PhredE
Friend of Leo's
Yes, the full hollow body (red) with one P90:
Summary: Since these are well known and posted about here on TDPRI, I won't rehash all the details. For the most part, all the previous descriptions proved true. Overall, a good build. Frets are wonky, nut needs work, finish is good, the P90 sounds better than I anticipated, etc. The bridge is acceptable but would probably be better with an upgrade and the tuners are really rough. They will probably be the first upgrade.
The 'one big problem':
The 5th fret came with a pronounced divot ('gouge' is probably a better word) under the Low E. It is DIRECTLY under the string about 40-30% of the fret height. It's location and size means an unavoidable buzz. I decided that instead of lowering/leveling and re-crowning all the frets, I'd rather just pull that one and pop in a new one (a more surgical fix and I don't lose fret height overall that way).
Hence, the question: does anyone happen to know or venture a reasoned guess about the spec of the fretwire used on these guitars? Eyeballing and with some crude measurements (I don't have a precision caliper), it appears to be something close to
JESCAR NICKEL SILVER FRETWIRE FW45100 ELECTRIC MEDIUM/JUMBO PRE-RADIUSED
Jescar FW45100 (crown 0.01" x 0.045", tang width 0.022", with 12" radius).
I have sufficient tools to pull the bad one and press in a new fret, no sweat there. I just need to get correct replacement fret(s) as close as possible. I don't mind that much if it's not a perfect replacement, I just want it to be close for fit and leveling purposes. I tried to get a decent pic but just didn't work very well for various reasons (apologies).
Got it setup and playing well. Sounds terrific. Overall, I like it. It's a keeper.
Detailed Stuff:
Arrived via USPS in a double cardboard box. Exterior box took a hit, but guitar was not damaged in any way (/sigh!) I'll confess to feeling extremely lucky as the last 3 I have ordered all came via USPS and I have had no problems.
Frets: Found 5, 9, 13 and 19 very tall -- some of the highest on a new guitar I've seen ever perhaps.
Rather than breaking out the leveler block I decided to check if they were fully seated first. I used a C-clamp (padded the jaws) and a small piece of dimensional wood (1/2"W x 1/4"thick x 3"L) and clamped groups of frets in to see if any had truly 'popped' or just didn't seat. For whatever reason (badly cut slot?) they didn't budge.
I lowered the offending frets and polished them up nice. Frets are now as good as any guitar I've ever played. Polished frets (sand w/2500gr, polish with Micro Mesh), followed by a clean up wipe with lemon oil on a microfiber rag. All is well with the board and frets.
The fretboard appears to be rosewood and the binding is done well. No problems there. Inlay markers were cleanly done although there is a slight bit of discoloration on the headstock side of most of them. Nothing I would ever get excited about, but if you're a purist about aesthetics, some might have a problem.
Bridge: Base block appears to be a block of some mystery wood stained dark to resemble rosewood. The bridge itself is decent quality. Fit is reasonable, saddle travel is sufficient to get the intonation (along with moving the bridge base) right. Removed tape from under side of bridge base (mark outline with pencil or painter's tape first!), wiped area with paint thinner to remove residue and then did a quick fine sand to smooth the base a tad. Finally, I should note that the arc (radius) of the base of the bridge does not mimic the radius of the corresponding part of the body exactly -- it's close, but not a gapless fit across the bridge base. There is a slight gap toward the middle. This might affect the sound, it's hard to say for sure. I will probably go with a heavier gauge set next, so with greater downward force that gap under the bridge base may shrink somewhat.
Nut - Sanded for shape, lowered each string slot. The shape was not my preferred shape (I like it strongly sloped on the front) and the string slots were done decently, but not to spec (most were only .03"). Mystery material. Looked like bone, but filed too easily to be bone and did not emit strong bleach smell when filed.
Tuners: Pretty rough action, although do seem to be holding pitch once strings are broken in. Probably will be replaced after I work through string options. Tuners and/or bridge base are the highest priorities for upgrade.
Pickup: I like it. It's installed quite low as all the others, but sound is pretty good and I can EQ it easily to make it sound like I want. Not planning on swapping soon -- maybe later. I may shim as others have done but it's not a priority right now.
Misc.
There is some very slight residual buzzes or resonances coming from the trapeze piece and/or bridge (or both?). I'll use something to deaden the strings down past the bridge. I expect that should take care of it. Later, I may swap out bridge base + bridge.
Finally, the paint and finish were fine. Only an isolate speck here or there. Binding is well done throughout. And the thing I worry most about with a set neck guitar -- the neck angle / neck joint -- was done well. The neck angle is spot on and neck is straight and true. Overall, it's a definite keeper and quite a fun guitar to play.
Overall, thumb's up.
