I’ve been shopping around for a 335 style guitar so I was glad to see you review this one. Great looking guitar and at that price you can afford to make little upgrades without spending a ton of money. Nice to know it’s packed correctly too. I trust and appreciate your opinion on gear and thanks for sharing.
The “flame maple top” on these Grote guitars is almost certainly a decal or “photo top” as the amount of figure is extensive-real flame maple veneer with that much figuring would be very expensive even in veneer form. (And its one reason a PRS “10 top” costs more than a flame top PRS SE guitar-solid maple cap with this much flame on a Gibson LP will cost $4-5K, in part because of expense for such highly figured maple 3/8 inch thick-even pricier than thin maple veneer with that degree of figure). For what its worth, the two Firefly guitars I have recently purchased (a V and Explorer) both have real flame maple veneer tops with reasonably good bookmatching and pretty good figure. You can usually tell the difference between a true flame maple veneer vs a decal or “photo” flame top because the real wood has chatoyance-meaning that you can see the darker parts of the grain differently from different angles as the light hits the grain. Flame and quilt figure in maple and other woods that have it (mahogany, ash, walnut, rosewood, koa, etc) are created in nature when the wood grows in such a way to have a wavy pattern rather than in a straight line. When dyed with color, some parts of the grain soak up more die, giving the tiger stripe or broader waves referred to as a quilt pattern. Such wood is beautiful and has for centuries been sought out and used by furniture makers to create highly beautiful and often expensive pieces. “Photo flame” or decal tops are in fact literally a color photo of actual wood-making it very inexpensive to give the appearance of very expensive detailed wood veneers-but if you examine it you will not see the chatoyance of real wood. Also keep in mind that a decal if bumped or scratched will be subject to peeling off and as it ages over time, could in theory peel off on its own over some years, especially if exposed to extreme temperatures, by same token, veneers could also detach if glue fails.
hey man, I just wanted to say I appreciate you doing this and taking the time to make these videos! I hope you're doing well and thanks for everything you do :)
If you put a strip of copper foil on the bottom of the pups and use cavity paint it'll kill the microphonics. I also use roller bridges, which REALLY helps with sustain and tuning stability (GFS has the roller bridge and Sperzel type locking tuners that are great).
I flipped my truss rod cover. It's chrome on the other side. After new Grover's and a better nut it sounds better. Still has movement on the saddle's. Heavy trapeze. It needed some frets filed and a few were lifted. Once it settled down it started to sound good. No volume control so they'll have to go. 400 dollars later and you have a decent sounding guitar. The pro's are the bells and whistles. I have the blue flame with a tiger striped neck. The neck is OK. The paint had swirls under the poly. The head stock has one thickness at one side and another on the other side. The holes are way off set and I think I got the reject of the covid era. All I can say is, I have to replace everything. It wouldn't hold a tune or intonate. Wow! If you get a good one, good.
I agree with you on headstocks. Imagine if Epiphones had the same headstocks as Gibsons, like Fender/Squire. They'd sell a lot more. And I'd be willing to look closer at Epiphones.
I have this same guitar. My top is a maple veneer. Lots of movement in it. I also notice that in the ones I have seen, the flame is not the same. Slight differences in amount and the makeup of the flame which leads me to believe it is a thin veneer. On mine I changed out the stock tailpiece for a birdland style and the tuners to kluson imperials. Kind of classed her up a bit.
Excellent, Joe. Happy New Year, bro! Grote's a great company. I have the tobacco flame finish 335. Your rich red looks better. But my favorite Grote is their early 12-string converted to 6. This boy looked like a flaming tiger w/a pick guard to boot! The resonance and harmonic balance is far superior to any instrument I've ever heard or owned: from Gibson, Fender, Epiphone, Squire, or Wolf. But I must say: Artist's Indominus8 @ $218 delivered tops them all. Track it down, bro. The rich resonance from the low B & F# fatten the upper register beyond measure.
Agree Gary- and Happy New Year to you! Been wanting to get my hands on a few Artist tele's (HH) and they are never in stock. They seem to have a big problem with availability of their guitars.
I agree , a BEAUTIFUL machine , ordered from Amazon 2 wks ago , had to send it back , bridge p/u or switch didn't work , no sound . Bridge pu had a dent in it I didn't see untill the light hit it just right . Reordered , hopefully will be in tommorow , wish me LuK ! Enjoyed your review , still an amateur ( strings out the box worked well for me , please recommend a quality cord , all mine unscrew & sound like cereal ... snap , crackle , pop )
@@AJgeartalk Speak of the devil , just brought it in off the porch 10 mins. ago . Neck & bridge p/u works , switch in center position only picksup neck .... AAaaarrrrrggghhh ! Try to see if I can do anything for it first . Pretty will get her a Lot more slack
@@stevehtml5490 same problem here on the one I bought. The problem is messy wire work on the volume pots. I pulled it out the f hole and separated the wires and it works.
