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View Full Version : SX GG1 JR 2TS LP style with P90's



Duff
February 2nd, 2008, 08:18 AM
Just got one of these. Solid mahogany body and set neck all around good build quality no outstanding deficiencies for an inexpensive LP copy.

It is not noise cancelling because neither pickup is reverse wound; but it is not too noisy to handle, esp if you are used to tube amps, etc.

I really like this guitar. It plays, looks, feels, and sounds great; from someone that has never played a P90 before. I really like the tonality. It has four control knobs like a LP, looks like a LP copy. I guess it is supposed to look like a LP Jr. but with two pickups.

Played through my HRDx, Epi VJr, and Behringer GM110 (a mysteriously good sounding analog modeling amp), it sounds equally great. Great separation of notes in chords, no mushyness, searing riffs, rumbling lows.

This is a really neat guitar that fills a nitche that I didn't have any experience with. I had read that solid mahogany, such as an SG, with P90s was the best combination of this type. Whether this is true or not they did something right with this guitar. It came from rondomusic.com almost perfectly set up.

I already put the cut to form foam pieces from SD pickup boxes under the pickups to aid in pushing them up closer to the bottoms of the strings when adjusting pickup height. This method work very well and you need to use a couple layers and cut a hole in the foam where each wood screw goes, otherwise the screw twists the foam I used. This type of foam doesn't rattle or produce any undesirable side effect sounds.

It is a good looking sunburst with black around the perimeter; probably actually dark dark brown. Looks really good and I don't usually like bursts.

The sound though is really great. If you have been thinking about getting a mahogany body SG or whatever with P90s, you will most likely be glad you did; based upon my experience.

I'm still learning the guitar and finding it's sweet spots and what it is best used for and I just keep finding out new sounds and new places where it sounds great.

My Epi LP standards with SDs sound really clear thru the clean channel of my new SCXD. No muddiness. Real good separation and clarity but not to compare to this here P90 SX LP Jr copy.

I find it amazing that a person can find a really good guitar out there today for less than 150 to begin on. There is no reason for people to go out and buy their kids or themselves junky guitars. A little research will uncover lots of great guitars for low prices. 200 dollars got me an ESP LTD EC50 bottom of the line LP copy that is one of my favorite guitars; sounds great, feels great, plays great, stock pickups are great. I hear people badmouthing this guitar and wonder what they are thinking. That EC-50 is really high quality and fun to play. It's a bolt on neck but has incredible sustain. ESP has produced a great little guitar there for only a little money, stock. I have a 220 dollar ESP LTD H101FM that I put hot rodded SD pickups in and flat wound strings on it and it is so good sounding and fun to play, plus light with beautiful amber flamed maple top. It is sort of a PRS copy. The inexpensive SXs are great sounding and highly modifiable. Blem Agiles are super great buys. Some of the Squires I see are super nice.

I also have a fairly expensive, for a low budget type guy, guitar that I really like: a Schecter C1 E/A that is currently having a nickel plated SD JB put in the bridge and a nickel plated SD '59 put in the neck, with both tone pots changed to audio taper type for the piezo bridge saddle pickups and the humbuckers. This should come back really nice. This is one beautiful guitar with quilted maple top about a quarter inch thick and a thick, about an inch, back with f holes all mahogany and stereo, quite heavy like a LP, semi stratish type body style.

I was spoiled by my SD pickups on my other guitars and the Duncan Designed ones that came on it were disappointing and suggested to me every time I played the guitar how much better it could sound. Plus the tone pots were like kill switches with all tonal change taking place within about an eigth or quarter inch of the sweep. Quarter inch is stretching it. Super great tone on this guitar though, even with the stock pickups; especially when played stereo through two amps or an amp and a PA: the humbuckers going to a guitar amp and the piezo bridge saddles pickups going to a Crate Gunnison acoustic amp. You can plug it into a regular guitar amp and get full functionality though, but it just doesn't come close to the stereo sound quality. I wonder how it will sound on the SCXD on one of the Fender acoustasonic amp models? That will be fun to find out. I have read comments where guys have said that their semi hollow body guitars sounded good thru those amp models.

Hope this info is informative to someone that's thinking about some of these things.

Duffy
Winfield, Pa
mbolduc@dejazzd.com

Duff
August 4th, 2008, 11:30 PM
Rondo now has the gold top like this one I got but the gold top is an arch top for 169 and looks the same with set neck and P90's. Looks like an awesome deal.

Duffy

Spudman
August 5th, 2008, 07:32 AM
Great review Duff. Thanks for posting it. I've been wondering about those myself.