Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: MDV on November 06, 2006, 07:47:45 PM
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Hey folks,
My legra got here recently, and I just got the pics for it, so I thought I'd share it with you:
(http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l198/D_Man666/MDV_1.jpg)
(http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l198/D_Man666/MDV_2.jpg)
(http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l198/D_Man666/MDV_4.jpg)
(http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l198/D_Man666/MVD_3.jpg)
Specs are:
Specially selected heavy-swamp ash body
5 piece neck; mahogany/maple/walnut/maple/mahogany
Ebony board, maple bound.
(all woods are 5A)
Ceramic warpig bridge
Cold sweat neck
schaller hardware
Lots of switching options (5 way and 2 push/pulls for volumes)
Graphtec nut
Long story short, I went to Bob looking for a particular sound: I wanted a metal tone that was extremely heavy, but as clear, precise and responsive as possible. I hadnt really got the sound in my head with the guitars I've come by that were worth buying, even after BKP swaps (close, but no cigar on a couple of occasions). So I thought it was time to have a stab at getting it right, from the ground up rather than making do with this or that, y'know?
After exchanging many an email and taking bobs advice on many things on achieving this sound, I settled on the woods (and kind knew the pickups were the right ones for the job, he he).
The tone is exactly what I wanted :D Moreso than I expected. And my my was I bricking it up until it arrived!!!
The build quality is incredible. Perfect. And there are little touches to it that really set it off and make all the difference, like the truss rod cover is made from the same piece of banded wood as the neck, so it blends in and the heel is sweet: the curve of the neck runs straight into the body, as you can see in this work in progress pic:
(http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l198/D_Man666/MD1-7.jpg)
Acoustically the guitar is spankingly resonant through from gibsony lows (mostly) to fendery highs (enough for clarity that I always find gibbos lack). Amped up with two of BKs mightiest pickups in it it got wall-of-sound thickness on all but the neck out of phase setting (it has a neck out of phase setting, btw), its deep and completely clear. It also sustains all day (not that I play slowly enough to notice :lol: but its nice to have it under the bonnet if you need it, so to speak.
The playability is great for me; I just gave Bob a nut width, fretboard radius and pointers (in mm, but not gospel, just to give an idea) of the thickness of necks that I like, and what came back just falls effortlessly into my hand.
Setup was great out of the box (or case, rather).
With service and results like this I pretty much cant help but bring bobs work to your attention...y'know, just in case youre interested.
One very happy camper here :D
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Very nice Mark! I bet it's got some seriously low end grunt! Lovely pics. Are you going to do us all some clips? :D
I can't wait for my custom to be finished but it's going to be a while yet.
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Thanks man. The pics were pro ones that bobs gonna use on his site (look out for it!).
I tried to do some recording yesterday but my cheap ass mic gave up the ghost: I think my screamer blew it! Gonna have to wait, I'm afraid.
However, as soon as I can get a passable sound recorded I want to do some comparsion clips anyway. This beast will certainly be in there (think christmass time though, when I have the time!)
What custom are you getting?
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VERY nice Mark!
Darn those are some nasty/sharp looking horns :)
That could be dangerous :lol:
Interesting pup combo, interested to hear myself.
Well thats that settled, just need the 'super amp' now then ;)
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Thanks man. The pics were pro ones that bobs gonna use on his site (look out for it!).
I tried to do some recording yesterday but my cheap ass mic gave up the ghost: I think my screamer blew it! Gonna have to wait, I'm afraid.
However, as soon as I can get a passable sound recorded I want to do some comparsion clips anyway. This beast will certainly be in there (think christmass time though, when I have the time!)
What custom are you getting?
Yeah guitars can leave you a bit out of pocket fro mics and stuff! Through a screamer i bet it's a beast! Look forward to hearing your clips! I've got a Schecter Omen 6 that I'm going to pimp with 'Pigs and a MQ and I can't wait for that muther as I need it real bad!
The custom is a Feline LP with a few twists! :wink: The neck is going to have the same compound radius profile as my Charvel Model 6 and Stainless 6100 frets. Ebony fingerboard with abalone inlays. My Rebel Yell Burnt Chrome BKP's. Plus a Ghost Midi/Acoustic bridge! In honey burst nitro finish. It's only in the beginning stages so I'll have to be patient for now and pimp the Schecter!
Your guitar is a real gem Mark I bet you can't wait to get it in the studio or gig it! :roll:
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Very nice! Ash has a great grain pattern!!
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Johnny, my mic broke yesterday!
So no clips now.
I'll get one asap and knock something up.
Dakine, cheers man! Yeah, super guitar is just more convenient! I'm getting some good tones out of the screamer though. I need to move house (I'm cramped in a flat wher the loung has 2 valve combos, a cube practice amp 7 guitars and several sets of speakers from a PC and 3 stereos. Why do I need 3 stereos? Who knows. The Music God says so.
