edder
New member
LOL... alright.. my bad..i'll stick to the need-to-knows next time.. hehe
oh and for the record, i think the specs and the price of the Swing Prism are very attractive. 8)
thinking of getting a Swing Prism Guitar
- Thread starter Jazzit_man
- Start date
oh and for the record, i think the specs and the price of the Swing Prism are very attractive. 8)
optisailor2002
New member
some people just cant resist attacking a person when he/she compares a less-known brand to a big brand ie fender, gibson etc eh?
i'm not attacking anyone, just giving my opinion. i'm not brand-conscious, i'm just considering the resale value. although large brands have been around, they face the problem of complacency, so quality drops and prices increase. smaller companies dont u see. so i'm not against lesser known brands at all.
Whitestrat
New member
Ohh... a Fender critic! This I can't resist... (I love talking strats!!!!)
Fender was sold to CBS because Leo Fender simply didn't want to be part of a huge company anymore. He was always remniscent about the days where it was a smaller company, with a more personal touch. That's why he went and set up Musicman first, then G&L. He sold Musicman in 1984 (I think) and FMIC was formed a bit later when Bill Schultz bought the remaining stake from CBS in the early 90s. Leo Fender himself wasn't a musician, and was actually partially deaf. (betcha many din know that)
G&L is NOT the real Fender strat. What can be more real than a guitar that says Fender on it? The original platform that was developed by Fender and the team was the original 1954 Swamp Ash model. But there was never consistency from that point on. (Did you know the V neck profile was an accident? But because they didn't get any returns or objections, they decided to continue that?)
One may argue that the George & Leo guitars are the real deal... But they're not even called the strat anymore. The ASAT and the Commanche, Invare and Legacy are variations of the original strat (Mind you, I'm not talking about quality here).
But there's something about a well made strat that makes every serious strat owner a very happy man. It's THE guitar to tame despite the imperfections. It's like they say: "Real men play strats" (not from me... but some american dude coined this...) When you manage to tame and get a great tone from a strat, that raises eyebrows. When you sound good on a perfectly made guitar, they say it's the guitar. I mean, haven't you heard this:
Person 1: "Damn, he sounds good!!!"
Person 2: "Of course! It's a Suhr/PRS/whatever"
But no one says Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton, Eric Johnson, Robin Trower, Jimi Henrdrix, Yngwie Malmsteen, Ritchie Kotzen, Buddy Guy, SRV, Kenny Wayne, John Mayer, Jeff Beck, etc etc sounds good because they play strats... Heheheh... Why do most boutique brands build basic strats for people? Because people want the basic strat... Just souped up.
THIS is what I'd want if I had the $$$:
Are your eyes burning from all that flame???
Honestly, If I want to play a well made guitar, I'd play my musicman silhouette. But if I want flavour, I'd go for my trusty 57 reissue hotrod strat.
Whitestrat
New member
Yes they are... Until you find that rare perfect one... Then you'd pay thru your nose just to have one... I know I did... THRICE! whahahaha...
Whitestrat
New member
Honestly? I haven't tried one, but for that price, and those specs? Anyone who'd argue the value gained is an idiot...
Unless it's really badly built and unplayable.
I'd expect it to be at least decently made. No heavily rolled edges nevermind. No thin skin nitro nevermind. For that price, as long as it doesn't cut my left hand while moving up and down the fretboard, doesn't fret out while bending, and doesn't buzz anywhere yet maintaining medium action at least, I'd take it.
Whitestrat
New member
No, I'd say you're right... MIA strats down in this region generally do have some QC issue. I dunno why. Maybe it's the way SL stores them, or they get damaged over the flight, and SL does NOTHING to set them up correctly.
This I firmly stand by. Because I went thru god knows how many MIA (including CS models) strats in SL before finding a few good ones.
But if you want heritage, then this is your mojo: Fender 1954 Vintage Reissue Thin Skin Nitro Swamp Ash Stratocaster
2-Color Sunburst Nitrocellulose Lacquer Finish, 8.50 Lbs, Comfort Contoured Ash Body, 1-Piece Maple Oversized "C" Shaped Neck (.84-.97), 9.5" Radius, Fender/Gotoh Vintage Style Tuning Machines, 21 6105 Frets, 3 Custom Shop 50's Single-Coil Pickups, Volume, Tone, Tone, American Vintage Synchronized Tremolo with "Ash Tray" Bridge Cover, 5-Position Switch, Chrome Hardware, 1-Ply White 8 Hole Pickguard, 25.5" Scale Length, 1.650" Nut Width, Includes Vintage Center-Pocket Tweed Case, Strap, Cable, 3-Position Switch Kit, $1599.79 Plus Shipping and Applicable Tax.
http://www.wildwoodguitars.com/electrics/fender/avts/54strat/index.php
Look at those specs!!! Perfect strat specs!!! (thank god no more 7.25") Good USD price too!
P.S. This site lists weight too! You can find one bordering at 7lbs in total!!!!
