How bad were the el cheapo 70s instruments?

Annoying Twit · 10-17-2009, 04:57 AM

I keep hearing about how in the bad old days, the cheap instruments available were pretty bad.

But when I see 70s instruments turn up, they don't look too bad.

Here's a "Satellite" LP on ebay. From the photos, it looks to be a fairly decent looking copy.

Satellite Gibson Les Paul replica guitar (in sunburst) on eBay (end time 26-Oct-09 17:04:44 GMT)

What would these feel like to play?

lp_junkie · 10-17-2009, 05:13 AM

some are great, others firewood just like the real Gibsons of the era and today.

There are some that are gaining collectibility Greco, Burny, Ibanez, Tokais......

Annoying Twit · 10-17-2009, 05:19 AM

The HC reviews seem to suggest it would have been a serviceable instrument in its day.

UITA · 10-17-2009, 05:24 AM

My experience BAD!!! I have two Satellites here and they are nasty. Bad neck pockets, need to be shimmed to get a decent action, ply, fake H/Bs, tuners that don't keep etc.

Annoying Twit · 10-17-2009, 05:41 AM

It seems they concentrated on the cosmetics then.

Ace Warslave · 10-17-2009, 06:29 AM

i had a hondo2 i hated it use to go out of tune all the time,until somone stood on the neck and broke it.then i relized the body was made of chip board,the guitar cost me about$180.00 at the time..had nice pups though..this was back in 1983..or somwhere about then..guitars even the cheap ones have come a long way since then,there are some very good ones coming out now..

Dave1968 · 10-18-2009, 06:34 PM

UITA & Ace Warslave: that made me laugh..

My brother used to have a Hondo II Paul Stanley, it looked fab and played sh*t, he swapped his Cimar Stat for it and to this day he regrets it!

A kid in 1980 had a Satellite precision bass down the road from me; it was cool as 'Satellite' was one of my favourite tracks by the Sex Pistols.. a 12 yr olds mind eh..

lpplayer · 10-19-2009, 05:53 AM

I wish the "cheapos" of Today existed back when I started playing.

I had a Harmony Les Paul with fake humbuckers mentioned above (single coils inside a chrome humbucker cover)....and the "carved" top was actually a bubble veneer.

fallenangel · 11-02-2009, 10:04 AM

ive got a Hondo 2 Les paul custom things got original dimarzio's from the 70's on it and i swear to god it sounds just as good, if not sometimes better then my gibson v! going to put a bigsby on it

dennistruckdriver · 11-02-2009, 10:07 AM

I had a cheap Bentley SG copy. The action was horrible, and it was ugly.
Later, I had a Hohner Les Paul copy that was beautiful!

northlight · 11-02-2009, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dennistruckdriver

I had a cheap Bentley SG copy. The action was horrible, and it was ugly.
Later, I had a Hohner Les Paul copy that was beautiful!

Totally agree on the Hohner, i had one also a long time ago it seems, very similar to this...

Frails · 11-04-2009, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave1968

UITA & Ace Warslave: that made me laugh..

My brother used to have a Hondo II Paul Stanley, it looked fab and played sh*t, he swapped his Cimar Stat for it and to this day he regrets it!

A kid in 1980 had a Satellite precision bass down the road from me; it was cool as 'Satellite' was one of my favourite tracks by the Sex Pistols.. a 12 yr olds mind eh..

Well it WAS Paul Stanley.

10-17-2009, 04:57 AM	#1 (permalink)
Annoying Twit Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 193 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	How bad were the el cheapo 70s instruments? I keep hearing about how in the bad old days, the cheap instruments available were pretty bad. But when I see 70s instruments turn up, they don't look too bad. Here's a "Satellite" LP on ebay. From the photos, it looks to be a fairly decent looking copy. Satellite Gibson Les Paul replica guitar (in sunburst) on eBay (end time 26-Oct-09 17:04:44 GMT) What would these feel like to play?

