TheMetalRiffer

Man I really want a White Falcon...
Help me out. I'm looking for a semi-hollow guitar with an ebony fretboard for under $1000 US.
I'm not too versed in what my options are so I'd appreciate anything you throw at me.
Preferably nothing with a whammy but I'll keep an open mind.
Much appreciated.

Silver Hilton

Dunno about the ebony fretboard. Lots of options with rosewood. I and two friends (both excellent players, one is my teacher) have Epiphones, which aren't bad. My two friends have over 60 years of playing experience, and they both think the Epiphones are nice enough for them. Epiphone doesn't get a lot of love here, but I sure like mine fine. Just be ready to invest in a good setup when you get it. I also replaced the pickups in mine, but that's likely overkill.

The Sheraton sells for about $600, and the Dot is only $400. I have the sheraton, my friend has the Dot. The 339 Pro is OK, too. They're pretty good guitars for the price. When I was shopping I looked at the Hagstrom real hard, but couldn't get past the look of the tailpiece. It played really nicely, though.

Good luck with the Ebony fretboard, I think that's going to be scarce in your price range.

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jpnyc

Check out the Shecter Corsair. It’s an ES-339 style semihollow that you can get hardtail for $749. Mine is an excellent guitar. Unfortunately you missed out when Amazon was selling them for $367 last month, but I didn’t :b

If you need something less expensive, the Ibanez Artcore line is cheap, good, and sells used for peanuts.

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dannyalcatraz

The basic version of the Jon Kammerer "Cored Semihollow" (like the one on the left in the picture below), ebony fretboard, 2HB (with splitting), $995. He uses Golden Age, Seymour Duncan and a couple other brands as his standard pickups.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8sNUnjLEu...00/IMG_2034.JPG

(His website is down, contact him via Facebook)

I have one like that. Comfy, lightweight, nice feel.

Reverend's Club King and Manta Rays are very nice, and can be had under $1k in stores.

http://www.reverendguitars.com/category/guitar/

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DeathByDestroyr

I'm fairly pleased with my Tanglewood?

dannyalcatraz

I believe Hagstrom semis are under $1k.

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Darkflame

Hagstrom Vikings are very cool, the Epi Sheraton is amazing (lot of pros use it on stage, such as Brian Aubert of the Silversun Pickups), Gretsch has some fully hollow guitars that are very nice and well regarded, the Ibanez Artcores are also worth a very good look.
You also have the Fender Thinline Telecaster, if it counts. On the used market, you can search for a Gibson Midtown, the Midtown Custom has a richlite fretboard, which is very similar to ebony. People will bite your head off because "IT'S NOT WOOD IT'S ROSIN AND PAPER" but so what, it sounds and feels amazing.

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JAHellraiser

There's plenty out there. Ibanezs, Epiphones, Gretschs, Hagstroms, and these are just new guitars I'm thinking of. You might be able to find something really nice on the used market.


Out of curiousity though, why an ebony fretboard?

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kangaxxter

Want a White Falcon for less than $1K? Gretsch 5422TDCG.




http://www.gretschguitars.com/produ...rtno=2504814569

http://www.samash.com/p/Gretsch_G54...uitar_-49943413

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Whenever I hear someone say that they play exclusively a single genre, I always assume that they're just a terrible guitarist.

whoomit

This.

mattrusso

White Falcons are fully hollow, not semi. Do you want a semi or full hollow guitar? They're very different.

In my opinion, the best widely available semi hollow guitar you can buy new for under $1000 is the Hagstrom Viking or (or Viking Deluxe). They're just really well made and great sounding guitars. They don't have ebony fretboards, but the material they use (called "Resinator") is basically a synthetic version of ebony.

If you're willing to go used, there's a D'Angelico EX/DC for on Guitar Center's website for $1050:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/In-Stor...421-i2795173.gc

They just stopped making these. I bought one new back in November when they were just being discontinued. Since the company got bought out, they were selling these (which normally went for close to 2 grand) for $800. It was too good of a deal to pass up. The few brand new ones that are still around are going for about $1800 from what I've seen. They're really top quality guitars, on par with Gibson, etc. They sound, look, and play awesome. I would describe them as a slightly more jazz-oriented 335 type, but they're great for pretty much any genre and won't feed back with a lot of volume or distortion like fully hollow guitars. They also have ebony fretboards.

If you just want a budget version of a White Falcon, just buy a white Gretsch 5120 and swap out the pickups for TV Jones Classics. It won't look exactly the same, but it's the same general vibe, will sound very similar, and it's just a very nice guitar. I would also strongly recommend changing the bridge to a TruArc bridge and putting on some new tuners. You should be able to buy all of this stuff (including the guitar) and get it installed for just about $1000. If you buy a used guitar, it'll be even less. I have a 5120 with a TruArc bridge, a TV Jones Classic in the bridge, a Seymour Duncan Seth Lover in the neck, and Sperzel tuners and I love it. The modifications cost me about $400 altogether including installation.

SteveHOC

Not an ebony fretboard (rosewood), but I've got an Ibanez AM93 that is fantastic for the price. They're around $550 (without a coupon) and the cases are around $90. Out the door you could probably get the whole deal for under $600, which the guitar alone is well worth. I was skeptical, but after having had it for nearly a year, I can say that it's a solid player, no upgrades necessary.

dannyalcatraz

Who bought Hagstrom?

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Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: “Ninety percent of everything is crap.”

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mattrusso

I was talking about D'Angelico at that moment. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

TheMetalRiffer

Since people are wondering why I want an ebony fretboard, I just really love the feel of it. Everything else that I have is rosewood or maple and figured I might as well make the leap.
Thanks for all the replies by the way! I'll definitely be saving my pennies!