Galveston B. B. Stone Model

Although this design has a alot of vibe from the Gretsch 6138 and the Billy Bo, the reality is that it has gone beyond a wanabe and in fact is a major sleeper in the unique guitar market.
With a solid mahogany body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard and quality hardware attitude is certainly present but when you plug in and your band mates finish drooling over it's looks ( and did I note the beautiful flame top ) but then ask " but what can it do against my Les Paul " well the answer depends.( see sound section )
I believe mine was NOS and leftover from some of the original Ohio guitars ( see info from my fellow owners above) no name humbuckers, no name but good quality hardware.

I play mostly harder classic improv jam rock with a Zep, Purple, Tuna, Lyn Skin, Alice, Dead kind of feeling.
Usually Marshall, sometimes vintage Fender or Boutique Amps with some boutique effects but most of the time clean using the Amp and Guitar to create the vibe.
I usually play Gibson Les pauls (80's) sometimes a BFG with a P-90 and Burstbucker Pro or a vintage SG with a mini humbucker

With it's stock pickups the tone with those rigs is good but some muddyness and noth what it could be considering the quality of this guitar. In otherwords this very special guitar but in my opinion in needs a pickup upgrade to really create one tricked out funky unit with some major tone.
Remember, this baby is 9 pounds of mahogany. I expect my rating to go to 9 with the pickups I will be installing but for now 5

I purchased it on ebay through musicians heaven ( Thanks for the nice set up and good packaging)the the finish is top notch but when you consider the price (under $300) ........wow impressive.

Strong guitar, I expect many happy riffs, yes with new pickups I look forward to many gigs . I will replace the strap buttons to strap locks but they are of good quality.

None but it's fun bringing it to unsuspecting techs and watching the reaction when they first see it.
I brought it to one of the top repair shops in NYC and they could not believe the look and quality.

According to my fellow owners, only 24 of these very special guitars exists in the world.

This guitar is beyond unique, outstanding quality, striking cool gray/black flame top and with high end pickups I expect some serious tone.
If you can ever find one...... run dont walk to grab it.

No idea when it was made, but here's the specs of the Eagle version form Eagle Instruments:

Double cutaway model
Solid mahogany body
Hard maple neck, new eagle head
Flame maple top, vintage white binding
Rosewood fingerboard, abalone block markers
2 Eagle Humbucker pickups
Volume and Tone controls
3-way switch
Tune-o-matic type bridge
Stop Tailpiece
Chrome hardware
Vintage Honey burst finish

Eagle made about 12 & Galveston made about 12, & there are only 24 in the world, according to Jerker Antoni, the guy who designed 'em.

Sounds great through my Marshall GR80CD, Through a Rented Line 6, trought a friend's Fender Cyber-Twin, & through a nice old Mesa Boogie that nother buddy of mine has. It's got a great sound, not unlike any Les Paul knock-off... but then again, not the same at all. I'm in a punk band... so anything dirty is usually good. It does however shine out nicely when I have a little lead line or the occasional fill. I use it so much, it's become my sound.

Not the best set up ever, but I love it. I guess this all depends on who's playing it too. It fits my fingers great, & the action hasn't been adjusted by me, ever. The only flaw I could see is a complete & total lack of information. All it says is "Galveston". Nowhere did it note the model name, serial number, or anything. I had to do a lot of digging to find out what the hell it was. It seems the eagle models all say "B.B. Stone on the front & have a different headstock than the Galvestons.

I use it at every gig, actually using my Epiphone Les Paul or another no-name LP as a backup. Only time I've ever needed anything else is when I break a string, & that's my fault usually. It's come to where if I go to the stage without it, people are asking "Dude, where's the Square Guitar?", ha ha ha.

Galveston is an enigma, as stated in the other reviews. I have however, discovered the guy who designed the guitar, Jerker Antoni, at www.eagleinstruments.nu, and he has helped me quite a bit. So much so, that I started www.SquareGuitar.com to see if I can find the other 23 "B.B. Stone Signature Model" guitars out there. So, if you have one, please come on over!

I've been playing since about the age of 15, & I'm 27 now. In Addition to the Galvestion B.B. Stone, I have a Fender Stratocaster (Japanese), an Epiphone Les Paul, a Les Pul knock-off w/ no name & customized graphics - re-dubbed it the "Gotham Bat Paul", an old 60's Silvertone, a Fender G-IIE Acoustic/Electric, & an Ibanez 627-12 12-String Acoustic w/ a Customized Bridge. I play the Galveston the most because I love the reaction... people either love it or hate it right away & it's always a great conversation starter. It's also really easy & smooth to play, so why wouldn't I be playhing it on stage? My favorite feature? Has to be the shape. It's what caught my eye. Now though, it's the rarity. Hope they don't start re-issuing them! Maybe someday I'll get some better humbuckers, but we'll have to see. The ones in there are fine for now. If it was ever lost or stolen... I would go to the ends of the earth to find it.

