Brownsville Studio 55

2 soapbar pickups, 3 way selector switch, 1 volume knob, 1 tone knob, 24 frets, great vintage look, lightweight body.

Great for indie rock! To me, each pickup position has a different and unique sound! On the bridge pickup it sounds treble-y, almost like a strat on the bridge pickup. In the middle, it's got a great warm, scooped tone, that's beefy but still has some jazzy high-end to it. Reminds me of a telecaster's middle pickup, or a Fender mustang. On the neck pickup, it offers a lot of bass, and with new strings it gives a very unique "hollow" sound when played with very little distortion. If you're on the neck position and turn the tone knob all the way down, you get a nice bassy growl when working with a crunch distortion. I play mine through a Vox Pathfinder 15R, and I think it's a perfect match! I've recorded it through an AC30, and it sounded delightful! Really a lot of body!

I'm pretty sure Sam Ash was just trying to get these last few models off their hands. Not much attention was paid to the setup, but me being a young player at the time, I just kind of liked the way the guitar LOOKED. I think it's an easy guitar to maintain. The bridge is completely adjustable, as well as the pickups. I've never been a great re-stringer, but this guitar doesn't put up a fuss. Only complaint is noisy knobs. Yes it's a cheap guitar, but I actually like how lightweight it is. If you get some nice wood polish on this baby, it won't even matter how it's setup!

I've owned this guitar for a while at this point. I've recorded with it. I've jammed at home with friends with it. Other people have played on it. I've literally THROWN THIS GUITAR AROUND. It's my guitar, I've grown to love it. It can handle what I throw at it. It was great for recording, too, whether it was stand-alone or layered with other guitars. I've had people who know a thing or two about guitars compliment me on this fine (and cheap) axe. The hardware has never given me a problem!

I really don't care, it's mine, I own it. It was on a clearance sale.

All in all, for the incredible price I paid for this guitar, it's served me well, and I continue to play it. I think it sounds great through Vox amps. The look is what first attracted me to this guitar, over 5 years ago, and I've never regretted it. Should you miraculously find one of these random jems, invest in it. It's quite a surprise for the money, and so many people haven't a clue about it.

The soapbox pickups need a little drive to get them to sing, this guitar will pick out pinch harmonics with the best of them, the neck is very thin and fast thanks to its rosewood inlay and a sweet neck contour, the basswood body resonates extremely well. This leads to a lightweight guitar that is comfortable to play and distinguishes itself from any other $150.00 guitar. If you own one of these guitars you are a lucky person..... I think that Brownsville made a guitar that cannot be duplicated and I'm happy to own one!!!

I puchased this guitar at Sam Ash in Glenview Ill. I bet they wish they still owned this guitar, the original setup was nice, I put new fender #9 stainless strings on and adjusted the easy tune bridge slightly " I worked the strings into tune up and down " There is spacing between the pickups and the body I think it is resonable tolerance for a $140.00 guitar. The body is very flat but has a sweet honey color and the backside of this guitar has a very rich/dark mahogany look. The neck has cloud inlays I had no problems with excess glue or any imperfections on this neck, The selector swich does not work without jerry rigging I guess thats what you would expect in a $140.00 guitar. Overall the fit and finish is a 8.0

this guitar stays in tune, make sure you wind the strings at least 5 wraps on the pegs and give the strings a good stretch, the tuners work properly and this guitar will ROCK!!! I have not used this peticular guitar out in a live music situation but if you can than go for it!!! It looks good it plays good and it will please the crowd, Great guitar for the price!!!!

I never thought of demanding service on a $140.00 guitar.

I've been playing for 8 yrs. I have owned ibenez,epiphone and other fender copys, this guitar sets me apart I feel lucky to own this great playing guitar, nobody wanted to play this lonely guitar in Chicago so I brought her home and I would'nt give her up for nothing!!! Long live Brownsville 55 !!!

