Home › Forums › Blues Guitar Discussions › Chet Atkins guitar
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May 26, 2013 at 1:27 pm #4877
Hey everyone,
I just joined Active Melody because I have found Brian’s teaching style to my liking. I play finger style guitar and thinking about an electric that goes with the Chet style. Any advice? -
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May 26, 2013 at 2:29 pm #10840
Welcome RP….How about the Gretsch 6122 Country Gentleman…hard to get anything more
Chet Atkins than that! -
May 26, 2013 at 3:29 pm #10841
Wow, there’s a thought. Kinda pricy. Any other thoughts? Are the Epis any good?
Thanks, Neiles. -
May 26, 2013 at 3:30 pm #10842
Anybody use the Taylor T5? Pat Kirtley plays Chet on that. But, hey, that’s Pat!
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May 26, 2013 at 4:56 pm #10843
@Retired Picker wrote:
Anybody use the Taylor T5? Pat Kirtley plays Chet on that. But, hey, that’s Pat!
I’ve not played the Taylor T5 but I’ve listened to one quite a bit. Don Potter, who used to the worship leader for Morningstar Ministries, plays one. He has also worked as a producer in Nashville behind such acts as the Judds and Wynona’s solo recordings as well.
Don is quite an accomplished player, both fingerstyle and with a pick. The Taylor T5 sounds really good on everything that I’ve heard Don play regardless of the style of music. He has a couple of boxes that he’s plugged into before going into the house PAKeep in mind that Chet also used a nylon string electric guitar extensively near the end of career. Gibson made a signature model and I think that they had an Epi version of that guitar too. Here’s one on Ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gibson-Chet-Atkins-CEC-Electric-Nylon-String-Guitar-/130910259322?pt=Guitar&hash=item1e7adc087aIf you are considering an archtop electric, I would play them quite a bit before you buy. I thought that I wanted one and tried on 2 occasions to like them. I ended up selling both of them and moving to semi-hollow. The hollow bodies are notorious for feedback and are very cantankerous to deal with.
If you do decide to buy one, Washburn would be a better choice than most Epi’s except maybe the Broadway
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May 26, 2013 at 8:10 pm #10845
Great info I ‘ve never thought about. There are a lot of semi- hollow bodies out there. They seem really heavy. I had an Epi Sheriton II I regret selling, but it seemed really heavy and awkward to hold. Thanks for your feedback.
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May 26, 2013 at 8:42 pm #10846
@Retired Picker wrote:
Great info I ‘ve never thought about. There are a lot of semi- hollow bodies out there. They seem really heavy. I had an Epi Sheriton II I regret selling, but it seemed really heavy and awkward to hold. Thanks for your feedback.
I’m curious what you’re comparing a semi-hollow too? I anticipate you’ve primarily played an acoustic
To be honest, the Washburn J6 Mongomery and the Aria FA-71 were both heavy compared to the average flat top acoustic and about the same weight as the semi-hollow that I currently own. If you are concerned about the weight, the Taylor T5 or and nylon string acoustic like Chet played may be more what you would like.
As I said before, take your time at the dealers and take notes on the archtops and semi hollows. It really stinks to buy a guitar and a few weeks later realize that it really isn’t what you want
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May 26, 2013 at 10:20 pm #10850
Exactly. I’m an acoustic player so I guess any electric will seem heavy. I need to get myself to the guitar store and play a lot of them. As I don’t perform and never get out of my music room don’t want to break the bank. I think a real Gibson or gretch is overkill. Comments? And thanks for your advice.
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May 26, 2013 at 11:12 pm #10852
@Retired Picker wrote:
Exactly. I’m an acoustic player so I guess any electric will seem heavy. I need to get myself to the guitar store and play a lot of them. As I don’t perform and never get out of my music room don’t want to break the bank. I think a real Gibson or gretch is overkill. Comments? And thanks for your advice.
