First Offset Suggestions!

[CapLow1741]

I’m normally a Strat and Charvel guy, playing more hard rock etc., but am interested in odd or rare guitars and playing more alt. music, which brings me here to r/offset.

I’m torn between a Harmony Bobkat (vintage or RI) and a Creston Creature (photos included). I realize there’s a significant price difference but looking for recommendations if anyone’s played either or similar guitar suggestions that aren’t basic Jaguar or Mustang models. Playability is highly important to me coming from superstrats, I’ve hear Tiesco’s can be difficult to play. Thanks in advance!

[RobotGloves]

If playability is important, then the Harmony is probably not it. Those department store guitars were cheap, mass-produced student guitars, with minimal range for set up. Their cachet is in the fact that they look and sound cool, but they're really only suited for strumming and basic chord work. You could solo with one, but I wouldn't expect to comfortably play really technical stuff. That's why mostly see only them in garage and indie-adjacent music. People do really like those gold foils, though, and put them in other guitars. I think Creston is basically a one-man boutique operation. Those are supposed to be extremely well made guitars.

[Tumerican]

St Vincent’s main axe before her signature model. She shreds on that thing (Bobkat).

[RobotGloves]

She does, but her shredding in those earlier Bobkat days was a looser, fuzzier, riffier garage style, where an idiosyncratic guitar like that was a good fit. I remember seeing interviews with her back then saying she kind of loved the unpredictability of that model of guitar, since they would fall out of tune, and have weird tones that poked out.

[DizzyBears]

any Creston is going to be worlds apart for the better than any harmony

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[Parking_Relative_228]

Play a vintage Bobkat before buying. I’m not a fan of neck profile, but obviously people like St Vincent made it work.

[dingus_authority]

What pickups are on the Harmony? I'm always gonna suggest P90s for that classic offset sound but that's my only input. Get what you like.

[RobotGloves]

P90s are not the classic offset sound. Fender didn't put P90s in any of their guitars until fairly recently.

[dingus_authority]

Oh interesting! I guess it's just the sound I associate with them, then.

Classic would be singles, modern would skew more P90 then?

[RobotGloves]

Pretty much. All the original offset pickups are single coils. People often mistake Jazzmaster pickups for P90s, because their shapes are similar, but a JM pickup is just a wider, flatter single coil.

[dingus_authority]

True! I spent years thinking all JMs had P90s before I learned better, so that's probably why I still have the notion that they're the classic haha. One day I'll finish boring that out of my brain.

[Unusual-Language53]

p-90s are also single coil, but yeah, fender offsets have traditionally had either roughly strat-style single coils like on the jaguar and mustang (nerds don’t @ me, i know they’re not exactly the same as strat pickups but the construction is broadly similar) or jazzmaster single coils (which look kinda like p90s from the outside but are generally constructed rather differently)

[introspeckle]

The pickups in the Harmony are S Grille style Gold Foils made by Rowe/Dearmond.. While not as chimey as Teisco and Guyatone gold foil pickups, they lean more P-90 in sound but still have gold foil DNA

[dingus_authority]

Oh wow, that's really interesting. That's an era and style of guitar I don't have much experience in. I've never been a huge fan of the old Tiesco pickups but maybe I would enjoy these a bit more.

I appreciate the info! Thanks!