Interesting Korean-made guitar. Looks like the love child spawned from the rendezvous between a shovel and an anchor. I just couldn't resist it. I seemed to be the only one so enamored. I was the only bid. The body is mahogany. It has a nice book-matched flamed top beneath a very glossy, transparent black finish with vintage white binding on the top of the body only. The set neck is hard maple. Both neck and headstock are painted black. The rosewood fretboard has cheap block inlays that look like plexiglass mixed with pearl. The Jinho tuners are black-smoke chrome while the rest of the hardware (Tune-O-matic-style bridge with stop tailpiece) is bright chrome. One each, volume and tone controls, with black Gibson-style speed knobs. It has two black open humbuckers with black surrounds. The 3-way selector switch is on the bass bout right next to the neck pickup. Input jack is on the front directly below, and in line with, the tone and volume controls. This U.S. version differs from the Swedish Eagle brand B.B. Stone by having a standard headstock unlike the multi-piece "open" headstock on the Eagle. All in all it's basically a no-frills solid-body guitar.

I was suprised at the sounds this thing could make. I underestimated it based on its appearance and price. The humbuckers are quiet and about average on the power scale. They are fairly bright with a rather thin tone. I get very little sustain from the high e (and b) with 10s on it. The wrapped (heavier) strings ring out clearly and make for a good twang fest if you're a rhythm guitarist. As for the tone, I want to take this guitar apart and duplicate the tone control layout in all my other guitars. As stated in the previous review it is very liquid. Too bad the pickups aren't more capable.

Right out of the box the guitar was servicable. I tweaked the truss rod a bit before I set the bridge flush against the body to get the action low enough. I then adjusted the pickups accordingly. The flame top is okay but not matched well. The binding is cleanly done. The transparent black is nice and even. The gloss coat is beautiful. The neck is set well with a large radius fingerboard. The frets are dressed and bright. I looks a lot nicer in person than it did online. The strap button on the bass cutaway is in an awkward place. It forces the strap to slip behind the cutaway. This is not a comfortable "sit-down" guitar because of its shape. That won't be a problem for a standup player. I think the 3-way switch is situated too close to the neck pickup. I've flicked it accidentally more than once.

The B B Stone looks like a very durable piece. The finish is thick and resiliant. The 3-way switch works quietly but is certainly NOT heavy duty; typical of the cheaper imports. The Jinho tuners work well and look great. This is a simple and strong guitar. The 3-way switch is probably the weakest link. If the sound was richer I could easily see this as a primary instrument.

In general no customer support exists. These guitars are imported into Ohio from the Un-Sung Instrument company in Korea. There is no Korean support (even to the distributor as I understand it) and only the bare minimum warranty from the various sellers. This model is also available with a different headstock in Sweden through Eagle Instruments. They have a better customer service structure but you won't get one for $100.

I've been diddling for some 30 years now. I stopped playing during the '90s and have recently cranked up the old gear again. I practice through a Ross 25 solid state amp with tank reverb. For most other occassions I drag out the Peavey Classic VT series with 2-12s. I've collected over 20 guitars and basses over the years. Five are made by Un-Sung with the Galveston name (or their previous brand name Karera). I think the BB Stone is an outstanding guitar for the money I paid. I'd even pay more now that I've had some time with it. Install a new set of pickups and it will really rock. It's funky looking, well made, and reasonably good sounding as is. I'm not sure how many of these things are available in the States but I can recommend one with little reservation.

This is a 2001 Galveston "B.B. Stone" model 6 string electric, manufactured by the Silverstar Company...a division of Un-Sung Musicial Instruments, located in In-Chon, Korea. The body design is a cross between a Gretsch #6138 (Bo Diddley Model) and a squared-off Hallmark Sweptwing...the body itself being square/cube shaped with double (pointed) cutaways and the headstock an exact replica of the Gretsch's #6138. The set neck is 2 piece maple with 22 medium frets, rosewood fingerboard with block (imitation MOP) inlays, plastic nut, and Jinho tuners. There are 2 non-covered humbuckers with one Volume, one Tone control, and a 3-way selector switch. Bridge is a Tune-O-Matic clone with a stop tailpiece. Honeyburst finish on bookmatched flamed top with cream binding.

The stock pickups provide adequate volume and tone and are very quiet. The Tone control is very "fluid", not simply dull to bright. I play through a 1973 Peavey F-800G head and 2 Sunn 6-12" cabinets and this guitar Really sings on the clean channel, making it an excellent instrument for "old style" Country & Western music, even though the odd shape would probably make cowboys and rodeo girls go, "Jest wut tha hail kynna gee-tar iz thay-it, enywae?" I play a lot of original compositions, as well as covers by Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band, Ultimate Spinach, Starlord Opera, The Ubiquitous THEY, and The Residents...and the Galveston provides decent and usable, but not Great, tones for all these genres of music.

The factory set-up was good for the ".010-.046" guage strings that came on it, but I prefer ".009-.042" guage, which required only a bridge height adjustment and some minor truss rod tweaking to make it a very comfortable player. Intonation on 5 strings was dead on, and the 6th needed only a couple of turns of the saddle screw to make it perfect. The two biggest shocks about this guitar concern the fret job and the tuners. First, the fret job: On MANY import (and some domestic) guitars (both cheap And upscale models), the fret jobs leave a LOT to be desired, the frets almost always having "spurs"...aka: lousily cut undressed frets extending from both sides of the fretboard...like teeth on a saw blade. For the price I paid for this guitar, I was REALLY Suprised at the professional fret job on it...the frets actually dressed and filed smoothly on both sides of the neck...NO "spurs"!! Now the tuners: The crappy tuners are the First thing I change on almost every guitar I purchase, replacing them with a quality name-brand set, such as Kluson, Grover, or Schaller. When I first viewed the tuners, I was pleasantly suprised and relieved to see "Grover Rotomatics" installed...BUT upon further inspection, I noticed that they were NOT Grovers, but actually EXACT copies of Grover Rotomatics by the Jinho Company. I have a set of Grover Rotomatics and these Jinhos are EXACT duplicates, even down to the raised name on top of each tuner. But best of all, the operation of the Jinhos is, in my honest opinion, at least equal, if not superior, to Grover Rotomatics. They are fully tension-adjustable with NO slippage. After some Internet research, I discovered that Jinho tuners are used on $2500.00 to $3500.00 instruments, as well as cheap/economical models. I have owned probably over 50 guitars in my lifetime, and this will be only the 2nd time ever that I have chosen to keep the original factory-installed tuners and not replace them...that is how impressed I am with the Jinhos. The one "negative" I have is that they are so sturdy that, even with the smaller shaped headstock, they add substantial weight and cause the guitar to be top-heavy...not to any great extent, though...they are just meaty tuners. I find no flaws in the finish, the bookmatching on the flamed front is impressive for an economical model/brand and the back looks like one piece of wood, the 2 pieces being matched and joined together so well.

I purchased this guitar as a backup, but I would definitely rely on it for a main instrument. The finish is thick and applied professionally, and the hardware is sturdy throughout. This guitar looks and feels as if it can withstand quite a lot.

This is the Biggest "Ghost" of a company I have ever known. They "exist", but just try to contact or find out something about them. After many hours of extensive Internet research, I have found almost Nothing about the Galveston Company and/or brand name. There are MANY vendors and businesses dealing in Galveston instruments, but hardly NO ONE can supply any information about the company itself. My "1" rating is due to the company choosing to remain anonymous and secretive, therefore alienating themselves from their customers who, through purchases, support and keep them in business. "C'mon Galveston...show your face...we won't hurt you."

Galveston is a real enigma of a company. According to the reviews here at Harmony Central, they not only produce some pieces of junk with strings, but some high end very professional quality instruments as well...yet, they are next to impossible to contact, locate, find out about, etc., etc.. From the reviews I've read here, you either love Galveston instruments...or you hate them. There appears to be almost no "middle ground". This seems due to the "either end of the spectrum" process of manufacturing and quality control. It appears instruments are either real pieces of crap or are of professional grade, as I feel mine is. Perhaps my guitar is a "one off", or someone at the factory goofed in the other direction...and actually took pride when creating this particular instrument. Whatever the reason, I was expecting a cheaply manufactured, yet usable guitar to use only as a backup...and am greatly suprised at the quality of the guitar I received. If I ever locate another one, I will surely purchase it, and hope that mine is not a "fluke" and the new one will be of the same caliber of quality, if not possibly even better.