10-17-2009, 05:13 AM	#2 (permalink)
lp_junkie Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Southeast Texas Posts: 5,752 Thanks: 22 Thanked 94 Times in 19 Posts	Re: How bad were the el cheapo 70s instruments? some are great, others firewood just like the real Gibsons of the era and today. There are some that are gaining collectibility Greco, Burny, Ibanez, Tokais...... __________________ LP_Junkie my personal MySpace _____________________________________________ Disclaimer- The opinions expressed on this site may cause incontinence, wadded panties, indigestion, insecurity and other serious maladies. Use as directed, not intended for the overly sensitive and humor impaired.

10-17-2009, 05:19 AM	#3 (permalink)
Annoying Twit Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 193 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: How bad were the el cheapo 70s instruments? The HC reviews seem to suggest it would have been a serviceable instrument in its day.

10-17-2009, 05:24 AM	#4 (permalink)
UITA Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: South Wales Posts: 791 Thanks: 0 Thanked 15 Times in 3 Posts	Re: How bad were the el cheapo 70s instruments? My experience BAD!!! I have two Satellites here and they are nasty. Bad neck pockets, need to be shimmed to get a decent action, ply, fake H/Bs, tuners that don't keep etc. __________________ "Correct the wise man and he will thank you. Correct the fool and he will attack you."

10-17-2009, 05:41 AM	#5 (permalink)
Annoying Twit Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 193 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: How bad were the el cheapo 70s instruments? It seems they concentrated on the cosmetics then.

Today
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10-17-2009, 06:29 AM	#6 (permalink)
Ace Warslave Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 242 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: How bad were the el cheapo 70s instruments? i had a hondo2 i hated it use to go out of tune all the time,until somone stood on the neck and broke it.then i relized the body was made of chip board,the guitar cost me about$180.00 at the time..had nice pups though..this was back in 1983..or somwhere about then..guitars even the cheap ones have come a long way since then,there are some very good ones coming out now..

10-18-2009, 06:34 PM	#7 (permalink)
Dave1968 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Lancashire, England Posts: 455 Thanks: 14 Thanked 9 Times in 2 Posts	Re: How bad were the el cheapo 70s instruments? UITA & Ace Warslave: that made me laugh.. My brother used to have a Hondo II Paul Stanley, it looked fab and played sh*t, he swapped his Cimar Stat for it and to this day he regrets it! A kid in 1980 had a Satellite precision bass down the road from me; it was cool as 'Satellite' was one of my favourite tracks by the Sex Pistols.. a 12 yr olds mind eh.. __________________ Charvel Model 2 (Japanese) 1987, Jackson Floyd Rose, Electric Blue, Rosewood Fender Telecaster USA Highway One 2007 Blonde, Maple Burny RLG 50 (1983-85) Black Gibson Les Paul Standard '58 VOS Washed Cherry 2008 Marshall 12R amp 1987 Line 6 POD X3 Fender Precision bass 70's replica in the making: http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/my-o...s-project.html

10-19-2009, 05:53 AM	#8 (permalink)
lpplayer Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 158 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: How bad were the el cheapo 70s instruments? I wish the "cheapos" of Today existed back when I started playing. I had a Harmony Les Paul with fake humbuckers mentioned above (single coils inside a chrome humbucker cover)....and the "carved" top was actually a bubble veneer.

11-02-2009, 10:04 AM	#9 (permalink)
fallenangel Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: virginia Posts: 21 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: How bad were the el cheapo 70s instruments? ive got a Hondo 2 Les paul custom things got original dimarzio's from the 70's on it and i swear to god it sounds just as good, if not sometimes better then my gibson v! going to put a bigsby on it __________________ well Gregg, we can both agree on one thing, EVERYTHING sounds better with distortion..... except for jazz... jazz just cant pull it off... and classical, hell, most of that stuff is evil sounding enough... now turn up the distortion!

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