Super amp wont be for a couple of/few months yet. But its not like I'm lacking tone goodness in the mean time.
Hows your super-amp buying going? Got the k55 yet? Did you settle on the ubercab? Genz benz? I found that orange do a V30 2x12, if you didnt know?
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Waiting on Das Uberkids in Deutchland to ship the Rivera. Seem's they are uber busy on Mondays :)
As for cab, not a def. yet.
My Engl 1/2 stack is at my mates (he is using it but has'nt paid for it yet, go figure lol) so can try it with that cab and see what it's like with V30's.
Am ering towards G-Flex at this point though. Nice bass response, thick sound and well made. Not to mention good price and can source locally.
Basically try it with V30's and see what I think from there.
Want a 2x12 for convenience at this point, and one that can thicken up the Boogie too. let ya know when decide and what the Rivera is like when she arrives :)
Then, gotta look at more guitars so can buy more BKP's lol, jk.
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Wow!! Awesome looking guitar, absolutely loving the neck!
How did you end up with covered neck and uncovered bridge pups? Just for the looks?
The shape is cool, I like it much better than major of the Ibanez
I still can't believe how cheap the Legras are! The quality for the price meter is flying in the space!!
How much did that beast cost btw?
I've been dreaming for a Legra flying V, but I'm only a poor teenager... maybe someday... someday
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I'd just like to say that it was really a good experience working with Mark on this one. His wants were so complex (but he did know exactly what he wanted) that we took a few flyers on the construction; making all kinds of assumtions on what the outcome would be. The emails nearly fill a backup CD.
I was SO pleased that it urned out to be exactly what we set out to do that I had to go and take the top off a few cold ones when he emailed me to say it was ok.
Cheers Mark.
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Nice work Bob (as ever)
It's always nice when a guitar you've made hits the mark for a customer
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Wow!! Awesome looking guitar, absolutely loving the neck!
How did you end up with covered neck and uncovered bridge pups? Just for the looks?
The shape is cool, I like it much better than major of the Ibanez
I still can't believe how cheap the Legras are! The quality for the price meter is flying in the space!!
How much did that beast cost btw?
I've been dreaming for a Legra flying V, but I'm only a poor teenager... maybe someday... someday
Thanks mate!
The bridge is covered too. The only difference in asthetics between the two pickups is that the bridge is double screw pole for increased bass (by default; it neednt be...) and the ability to EQ the pickup to some degree (how high the bridge-wards and neck-wards screws are with respect to one another affects the ballance of bass and treble in the sound; something I've found extremely usefull in the past). Neck stayed single screw pole because the cold sweat doesnt take kindly to being double screw pole.
I wasnt gonna say what it cost (seems a little, I dunno, crass to talk about prices to me) but it was £1329. Chicken feed for a guitar of this spec, quality and especially TONE: and add to that that its precisely to my spec: total bargain! Oh, plus Bob gave me a great deal on a case (a hiscox for £70).
Dakine, the uberkids given you an update yet?
Bob, it was a genuine pleasure, my friend! Once again: incredible work!
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Oh yeah, the bridge is covered too, noticed by the third pic!
and WOW! £1329!
Now I sure know where to get my next guitar
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Mark,
you create an 'account' when ordering first time with the Uberkids. The account is now saying awaiting shipping, so just waiting on the Uberpostie now I guess :)
They say they will email and SMS me when is shipped (so techno these Uberkiddies aint they :)).
Found another good Uberkind store too :) Few different makers listed and have good feedback from Brits ordering also;
http://www.musicstorekoeln.de/en/Guitars/3_0_G_0_A/0/0/0/gitarren/musicstore.html
Nick
p.s. u know, ya gotta wonder when Das Uber can deliver anything to UK for a Tenner or free and give 3 years warranty. UK stores, WAKE the feck up!
p.p.s. notice musicstore stock these amps;
http://www.labogaamps.com/english/hector.html
which are new to me, but look/sound pretty good and are cheap to boot.
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Oh yeah, the bridge is covered too, noticed by the third pic!
and WOW! £1329!
Now I sure know where to get my next guitar
...and of course that price includes the invaluable advice from Bob and dilligence and care that he puts in his work. Damn my materialistic ass for just thinking that the price is the guitar in that post there!
I mean, you try exchanging 2 or 3 emails a day for a few weeks with Leo Fender going
"And what if it was a...."
"How can you make it like..."
"Will this...."
"Can you have a...."
"If you put that with that will it...."
But Bob puts the time in. Like BKP, that kind of service is a big +.
Dakine, thanks for the uberlink!