A better test for Microniclhonics is to actually speak into the f hole. That's why its called microphnic... Any pickup will make noise if tapped on. Great review 👍
You did a wonderful job. Nice to see a real world review from a normal guy keeping it real......all though I did have a hard time concentrating while you were wearing that shirt..............GO EAGLES!!!!!! :)
A Ferrari looks good broken down on the side of the road too.. Playability is my choice in a guitar. I have this $85.00 set neck SX LPJ looking 10 pound guitar that after installing a set of proper P-90's, nut and thner Is my best beater go to ax.
My dealings with them were anything other than nice. They canceled my order for a jazz guitar based on some flimsy excuse ("unable to ship to your city"...???) I suspect that that was because I was paying a previously advertised low price because the next time I looked the price for the guitar I had ordered had been raised. They should have honored the purchase. Nonetheless I do still want one of their guitars.
HELP ! Does the neck p/u have to have some volume before the bridge p/u kicks in at center switch ? If selector on center , I can only get sound from bridge p/u if neck pickup is above zero . Is this working like its supposed too ?
@@AJgeartalk Thanks man , not knowing I thot something was wrong , but it's coming in loud n clear . Thanks for your quick responce , owe ya' a cup of coffee AJ !
спасибо за обзор! заказал такую...только матовую...и без трапеции! 249 долларов без таможни! скорее всего поменяю пикапы...на сеймур дункан...мост...струны и колки! и будет у меня что-то типа мидтоун за 400 долларов...надеюсь... 😊
Beautiful Axe !!! Great price !!! I play a Yamaha SA-2100 from 1986 . Check out ," Doesn't Matter Where Or When ," a rocking song and video on my site to hear it . Thanks Adam Holtz
That model is no longer in stock at Grote. This lefty is available on Amazon. smile.amazon.com/Left-Handed-Electric-Guitar-Semi-Hollow-Cherry/dp/B08PY7M7LG/ref=sr_1_30?dchild=1&keywords=guitars&qid=1615233328&refinements=p_36%3A-19900&rnid=11091801&s=musical-instruments&sr=1-30
Looks to be $219 on Amazon. smile.amazon.com/Electric-Semi-Hollow-Trapeze-Tailpiece-Hardware/dp/B0881491X9/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=grote+es335&qid=1638361131&sr=8-2
The Grote is a good guitar. Why pay a thousand bucks for a name brand guitar and get the same sound? The price of the Grote is very good. Gibson could sell its guitar for the price of the Grote guitar but the Greedy people think we don't know the differences between the Grote or Gibson. Money doesn't make a good sound its the guitar
Видеоклипы
Beautiful guitar & sound. Thanks for the demo 👍👍
I’ve been shopping around for a 335 style guitar so I was glad to see you review this one. Great looking guitar and at that price you can afford to make little upgrades without spending a ton of money. Nice to know it’s packed correctly too. I trust and appreciate your opinion on gear and thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the kind words Shane. It really is a nice guitar and a great value.
I have 4 of the Grote models and for the bucks are great guitars right out of the box. Thanks for an excellent review of really nice guitars GROTE!
They are an excellent value. Appreciate the kind words!
Bought one and I’m extremely happy with its quality
What a handsome, charismatic. fellow. I ordered this guitar and his review is spot on! Digging this guitar!
Thank you for the kind words. Enjoy the guitar!
I just bought the sunburst version of one of these. Really looking forward to it.
Beautiful guitar
The “flame maple top” on these Grote guitars is almost certainly a decal or “photo top” as the amount of figure is extensive-real flame maple veneer with that much figuring would be very expensive even in veneer form. (And its one reason a PRS “10 top” costs more than a flame top PRS SE guitar-solid maple cap with this much flame on a Gibson LP will cost $4-5K, in part because of expense for such highly figured maple 3/8 inch thick-even pricier than thin maple veneer with that degree of figure).
For what its worth, the two Firefly guitars I have recently purchased (a V and Explorer) both have real flame maple veneer tops with reasonably good bookmatching and pretty good figure. You can usually tell the difference between a true flame maple veneer vs a decal or “photo” flame top because the real wood has chatoyance-meaning that you can see the darker parts of the grain differently from different angles as the light hits the grain. Flame and quilt figure in maple and other woods that have it (mahogany, ash, walnut, rosewood, koa, etc) are created in nature when the wood grows in such a way to have a wavy pattern rather than in a straight line. When dyed with color, some parts of the grain soak up more die, giving the tiger stripe or broader waves referred to as a quilt pattern. Such wood is beautiful and has for centuries been sought out and used by furniture makers to create highly beautiful and often expensive pieces. “Photo flame” or decal tops are in fact literally a color photo of actual wood-making it very inexpensive to give the appearance of very expensive detailed wood veneers-but if you examine it you will not see the chatoyance of real wood. Also keep in mind that a decal if bumped or scratched will be subject to peeling off and as it ages over time, could in theory peel off on its own over some years, especially if exposed to extreme temperatures, by same token, veneers could also detach if glue fails.
