Ok...dont laugh, but i played my FIRST Kelly yesterday..

[Robert Burns]

Yeah, im on top of things for sure! Just wanted to make sure it was
going to stick around for a few years, before i invested in it !:ROTF:
So my question is this... If i want a solid well made Kelly...
but dont want to spend $2400.00 on a top o the line soloist...which models in the mid
range are above average quality?
KE2? Is the entry level USA model that much better than the top
of the line Japan Kelly? Any info would be greatly appreciated!
I cant believe how comfortable the Kelly was. Having nothing on
your right forearm, and how the balance was, was just great!
I need one! So tell me in which way $1100 would be best spent?
Thanks

[straycat]

Did you play it standing up?You know how an explorer hangs.

[Super_shredder]

jackson stars...

[Robert Burns]

Did you play it standing up?You know how an explorer hangs.

Im 53... i sit all the time! I never play standing, and thats another
reason i liked the Kelly shape on my thigh.

[jcm800x]

Used USA Kelly would be in your range, I sold my KE1F here for $900.

[toejam]

The mid '90s Japanese-made Kelly XL or XLR is pretty nice, if you don't mind a bolt-on neck. They've got two humbuckers, one volume control and three-way toggle, rosewood boards with ivoroid binding, MOP sharkfin inlays. The XL has a standard headstock and sharkfins. The XLR has a reverse headstock and reverse sharkfins. They also had the JT-580LP Floyd copy.

[Speiro]

I played my first Kelly just over a week ago, had never played one before and took a chance on buying one off a member on here, shipped from the USA on the Monday and arrived here in the UK on the Friday. It's a Kelly professional and plays great. Had to move the front strapbutton though

[wilkinsi]

You shouldn't have to move the forward strap button on a neckthru Kelly, but you will have to on a bolt-on to get the neck to balance.

[ADR]

Wayyyyy back in 86 my friend Greg let me borrow his "Mike Shannon" custom Kelly in Black for like 6 months. It had a Kahler Pro 2. I just saw him at a show and we were talking about it.He wish he still had it. I would love to have one someday.

[Speiro]

You shouldn't have to move the forward strap button on a neckthru Kelly, but you will have to on a bolt-on to get the neck to balance.

Tis a bolt on

[Robert Burns]

Thanks for the info guys...im on a mission for one

[toejam]

You shouldn't have to move the forward strap button on a neckthru Kelly, but you will have to on a bolt-on to get the neck to balance.

My old XLR balanced fine. Most people complain about the neck-thru models being neck heavy and not balancing too well. I don't have a problem with either. The one thing I found weird about the Kelly is that the body tends to tilt out from my body, like the face wants to lean towards the floor. I just put my strap over the top of the body to keep it in more, like the dude from Lynyrd Skynyrd always did with his Explorer.

[Number Of The Priest]

Im 53... i sit all the time! I never play standing, and thats another
reason i liked the Kelly shape on my thigh.

Really? I could never get the damn Kelly body shape to be comfortable and stationary when I was sitting down with it. On the other hand, it was an AWESOME guitar when I was standing, especially with Toejam's recommendation of putting the strap over the big wing. I loved how the fretboard/neck on the Kelly body style is shifted further away from the centerline of your body so that my wrist doesn't contort in a weird position near my ribs/belly like it does for Strat-styled guitars when I'm soloing at the top frets. It's all that added wood behind the bridge before the bottom strap button that shifts the Kelly neck over relative to a Soloist neck.

[JerEvil]

I love my KE2. The only problem I have is that my fingers are too fat to get past the 21/22 frets. It seems a little neck heavy but a leather strap always seems to fix that.

[Spivonious]

I had an XL and thought it had a nice beefy tone. Like the best of Gibson and Jackson combined.