Gordon Smith GS2

Satin Finish Natural Wood. All Mahogany except for rosewood fingerboard. Made 1993 in Britain.
double cutaway body no ergonomic cintours.
Bridge is a wrapover which with no fine adjustment but haven't found it needed it.
3 a side Gordon Smith Tuners - good quality
Neck has quite a flat profile compared with Fender C shape but similar nutwidth (21 frets)
Brass Nut.
Volume and tone for each humbucker with coil taps.
Three way switch to select pickups.
Gordon SMith black humbucker pickups.

Great rich clean and dirty sounds from this guitar.
Ideal for blues and heavy rock but good jazz and county tones available to by playing with coil taps and tone controls.
Quiet when not in use.
I love the sound of Gordon Smiths and wouldn't think of changing anything.

Was fairly abused when I got it (3rd hand) but with a bit of fine tuning it was perfect.
Medium-low action with no buzz.

Finish is simple but classy matt on mahogony .
No flaws.

Workhorse guitar - will outlive its owner.
Gordon Smith only use top quality parts.

Customer support are always helpful but I doubt you would ever need them.

I've owned and played a lot of guitars over the years and have always found Gordon Smith to be the most consistent. The quality of so many guitars even the big names seems to vary depending on where and when they were built but Gordon Smith have built their entire business on a reputation for timeless workhorse guitars for the professional musician and I challenge you to find a poor example.

As usual the variety of sounds available also make this a very usefull instrument.

The new price on these is very resonable second hand they sometimes go incredibly cheap. If had the "right" name on the head stock they'll sell for more than twice as much.

Satin Finish Natural Wood. All Mahogany except for rosewood fingerboard. Made 1993 in Britain.
Smallish double cutaway body no comfort shaping on the front or back though.
Bridge is a wrapover which means no fine adjustment but haven't found it needed it.
Not sure what make the tuners are (3 a side on quite large head) but they stay in tune!
Neck has quite a flat profile compared with Fender C shape but similar nutwidth (21 frets) Nut is brass.
Controls volume and tone for each of the humbuckers plus coil taps. Three way switch to select pickups. No name on pickups which have a black cover but research tells me Gordon Smith make their own.

I bought this guitar primarily for the look when I was quite an inexperienced musician nearly 15 years ago. Over the years I have played many styles of music and it has not been found wanting.
The humbuckers have plenty of punch. A nice warm sound in the mid position without loss of clarity pretty much what you would expect from both neck and bridge selections too. The advantage comes in the fact that you can use the coil taps to completely change the tone giving a very passable single coil jangle (I have used these more recently as my daughter has a Strat)
I play mostly rock and blues now and this guitar just keeps ticking all the boxes - bags os sustain and it just loves to be overdriven even though you can play cleanly just as well.

Bought from a shop that make sure the guitar is well set up before it goes on the rack so no complaint there.
I have not found the need to adjust anything.
Very low action but no buzz or any other problem like that.
Finish was superb - couple of dings etc now but the guuitar is nearly 15 years old.
Because wood is a natural product you get some slight flaws but nothing on mine that looks like it is the slightest problem.

I have not gigged with this guitar but it still feels as solid and well finished now as it did when I bought it. I have not had any problems with it - except one of the volume knobs pulled off when selecting the coil tap so I had to stick it back on (no problem since).
Strap buttons are solid enough though the neck end one is on the back which may not suit everyone - I have not found it a problem but just noticed it the other day when I finally got round to buying a second guitar.
I have never gigged so I cannot comment on whether I would use it without a backup - probably not but not because of the guitar itself.

Not had any cause to contact the manufacturer until I decided to try and find out more about my guitar recently and they were able to email me a reply to all my questions very quickly - even though the guitar was made over ten years earlier.
No idea about warranty but not a problem.

I have been playing for about 25 years. This was my first really serious guitar (cheap ones only before that) and I have not felt the need to replace it. I have recently bought myself a second guitar and found the choice really hard to make as I wanted something different but not too different - most of the guitars in my budget did not have anywhere near the same quality. I play it through a Marshall Valvestate 30 watt amp (home only) and sometimes use a Zoom multi effects thingy to give some variation to the sounds available but most often I just switch pickups or switch channels on the amp.
If this were lost or stolen I would have to say that I would love to replace it with the same (I'm not sure I could afford it now though)
I love the fact that my guitar is British made. It is made of real wood and you can see it properly and that is why I bought it originally. In choosing a second guitar recently I tried many Strats and teles but ended up choosing another guitar with humbuckers - single coils sounded so thin by comparison.

