer and the Sidejack DLX. Their Hummingbird has a Hofner-style vibrola. Personally, I'm solving the problem that you've asked about by building my own partscaster Tele. I'm still collecting parts, but so far I've got a Warmouth Tele body that's routed for P90s, and I asked for a Strat-tremolo route since it was something available with the price of an alder Tele body. Once I complete this one, I may build another similar to it, but only having a bridge P90, and a 3-way switch wired a la Esquire. Matt —Fast Cars & Loud Guitars! |
Joined: Nov 05, 2008 Posts: 745 Colorado, home of The Astronauts 
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Posted on Jan 13 2009 10:42 AM
Beware the Eastwood Sidejack Tremolo (the Burns). The one I had was unusable. I believe the earlier models had a Bigsby style trem that was much better. You could get an SG, fit it with a Bigsby and P-90s and shazam. —Plus! Other stuff not surf: https://soundcloud.com/jamesmileshq |
Joined: Feb 25, 2008 Posts: 321 Canada's Wet Coast 
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Posted on Jan 13 2009 10:45 AM
If you check out Reverend FAQ page, you'll find all the info you need to add either the LP Trem or a Bigsby B5. http://www.reverendguitars.com/reverend/faq.html I bought a Club King 290 that the local stores were blowing out for less than half price. I've ordered a roller bridge, a Vibramate and a Bigsby B5. The "extras" are going to almost add up to more than I paid for the guitar..:-) The Vibramate lets you take off the stock tailpiece and replace it with a mounting plate for the Bigsby so you don't have to drill any holes or modify the guitar to add the Bigsby. That's the route I've gone. —Mel |
Joined: Feb 25, 2006 Posts: 19349 Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Jan 13 2009 11:36 AM
Fender makes a guitar called the Stratocaster which a lot of surf players use. Sorry. Site dude - S3 Agent #202 "It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea |
Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 12159 Seattle
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Posted on Jan 13 2009 11:38 AM
Regarding the "Les Paul" trem. It would probably sound more like a Strat trem than a Jag/Jazz/Bigsby. Bigsby and the Jag/Jazz are very similar tremolos. |
Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 3860 North Atlantic 
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Posted on Jan 13 2009 12:53 PM
I have an Eastwood Airline Map with the Bigsby-licensed trem. The trem stays in tune ( I put some graphite in the slots on the nut). I have the single coil p-ups in it, and they sound pretty good. I'll upgrade them to Lindy Fralin's at some point. It's a very playable guitar, and cosmeticlly is perfect. So, bottom line is my trem is great, the p-ups I have are good (though they are not the P-90's). The customer service I have received is outstanding too! Rev —Canadian Surf |
Joined: May 30, 2006 Posts: 746 Cool, CA
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Posted on Jan 13 2009 01:02 PM
I have a Reverend Jetstream 390 with a Wilkinson trem...like a Strat trem. It is from one of the first batches of imports, so it has the chambered mahogany body. It's a good guitar, but I don't find the P90s to be very "surfy". Now that I'm playing a JM and a Jag, the Rev fretboard feels really flat to me, too (12" radius). I'll probably sell it. —Don |
Joined: May 08, 2008 Posts: 253 Motor City Surfer
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Posted on Jan 13 2009 04:05 PM
I am using an Ibanez Jet King 4... and totally love it's surf sound. Guitar New: $350
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Joined: Jan 06, 2008 Posts: 163 Canberra, Australia |
Posted on Jan 13 2009 04:32 PM
Check the thread in this forum about the Hodson Surfcat and Jazzcat guitars The Jazzcat has what you want - P90s + trem - and sounds great on the Youtube demo http://www.surfguitar101.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=7704 — |
Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 3546 mojave desert, california
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Posted on Jan 13 2009 05:19 PM
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Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 3546 mojave desert, california
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Posted on Jan 13 2009 05:23 PM
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Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 12159 Seattle
