J&D SH40 semi hollow guitar - MINI REVIEW
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 394 posts since 21 Jul, 2007 from Porto, Portugal
Here´s my mini-review of this beautiful but cheap guitar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVmjROlEWF8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVmjROlEWF8
- KVRAF
- 9002 posts since 1 Aug, 2003
Seeing as how you only bought it as a decorative piece, I hope you don't mind me wondering if it's a fake, given all the shortcomings you mention. Buyer beware, these days...
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 394 posts since 21 Jul, 2007 from Porto, Portugal
It was bought for decoration but it doesn´t matter, does it?
I bought it from Music Store Germany and it is made in China... It is a Gibson ES335 copy basically. From that point of view it is a fake. But for 200€ were you expecting better?
- KVRAF
- 9002 posts since 1 Aug, 2003
Oh I see, I thought J&D was some expensive boutique brand.
I'm sure she'll look smashing on your wall (just be careful not to have Pete Townshend come over )
I'm sure she'll look smashing on your wall (just be careful not to have Pete Townshend come over )
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 394 posts since 21 Jul, 2007 from Porto, Portugal
Nice one!
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- KVRian
- 1030 posts since 26 Feb, 2018
I have a guitar like that from like 10yrs ago. Oscar Schmidt OE30 Delta King, in sunburts. It was out of production for a while, not sure if they brought it back but I think there's a few of these under different names that are probably coming out of the same factory or thereabouts.
Anyway, the Delta King was going for as little as $100 on its way out (I paid more). It's one of my best guitars. The neck+action feels like a mid-tier Yamaha, so better than what Fender does under $1000. The finish polish feels budget-level but the paint job is nice and there's no blemishes, so better than what Gibson does under $1000. I'm not in love with its sound because I like a more mellow dynamic tone and this is more in the style of hot humbuckers, but what it does the way it does it there's no faulting the guitar. I've considered upgrading the pickups but it's hard to want to mess with the guitar as-is.
I nearly lost it too. Was selling a good friend an SG replica I bought off a gigging player. It had upgrades all over, seymour duncan pickups and a tailored low action job that was flawless. Great guitar, I was basically gifting it to him at $200. My buddy played acoustic and wanted to get into electrics and I thought I was doing him a solid selling him an excellent player guitar. Anyway, we are talking for 20 mins while I'm giving him the rundown on his new SG replica, and the entire time he is eyeing my Delta King. I told him to ignore it because it was a cheap guitar but he had already played it so he knew how it played and sounded. Finally had to tell him the Delta King is out of production and I'm not selling it to anyone not even family. He begrudgingly took the upgraded SG home.
EDIT:
I guess it's back in production. This is my guitar, except my version has exposed black pickups, not these with the nice metal finish:
https://amzn.to/31qJ8GL
Can't speak for the quality of the new one online. Obviously they are different batches and may be a different factory. Mine didn't even need rod adjustment, the action was normal from the start, smooth frets too.
Anyway, the Delta King was going for as little as $100 on its way out (I paid more). It's one of my best guitars. The neck+action feels like a mid-tier Yamaha, so better than what Fender does under $1000. The finish polish feels budget-level but the paint job is nice and there's no blemishes, so better than what Gibson does under $1000. I'm not in love with its sound because I like a more mellow dynamic tone and this is more in the style of hot humbuckers, but what it does the way it does it there's no faulting the guitar. I've considered upgrading the pickups but it's hard to want to mess with the guitar as-is.
I nearly lost it too. Was selling a good friend an SG replica I bought off a gigging player. It had upgrades all over, seymour duncan pickups and a tailored low action job that was flawless. Great guitar, I was basically gifting it to him at $200. My buddy played acoustic and wanted to get into electrics and I thought I was doing him a solid selling him an excellent player guitar. Anyway, we are talking for 20 mins while I'm giving him the rundown on his new SG replica, and the entire time he is eyeing my Delta King. I told him to ignore it because it was a cheap guitar but he had already played it so he knew how it played and sounded. Finally had to tell him the Delta King is out of production and I'm not selling it to anyone not even family. He begrudgingly took the upgraded SG home.
EDIT:
I guess it's back in production. This is my guitar, except my version has exposed black pickups, not these with the nice metal finish:
https://amzn.to/31qJ8GL
Can't speak for the quality of the new one online. Obviously they are different batches and may be a different factory. Mine didn't even need rod adjustment, the action was normal from the start, smooth frets too.
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 394 posts since 21 Jul, 2007 from Porto, Portugal
Great stuff.
I don´t know when they started doing it but I see it in the Music Store catalogue for some time now.
Yes, for 200€ you can´t get any better... If you got it for 100€, that´s a steal...
I don´t know when they started doing it but I see it in the Music Store catalogue for some time now.
Yes, for 200€ you can´t get any better... If you got it for 100€, that´s a steal...
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 394 posts since 21 Jul, 2007 from Porto, Portugal
I have a new Gretsch (I´ll post a video soon). What a sound! Check that brand.
- KVRAF
- 6248 posts since 16 Aug, 2017 from UK
I understand where your coming from.
I've never come across a bad Epiphone guitar, and was really impressed by their acoustics for playability.
Being a frugal guitar buyer, the biggest improvement in my leccy guitars have been upgrading the electrics followed by hardware, especially scatter wound single coil pickups.