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Mark,
another unknown to me manufacturer :)
http://www.musicstorekoeln.de/en/Guitars/3_15_GBOX_755_GIT0007005-000/0/0/0/detail/musicstore.html
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That's a great price Mark! Off the shelf stuff cannot compete on any level with that! But the Schmucks will always go with a brand name! Custom stuff is so cool, I love it! I have a mate who pays hideous amounts for re-issue L.P's and I bet there no where near as good as a custom build. You could get 4 legras for some of his! My Feline is costing a bit more but I'm paying it off a bit at a time. Plus I've pulled out all the stops on the spec. I have to force myself not too think about it too much at the moment, but as soon as I see a pic of work in progress I'm going to be day dreaming about it all the time! :lol: It's sort of a classic rock look, with a shred profile neck and a midi! Oh dear, I'll never go out again! I'm thinking about it too much already! :roll:
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that looks awesome, mark! that's interesting the way you went with the front of the headstock just natural- it looks great! sorry I didn't post sooner, I was in Paris last week!
I get the feeling traffic on this site was down about 50%.... :oops: :lol:
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AWESOME axe MDV matey...look on Bobs site, the CH5150 is mine 8)
Cant go wrong with Bob and his work.
Let me know how the guitar sounds, i was gonna go for a Cold Sweat neck to add to my ceramic Warpig bridge in my Dean!!
Hmm i want to design another guitar now, thats the part which is great, designing something and then GETTING IT and its as good as \ better than your ideas suggested :D
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I'd also like to thanks to everyone for the nice comments it kind of offsets the days of gut wrenching anxiety I go through between finishing a guitar and getting feedback from the owner.
The MDV602 can also be seen at http://www.legraguitars.co.uk/mdv602.htm
Cheers,
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Cheers, chris and dave
Leaving the headstock natural was Bobs idea. I originally wanted it with an ebony veneer, like chris's CH5150, but when bob made the neck he sent me an email saying "heres a pic of the neck, do you still want the veneer on the headstock?" The rest is hisory, the headsock and neck in general looks really cool, I think.
Chris, the sound has a very low, extremely tight bass, an open, smooth mid, and ultra clear highs in the bridge position. The combination of the guitar being what it is and the pickups means what you play is exactly what you hear :D
The bridge lead sound is very aggressive, very defined and sharp and full bodied (jesus, I could be talking about a wine there! But you know what I mean).
The neck has very full, even jazzy cleans (much like the bridge in parrallel, but more.....necky!) and a shred tone so perfectly middy-but-not-nasal, and without too much treble but not muddy that its almost a cliche.
The split cermamic pig makes a passable metal sound on its own! Very full for a bridge split! It sounds like its the neckwards coil, cos it has as much body as twang; its almost middle-single in tone. Either that or splitting a warpig still makes an insane sound. Very good clean.
Bridge and neck together: same deal as always. Add em up, divide by two. Good middle ground lead sound. Too bassy for heavy rhythm. Great clean.
Neck out of phase: I use this for Isis-y texturing occasionally. Theres not much to say. Its out of phase. Sounds very high, every movoment on the string is perfectly audiable, as usual.
MDV602, Bob? I like it!
Edit:
Two more options I didnt address there:
Bridge parrallel: really artucluate lead and clean sound. As usual, compression and gain lower while high end goes up and the whole sound opens up somewhat. For a ceramic 22k bridge pickup, this sure is a great clean tone!
Neck split: very convincing single sound. Its not quite as full and rich as an Irsih tour, and its hot, but not as hot as a trilogy. I use it for clean arpeggios and blues mainly (neck singles have always been a mainstay of my guitars for these purposes, and I couldnt see me doing without it for this one)
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i just realised, that's a very nice looking bridge it's got, mark- is that one of the ones with fine-tuners? or just it's an all-in-one that's intonatable?
:drink:
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i just realised, that's a very nice looking bridge it's got, mark- is that one of the ones with fine-tuners? or just it's an all-in-one that's intonatable?
:drink:
No, its just the normal one.
Theres absolutely no practical reason to but after I saw the one with the fine tuners on I decided to order one to replace it. It looks damned cool.
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Mark,
you can buy the tuner block separately to fit your existing bridge. Might save a few quid.
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^ coolness is what matters. :D
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Mark,
you can buy the tuner block separately to fit your existing bridge. Might save a few quid.
Good idea!
Pointless but snazzy looking hardware, here I come!
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Wow so this is what you got eh for £1330? well I've decided to go for a legra. Though I'm pretty novice as what the different tonality of the woods are and scale lengths and nut widths I need to do a bit more research on. Cheers for letting me know about Legra
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Fine choice sir!
You can ask us about whatever you want of course, but Bob was SUPERB with talking out options with me, the effects of this and that, whats good for what and what combination of things will get you what you want.
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writing an email as I type this...well you get what I mean ;)
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you wont be disappointed with Bobs work Chris 8)
We need plenty of pics \ specs if you take the plunge for a custom build!
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+1 on bob being excellent to deal with, he put up with a lot of long emails from me!
Can't be long till mine gets here... I can't wait!
:drink: