Blade guitars.

[TheViking]

I don't see many people here posting about Blade guitars at all. I don't even know if they ever went big in the US, but they sure did in Europe during the mid 90's.
They have some excelent T-style guitars worth checking out, and the second hand price is usually quite good compared to the quaility of the brand.

Currently they have 3 T-style guitars.
The Delta Standard
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the Delta Classic
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and the Delta T-12
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They also used to make a Thinline, that's incredible value for the money, I bought one used from a member here a while ago. On both guitars I have, the necks are smooth and the frets are really nice. The pups sound very decent and they both have the VSC system, a bost circuit.
I am not in anwy way affilitated with Blade, but they deserve some cudos for putting out decent axes. Their customer support is excelent too. If you haven't checked these guitars out yet, you really should.

 

[GoldieLocks]

Blade guitars!

I was thinkin' of postin' something about Blade guitars today, but you beat me to it. I've had a Blade Strat for 15 years. I love & hate it. Sits in the case mostly - I let people I don't like play it (instead of my Tele "he,he")

I would love someday to try a blade Tele. I read abunch of reviews years ago & they basically said that Blade Tele's have NO twang. I know that my strat is missing all the magic of a great Fender Strat.
However! these are really well made guitars. Lots of tone options. My strat stays in tune better than any guitar I've ever owned. It just sounds too - nice. No grit, no twang, No beefy lowend. I was going to change a Pickup but I would have to gut all the electronics / splitters / boosts / phasing/ E.Q.'s / batteries that they built into this thing. I took it to my guitar tech & he laughed, said he wouldn't touch it unless I tore everything out.

Oh well, its still a cool guitar. Maybe someday I'll find the perfect amp to really make it sing.

 

[J-man]

I've played a couple, great guitars, and yes they do go for good prices (though word is starting to spread, and prices are rising), very similar to the old Tokai guitars IMO.

 

[markothefish]

They seemed to have just showed up recently in the US. I find them to be expensive $600.00 to $1800.00 new ...(link removed) Maybe there are cheaper outlets out there somewhere ?

 

[J-man]

They seemed to have just showed up recently in the US. I find them to be expensive $600.00 to $1800.00 new ...(link removed) Maybe there are cheaper outlets out there somewhere ?

Wow that is expensive, I see them go for about £300-£400, and guitars that are about that here, tend to go for about $300-$400 over in America!

 

[Sarge]

I've been raving about Blade (Levinson) guitars for years ever since I got a Delta ThinLine Tele. The 9 volt active electronics (VSC) is a great addition to the tele concept. Though the Delta Thinline is dis-continued I see one pop up for sale now and then. The craftsmanship is second to none and though loaded with tone they are visualy stunning tele's. I always wanted one of Gary's strats, but like the other models, people just don't seem to part with them once owned. The thinline is a bit on the heavey side but to me that's a good thing. I had the oppertunity to be a sales rep for Blade Guitars here in the north east but declined due to the late hours it involved. Not that I'd have a problem promoting them as I feel as a player that they are a very good guitar with all the bells and whistles. Sperzals, coil tap, VSC, 9 volt electronics, adjustable tone pots, sen ash, f-hole, pearl guard, neck HB, bridge dual rail , gold hardware, an awesome neck...this tele got it all!

 

[Jack Wells]

So ............. where are these Blade guitars made? Is this another South Korean import? If they are $600 to $1800 ................. well, that's just nuts.

After looking a some pictures, I've concluded that is one ugly headstock. I guess all the good looking headstock designs have been taken.

 

[TheViking]

What I really don't get is the price level on that american site, it's even more expensive than in Norway, and that must be a first....

 

[Drak]

I have a Blade Tele I bought in '93 I think for $500.00.

That was the last new guitar I ever bought before now making all of my own since then.

It's well worth the money, there are no corners cut, there are no cheap parts used, everything on the guitar is quality-1 all the way. They build them like all guitars SHOULD be built.

The wood is real wood, mine is a perfect bookmatched 2-piece Ash body (not swamp ash tho), the neck has remained stable and strong, frets are great, the electronics (active) are superb, the pre-amp is better than anything else I've tried, I even emailed them to see if I could order the pre-amp separately so I could use them on my own builds...

I guess it's easier to swap pickups in the Tele version, because I've swapped pickups in mine several times over the years.

I will address the twang issue tho.

I actually have to agree, there isn't a -lot- of twang in mine, but I think it's a combination of a few things that could easily be changed if I wanted to.
Back in the '90's, twang was not a paramount 'sound' in music at the time, which I think influenced the build decisions.

Heavy Gotoh brass bridge
Heavy Ash body (not very light and resonant)
Bridge pkp wound higher than vintage specs.

I would assume by putting, say, a Glendale bridge and saddles on it and a vintage oriented bridge pkp the twang factor would come up dramatically, but I would rather keep it stock for value's sake, since I have many other Tele's that twang like crazy.

It was geared, I think, to a more hard rockin' type of sound, and they certainly achieved that.

I always read where someone will advertise a preamp as having the ability to make the guitar go from a typical SC sound to a HB type of sound, but this active circuitry is the only one I've ever seen that TRULY pulls that off, it REALLY DOES go from authentic SC to authentic HB with the flip of a mini-toggle switch.
That right there is something few other guitars can boast of having at all.

As I said, they are a very quality-built guitar, and you get what you pay for.

PS, the home office is in Switzerland I believe.

 

[Sarge]

I belive the older ones (early 90's) were made in Switzerland. I have no idea where they are being made currently. Even Brian Moore Guitars, who made a great guitar in the 90's has moved some production models over sea's. Everbody's doing it I guess to cut back on prices. That's why I don't buy USA made guitars...just way too expensive. Very good guitars are being manufactured over sea's at affordable prices.

 

[flametop]

Recent articles in the UK press on the 'come-back' of blade seem to indicate that the guitars are 'made' in either Korea or Japan (based on model) but are 'assembled' in Switzerland.

I picked up a texas deluxe (korean strat style) and am very pleased with it. In the UK I feel its far better value that the equivalent Fender models.

 

[Drak]

I remember contacting them back when I bought it, I found out mine is of Japanese origin, and mine dates to '93, maybe '94.

I can't speak to the Swiss assembly, but I do know a well-built guitar when I see and play one, and these are certainly quality guitars, otherwise, I would have sold it long ago.

I sold my late '80's Gibson ES 347 which was in -near mint- (and gorgeous) condition and kept the Blade and my '73 LPC, the only two other guitars I still own that I didn't build...

I do remember way back when when I tried to contact them, that I didn't get a response for like, 3-4 months later...so I don't know what was going on with the company, but somethign surely was afoot there...