The Taylor T5 would probably be your best best if its in your price range. They are a bit rich for my budget
Yamaha make nylon string electric guitars similar to the Gibson Chet Atkins model
http://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical-instruments/guitars-basses/el_nylon_guitars/Hard to find buy Greg Bennett designed guitars built by Samick has this model. Samick has built a lot of the Epiphone, Squier, etc
http://gregbennettguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/vintage/c-smj-13-ce/Godin makes some pretty good guitars that would fall into that ‘Chet influence’. They are based in Canada and very well known for their quality. They have both Nylon & Steel string guitars. They are a little cheaper than the Taylor but still enough that you might wince a time or two over the price.
http://www.godinguitars.com/godinmultseriesp.htm
http://www.godinguitars.com/godinwhatsnewp.htmTake a look a Washburn. Good quality but more of hollow body/semi hollow than the 1st 2 that I mentioned.
http://www.washburn.com/products/electrics/jazz/http://www.washburn.com/products/electrics/hb/hb15c.php
Finally, don’t laugh but Dean actually has some hollow bodies that look pretty good. I had a Dean Strat copy once and it was well built guitar.
http://www.deanguitars.com/palomino_solo_trifecta.php -
May 27, 2013 at 4:42 am #10854
Hi RP…If you’ like to stay with the Gretsch theme they make a Electromatic G5422TDC model that is on offshore built similar to the Country Gent , size shape look colour , for around $750.us. I also higjly recommend Godin Guitars…I have a 5th Ave Kingpin Archtop …super fun great tone for about $600.oo. Its a full hollow quite lightweight with slim body depth very comfy to play. Like u said …u gotta try some out. Good shopping…
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May 27, 2013 at 4:46 am #10855
By the way.. the Godin”Montreal”is superb (if u can pay 1200$) comparable with many that are 3X the price…
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May 27, 2013 at 4:57 am #10856
@Neiles335 wrote:
Hi RP…If you’ like to stay with the Gretsch theme they make a Electromatic G5422TDC model that is on offshore built similar to the Country Gent , size shape look colour , for around $750.us. I also higjly recommend Godin Guitars…I have a 5th Ave Kingpin Archtop …super fun great tone for about $600.oo. Its a full hollow quite lightweight with slim body depth very comfy to play. Like u said …u gotta try some out. Good shopping…
Everything that I’ve seen made by Godin and it subsidiaries has been excellent quality. Seagull guitars offer a huge bang for the buck and are priced very reasonable.
I found a Washburn that is similar to the Gibson Chet Atkins nylon string. Online price is $350 and if you buy it online around a holiday, there is usually a 15% discount
http://www.worldmusicsupply.com/Washburn-WC150SWCE-Acoustic-Guitar-Classical.html
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May 27, 2013 at 2:11 pm #10859
Thanks everyone for your input. Gives me a lot to think about. Off to the guitar store I go! I’ll keep you posted on what I do.
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May 27, 2013 at 5:27 pm #10861
@Retired Picker wrote:
Hey everyone,
I just joined Active Melody because I have found Brian’s teaching style to my liking. I play finger style guitar and thinking about an electric that goes with the Chet style. Any advice?Hi, Retired Picker — Welcome to Active Melody [strong]:-)[/strong]
If I played finger style and was looking for a ‘Chet Atkins Guitar’ I’d get one as close to his guitar as possible, but without spending $2,550 on it (lotta money there — whew). And what I found a while ago is this: Epiphone Wildkat Royale (Pearl White) .and it’s only $450, 17.65% of the cost for a ‘Chet Atkins’ Gretsch.
That Epi has been in my ‘Wish List’ for about a year, but bought a Fender Blacktop Strat, a Squire CV Strat, and a Fender Mustang III Amp first (needed a new Strat and Amp). But I really like that Epi Widkat, it’s beautiful, and it matches the Chet Atkins with the Gold Hardware and has the Bigsby Trem. So that’s what i would do, get the Epi. But that’s just me. (I’m a ‘Fender Guy’ so I’m committing heresy saying I like an Epi [strong]:-)[/strong])
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July 25, 2013 at 4:08 pm #11171
Hey RP, if you haven’t gotten a new guitar yet, check out the Epi ES-339 semihollow. It’s a tad smaller than the Sheridan and weighs less but feels and sounds great. Also, it has a coil tap for switching to single coil. You can check out reviews on Youtube. Street price is $399.
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