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Joined:
October 2007
Posts: 2711
Location: Vernon CT | I was in my local G.C. last weekend and saw a used
Viper for $399.00 I know absolutely nothing about this guitar. Can you guys give me an idea of what to look for and if this is a good deal? I am not even sure if this is a Celeb Viper or if it is an American made "O". Any info will help.
BT |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Is it the chambered body model, or solid body? There were solid body Vipers made in the 70's. More recently there were Korean Celeb vipers (CV68, I sold one a couple months ago) and US Vipers (EA68). I liked my CV68, just didn't play it often & it fell to the 1-in-1-out rule. It played well, thinner neck than my other O's and really low action, almost like an electric. If it's the chambered body type you should see a sticker under the bass-side sound holes that'll tell you if it's Korean or US. That would be a very good price for a US made if it's in good shape, so-so price for a Celeb Viper. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | The easiest visual check between the Korean & US versions of the Viper is the neck. If the neck shows the 5-piece laminate construction it's a USA Viper and at 400 bucks it's a giveaway. The price suggests that it's Korean, but you never know with GC. If it's a '70's solidbody it's still a great price. |
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Joined:
October 2007
Posts: 2711
Location: Vernon CT | Well, I just got off the phone with G.C. and found out the Viper model is a CV68 Korean made
for $299.00 If its still there a week for friday
and I get down to G.C. between 8&10 am I can get it for $240 plus tax. Question: is it worth it? |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| At that price it's starting to get into the realm of "maybe it's worth it" for me. I sold mine for $225 locally. The big question - what are your plans for it? Will you use it for gigs? If it's just for personal use I'd say pass. You HAVE to play it plugged in. It about as loud as a hollow-body electric unplugged.
That said, mine sounded very nice thru an acoustic amp, and the electronics were decent. It definitely plays differently from your acoustics, much more of an electric feel, so if you want to play leads above the 10th fret, but keeping an acoustic sound, this might be right. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Originally posted by g8r:
It definitely plays differently from your acoustics, much more of an electric feel, Depends on how you set it up. My Viper is set up to play and feel EXACTLY like my deepbowl guitars. |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Interesting, Paul. I never changed the action (fast) after getting my CV86 until the day I sold it. I still thought the "neck feel" was more electric-like than any of my other O's - it just felt thinner and not as wide.
I wound up using it to learn & practice new songs/riffs since I could concentrate on correct fingering and tempo rather than trying to press hard. I know that's the opposite of some folk's philosophy (hey, there's an idea for another thread). |
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Viper sighting
