This is a strange one for me - I'm usually stuck to Gibsons, especially archtops, but I've acquired a few things as part of a deal - an Epiphone Elitist Byrdland, a Guild USA X170 and this little beauty. Just to explain, I'm hoping to find something that's relatively modestly priced that means that I can sell my L-5 Signature, which is bleedin' expensive and too good for my modest (OK, embarrassing) jazz attempts.
The Guild might do it, the Byrdland is just different, and so is this. It's a lovely thing in its own right, but it won't replace the L-5 - I said 'yes' to it on a whim, because it felt and looked great. It really IS nice, and as well-built as you'd expect, and it would be no hardship to keep it, apart from it being another 'similar' guitar.
FujiGen describer themselves as 'The Greatest Guitar Manufacturing Company in Japan', so if you don't like it, blame them, not me.
:-)It's lightweight, with an American Spruce Top, Canadian curly maple back and sides, African mahogany, and Canadian maple 5 ply neck and African ebony fretboard, with an FGN custom shop floating mini humbucker. There's not much info about that I can find, but the reviews of FGN and the Masterfield series seem to be very positive, and I haven't got anything bad to say about it.
There's some interesting styling touches, from the headstock shape to the 'tortoiseshell' binding on the body and neck, and it's got a lovely tone - not a typical 'jazzbox' sound, but perhaps a little more acoustic in tone. It's wearing flats at the moment, but I'm thinking of putting 10-46 roundwounds on, just see what it does.
Pricewise, I was thinking £1500 (now £1400), as the European sellers that I could find have them new at just under £2500, but tell me if I'm wrong. I wouldn't mind a trade on something, but I'm fairly traditional, the sort that thinks Worcestershire Sauce is 'subversive' so it's 335s, 330s, etc. I'm in Stafford, but don't mind a bit of travelling. Anyway, if you like the look of it and want to have a chat, feel free!
Call me Dave.
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Definitely no hardship to keep it though, and if no-one wants it, I'm going to fund my incoming ES-175 by selling my body. May take a while, to be fair.
* Until I have another mood swing, obvs.
I had planned to keep it, but a) the short scale meant that it would be more of an occasional piece, b) I needed to fund a 1956 ES-175 and c) he was so keen on having one that it seemed a bit daft to keep it when it could be played more often - I've got first refusal back on it though! It's really excellent, with original Elitist case and even some paperwork.
I'm now on the lookout for another one, but they're not all that easy to find.
Yes, it has, I'm afraid. Cheers