Brownsville Choirboy

date unknown
22 frets
the finest plywood and masonite available
3 toaster pickups w/1 volume, 1 tone, and 5way switch
maple neck w/ rosewood fingerboard, dot inlays,satin finish on neck
nice turquoise paintjob on body and front of headstock
strings through body w/ stud mount bridge
3 chrome tuners each side of head

bought it for the jangly beatles tone
i have several transister combo amps i play this through
good range of tones

bought this used off of ebay
finish is quite nice
action on this one can be adjusted quite low
now the bad news on this one,the bridge has holes,slightly ovaled, which fit onto the studs in the body. at factory, the studs were mounted too close to the neck, so at full adjustment, the intonation was still very sharp on each string.i hacksawed to form each hole into a slot so the bridge now looks more like a badass type. now i was able to move the whole works further back and the intonation is correct. a bit of a drag to find it that way from the factory, but now she is behaving well.

i would take this guitar out to work with..very cool tones not available with the usual gibson / fender pieces i have

bought it used and i can administer corrections myself

i have been playing since 1976.
been through lots of fenders/gibsons/hamers
i have about 15 guitars now
i would look for another if it were lost

I bought the 12 string 4 years ago brand new. I couldn't believe there was a 12 string out there for under $300. the neck is slightly wider than a Rick and sounds just as good. The retro-Les Paul look is nice and I LOVE the fact it's semi-hollow. It plays as nice as any $1500 instument. I am amazed that it is discontnued. I will NEVER give this instrument up.

I use a used Peavey or my Crate PA with a little reverb. An incredible full sound on the bright end. The old "English Invasion" sound is there. There is nothing I dislike about this product.

I tried the guitar for the fun of it while buying strings for my accoustic Guild. I bought it a few hours later. It's been 4 years and looks andfeels brand new. The factory set up was fine. I've done nothing to modify this gem.

I've played live a few times and the guitar got knocked around a little.I treat it as I would treat a swiss watch from now on.
The finish is metalic white like the old Sears guitars of the early 60's.

The warranty has come and gone. If the time comes, I would spend more than I payed to keep this guitar alive.

I've owned several american Guild and Ovation guitars 6 and 12 string.
I love it's feel and playability.

Standard features as described in most of the other reviews - semi-hollow, F-hole, three "toaster" pickups (very similar to Rickenbacker pickups), 5 position switch, single volume and tone control. Single-cut body. For a guitar that cost what this one did, it's quite well put together.

OK, first of all...metalhead/thrashmongers, stay away. 'nuff said about that. If you play anything along the lines of Tom Petty/REM/Byrds/Jangle-rock, then you should have one of these guitars in your arsenal, period. I actually own two now, a six and twelve string version of the same model, and they're both great for what they do. I use them almost strictly for rhythm stuff at this point, but I could get away with using them for limited riffage if I had to. I use this guitar (as with all my others) through an unnaturally loud Fender Princeton Reverb and a Lab series L7 combo with 4 10" speakers with minimal effects, and everything I play through those amps sounds wonderful.

Since I bought it used, I can't really comment on factory set up, but the bridges on these guitars makes it relatively easy for even a novice to set it up. Also, when you play these guitars unplugged, you may get a glare from your girlfriend if she's trying to watch TV next to you on the sofa - they're pretty responsive acoustically, too.

I've been using this guitar live pretty consistently, and wouldn't try to dissuade anyone from doing the same. Their pickup output is slightly lower than humbuckers, because they're not...nor are they pretending to be...so you might have to adjust for that, but I wouldn't dream of doing the Tom Petty songs in my cover band without having this guitar along.

haven't had any reason to try to contact support on this guitar.

If this company ever decides to make blatant Rickenbacker copies, they'll quadruple their sales. The body style is a little weird, but the sound makes up for it. If it disappeared, I'd have to get another one. I bought my 12 string first because I couldn't afford a Ric, and I bought the 6 because I loved the 12, and I haven't been disappointed. I've been playing professionally in some capacity for almost 15 years, and own several dozen guitars, and there's really nothing else in my arsenal that I could reproduce this guitar's tone with.

Features :
Body - Les Paul Style F-hole Hollow Body
Neck - 24.75" scale,Maple/Rosewood, Contour feels very much LP
Tuners - 3 per side, die cast
Pickups - 3, low-output Rickenbacker style single coils
(Just increase amp volume)
60-cycle hum is no worse than a Strat
The middle pickup is RWRP like a Strat
So, hum cancelling occurs in positions two and four
of the five-way blade switch.

Low-budget Rickenbacker sound.
Suitable styles : Rockabilly, British Invasion.
Actually, just about any early Rock 'n Roll.
Sound is bright.. Not a lot of deep bass.
Don't expect to play any killer metal riffs with this one.
Just a nice unique, twangy, vintage sound.
No other guitar in my collection produces this kind of sound.

