Right, a top line review. I've only had an hour on it as my Mum's round this evening, so I left work a bit early to sneak some playing time in :lol:
It's immaculately built, not a fault on it as far as I can see. Binding, sanding, neck joint, oiling of the body, wiring etc is perfect. Couldn't be any better. As good as my PRS Modern Eagle, which cost nearly 4 times as much. Some achievement from a small scale builder at that price point.
The pickups are DiMarzios - a Tone Zone in the bridge and an Air Norton in the neck. Hot pickups, which I was a bit nervous about. No need to be, as they remind me of my old Holy Diver set which I really liked - lots of power, but plenty of definition even with the gain cranked up on my MJW Orion. The guitar does a great 90s hard rock tone, think Alice Cooper's "Poison" or Vai/Satriani shredding.
The coil splits work really well, and the guitar is incredibly versatile. I found a setup that let me go from acoustic-y clean, through to rock rhythm and shredding lead by using the pickup selector, coil splits, the vol/tone controls and picking weight. No need to touch the amp at all. Very, very impressive.
The paduak seems to be what it's described as - a cross between rosewood and mahogany. Combined with the pickups, and an incredibly comfy to play body style, I can see this being my go-to guitar for non-DC gigs. The shape, which looks a bit odd in the photos, really works in person and isn't odd once it's strapped on.
So overall, this thing rocks a fat one. A large fat one.
I should call it Afghan Dave :lol:
