Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Nolly on March 04, 2010, 09:17:41 PM
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Hi guys,
I scored an awesome new fiddle in a trade yesterday, check it out (apologies for the poor pictures, I'll take some in daylight tomorrow):
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh76/Nollythegreat/Rash%20MT%20Monster/LastImport-0.jpg)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh76/Nollythegreat/Rash%20MT%20Monster/LastImport-3.jpg)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh76/Nollythegreat/Rash%20MT%20Monster/LastImport-1.jpg)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh76/Nollythegreat/Rash%20MT%20Monster/LastImport-4.jpg)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh76/Nollythegreat/Rash%20MT%20Monster/LastImport-2.jpg)
Rash are an (unfortunately named) Italian company that make handbuilt guitars; I guess Marco Sfogli is their highest profile endorser.
The specs are:
Very light poplar body, with figured poplar top
Birdseye maple neck (chunky C-shape), oil finished
Ebony fingerboard without front inlays, 16" radius, 24 frets
Rash humbuckers (ceramic bridge, alnico neck), with Ibanez-style 5-way switching
Hipshot fixed bridge with Graphtech saddles, Sperzel locking tuners
Satin "Poison" finish
D'addario 10-46s tuned E standard
First impressions are good - it's extremely lightweight (3kgs/6.6lbs) and very comfortable. I am so happy with the knob placement, I have issues with volume knobs being close to my picking hand, and this works out perfectly. The Hipshot bridge is very comfy, and ebony is always a joy to play on. Upper fret access is great. The neck joint is absolutely airtight, but the finish has some small imperfections here and there. For what I "paid" for it I'm not bothered at all, but if I was the original recipient I would have been less lenient I'm sure.
Visually, the body is surprisingly large, and the headstock is an acquired taste, though it looks much more natural than it does in the pictures I've seen. The figured poplar top is very cool looking, and the finish is striking to say the least. I'm not totally sold on the satin finish (a custom request by the original owner) so I'm considering having it buffed to a gloss, which can apparently done very easily. I do dig the lack of inlays (another custom request).
The neck profile is thick and rounded, but very shreddable, aided no doubt by the large radius 'board. The neck carve reminds me alot of a Carvin Holdsworth Fatboy.
At the moment the action is unspeakably low (well under 1mm at the 12th fret on the high E) - while it feels amazing for shredding, it's buzzing quite audibly, especially on the lower strings.
Unplugged, it's very very loud and resonant with a long sustain. Plugged in it's punchy and aggressive in the bridge pickup position, though there is some clanginess in the attack caused no doubt by the overly low action. The neck pickup is very smooth - it gives an instant Petrucci lead sound, and sounds nicely rich and warm on clean and mid-gain tones. Positions 2 and 4 on the selector yield some very snappy and glassy sounds that work great with compressed cleans for funky chordal work. Output wise, the pickups aren't massively hot, but certainly aren't vintagey, looking at the input level on my Axe-FX they register about the same as the Nailbomb/Cold Sweat combo in my RG7321 (though I haven't matched the pickup heights to make it a fairer test).
I'll be switching the pickups out for some Warpigs - I'd like to go with some hotter and darker units and use this guitar mainly for modern fusiony shred. The original owner wants to buy the pickups back, so it's win/win.
That's all for now, feel free to ask questions. I'll probably do a clip or video (or both), but not till it's been set up properly.
Cheers chaps
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Very nice, toes the line between distinctive and minimalistic. Looking forward to the clips
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Love that finish!
does she play as good as she looks? ;)
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The figuring of the poplar coupled with that finish make that guitar look truly unique and badass. Any plans to throw some BK's in there?
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Cheers dudes!
Love that finish!
does she play as good as she looks? ;)
Yeah, once I get the action raised just a tad it'll be perfect! Amazing how fast the neck plays considering it's definitely on the chunky side..
The figuring of the poplar coupled with that finish make that guitar look truly unique and badass. Any plans to throw some BK's in there?
Yeah, the poplar has a really unique look. Apologies for the wall of text, somewhere in there I did mention that I'm going to be putting some Warpigs - going for a warm and fluid modern fusion/shred sound.
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Ah, I see. The voicing of the 'pigs should compliment that guitar beautifully. You'll have to post some clips/vids when you get them in there.
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sweet, that looks badass. I think one of the guitar mags reviewed one a while back?
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Ha.... as I suffer from multiple allergies I was about to recommend some antihistamines to you when I read the title :lol:
Beatiful guitar - look forward to hearing some more of your clips !
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Are the pickups andersons?