Functionally fine.
Nice even finish.
Fast action. Very nice bridge/stoptailpiece combination.
Low-budget items --- visible side laminations. Undressed fret wires.

I'm not a professional player but I don't believe that this guitar
would withstand to much live playing.
-Yes, the strap buttons are solid.

These guitars are no longer made. And, there is no support.

What a shame ..!!

I have been playing guitar for my personal enjoyment for several years. I own about thirty other guitars. Strat or Strat copies
Various Soloists("Shredders"). Because of it's uniqueness and
beautiful vintage sound I will never sell this guitar.
The majority of my collection I could sell. This one stays.

I bought this guitar for the action/feel and for the "features" and
was not looking to buy a guitar as I have too many anyway...
I was in Sam Ashe on 48th st looking for a cheap 20 foot cable and
strings, close to Xmas I saw a couple of cheap guitars on the floor
with no price tags and asked a sales guy about the brownsville and
he said he could let it go for $99 as a demonstrator and was very busy
and walked away [he was not rude or anything] A few minutes later I saw
him again and asked "I don't really know the company what is its
sound?" and he said "Kind of a guild sort of sound.." and I picked it
up and played it unplugged on the floor for about 5 minutes running
chords and feeling the action which felt like an epiphone which to me
is excellent [I have never played a gibson, maybe if I win lotto]
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I plugged it in a cheap small crate practice amp that had a cable
plugged in that a guy just walked away from. I could not really tell
the sound at all, but was not really looking for a great sound, but
a sort of wood sound that would come from a "semi-solid body" being
that it had an f-hole. Also I have other guitars and didn't need
another and tried to walk away...I saw another amp closer to where
the salesman hang out and went to plug in over there and I think I
went into a better fender amp, but I was there one minute and there
was a lot of people so I unplugged and said to myself "I have too
many guitars, and last thing I need is one more guitar.."
I left the store walked two blocks south, turned around and walked
back, turned again, and went back downtown. One hour later I was back
in Sam Ashe with $110 cash [for tax] and carried it out with out so
much as a bag...

I am playing in a sort of blues/reggae band, a kind of broken down
band that at times sounds really sweet. I am a fender guy through and
through and play a strat and telecaster, and both are the cheap
squire affinity and I really like them both, I did slight neck work
meaning that I filed off frets that cut on the bottom side of the
telecaster and lowered the bridge and tuned the strat unperfectly.
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I was supposed to play a small church gig [blues xmas carols and
oldies] on Saturday, which would have un-virgened the brownsville
but this did not come off.
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Whatever the sound is, I can adjust it anyway through the amp or
the board or I have a $99 korg amp effects pedal which I also like.
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I read another very good review on this guitar a few minutes ago
and found out that it is particle board. I guess I can't get it
cracked, but who cares?
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I liked the sound ok, but I liked the action and It is light which
is good for me as my neck gets tired with a telecaster.
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when I got home the tone nob did not work, it was only bass. I open
the 2 screws off the back metal plate and touched the contacts with
a small screwdriver to see if I could avoid returning to the store.
this did not work so I returned to sam ashe and I was sent to "The
Gibson Room" with all the thousands of dollars guitars and a guy was
talking to a girl with a twelve string gibson and he said "Monday,
because of the holidays to her" and I thought "F--, now I will have
to wait till next week now" but the guy turned to me and said "Do
you have a couple of minutes?" and I said "Sure" and 3 minutes later
he came back and said "Sloppy soldering" smiled and said "You can
test it out" I said "I trust you" and left very happy.

The action was setup ok, pickups ok except for having to return for
the tone knob, I did re-adjust bridge and the screws for the
strings to get it a little more in tune.
The "g" string sounded a little dead, but who cares?

The guitar should be ok onstage, if stepped on it will probably not
like it and respond accordingly, however I secretely believe everyone
coming close to me on stage as a potential enemy sent to knock my
guitar out of tune, yank my cord out, or to slam into my guitar somehow...I try to smile, but..,
the finish is ok, took a damp sponge to it [shhh...] and quickly
dried it with an old soft tee shirt whick I keep in my gig bag.
I would prefer to have a backup guitar like a strat or tele
but I would prefer a backup guitar anyway although I usually am too
lazy to carry another guitar, but this should be changing soon.

The strap buttons were ok, but I don't unstrap to hand over the guitar
to another player, but rather lift it over my head which blues guys
think is funny....but then they are always dropping their guitars
at unlikely times much to their surpise due to large holes in their
straps.

I don't warranty guitars.
Sam Ashe was very cool in quickly and no hassle just fixing the
tone knob in like 3 minutes. I tried to be cool and nice when I
went back but I felt stupid anyway to not have noticed the tone
not working when I checked out the guitar in the first place the
night before.