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Posted on Jan 13 2009 05:45 PM
What about an Epiphone Casino with a bigsby installed? They are much higher quality than most of what is being listed. They may not come stock anymore but they are very easy to install and the cost will still be several hundred under $1000. |
Joined: Sep 24, 2007 Posts: 2728
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Posted on Jan 13 2009 06:10 PM
This post has been removed by the author. Last edited: Sep 23, 2009 21:33:35 |
Joined: May 22, 2006 Posts: 500 Hamilton, Ontario
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Posted on Jan 13 2009 06:33 PM
I agree with Zak about the "surf" sound. P90s sound great, and on the right guitar, you can get a great rockabilly or generic 50s rock'n'roll sound (Scotty Moore, Chuck Berry, etc etc etc), which is plenty sweet, but not what you'd associate with traditional surf. I've got a reissue '54 Custom with a bigsby, with flatwounds even, which sounds great , but it's an altogether different sound from what I get with my Fenders, and it would not be my choice to capture the sound of songs like Pipeline, Squad Car, Misirlou or others of that ilk. Having said that, I've got a latent jones-like thing for an SG with a bigsby, I think it's a great rock'n'roll guitar, I'll bet any Link Wray tune would sound killer. —http://www.facebook.com/?sk=lf#!/rockinrio.delrosa |
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Joined: Sep 24, 2007 Posts: 2728
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Posted on Jan 13 2009 06:43 PM
This post has been removed by the author. Last edited: Sep 23, 2009 21:33:45 |
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Joined: Jan 01, 2008 Posts: 24 Atlantic Beach, Florida
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Posted on Jan 13 2009 07:46 PM
Wow..Thanks everyone..Zak that was very informative on the P90's..I am just getting a little GAS lately and after getting a new tank I am really over the edge now..I have a G&L Comanche and it sounds nice but it actually has humbuckers..So if anyone as an extra "surf" axe laying around that you want to sell let me know..Thx, Mike |
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Joined: Feb 25, 2006 Posts: 19349 Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Jan 13 2009 08:08 PM
Good luck Mike! —Site dude - S3 Agent #202 "It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea |
Joined: Jan 17, 2008 Posts: 2188 Atlanta, GA
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Posted on Jan 13 2009 08:45 PM
zak makes some great points. You can find a Mexican Strat on Craigslist for around 3 bills. I'd say do that, and sink the rest into a decent amp (if you don't already have one). If you have the amp covered, go for either a used Japanese Jazz/Jag, or one of those new Players Mexican Jazz/Jags. Either way... that is a good day. There's my $.02 Happy hunting!! —
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Joined: Mar 02, 2006 Posts: 1683 Georgia
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Posted on Jan 13 2009 09:43 PM
Tangent warning: I actually emailed Mike Robinson at Eastwood/My Rare Guitars a while back and asked him why, when revamping the Sidejacks, they switched from the Bigsby style trem. He obliquely replied, "Yes, we did." When I restated the question (pretty sure I was being put on anyway) I got nothing back. The new Sidejack models get rave reviews except for the trem...people like the old Bigsby style better. That's what I'd want. That Hodgsen Jazzcat guitar looks EXACTLY like my Squier Vista Series. I've got a set of alnico vintage vibe P-90's in it that are sized to fit in the humbucker routes. I get lots of compliments from Eddie and Mike on it. Anyway, you could buy yourself a recent used Squier Jagmaster for cheap and replace the pickups with P-90's (or some alnico jobs like I've got) and that would get you what you want, and probably for around $300. If you waited a bit, you could get a Japanese Jagmaster and have a really nice nice guitar. And it would also be really easy to find yourself any used Fender of the standard variety, as has been suggested. If you've got a real budget to work with (like $700 and up) then you've got lots of great options. Me, I want one of everything, so... —The Mystery Men? |
I'm confused by your question. Neither Jags or Jazzmasters have P-90's.
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