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purple!!! when i read that thread title i thought omg..
but this one actually looks very nice... the top is very cool!!!!
cheers
chris
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Have to say I'm quite surprised at the number of positive comments it has drawn, I had expected it to polarise opinion..
Are the pickups andersons?
Nah, they are pickups made by Rash themselves. :)
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booootifull
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It's a nice score, partly because you'll meet hardly anyone else who has one. I'm surprised how nice the purple stain looks - in my experience poplar has this odd green/grey colour that doesn't take to staining particularly well.
I actually quite like the headstock, though IMHO it would look better reversed.
Also agree about the control placement, I can't stand pots too close to my picking hand either.
But "Rash" is not a name destined to have mass market appeal in this country :lol: I've even worse than "Lag"...
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Agreed with almost everything you say Antag, not sure about the reversed headstock though..
Anyway, I got some daylight snaps today:
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh76/Nollythegreat/Rash%20MT%20Monster/Rash21.jpg)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh76/Nollythegreat/Rash%20MT%20Monster/Rash28.jpg)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh76/Nollythegreat/Rash%20MT%20Monster/Rash23.jpg)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh76/Nollythegreat/Rash%20MT%20Monster/Rash27.jpg)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh76/Nollythegreat/Rash%20MT%20Monster/Rash29.jpg)
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italian guitar brands often choose poor names... i'm trying to explain my luthier that his guitars could have some more recognition if he chose not to call them with his surname (cicolin is quite unspeakable outside italy, and it sounds dangerously similar to "cicciolina", an 80s porn star...) :)
anyway it looks great (i don't like the headstock, though... too music man oriented - and i HATE music man) and i bet that with a set of properly distressed pigs it will look even better!
just a thing... if you feel you want to see a doctor to get rid of your rash well... i AM a doctor! :)
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More guitars should be named after ailments. Personally I'd like a hypothermia blue strat and a telecaster in liver failure yellow.
I like this guitar very much.
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Sweet Nolly,
I have played two Rash guitars, both were excellent and up there with high priced hand made guitars. If I could afford one it would be on a very short list of guitars that I might choose.
Martin
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Sweet Nolly,
I have played two Rash guitars, both were excellent and up there with high priced hand made guitars. If I could afford one it would be on a very short list of guitars that I might choose.
Martin
Ah Martin, you are very closely linked to this guitar. I acquired it from a mutual friend, Morgan, who explained he bought it based on your recommendation.
It is indeed a fine guitar, though it does need to have a sliver of wood taken off the bottom of the neck's heel so that the fretboard height is brought closer to the body - at the moment the action is stupidly low, but the saddles are all near the top of their limit, pointing decidedly upwards.
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italian guitar brands often choose poor names... i'm trying to explain my luthier that his guitars could have some more recognition if he chose not to call them with his surname (cicolin is quite unspeakable outside italy, and it sounds dangerously similar to "cicciolina", an 80s porn star...) :)
anyway it looks great (i don't like the headstock, though... too music man oriented - and i HATE music man) and i bet that with a set of properly distressed pigs it will look even better!
just a thing... if you feel you want to see a doctor to get rid of your rash well... i AM a doctor! :)
same here mate, I'm a vascular trainee! yourself? nice to see fellow medics loving the bkp tones!
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italian guitar brands often choose poor names... i'm trying to explain my luthier that his guitars could have some more recognition if he chose not to call them with his surname (cicolin is quite unspeakable outside italy, and it sounds dangerously similar to "cicciolina", an 80s porn star...) :)
anyway it looks great (i don't like the headstock, though... too music man oriented - and i HATE music man) and i bet that with a set of properly distressed pigs it will look even better!
just a thing... if you feel you want to see a doctor to get rid of your rash well... i AM a doctor! :)
same here mate, I'm a vascular trainee! yourself? nice to see fellow medics loving the bkp tones!
i'm a general surgeon!
:twisted:
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just a thing... if you feel you want to see a doctor to get rid of your rash well... i AM a doctor! :)
[/quote]
same here mate, I'm a vascular trainee! yourself? nice to see fellow medics loving the bkp tones!
[/quote]
i'm a general surgeon!
:twisted:
awesome buddy, I love general, jst doing a vascular MD for now. you're not based in the midlands are you? I'm in Leicester but did my BST in Notts area. Are you a consultant Mr D?
[/quote]
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i'm from italy, actually!
but yes, i'm a consultant, with the small difference that in my country consultants are more or less cannon fodder until they reach 45-50 y.o.
yes, mine is an awful country... :)
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I like the vibe - understated but not bare. The colour's lush, though I probably wouldn't want a purple guitar myself. Might go for neon pink one day!
Are the Sperzels slightly purple or is it a trick of the light?
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Awesome finish! It looks great