subversion
Moderator
I’ve recently been invited over to review this POT guitar by G77, it belongs to one of the owners there… :smt035
This guitar is a typical strat-style make with a 22-fretted maple neck (& fretboard) made quirky by the reverse headstock. The body is alder, featuring the all too familiar rounded edges & relief in the typical strat tradition. Similarly, the eccentric SSH pickup configuration will appeal to limited players. It is, however, reflective of a commanding player who has chosen to defy tradition & opts to satiate his personal tonal needs.
The build, fit and finish of this guitar would rival any established brand name out there, so skeptics who are about to laugh at a shoddy copycat unit, the craftsmanship only reflects that of a seasoned builder. It’s serious business to say the least. The owner has opted for black hardware (less the string retainer over at the headstock) so what you see here are fine Grover locking tuners and Gotoh’s uni-directional vibrato bridge. Sensible options but the protruding bridge saddle screws will get in your picking hand’s way from the start, they’re very unpleasant but definitely replaceable.
The guitar in use is a monster. The owner has again chosen a fat & rounded neck radius, which immediately conjures a Fender Jeff Beck (initial model) feel, to suit his needs. Everything else about the neck is very playable but with any reverse headstock, you need a little getting used to when dealing with tuning anomalies. The overall feel however, is a very balanced one, no neck dives whatsoever.
Things get very complicated when one decides to vary tone. What we have here is an SSH configuration of Tesla pickups, all from the Vintage Reflection series, the humbucker being an Extreme model (hot output) & a pair of VR1, vintage voiced, single coils. What’s so complicated about that? In addition to the 5-way toggle option, there is a Kinman blender knob (the K7 switching as the manufacturer names it) where a traditional strat middle pickup tone control would be. It works only when the pickup toggle activates the bridge & middle pickup individually or in combination. So what we have here is a vast array of S/ SS/ SH/ SSS/ configurations. These remain excessive & thoroughly perplexing if they aren’t useful; the verdict after an hour of clean & driven tonal adventure?
Impressive! The single coils clean are exceptional, they do not contain the typical Fender snap but are versed in fat tones, appealing even under driven configurations. The humbucker remains polished in the neck albeit being quite demure in its split mode, in fact, it sounds less hot than the single coils but the surprise here was its capacity to reproduce a very convincing tele tone. Some deserving pickups for a unique guitar.
A bad guitar from Thailand? Not at all. It’s every bit as worthy as an eastern Fender. If you’d like to own this guitar, you should make a personal enquiry with the good folks at G77. There isn’t another like it in exact specs for sale, it’s strictly custom made for the owner. However, if you are willing to consider a close substitute, this grey HSS deserves your personal audition. Prices start from $1,400.
the reason why this review is put up here is to get feedback from you.
artyman:
*what are your opinions on this guitar?
*are you willing to fork out good money for a guitar build to your specs?
*do you wish to read a review of the Les Paul version (with yummy Bare Knuckles humbuckers in there)?
thanks for reading, my friends... 8)
This guitar is a typical strat-style make with a 22-fretted maple neck (& fretboard) made quirky by the reverse headstock. The body is alder, featuring the all too familiar rounded edges & relief in the typical strat tradition. Similarly, the eccentric SSH pickup configuration will appeal to limited players. It is, however, reflective of a commanding player who has chosen to defy tradition & opts to satiate his personal tonal needs.
The build, fit and finish of this guitar would rival any established brand name out there, so skeptics who are about to laugh at a shoddy copycat unit, the craftsmanship only reflects that of a seasoned builder. It’s serious business to say the least. The owner has opted for black hardware (less the string retainer over at the headstock) so what you see here are fine Grover locking tuners and Gotoh’s uni-directional vibrato bridge. Sensible options but the protruding bridge saddle screws will get in your picking hand’s way from the start, they’re very unpleasant but definitely replaceable.
The guitar in use is a monster. The owner has again chosen a fat & rounded neck radius, which immediately conjures a Fender Jeff Beck (initial model) feel, to suit his needs. Everything else about the neck is very playable but with any reverse headstock, you need a little getting used to when dealing with tuning anomalies. The overall feel however, is a very balanced one, no neck dives whatsoever.
Things get very complicated when one decides to vary tone. What we have here is an SSH configuration of Tesla pickups, all from the Vintage Reflection series, the humbucker being an Extreme model (hot output) & a pair of VR1, vintage voiced, single coils. What’s so complicated about that? In addition to the 5-way toggle option, there is a Kinman blender knob (the K7 switching as the manufacturer names it) where a traditional strat middle pickup tone control would be. It works only when the pickup toggle activates the bridge & middle pickup individually or in combination. So what we have here is a vast array of S/ SS/ SH/ SSS/ configurations. These remain excessive & thoroughly perplexing if they aren’t useful; the verdict after an hour of clean & driven tonal adventure?
Impressive! The single coils clean are exceptional, they do not contain the typical Fender snap but are versed in fat tones, appealing even under driven configurations. The humbucker remains polished in the neck albeit being quite demure in its split mode, in fact, it sounds less hot than the single coils but the surprise here was its capacity to reproduce a very convincing tele tone. Some deserving pickups for a unique guitar.
A bad guitar from Thailand? Not at all. It’s every bit as worthy as an eastern Fender. If you’d like to own this guitar, you should make a personal enquiry with the good folks at G77. There isn’t another like it in exact specs for sale, it’s strictly custom made for the owner. However, if you are willing to consider a close substitute, this grey HSS deserves your personal audition. Prices start from $1,400.
the reason why this review is put up here is to get feedback from you.
artyman: *what are your opinions on this guitar?
*are you willing to fork out good money for a guitar build to your specs?
*do you wish to read a review of the Les Paul version (with yummy Bare Knuckles humbuckers in there)?
thanks for reading, my friends... 8)