2000 model standard gotoh tuners with bigger knobs. has a strat style
body with a straight flat front no arm bevel cut but does have a belly cut in the back.Gold top les paul finish with tune-o matic bridge and stop.24 fret neck jumbo frets nicely finished. one note about this guitar it seems to have a long compared to the smaller almost jackson dinky style body.mahogany body and bolt on neck.with binding around the body only . 1 vol 1 tone 2 soapbar p-90 pickups

i like the sound very well it seems to get anything that i play which
is alot of different things.use with a line6 amp

excellent playabilty, neck is so close to a PRS it is amazing and
very comfortable to play esp sitting down.stays in tune no matter how much i bend the stings and flex that neck. great guitar for the 150.00
price.

should last as long as another guitar out there if not better than alot of cheaper models.

emailed them the got back to me right away.

great guitar for the money as close to a PRS that ive seen. LOVE IT
BECAUSE IT IS SO DIFFRENT NOT LIKE EVERY OTHER FENDER ,IBANEZ, ETC....
if i want a strat style guitar that everybody else has i'll go to
musicyo.com and buy a cheap ass striker.everbody can make a guitar like they do.

Listed in previous reviews.

Sounds great for the price!

Setup was average,finish was better than average with minor cosmetic flaws. Considering the price, not bad at all.

Seems to be solid and dependable, especially for the price.

Info not available.

I'm happy with what I got for the money I spent.

Features two soap bar pickups with adjustable poles, 24 fret neck, MADE in Korea, Gold sparkle top, master vol and tone, kidney-bean tuners that keep it in tune! tune-o-matic bridge, 3 way switch,and beautiful see through brown grain finish for the back and neck! It would definately be nicer if it had 2 vol/tones.

The sound on this is definately vintage(buzzy/fuzzy in a way). If you never had a guitar with p-90/soap pickups then go cheap like I did and get this from SAMASH. This will definately let you know if you are interested in a premium model. The pickups on this are high output. I compared the soaps on these to another guitar with Kent Armstrongs soaps and they are about the same in sound/tone/quality.
It's definately a good deal for $169.

Ok,

Everything looks pretty good. The only lacking area is the fret work. It looks like there is some excess glue at the frets. I don't think it's a big deal since you clean it with a razor blade. Other than that the guitar is nice! It was setup almost perfectly. Some fret buzz, but that's easy to fix.

This guitar should withstand a beating. The finish seems like it will protect it for years and years. The only thing I haven't checked was the internal wiring.

This is a damn good guitar for the money especially since epiphone is going down the tubes. I had some recent purchases from Epiphone and they craftmenship and setup were piss poor! Mismounted knobs, cracks in binding, blemishes, etc. Brownsville exceeds Epiphone in quality!

Made in Korea Studio '55 by Brownsville. Essentially a Strat meets Les Paul guitar; Strat in terms of construction, it has a strat-style silhouette and bolt-on neck. The neck is mahogany with 24 medium frets, 25" scale (I think), rosewood fretboard that gets wide after the 12th fret. Not sure of the body but it has a nice grain and is VERY light, weighs almost nothing (I'll get into that later). Cream bindng on body, Goldtop finish, with a slight Strat-like body contour on the back. Gotoh tuners (I believe) that hold tune very well. Hardware (tunamatic/stoptail) and electronics seem fit as well. Came with a cheap cable in the box (gee thanks).

Ok. The guitar sounds great. You can't beat P90s throught a cranked tube amp. I play through a Fender Blues Jr and Ibanez DS7, and the tone is just fat and punchy, good for lead and chording. Pickups were a tad noisy due to poor shielding in the cavity.

Here's where you get what you pay for. The top was finished badly, with many nicks, and a bad "smudge" by the bridge pickup. The pickup routes where cut badly, left rough with gaps. You could lose a quarter down there. Electronics cavity was poorly shielded. The action was ok, and the frets were dressed very nicely with no edges or "points" like on many Epiphones you find. The big sinker for this guitar is BALANCE. This is the main reason why I sent it back. It's almost as if they made the neck and body out of the opposite wood. The neck is very heavy and body weighs nothing; tranlate- drag and pull. Let go of it and the headstock is on the floor. Neck-heavy guitars are not fun, which is why I didn't buy that Gibson Les Paul Double-Cut Studio.

Hardware was good, but the body seemed light and cheaply finished. I doubt it could stand a pounding. It held tune very well, kudos again to the Gotoh Tuners. Hardware and electronics seemed pretty solid with good pickups.

I emailed brownsville to get specs on this guitar before ordering, but never received a reply. Oh well.

I've been playing for 5 years or so. It would have been nice to have specs on the guitar, to see what the body was made out of. I sent it back and am going to try a Dean EVO 60 Goldtop. It seems pretty rockin' and should fill my Goldtop/P90 void. Set neck too! But if you want a CHEAP axe with P90s and don't care about finish or balance, this could be the axe for you.