It came with steel wound strings that have the most squeak I have ever heard in a wound string. They have to go! Possible replacements are:
GHS Burnished Nickel Med
D'addario Flats Med
GHS Brite Flats Med
Two more pics:
Summary: Since these are well known and posted about here on TDPRI, I won't rehash all the details. For the most part, all the previous descriptions proved true. Overall, a good build. Frets are wonky, nut needs work, finish is good, the P90 sounds better than I anticipated, etc. The bridge is acceptable but would probably be better with an upgrade and the tuners are really rough. They will probably be the first upgrade.
The 'one big problem':
The 5th fret came with a pronounced divot ('gouge' is probably a better word) under the Low E. It is DIRECTLY under the string about 40-30% of the fret height. It's location and size means an unavoidable buzz. I decided that instead of lowering/leveling and re-crowning all the frets, I'd rather just pull that one and pop in a new one (a more surgical fix and I don't lose fret height overall that way).
Hence, the question: does anyone happen to know or venture a reasoned guess about the spec of the fretwire used on these guitars? Eyeballing and with some crude measurements (I don't have a precision caliper), it appears to be something close to
JESCAR NICKEL SILVER FRETWIRE FW45100 ELECTRIC MEDIUM/JUMBO PRE-RADIUSED
Jescar FW45100 (crown 0.01" x 0.045", tang width 0.022", with 12" radius).
I have sufficient tools to pull the bad one and press in a new fret, no sweat there. I just need to get correct replacement fret(s) as close as possible. I don't mind that much if it's not a perfect replacement, I just want it to be close for fit and leveling purposes. I tried to get a decent pic but just didn't work very well for various reasons (apologies).
Got it setup and playing well. Sounds terrific. Overall, I like it. It's a keeper.
Detailed Stuff:
Arrived via USPS in a double cardboard box. Exterior box took a hit, but guitar was not damaged in any way (/sigh!) I'll confess to feeling extremely lucky as the last 3 I have ordered all came via USPS and I have had no problems.
Frets: Found 5, 9, 13 and 19 very tall -- some of the highest on a new guitar I've seen ever perhaps.
Rather than breaking out the leveler block I decided to check if they were fully seated first. I used a C-clamp (padded the jaws) and a small piece of dimensional wood (1/2"W x 1/4"thick x 3"L) and clamped groups of frets in to see if any had truly 'popped' or just didn't seat. For whatever reason (badly cut slot?) they didn't budge.
I lowered the offending frets and polished them up nice. Frets are now as good as any guitar I've ever played. Polished frets (sand w/2500gr, polish with Micro Mesh), followed by a clean up wipe with lemon oil on a microfiber rag. All is well with the board and frets.
The fretboard appears to be rosewood and the binding is done well. No problems there. Inlay markers were cleanly done although there is a slight bit of discoloration on the headstock side of most of them. Nothing I would ever get excited about, but if you're a purist about aesthetics, some might have a problem.
Bridge: Base block appears to be a block of some mystery wood stained dark to resemble rosewood. The bridge itself is decent quality. Fit is reasonable, saddle travel is sufficient to get the intonation (along with moving the bridge base) right. Removed tape from under side of bridge base (mark outline with pencil or painter's tape first!), wiped area with paint thinner to remove residue and then did a quick fine sand to smooth the base a tad. Finally, I should note that the arc (radius) of the base of the bridge does not mimic the radius of the corresponding part of the body exactly -- it's close, but not a gapless fit across the bridge base. There is a slight gap toward the middle. This might affect the sound, it's hard to say for sure. I will probably go with a heavier gauge set next, so with greater downward force that gap under the bridge base may shrink somewhat.
Nut - Sanded for shape, lowered each string slot. The shape was not my preferred shape (I like it strongly sloped on the front) and the string slots were done decently, but not to spec (most were only .03"). Mystery material. Looked like bone, but filed too easily to be bone and did not emit strong bleach smell when filed.
Tuners: Pretty rough action, although do seem to be holding pitch once strings are broken in. Probably will be replaced after I work through string options. Tuners and/or bridge base are the highest priorities for upgrade.
Pickup: I like it. It's installed quite low as all the others, but sound is pretty good and I can EQ it easily to make it sound like I want. Not planning on swapping soon -- maybe later. I may shim as others have done but it's not a priority right now.
Misc.
There is some very slight residual buzzes or resonances coming from the trapeze piece and/or bridge (or both?). I'll use something to deaden the strings down past the bridge. I expect that should take care of it. Later, I may swap out bridge base + bridge.
Finally, the paint and finish were fine. Only an isolate speck here or there. Binding is well done throughout. And the thing I worry most about with a set neck guitar -- the neck angle / neck joint -- was done well. The neck angle is spot on and neck is straight and true. Overall, it's a definite keeper and quite a fun guitar to play.
Overall, thumb's up.
It came with steel wound strings that have the most squeak I have ever heard in a wound string. They have to go! Possible replacements are:
GHS Burnished Nickel Med
D'addario Flats Med
GHS Brite Flats Med
Two more pics:
.