I just tried lowering the pickups about a quarter turn and helped reduce the noise dramatically. Give it a try!
hey man, I just wanted to say I appreciate you doing this and taking the time to make these videos! I hope you're doing well and thanks for everything you do :)
Hope you are doing well. Thanks for the kind words!
Got this yesterday,very impressive,also have the p90 ver
Mine should be here in two days! YAY!
Great guitar. Enjoy!
Love my Grote did get the new nut, roller bridge but left the tuners.
If you put a strip of copper foil on the bottom of the pups and use cavity paint it'll kill the microphonics. I also use roller bridges, which REALLY helps with sustain and tuning stability (GFS has the roller bridge and Sperzel type locking tuners that are great).
I flipped my truss rod cover. It's chrome on the other side. After new Grover's and a better nut it sounds better. Still has movement on the saddle's. Heavy trapeze. It needed some frets filed and a few were lifted. Once it settled down it started to sound good. No volume control so they'll have to go. 400 dollars later and you have a decent sounding guitar. The pro's are the bells and whistles. I have the blue flame with a tiger striped neck. The neck is OK. The paint had swirls under the poly. The head stock has one thickness at one side and another on the other side. The holes are way off set and I think I got the reject of the covid era. All I can say is, I have to replace everything. It wouldn't hold a tune or intonate. Wow! If you get a good one, good.
Thanks VERY Much
VERY HELPFUL AND ENJOYABLE.
I agree with you on headstocks. Imagine if Epiphones had the same headstocks as Gibsons, like Fender/Squire. They'd sell a lot more. And I'd be willing to look closer at Epiphones.
Just got one ,what strings are you guys putting on ,I don't like the ones it came with ,too thin. Beautiful guitar ❤️
I got one on the way. I'm ready to do a set up.
Great guitar. Enjoy!
I have this same guitar. My top is a maple veneer. Lots of movement in it. I also notice that in the ones I have seen, the flame is not the same. Slight differences in amount and the makeup of the flame which leads me to believe it is a thin veneer. On mine I changed out the stock tailpiece for a birdland style and the tuners to kluson imperials. Kind of classed her up a bit.
Where did you get your birdland from? Cheers
Excellent, Joe. Happy New Year, bro! Grote's a great company. I have the tobacco flame finish 335. Your rich red looks better. But my favorite Grote is their early 12-string converted to 6. This boy looked like a flaming tiger w/a pick guard to boot! The resonance and harmonic balance is far superior to any instrument I've ever heard or owned: from Gibson, Fender, Epiphone, Squire, or Wolf. But I must say: Artist's Indominus8 @ $218 delivered tops them all. Track it down, bro. The rich resonance from the low B & F# fatten the upper register beyond measure.
Agree Gary- and Happy New Year to you! Been wanting to get my hands on a few Artist tele's (HH) and they are never in stock. They seem to have a big problem with availability of their guitars.
I don't even have to watch the review. I love the Jersey good job yeah!!
It is a good looking guitar! So many budget models out there these days. This is one is not available right now.
go to amazon, you can get the exact same guitar for around 200$ there
I agree , a BEAUTIFUL machine , ordered from Amazon 2 wks ago , had to send it back , bridge p/u or switch didn't work , no sound . Bridge pu had a dent in it I didn't see untill the light hit it just right . Reordered , hopefully will be in tommorow , wish me LuK ! Enjoyed your review , still an amateur ( strings out the box worked well for me , please recommend a quality cord , all mine unscrew & sound like cereal ... snap , crackle , pop )
Steve- luck of the "draw" sometimes with these inexpensive imports. Hope you get a better experience this time. Thanks for tuning in!
@@AJgeartalk Speak of the devil , just brought it in off the porch 10 mins. ago . Neck & bridge p/u works , switch in center position only picksup neck .... AAaaarrrrrggghhh ! Try to see if I can do anything for it first . Pretty will get her a Lot more slack
@@stevehtml5490 same problem here on the one I bought. The problem is messy wire work on the volume pots. I pulled it out the f hole and separated the wires and it works.
@@TaxPayingContributor Cool name , next one came in , all's well Love being able to play w/out an amp sometimes
A better test for Microniclhonics is to actually speak into the f hole. That's why its called microphnic...
Any pickup will make noise if tapped on.