I have been playing for [ouch] 41 years and someday hope to learn
how to play as good as a kid. [I did not have any guitars at all
between 1980 and '87 and only played a couple of time in that period]
I would buy the guitar again...It reminds me of a guitar sound I had
when I was a kid, a semi-solid body Kay with a pickguard and sunburst
finish, one pickup at the neck...a hard to play guitar was that kay
the brownsville is much easier...
Oh yeah, also guitars are much much better today as far as cheap ones.
In the '60's you could get for about $50 to $100 a horrible japanese
guitar that looked cool but had very high action. Owww...
don't forget that in the '60s a house cost like $20,000 and a car
was $2000. Thanks for taking the time to read my opinion.

New guitar from Sam Ash in Nasheville, at $120 I couldn't refuse. Black finish, rosewood fretboard. This guitar is basically the Brownsville "Thug", but with a semi-hollow body. Kinda Les Paul-ish shape, except no arched top and a bolt-on neck. The features are decent, excellent tuners and i really like the feel of the neck, i really feels solid. Frets [jumbo size, but not to high] are clean, no spots that cut your palms like other cheap guitars. This puppy has three single coil pickups [made to look like mini-'buckers but don't be fooled], a five way Strat style switch and one volume and one tone control. The neck feels rock solid, but the body is another story. The "solid" center block is a layer plywood type thing, and get this - the top and back of the guitar are made with particle board! I thought this thing felt a little week, and after taking a peek in the control cavity i now know why. If the top gets a crack, you're screwed because the particle board with just start to collapse in on itself. Bridge is a one-piece deal with individually adjustable string saddles, kinda like a bad-ass les paul junior bridge.

I play with a industro/electro/noise/groove/alterna project, if that means anything to you at all. I'm not even sure it means anything to me. Anyway, I bought this guitar for the purpose of getting a jangly, semi-decent hollowbody sound, just to mess around with. For the price I paid, the sound works well enough. I definately could be better - the particleboard top doesn't exactly do much for tone or sustain, and the pickups are kinda weak, you've gotta jack 'em up high to get a decent volume coming from the thing. Because of the basic Strat-style electronics setup, you get your normal buzzing with the 1,3, and 5 positions, and the pickups go into humbucking mode on the 2 and 4 positions to kill almost all of the noise. There's not much variety with this guitar, it is what it is - a cheap hollowbody. If you're a professional tone-monger, you'll want to pull your hair out the first time you hear this thing. But if you're a kid without a lot of cash that wants a hollowbody, it will sound like a vintage ES-135.

The guitar I purchased has pretty decent action. I can't say this for all Brownsville guitars, because the majority of the ones I tried out didn't. I ended up taking this specific guitar home because it had the least string buzz and rattle of Sam Ash's whole Brownsville selection. I really had to search for this one, and it still has a good amount of buzz. It could still use a decent setup. Even then I'm not sure if you could completely get rid of the buzz. The finish was well done on my guitar, another reason I chose it over the other Brownsvilles. There's one very small and almost unnoticable flaw in the binding [I think the binding is painted on, but I'm not completely sure]. Most of the other Brownsvilles had very noticable finish flaws. Like I said before - I really had to search through their whole stock to find on this clean. As far as being "fit", this guitar is pretty tight. Nothing loose, no electronics buzzing, tight neck pocket, etc. etc.......

I haven't done any live playing with this guitar, but I doubt I would want to especially since I happen to be lively on stage. It would make an excellent backup guitar, with the super low price and everything, but I wouldn't be too rough with it. Seems kinda fragile. But since I haven't REALLY tested it out in this category, I'm not gonna rate it.

Never dealt with them.

I still haven't decided whether I'm gonna keep this guitar or not. I've been looking at a vintage Harmony semi-hollow from the sixties and it seems like a much better budget guitar. If someone stole it, I probably would even take the energy to run them down and recover it, I'd just be mad that I lost $120. It's cheap, but not to incredibly crappy. Save a few more bucks and get you an early '90's Epiphone or something.

Made in Korea...22 frets...Volume, tone, 5-way switcher, 3 Alnico single coil pickups, Maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, les paul body with top f-hole, die cast tuners, no accessories...24.75" in scale length, adjustable bridge

for 99 bucks, it sounds pretty good. I run it through a fender amp and you can really wail on it. The higher frets could sound better, they are a little small, but everything else is good. Even sounds good with some heavy blues distortion. twangy sound, not bad for some blues i play. good for some light rock.

low action, set up well at the factory, pickups adjusted pretty well, not too close not too far, no real flaws except a little nick on the back of the guitar. fretboard doesnt play as smooth as i'd like, but its not bad. intonation is a slight problem as you get higher, but overall its pretty good

would withstand alot of play...just dont drop it. pickups seem pretty flimsy, might want to change them. finish doesnt seem excellent but its not bad. strap buttons solid. i'd bring a backup at a gig.

n/a

been playing it for about a week...own a fender super strat...fender hot rod amp...wouldnt buy it again if stolen or lost...only bought it b/c my equipment is 1100 miles away and i needed something to practice with. i like the finish alot and its overall appearance. i got the burgundy color. with it had better pickups. excellent for 99 bucks