Double cut-away mahagony body and neck. Fingerboard is rosewood (22 frets) and the two humbuckers are coil tapped (push-pull potis to make them single coils). Nice natural finish. Comes with a wrap over bar bridge.

This guitar has a huge viarity of brilliant sounds and it's got personality though. And that's really something. The combination of the mahagony body and neck and the gordon smith pick-ups really work. No matter what style you'd like to play: this guitar gives you all opportunities. Every time I work at a studio it fits the style that is needed: from jazz to punk. Need a smooth jazz tone? You can get it if you want. Need a telecaster twang? No problem. You want it to sing? No problem at all. All the components that are responsible for a brilliant tone are well belanced. This guitar has style and is a working horse as well.

This guitar allows you to get a very low action without any buzz. The shape of the neck is very comfortable. I replaced the wrap around bridge in order to get the intonation I want. It works pretty good and it sounds good. But I have the feeling the wrap around bridge sounded a little better. It's up to you.

I mostly played this guitar during the last 15 years. Lots of gigs, lots of studio work ... and it still works. Sooner or later you'll have to replace the push-pull potis. But that's normal. Sooner or later it needs new frets (depending on how much you play). Normal as well. This guitar is build to play!

They seem to be nice people. Once when I had a question I wrote an e-mail and they answered quickly. They don't build 10.000 guitars a year. And that's an advantage.

After playing guitar for nearly 30 years now - from jazz to punk - I must say that I'd buy a GS-2 again if mine was stolen. But I keep an eye on it ;-)

Single cutaway, GS2.60 in Tobacco Burst. The ".60" in the title denotes the thick body, an option I chose when ordering the guitar for an extra #25. Made in Manchester UK which is where I happen to be from.
The guitar has 2 black plastic covered coil tapped humbuckers giving, I believe 7 pickup combinations. The body of the guitar is a single piece of mahogany with nice grain that is visable through the finish.
Bridge is traditional wrap over bar with two screws for overall intonation although a tune-o-matic is available. I've never had any problems this this basic configuration.

This guitar suits a variety of styles. With the coils tapped, a nice jangly pop sound is available, light and punchy. When pushing a valve amp hard this can turn into a lean blues sound. Pushing the coil tapps in, the double coul sound is excellent, fat and sweet on the neck pickup and cutting and hard on the bridge. As some reviewers have said, tone controls seem to benefit from being backed off to 7-8 as they can seem rather shrill above this (nice to have though if your amp is dull).

With combinations of coil tapped and un-tapped on both pickups many original sounds are available although I usually just use the un-tapped neck pickup for a nice blues tone.

In comparrison to other guitars seems less bassy than a Les Paul and has a different top end partly due to not having a maple top - might be more like an LP special. The thick body option on mine seemed to add extra weight to the sound at the expense of a little percussive "snap", but hey, that's what me Srat is for!

Very nice finish with some evidence that it has been hand finished - by no means perfect - but a simple, nice looking guitar. Mach more humble that a flame top Les Paul but 1 third of the price and more original!
Fret work was good and generally well set-up although Sounds Great, where I got the guitar from offer a free set up so that may have helped

Not gigged this heavily but feels a very solid, well built guitar. Switches and pots seem okay although not quite up to the high standard of the rest of the guitar. But at this price dont worry if you have to replece the toggle switch after a few years

I phoned once, the chap seemed very nice and was happy to advise. If you order a guitar to be built from scratch, may take several months, as did mine, but all good things come to those who wait!

I've been playing for about ten years. When I started I always dreamed of having American guitars, the very models which my hero's played (Hendrix, SRV, Tonwsend, Green). I have an American Strat and love the sound of that guitar and can get close to the sounds the they made, and some of my own sound.

With the GS to I can get good rock, blues and jazz tones - it can't sound exactly like a strat, LP or SG, and I've not seen many famous people playing them but it's dam good guitar, it is original and has its own sound and versatility.

A real British, Manc Gem!

Early 90s guitar. Made to order for someone in LA..Not sure who..Supposed to be famous, but I never heard of her!

Thicker body, extra windings on the coil tap pickups. Not sure of any other custom features.

Usual brass nut and GS bridge..

The GS2 is a seriously nice instrument. Hands down better than any similarly priced guitar.

I give it 10 because I love it so much...

I play mostly blues..Suits me..

Coil taps work, sounds ok. Don't use them much. I prefer the neck pickup or a mix of the two..

Very full sound.

This guitar plays well..Nice action. Good solid wood.

Only complain I have is that the selector switch has become a little erratic. Sometimes working, sometimes not letting me select the bridge pu.

Probably just need to resolder, or maybe replace..

Would totally approve of using this guitar in a live situation. Has quite a range of tones, so can do mostly anything.

Very solid instrument, that can take some abuse..Although I do try to minimise that!

I have seen that these guitars have been used by a lot of players. Even some punks...I assume that means that they can take a beating!

Mailed the company once to ask about the guitar..

They responded quite quickly with some details.. So, not bad!!

I may ask them about the selector switch..see what they say!

I have been playing over 25 years now...

I have a Gibson SG with P90s...An old Ibanez tele custom, assorted other electrics and acoustics..

I would have to say, if you have the chance to aquire any Gordon Smith guitar, take it. I seriously doubt that you will find anyting else that compares with it, without at least doubling or trippling the amount of money you need..

I bought this in 1987 from Peter Cook's Guitar World in London to replace an earlier GS2 which was nicked in a house burglary.

It's a thin-bodied, two humbucker pickup solid guitar in mahogany with rosewood fingerboard, three way pickup selector, two volume and two tone controls. The volume controls pull out to coil-tap the pickups, which are of a proprietary Gordon Smith design. The electronics are passive and dead conventional.

It's quite simple in design and finish (it's just plain wood, no varnish), which is one of its great strengths. The bridge is just a Gibson-style tailpiece used as a wraparound bridge with a couple of screws through it for rake adjustment.

No locking tuners/vibrato bar, but I don't need these anyway.

I'll give it a 9, because it meets all my needs.

I've been using it for 20 years now, and so it's been played through a variety of rigs, and with a variety of styles. I currently use a Peavey Bravo (25w valve) for small gigs and a Fender "The Twin" (100w valve) for larger ones. I use a Zoom 505ii and natural valve distortion as my main effects. Currently, it's used for rock stuff.

It has been used at hundreds of gigs and is still going strong.

The pickups are quieter (i.e. less signal) than some humbuckers, but brighter sounding than many. In single coil mode, you can get a nice front pickup honky sound (like a Strat on the front pickup, only less so). I find myself using the front pickup coil-tapped most of the time, and the back pickup in humbucker mode most of the time, this giving a very nice range of tones. It sounds gorgeous played clean with the front "single coiled" and back "humbuckered", and mixed together. With the front pickup in this mode, a little bit of gain and lots of volume, you can get a great, very loud SRV tone without lots of noise. The pickups are very feedback resistant which is great for live performance.

It's not a very "sustainy" guitar, and by that I mean acoustic sustain from the body. When you're playing live and loud you can make it sing forever, of course. Its lower sustain levels are no big deal these days, because every half decent effects unit (including my little Zoom) has an excellent compressor which can extend it nicely.

I can get a huge variety of sounds from it using this very simple setup.

Guitar was perfectly set up with great finish on the frets, nut correctly cut (which is rare these days), pickups well positioned, bridge set for a low action with correct intonation. I've never even had to adjust the truss rod.

It's not made from from bookmatched pieces of wood, but from two mahogany blocks, one for the neck, one for the body, and they are obviously properly seasoned, because there has been no distortion, splitting etc since new. Nothing has gone wrong with it in any respect whatsoever.

It's the perfect gigging guitar - simply couldn't be bettered. My reasons follow:

1. It NEVER breaks strings. In all these years, it's never happened, either at a gig or at home. This alone qualifies it for top marks in my book. The simple bridge design and perfectly cut brass nut with shallow angle of strings going up to the machineheads means no stress points, and therefore no broken strings. And that's even if you bash the s**t out of them.

2. No lacquer/varnish. My one is covered with small "dings" due to donkey's years of real use. If you're standing more than two feet away, it looks perfect. If it had been lacquered it would look worse than Rory Gallagher's Strat by now.

3. Versatile sound. I don't feel the need to carry another guitar for different range of sounds, because I can get all I need from it.

4. Tough as old boots. It's been bashed around and nothing breaks.

It's used as my gigging guitar, and I don't even bother to carry a backup because I know this is as dependable as it's possible to be. Top marks.

Never contacted them, but I've got a faint recollection that it was guaranteed for 25 years (yes, really!). I don't think they offer this any more, although I'm not sure. I don't really anticipate needing to contact them...

Gordon Smith have got a web site from which you can order replacements for the hardware so if I did need any new bits, I'd just order from there and fit them myself.

I've been playing since 1969, so at the time of writing this, that's 36 years. At the time I started, decent guitars were unaffordable, and everything else was dire.

It was stolen, and it was replaced with an identical one.

I've played lots and lots of guitars before settling on this one. It just felt so superior to anything else I tried at the time. I've bought and sold quite a few since, too, as we guitarists like to dabble, don't we? Nothing has bettered it... yet. I really like the thin body - it's not heavy, and is very comfortable to play. The simplicity/reliability of it are untouchable in my experience, and my favourite thing about it is its kindness to strings. You do still need to replace them, of course, when they lose their "twang".

It's more "Gibson-ish" than "Fender-ish", but is actually like neither. It's MUCH more versatile than the popular Gibbys. I've compared it to loads of other guitars, and for me, it's the best. Some people like a heavier humbucker sound, but then you lose the versatility.

I've already implied that I like it best with the front pickup coil-tapped. Gordon Smith used to do a "GS one and a half", which had a single coil at the front, and this would be a good buy too. If I were really keen on this, I could have changed the front one to a single. I do use mine in humbucker mode for jazz stuff, though, and with the tone on the guitar cut a tiny bit, you can get a classic jazz tone, so I wouldn't change it.

2003 made in Partington, Gtr Manchester.
22 frets; solid mahogany body; mahogany neck with a rosewood finger board.
Carries two GS pickups with volume (coil tapped) and tone for each. Three way toggle.
Mine has a natural finish which shows the grain of the wood nicely. It picks up dents very easily, but once I reconciled myself to that I was okay. I realised it'd pick up dings far easier, given it's soft (not hard) laquer finsh.
It has a wrap-around bridge and GS tuners which are perfect.
The neck profile is wide but shallow- quite a confortable 'D' shape to it. Nice wide frets to aid bending. You can play fast, but it's got plenty of feel for those moments when you're trying to be Paul Kossoff.

Play mainly rock and pop. I like to play clean with reverb and it sounds full and rich thorugh all the amps I've tried: Tube, trannie and digital modeller.
In full humbucker mode it is a full and throaty guitar. Coil tapping gives you a very barky, sprightly sound: On the one hand it's a Les Paul, on the other it's a Tele! Yet it retians its own character and wins out- in my opinion- ov er the two, being never too muddy on the one hand nor too toppy on the other.
I'd really recommend it for the variety of sounds from the coil taps alone. The coil tapped pickups sound like single coils, not tapped humbuckers, and they have lots of output in either setting.

Fine on all counts. My only gripes are firstly how easily mine picks up- and shows evermore- the dings. Secondly, I don't know whether it's the wrap aruond bridge, my brand of string, my ears or what, but top E strings go dud and buzzy on this guitar pretty quick. It may be the bridge amplifying all the imerfections of the string picked up in general play. Used to it now, but when it first happened I thought the neck had gone bad ways.

Really well made. The only thing is with the finish it'll end up looking like a well used- but well cared for- piece of furniture. It's a real player's guitar: Not flash in the slightest. The only thing is it loooks really played!!!

Pretty prompt in giving me updates on when it would be ready as it was made to order. Had to wait a while for it as they only make a limited number of guitars per year. Have only ever heard good things about GS though.

Great guitar, my first- and maybe last- 'proper' guitar. All the sounds I want, alll the feel I want, all the tones I want. If stolen I'd get it back, having tracked down the culprit and strung him up from the nearest lampost with a set of elevens.

By the way, i play this with a set of elevens on, because the scale length is relatively short. The result is great sustain and lovely singing tone. I love most the variety of tones and sounds you can get through the combination of excellent woods, well-made, well-balanced pickups and no-nonsense reliable hardware.
A truly great instrument and heartily recommended.

Thin bodied double cutaway GS2. 2 HBs both with coil tap. Dead simple guitar. For this style you can't really get more features, except for a phase switch perhaps.

This review needs some background....About 15 years ago I played a 12 string Gordon Smith Les Paul copy. It was a fantastic guitar but I was a student at the time so it had to stay in the shop. Since then I've wanted a Gordon Smith. My son hit 13 and wanted a real guitar. His birthday was comming up and I saw the GS2 second hand for #250. I brought it thinking if he had it I could play it and if he didn't want it I'd have it. :)

As we got nearer to his birthday he decided he wanted a Gibson SG Special. #499 later he had one. So his birthday come around and we have a GS2 + SG. Both of these retail new for about the same. I was expecting these guitars to be at least comparable and perhaps with the GS2 winning by a nose.

We tried the guitars through various amps, Fender Bassman 135, Northcourt 30, Ashdown Peachmaker 40. Every time and with every type of sound, be it clean or overdriven the SG blew the GS2 away. There was no comparision. Sound, feel, sustain, you name it the GS2 was second rate.

See above. This guitar didn't sound bad but compared to a Gibson SG it sounds life less in muliple amps and with multiple sound settings.

The guitar was perfectly finished and set up. Neck joint was solid. Very nicely put together.

Build like a rock. So simple nothing can go wrong.

After playing a Gordon Smith 12 string Les Paul years ago (see above) I once phoned them up to see if I could get a GS2 style guitar with 12 strings (this was in the days before the Internet). They were very helpful and took me through the various options and costs.

Very nice people.

I've been playing for 25 years and have played in various bands in that time. Main guitars at the moment are a US Fender Strat, Gibson Les Paul, Epiphone Sheraton.

I really wanted to like this the GS2 and kidded myself that I did until I played it against a Gibson SG. If you've only get #250 then this is a great guitar to buy second hand. If you've got #500 I wouldn't buy one new, I'd get an SG Special.

I sold the guitar for #275. I stopped playing it after I'd tried to SG. I'd like to have tried it with different pickups - I put Seymour Duncan Seth Lovers in the Sheraton and they sound fantastic - but couldn't justify the expense to see if it fixed it.

L/H natural mahogany single cut thick body. Rosewood board. When I asked John to build this for me, I wanted a straightforward guitar that "does what it says on the tin". I can't give it full marks in this department, as it's so simple But then again, it's exactly what I wanted, and it works - Schaller one-piece adjustable bridge (my choice), two tappable 'buckers, one volume, one tone, one switch, very nice hard case.
This is intended as a different/versatile gigging deputy for my customised Strat and again, I got exactly what I wanted in this department.

It came strung with nines, and now it's got tens which (I think) suit the scale length better. The tone is overall pretty beefy, though lighter than a Les Paul, with less punch (again, as I'd hoped, a "Les-Paul lite").
I'm in a covers/function band playing pop-rock, and I can cover everything (even acoustic passags, at a push). The single-coil sounds are fine, but they don't beat the Strat. Jazz? Great. Pop? the business. Blues/rock? Probably its best suit. Shred? Oh, my!
My signal chain is Samson TX/RX, Cry Baby, ProCo Rat (hardly needed with the GS2), Visual Sound H2O, Marshall TSL60 head and 1936 2x12. Everything works great, and basically, I have to hold myself back, compared to using the Strat (always my number one).
Without fitting a hex pickup or piezos, I now have the widest available range of electric guitar sounds most players (certainly me) are ever likely to need.

Let's be honest, this is not a thing of great beauty, but its sheer simplicity is charming in its way. Look, I've given it a name (no, I won't tell you!) so it must be pretty appealing.
Extremely well setup, but with a little clickiness on the p/u selector (soon sorted out) and a little roughness where the fretboard joins the body.
The oddest thing is the single side dot at the octave, where you'd expect two. No reason given - just a quirk. But since a LP style guitar hangs at a different point on the body to a Strat (I have discovered) you have make a conscious effort to re-learn where the octave is.
Overall, though, very nice - notwithstanding the fact there's not much to get wrong!

I had this guitar for a few months. It's gig-hardy and, although I'd never gig without a backup, I'm as happy to gig this as any other guitar I've owned - more so, in many cases.
Time will tell, but I reckon it will see me out.

Gordon Smith is such a friendly company, dealing with them (often John Smith, sometimes the missus) has been a great pleasure.
They delivered the goods ahead of time, and occasionally chased me, rather than the other way round.
I haven't needed after sales service, but I'd bet on it being just as good.

I've been playing actively for 33 years, so I've owned a lot of guitars and amps. Some of my contemporaries are splashiung out on PRS and vintage Gibson etc. I could afford it, but I don't want it. What I do want is elegant functionality. My current frontline guitars are Fender, Taylor and now Gordon Smith - backline is Marshall. You can see where I'm coming from - tremendous!
Were it stolen, I'd track the bastard down, stuff the neck up his rectum, then have it cleaned and carry on just as before.
Yes, I might order a red body instead of brown in future, but look, when you're ordering a custom job, if it doesn't turn out how you wanted it, then really you've only yourself to blame.
Gordon Smith pride themselves on playing it straight. If that's you as well, then try talking to them.

Gordon-Smith GS2
Made 2001 in Manchester, England to order - Left-hand - supplied direct from the company. Solid body - mahogany. 2 Coil tapped humbuckers (GS). Satin finish, double cut thin body, set neck - rosewood fingerboard. GS Design adjustable bridge. Own GS tuners. Case supplied

Play in a covers band - everything from Steve Earle through to The Ventures, David Gray, Travis to Cream and John Hiatt. Suits everything really well - the coil taps are really versatile and everything from distorted rock through to jazzy acoustic sounds are achievable. Took a while to get used to the switching configurations - but now I have got the hang of it the guitar is everything I need. I use a Marshall Valvestate 50watt with Boss chorus and Marshall Guv'nor pedals. Simple stuff. The GS2 can cover all the sounds I require. No real dislikes in the sound department.

Factory Setup was amazing - in fact too good - as the action was so low that I scuffed the covers on the humbuckers! Got a tech to raise the action which was really precise due to the GS adjustable bridge and brass nut. The bridge is very simple - it does not need to be anything else - and adjustments are easy. Pickups were fine, neck very smooth (and getting smoother with playing) Only finish criticism was a dark spot of stain under the varnish on the body front - I have got used to it now, and see it as a 'beauty spot' apart from that no problems at all.

Played live all the time - this is my main guitar and it is as solid as a rock - no pun intended. Everything is built to last and I have no doubt that if I had a problem John or one of his colleagues would help out. Totally dependable, the satin finish is going a bit bright in places but that makes it MY guitar. No guitar is immune from string breaks and you would be very unprofessional if you did'nt have a back up.

Put in my original call for the guitar to be built to John Smith and nothing was too much trouble - the price quoted was the amount charged #475 and delivery was 6 weeks instead of the 8 quoted. Spoke to another employee (another John) with a question about recurrent string breaks (duff batch of strings) and he was very helpful with suggestions to try. Again if I wasn't getting anywhere on my own they would be more than happy to help sort the problem out.

Been playing semi-pro for three years and approx 10 before that. Other guitar for gigging is a Hohner ST59 (excellent). More than happy with the guitar as it was made to my spec in the first place. I would order another straight away with exactly the same spec if it disappeared. It is light, small bodied - so it can be worn all night without crippling you and I think it looks lovely. I like the versatility of the coil tapped pickups - from clean Strat to filthy Gibson in a flick - I chose this because one of the other players in the band had a GS1 and my teacher had a Gypsy. I wanted a simple guitar but being a left hander I had very little to choose from - this guitar is made without being 'Handist'. If you get the chance do try one - The people that build them are great and really make you feel like they care, and the guitar is fantastic value for money. What else do you need?