Great review 👍
You did a wonderful job. Nice to see a real world review from a normal guy keeping it real......all though I did have a hard time concentrating while you were wearing that shirt..............GO EAGLES!!!!!! :)
Thanks brother! Be well.
A Ferrari looks good broken down on the side of the road too..
Playability is my choice in a guitar.
I have this $85.00 set neck SX LPJ looking 10 pound guitar that after installing a set of proper P-90's, nut and thner Is my best beater go to ax.
More Chuck Berryish or Izzy Stradlin?
Nice guitar. Even better jersey!
Giants had a great draft. Can't wait until the season starts!
@@AJgeartalk Agree, Best draft in a long time. Love Judge and hope they can finally get it together!
My dealings with them were anything other than nice. They canceled my order for a jazz guitar based on some flimsy excuse ("unable to ship to your city"...???) I suspect that that was because I was paying a previously advertised low price because the next time I looked the price for the guitar I had ordered had been raised. They should have honored the purchase. Nonetheless I do still want one of their guitars.
That's unfortunate. I agree -they should have "honored" the previous price.
Had one of these delivered today. Plugged it into my Marshall and listened to the crappy pickups squeal. The pots are also noisy as heck.
Groooote
HELP ! Does the neck p/u have to have some volume before the bridge p/u kicks in at center switch ? If selector on center , I can only get sound from bridge p/u if neck pickup is above zero . Is this working like its supposed too ?
Depends how guitar is wired. Might need to have neck pickup turned up slightly in order to get sound on bridge if they are wired in parallel....
@@AJgeartalk Thanks man , not knowing I thot something was wrong , but it's coming in loud n clear . Thanks for your quick responce , owe ya' a cup of coffee AJ !
@@stevehtml5490 Enjoy the guitar! You're all set. 😃
Three years later, you get no gig bag...
Is there access through the back if you wanted to replace P.U.,s ?
Not through the back, no.
@@AJgeartalk Ok, thanks for responding.
Thanks for the review. I was looking to see how microphonic this pickups were because the Firefly's are so bad. This doesn't seem as bad as those.
Thanks Tom. Nowhere near as bad as the Firefly's.
@Erok Magnag Agreed Erok. PUPs are a personal thing- but I feel these are more than acceptable.
Put a strip of copper foil on the bottom of the pups and paint the cavities with conducive cavity paint. It'll kill the microphonic effect. 😁
I have 3.
Called a photo finish the tiger like stripe
спасибо за обзор! заказал такую...только матовую...и без трапеции! 249 долларов без таможни! скорее всего поменяю пикапы...на сеймур дункан...мост...струны и колки! и будет у меня что-то типа мидтоун за 400 долларов...надеюсь... 😊
Спасибо, что заглянули. Наслаждайтесь!
@@AJgeartalk ок!😊
Beautiful Axe !!! Great price !!! I play a Yamaha SA-2100 from 1986 . Check out ," Doesn't Matter Where Or When ," a rocking song and video on my site to hear it . Thanks Adam Holtz
Cool video
Does an Epiphone or standard 335 size pick guard fit on it?
Thanks for checking out this video. I am not sure if an Epi/Gibson pickguard will definitely fit. Best to check with mfg Grote.
For some reason your Grote link doesn't work. I'm disappointed that they nolonger offer this model with dots. I'm not a fan of block inlays on 335s.
They are out of stock on this model, and may no longer carry it.
@@AJgeartalk I saw it on the Grote official page. It didn't say no less nger available there. But who knows how often the update.
@@Mr.56Goldtop If you go there now, you''ll see it is no longer on website.
Can you get one like that with gold hardware?
Haven't seen one in this model. Check grotechina website.
can someone please tell me if it comes in a left handed model
No only these two do www.grotechina.com/collections/left-handed
That model is no longer in stock at Grote. This lefty is available on Amazon. smile.amazon.com/Left-Handed-Electric-Guitar-Semi-Hollow-Cherry/dp/B08PY7M7LG/ref=sr_1_30?dchild=1&keywords=guitars&qid=1615233328&refinements=p_36%3A-19900&rnid=11091801&s=musical-instruments&sr=1-30
Now $354?? Ouch...not so much. At $179 I'm all in....
Looks to be $219 on Amazon. smile.amazon.com/Electric-Semi-Hollow-Trapeze-Tailpiece-Hardware/dp/B0881491X9/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=grote+es335&qid=1638361131&sr=8-2
@@AJgeartalk nice, thank you.
The Grote is a good guitar. Why pay a thousand bucks for a name brand guitar and get the same sound? The price of the Grote is very good. Gibson could sell its guitar for the price of the Grote guitar but the Greedy people think we don't know the differences between the Grote or Gibson. Money doesn't make a good sound its the guitar