Rossie
New member
Whitey: Yeah, that's why I'm waiting for the skies to clear and drop by SV for a test drive 
No offense meant to everyone, but I think the thread starter would greatly appreciate if all the non-swing guitar related discussion would be diverted to other threads, and keep the discussion on topic. Links to pictures would be a nice touch too.
No offense meant to everyone, but I think the thread starter would greatly appreciate if all the non-swing guitar related discussion would be diverted to other threads, and keep the discussion on topic. Links to pictures would be a nice touch too.
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Whitestrat
New member
Most guitar brands out there have better QC than Fenders and Gibsons... But that doesn't stop the market from swallowing up those 2 brands by the shipload.
You can tell through the paint? I'm not sure many guitars have dead resonances. Most of them will offer some form of vibration when strummed acoustically. Even if it's made of plastic. The EBMM Steve Morse is made of poplar... You know? Will you try to tell us that it's GOOD quality poplar?
I'm not saying that swing uses bad wood. I've never seen one. I'm just saying that most guitars exhibit this characteristic, and that's not an easy way to tell if the Swing uses good wood or not.
Agreed.
The contoured heel IS found on MIA American Deluxes. Just in a different form. That heel is also rather comfortable. But AmDlx guitars aren't cheap. But they do have the S-1 switching system. So Swing uses NUBone. Fender uses TUSQ or something similar. Who's to say which is better? At the end of the day, a nice lining of pencil lead and proper slotting will turn any nut material into a smooth operator. (Except a locking nut hor...)
Any country with a successful "in-house" brand is not unusual.. Because of taxes placed on foreign imports. Japanese made EBMMs are half the price of the American made ones. Are they inferior? Hell no!
But there's something you should remember... While you're paying for a powerful brand with heritage and cow bells and wolf whistles for the Fender, for the Swing, you're paying that price for value added specs. And in today's market, non-tangible assets like brand equity is more valuable than tangible assets like specs...
Fast forward 50 years. Your Fender strat will fetch far more value and bragging rights than a 50 year old Swing, which might not have built up their brand. Look at the Japanese. It took them 20 years for Ibanez to reach today's standards, and yet a Custom Shop Fender or a Custom Gibson still has more intrinsic value than an Ibanez Prestige or even their vaunted LACS.
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Whitestrat
New member
Basket... Look carefully at that neck lah... It's a 1 piece qtr sawn heavy flame maple neck!!! Damn chio!!!! I'd sell ALL my guitars to buy one!!!
Oh wait... No I won't... I'd love to own one still though...
heheheheh...
Lancefury
New member
Anyway, i'm not trying to shoot Fender or anything, and perhaps i may not be professional enough to grade qualities of wood, but rather, it is a real good buy for people who would want a nice strat without paying excessively for it...
Oh, i said it was best selling brand in Korea, but i didn't insinuate that the other brands aren't good. They still are good... just so happens that Koreans are patriotic to buy their own goods. (and imports are slightly more expensive)
Oh, i said it was best selling brand in Korea, but i didn't insinuate that the other brands aren't good. They still are good... just so happens that Koreans are patriotic to buy their own goods. (and imports are slightly more expensive)
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Godspeed64
Active member
Too bad we don't have any Singaporean elecs eh? Local goods are supported here too..
Look at Maestro and *drum roll* OM Laboratories!
Look at Maestro and *drum roll* OM Laboratories!
Lancefury
New member
We do... Timbre Guitars is being sold at Standard Value also.. Singaporean brand, but also made in china.
Good finishing, solid alder body, nice neck with satin finish, has hot single coil pickups, all for $290. Can't compare to the Swing guitars though... but for $290, its one of the nicest strats out there for its price range. In fact, my avatar picture is actually a Timbre strat outfitted with Lace Sensors. Can't see the headstock though.. Its kinda of a tele+strat headstock.. LOL...
NosNuma? How about that?
Whitestrat
New member
You don't get what I'm trying to say. I'm not saying you're pro-anyone. I'm saying that there are sometimes more reasons why a guitar sells than just tangible value or quality. So don't always judge a guitar based on what you see and feel, but sometimes think about what you DON'T see and feel.
Most important question when choosing a guitar: "what's important to you?"
Lancefury
New member
Yeah i understand what you mean by intangible value and market value, the reasons behind a choice to buy a certain guitar and the mentality that propels that choice. Also has to do with issues such as culture and consumer mindsets. Since this thread is about Swing Prism and someone wanted to know more about it, i was just giving my personal opinions..
Theres more to a guitar than meets the eye.... but i don't have to cover every aspect since we all contribute to this thread with various viewpoints and opinions.
Anyway, your points raised was valid and should be taken into account for people interested in the Swing guitars as well.
babs
New member
check out the video on youtube on the prism
it really sound quite amazing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92LcTFHQhNQ&feature=related
it really sound quite amazing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92LcTFHQhNQ&feature=related