The Steel Guitar Forum Store 

Post new topic Opinion on Guya S8
Reply to topic
Author Topic:  Opinion on Guya S8
Aris Xanthos


From:
Switzerland
Post  Posted 21 Aug 2020 1:55 am    
Reply with quote

Can I ask your opinion on this used Guya S8?

https://www.tutti.ch/fr/vi/bale/musique/instruments-de-musique/guya-lap-steel-gitarre-8-seiten/38959332?redirected

I think the price is reasonable (when compared to something that needs to be shipped from the US to Europe), but I'm mostly wondering about the quality and sound -- whether it's going to be prohibitively worse than a Deluxe 8 for example.

Thanks in advance!

Aris
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Peter Funk


From:
Germany
Post  Posted 21 Aug 2020 2:13 am    
Reply with quote

In my opinion, it's not worse than a Fender, but different. I would describe the sound more "bell-like"
I used to own a Guyatone and this is what it sounded:
https://youtu.be/LZPWAYEshTo
Sold it for a Fender Stringmaster ...
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Keith Glendinning


From:
United Kingdom
Post  Posted 21 Aug 2020 2:53 am    
Reply with quote

Doug. Beaumier occasionally posts using his Guyatone and it sounds great. But then anything he plays sounds great!
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Aris Xanthos


From:
Switzerland
Post  Posted 21 Aug 2020 12:16 pm    
Reply with quote

Thanks Peter, nice tune! It's very useful to be able to hear the sound like that, it seems less "mellow" than fender maybe, but not bad at all.

I agree Keith, it doesn't seem to depend much on the instrument at that point Wink
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

David Matzenik


From:
Cairns, on the Coral Sea
Post  Posted 21 Aug 2020 1:49 pm    
Reply with quote

I'd offer 500, and see if they bite. You can always come up.
_________________
Don't go in the water after lunch. You'll get a cramp and drown. - Mother.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Aris Xanthos


From:
Switzerland
Post  Posted 21 Aug 2020 9:18 pm    
Reply with quote

Thanks for the advice David!
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Tom Snook

 

From:
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA
Post  Posted 22 Aug 2020 3:16 am    
Reply with quote

8 strings,go for it!
Aloha
_________________
I wanna go back to my little grass shack........
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Doug Beaumier


From:
Northampton, MA
Post  Posted 22 Aug 2020 5:55 am    
Reply with quote

Below are some videos I made playing Guyatones. I would describe the G'tone sound as thin, raw, and somewhat "nasal" as compared to other steel guitars. That was especially true of the S-8 I owned. I like the sound, although it's not for everyone.

Guyatone D-8 https://www.instagram.com/p/B5nu5iVnMIA/

Guyatone S-8 https://www.instagram.com/p/B4UvBKyh25R/

Guyatone D-8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8JivjKVBIg&list=RDzEoF8jTrwJk&index=15

For more G'tone info and chat check out this massive 11 page thread ---> https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=147757
_________________
My Site / My YouTube Channel
25 Songs C6 Lap Steel / 25 MORE Songs C6 Lap Steel / 16 Songs, C6, A6, B11 / 60 Popular Melodies E9 Pedal Steel


Last edited by Doug Beaumier on 22 Aug 2020 6:25 am; edited 2 times in total
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

b0b


From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
Post  Posted 22 Aug 2020 6:20 am    
Reply with quote

I had a late 60s Fender 8-string lap steel once. Is that a "Deluxe 8"? It had a real problem with sustain above the 12th fret. The Fender name doesn't always guarantee good tone. I used that guitar on one gig. The bandleader and the lead guitarist both complained. I got rid of it quickly after that. It was a pretty guitar, but it just didn't sound right.

Like they say, you can't judge a book by its cover.
_________________
-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website

Doug Beaumier


From:
Northampton, MA
Post  Posted 22 Aug 2020 8:34 am    
Reply with quote

I think the pre-CBS Fenders (pre-1965) sound a little warmer and better than the later ones. I used to own a 1970s Deluxe 8 and it sounded dull to my ears. It didn't sound as full and rich as my 1956 Stringmaster and other 1950s ones I have played. On the other hand, the Deluxe 8 I currently have is a 1967 and it sounds pretty good, so who knows? Surprised
_________________
My Site / My YouTube Channel
25 Songs C6 Lap Steel / 25 MORE Songs C6 Lap Steel / 16 Songs, C6, A6, B11 / 60 Popular Melodies E9 Pedal Steel
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Stephen Cowell


From:
Round Rock, Texas, USA
Post  Posted 22 Aug 2020 1:56 pm    
Reply with quote

The Deluxe 8 (of SM vintage) lacks sustain due to the missing 4 screws behind the bridge... the guitar relies on the screws around the periphery of the neckplate for bridge coupling... just not enough.

You can 'hot rod' a Deluxe (or a Champ) by making it string-through... that's the way Junior Brown's Guit-Steels are done, Mike Stevens makes a block that he sets in the back, like a chunk of a Strat vibrato block. You can probably get the same effect using Tele ferrules.
_________________
New FB Page: Lap Steel Licks And Stuff: https://www.facebook.com/groups/195394851800329
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Aris Xanthos


From:
Switzerland
Post  Posted 22 Aug 2020 10:21 pm    
Reply with quote

Thank you all for sharing your experience and links, they encourage me to go ahead and go try this guitar when I have the opportunity Smile I find the sound of Doug’s S8 very nice indeed! Will let you know how it goes.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Jack Hanson


From:
San Luis Valley, USA
Post  Posted 23 Aug 2020 5:43 am    
Reply with quote

Stephen Cowell wrote:
You can 'hot rod' a Deluxe (or a Champ) by making it string-through...

An interesting proposition that I may give a whirl on this thing:

It's a Studio Deluxe that I purchased stripped of all electronic components. I retrofitted it with excellent quality pots, tone cap, jack, and a Vintage Vibe Strat rail Alnico V magnet pickup with a flat, as opposed to the standard radiused, polepiece. Sounds pretty decent, but as b0b has noted, the sustain is somewhat lacking in the higher register.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail


All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Jump to:  

Our Online Catalog
Strings, CDs, instruction,
steel guitars & accessories

www.SteelGuitarShopper.com

Please review our Forum Rules and Policies

Steel Guitar Forum LLC
PO Box 237
Mount Horeb, WI 53572 USA


Click Here to Send a Donation

Email admin@steelguitarforum.com for technical support.


BIAB Styles
Ray Price Shuffles for
Band-in-a-Box

by Jim Baron
HTTP