English Guitar Company One

This guitar is a true "heads above the rest", as far as craftsmanship and quality. It was made in 1998 in Jim English's shop near San Diego, California-- all are custom built to suit. The guitar body is made of beautiful flamed maple, with a flamed maple neck (split by a strip of solid ebony), with an ebony fretboard. The controls are master volume, individual pickup volumes, with a master tone, and a single toggle pickup selector in the bass-side upper bout. The pickups are Tom Holmes' hand-made filtertrons. This guitar is basically an incredibly upgraded and perfected single-cut Gretsch 6120. There is a nicely shaved out neck heel (for a better reach) with a 3" body rim, and a 17" lower bout. Superb lacquer finish. The f-holes are a nice variation from the norm. Multiple bindings. The tuners are the vintage style Grover Rotomatic Imperials. The hardware is all gold-plated, with a nice B6 Bigsby tailpiece, and a Chet Atkins wire handle with a swing arm bracket. The neck is joined at the 16th fret, giving a more accessible upper register. The case is a deluxe black tolex model, like the current Gibson cases, minus the satin overlay. It has a nice crushed velvet interior.

I play fingerstyle guitar, mostly, and this guitar is perfect! The amp I currently use is a Fender Hod Rod Deluxe with one 12" speaker. I am looking now to buy a Fender Vibrolux (with two 10" speakers). I have found a far better sound in the Vibrolux. The guitar has no noisy pots or scratchy toggle switching. The Tom Holmes pickups are incredibly loud and full of bass. Basically, a rich, full sound that can be dialed in to just about brightness or clarity. I play only a modified clean sound-- some reverb, and occasional slap back delay. On rare occasions, I may use a gentle flanger/chorus sweep. So far, there is nothing I dislike about this guitar. The Tom Holmes pickups are no longer being offered (as far as I understand), and TV Jones filtertrons are now being installed on these guitars. It would be interesting to A/B the two types of pickups. The bridge pickup setting is what I normally play, and it sounds great-- there is an enormous amount of treble still available at this setting.

The action was set up great when I got it, although I got it used. I did have to adjust the floating Tune-O-matic bridge for intonation. The pickups are set up extremely well. I haven't performed any of the usual tightening of tuner buttons, adjusting the truss rod, or recutting the nut slots, etc. that I have had to do on many guitars-- there was no need for any fine tuning. The action is excellent-- the guitar came with roundwound 11's, and I changed to flatwound 11's. The lacquer finish is beautiful. The floating bridge does slide around some, and will need some double-sided tape.

I have no doubt that this guitar would perform great live. I intend to use it just for that, and I am not worried that it will hold up. Of course, with any gold-plated hardware, I expect some wear. I do wipe everything down with each use, so, wear is reduced. The lacquer finish is very well done, and is expected to wear over years of use, especially on the back of the neck. The neck wood is solid maple, not laminated, so a neck refinish in the distant future would not be a problem. The strap buttons are definitely solid. I would use it exclusively on a live performance (once I take care of the sliding bridge). It is an extremely well-built guitar, and is as solid as any I have ever owned.

I have spoken with Jim English personally and have found him to be an excellent person. He is great to talk to, and is available for any questions or help. No need for repairs at this time. It is a used guitar-- I don't know of any warranty that would apply.

I have been playing guitar for more than 25 years. I own a custom built Heritage hollow body electric and a Gibson J-30 flat top. I have owned many Gibson electrics-- a gold top Les Paul, a Country Gentleman, an ES-135, and an ES-335. These were all nice guitars, but did not have the quality as does the Jim English. Of course, you really cannot accurately compare a custom hand-made guitar with production models. The price is higher, for sure, but worth every penny. I have owned a '59 Gretsch Country Gentleman which was a production model as well, along with a recent Gretsch 6120W and a Setzer lacquer 6120. The 6120 SSL was one of my favorites until I came across the Jim English guitar. The workmanship and quality, along with the clean, quiet electronics are excellent! It would be hard to buy another one pricewise if the English Model One was stolen-- I got a great deal on a hand made in USA guitar. I would surely have to pay more if I had a new one built. I would probably go for a thinner rim thickness (2") if I ordered a new one, just for my own preference-- although the 3" rim is not a comfort problem at all. I would also like to hear the guitar with TV Jones' classic Filtertrons, although I may not like them as well as the Tom Holmes pickups that are currently installed. You can your own Jim English guitar through www.fineguitarconsultants.com.