Gordon Smith GS 1.5

1990 matt black painted mahogany, double cut lightweight. Hand made in a small Manchester workshop by the man whose name is on the headstock. GS single coil at the neck and tapped humbucker by the wrapover bridge. Brass nut and original tuners- replacement knurled control knobs are the only obvious mods. Skinny 22 fret neck, still straight and ridiculously easy to play.

I play blues in standard and open tunings. I use a '98 Marshall 50 watt 2x12 valve combo and a '72 Bassman head through a '70's Marshall 2x12 cabinet. I don't use effects of any kind, except a little reverb.

The neck pickup gives nice warm rhythm sounds, sharpening up with a bit of tweaking to the tone control, for slide breaks. The humbucker gives all the power and depth you'd expect for Albert King stuff and will give a good facsimile of the trebly B.B. King sound if you work the tone pot. Tapping the bridge pickup gives a Jimmy Vaughan vibe and blending the sounds promises more useable tones. Separate tone and volume controls would be an improvement, at the expense of simplicity.

Wonderfully playable, with few dings for it's age. Small and light suits my short fingers and ageing back. Tuners, pots, pickups, frets and electrics all still work fine.... Balance is good but I am sometimes tempted to move the neck strap button from the back of the neck to the top horn.

Haven't gigged this yet- but I will. Nearly 20 years of use and this still exudes quality and reliability.

Not required - but the temptation to order up a custom model, with P90's is always there. They have a great reputation and are a small local business, which always helps.

Started playing around the time this example was made. I would replace the guitar if necessary- it has a lovely understated feel and is a reliable, versatile working tool. At the prices they fetch used and with the obvious longevity and reliability, I can recommend anyone to try one and see for themselves. An underground classic.

2005 model. 3 single coils, two together at bridge. Medium frets. Maple board(free option). Satin finish. Brass nut. Passive electronics. 22 frets, 24-3/4" scale. 3 way selector with master volume/coil splitter and master tone. Maple neck is one piece. Body I think is some kind of Mahogany. Very lightweight. Double cutaway that is almost identical to an old early 60's melody maker I have. Average sealed tuners. Compound radius.

This guitar does it all. The thing sounds like a Gretsch, seriously. I had an older 60's Corvette with the Hilotron pickup, this thing split nails it. The maple board keeps it bright. Even the short scale accepts light(.09-.42) strings without tuning problems. Run it through one of about everything in my basement lair. Sounds good through them all. Fun to play, nice medium wide neck with a slight radius to it. Quicker than quick, maple helps. Single coil sounds are noisy but worth it, this thing is fun to pound on!! Very light in weight, helps with my arthritis and two torn rotator cuffs!! Gotta quit that day job....

Decent but very plain guitar. Finish is satin so not much to it. Well made, solid. Hardware is o.k., not great but better than most. Frets are a little out on the ends, wood shrinkage and common in newer guitars without proper curing. Not bad mind you, but will need a light finishing to get them just right. The nut is odd, brass which adds to the brightness(in a good way) and adjustable with two mounting screws. Odd is right, haven't got around to messing with it but it plays very well as is.

I would trust it without hesitation. I always have a tool kit handy, setup my own guitars so not a big deal. I love the light weight and resonance of this guitar. It almost has a banjo like acoustic sound to it unplugged, but plugged in it sounds fantastic. Don't know about the electronics, look like they are average fair for a medium tier guitar. Always carry a spare or you ain't a player!!

No idea, just emailed them tonight and complimented them on a fine product. They are around $900 US price if you can find one stateside new, I got it off of ebay from a really nice guy for $350. I think it is worth it, and it is a unique and great sounding guitar.

I own them all, and there is a lot of crap out there. I am pretty picky, lots of guitars off the shelf are just not set up properly. Gibson is terrible about guitars coming out of the factory with lousy setups. To me it isn't a big deal, I know how I like them and normally have it changed to fit my taste. But for what they charge it should play itself. The custom shop is better but you can get a real vintage guitar if you look for what they want for a new one. PRS is about the only guitar I have played off the rack that is consistently good quality/playability. This little wonder is a great value and very playable. I am keeping this one. That says alot!! It's my new rockabilly/country guitar!!