Yeah, Andy, amp and settings lead to various results with the same guitar. I listened several video's of this model this night and they definitely are on the brigther side, more single coilish, less full than most P90's. I would say more like a fat tele. Or maybe those video's are not quite representative. Could be the case.
That's interesting - "fat tele" is a way of describing this guitar. Quite a
lot fatter/hotter than all my teles, but leaning that way rather than anywhere else.
I quite like it but, of course, you've now got me wondering about a more "representative" P90 sound
. I'm not that familiar with them, could you point me at some vids that you think are more representative?
I'm wondering, it could be the guitar itself - acoustically it is very "tele like", bright and spanking. It is its own beast, but it sounds more fendery acoustically than gibsony... Which leads us nicely to...
Nice, I love the Revstar shape! What are they like compared to a LP for weight and general ergonomics?
That's interesting, VERY interesting - I'd forgotten all about my original expectations and my slight surprise when it first arrived.
I was expecting something like an LP when I was GAS-ing for it. It's mahogany back and neck, rosewood board, and (apparently, can't tell) a maple cap. I've played Yamaha SGs in the past - so I was kinda expecting a heavier beast.
However, when I got it out of the packaging, there was an initial "oh?!" followed quickly by "Oh my word... it's even better than I expected" - so I dropped the LP expectation really quickly, and haven't thought about it since.
Bodywise, it's thinner than a Les Paul. With the flat top it feels more "rigid" than a Les Paul, more of a "plank". It has contours but not nearly so pronounced as a strat. So, indeed, bodywise it does feel quite tele-like.
Neck feels more Gibson-like than Fender. It is very comfortable - very flat fingerboard and gorgeous fretwork/binding. But it's noticably narrower than a Gibson. It's works OK for me, as long as I mentally register "you're on a narrower string spacing here, watch what you're doing" - if I just randomly pick it up after noodling on the SG, I find myself wondering what's happened to my fingering abilities!
Weight - again, it's more like a tele. Lifting it off the stand, it's somewhere between LP and SG, much nearer the SG. Wearing it, it's LOADS lighter than my LP but, in comparison, the SG is "light as a feather". Oh, there is one thing, comparing it to an SG - it has a slight neck-dive. I'm using a cheapo Ernie-Ball webbing strap on it, I quite like them until I have a neck heavy guitar. A slightly more grippy strap would cure it easily - it's just my grippier strap is married to my 61 SG at the moment!
This has all got me wondering now what the other Revstars are like - I'd assumed they were all the same basic body, maybe not? I'd been assuming LP-like, but it turns out the 502 isn't. So if you're hoping for "Les Paul" but not an actual Les Paul - especially if you're interested in the humbucker ones - you maybe ought to try one first if you can.
I'm very pleased how it's turned out - I'm a confirmed Fender and Gibson sort of guitarist, and I feel no guilt or shame! But this one sits in the middle of them pulling its own weight, doing its own thing (um, for less than half the price of any of its neighbours!).
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Finally...
Something REALLY interesting happened to me last night, while checking out the weights and ergonomic comparisons just before I went to bed, ready to reply this morning.
I played the Revstar first, because I'd been tweaking the pickups again. I put it down and picked up the SG. There was this flood of "oh my goodness, it's not as good as this, is it?".
Then I picked up the LP. After the initial "sh1t this is so heavy" lifting it off the stand, it was utter bliss to wear and to play. It was almost "who needs ANY OTHER GUITAR if you've got something like this to play?" (I've been avoiding playing it for a while since getting the SG ... so that I actually got into the SG).
I was actually thinking "why did I buy the Revstar??! What was I imagining?!"... I was ready to go to bed with a "better not tell the missus about this"(!)
I wiped the strings on the SG and the LP and then picked up the Revstar to do the same. Instead, I ruefully plugged it back in, just for a quick check... It felt and sounded amazing, even better. So I went round them again. Each time, the guitar I picked up felt better than the one I'd just put down!!!
No alcohol or drugs were involved (I was bit tired, though).
Anyway, this "guitar nirvana" will probably NEVER happen to me again, or not for a long time, so I thought I'd record it here for posterity
