Gordon Smith GS 1 Review

History:

Purchase: I ordered this guitar direct from the manufacturer over the internet. Over the course of a few e-mails back and forth I decided on the thin bodied, double cut away version in a satin black finish with the stock Gordon Smith coil tapped humbucker. The only extra I changed was the bridge- I opted for a Les Paul style adjustable bridge. The price, including a fitted hardcase was a measly £450.00!

What I Like About This Unit: I like the fact that it hasn't got an ounce of flab on it- it's bare bones but is all the more special for it. When you buy a Gordon Smith you're paying for the quality of the wood and the craftmanship rather than a name or fancy finish (although the satin finish cost an extra £40!)The single coil tapped humbucker is awesome and the range of tones achievable is incredible- Gordon Smith have a knack of making real guitarists' guitars without any whistles and bells. The playability is superb and it's more than suited to virtually any style of music-I bought it when I was in a punk band but now am playing blues. Finally, I love it because of the attention it attracts!

What I Do NOT Like About The Gordon Smith GS 1: From a practical point of view, the only failing of the guitar is the lack of recognition that Gordon Smiths have, meaning that the resale value of the guitar is very poor. Realistically though, the chances are that you won't want to sell but never say never and it's worth being aware of. I bought the guitar new with a case for £450 and I'd be lucky to get £250 for it in mint condition.

GS 1 Quality: Build quality is superb- the guitar doesn't exist until you order it and specify how you want it, then they take a 10% deposit and build your dream guitar. It took about 5 months before I got mine but it was worth it. The range of options on this model alone is awesome and the guys at Gordon Smith are really keen to give you great service- I initially wanted a gloss finish all over but they told me that this might cause problems with the neck sticking etc and so saved me £50 on the finish! I really felt that they weren't just after your cash!

Summary: I've owned the following guitars at various times over the last ten years:fender strat plus, fender 50's reissue strat, fender telecaster, Gibson ES 175, Gibson Flying V, Ibanez semi acoustic ES 335 copy and various others (right at the start I'd play anything!) and I can honestly say that the Gordon Smith GS 1 is as good as, if not better than all of them. It really is that good and cost less than any of them. I wish I'd found out about them sooner but am already planning purchasing the Gordon Smith Graduate model as a second guitar. The bottom line is that for maximum bang for your buck you should really check them out- I've had more admiration for this guitar than any of my others from other guitarists-"wow, what's that," or "where did you get it from and can I get one?" usually being how the conversation goes. A friend of mine has two, and has just swapped one of them for a mint condition 1978 Gibson Les Paul they're that good!

Rating of this product: 5

This Gordon Smith Electric Guitars Review Submitted By: Matt Stasiak

Date: 2004-05-19