Aristides Guitars

[Jonathan20022]

I still think you should sand that thing back to the raw Koa and get a couple oil/wax coats on it.

But I see, that makes sense hopefully you get it sorted.

 

[Flappydoodle]

Capas are really amazing too, wish I could have gelled with my Horus more. I really didn't dig the shorter scale after trying a few different strings and setups, should have grabbed the TAT instead. Me and my buddy grabbed Capas from Destroy All Guitars and his Brocken was also insanely stable too from what he was telling me.

Mine is the Brocken, and next guitar will almost certainly be a Horus FX-AM. Basically the same guitar but with 24.75 scale instead of 27.

I find the sound itself is a major selling point alongside the rest you described (evidently, if you choose to shove crap pickups in it or have an atrocious set up, no composite can save you), but that is one of those personal things.

Capas are quite solid as well - never had any issues with mine, and when adjustment is necessary, they are super simple, one-shot affairs. The reinforced necks play a big part in that, I'm sure..

It's hard for me to really compare the sound directly since I don't have these same Fishman pickups in any other guitar. I have the Fishman KSE set in another guitar, but it's a bolt-on, 27 inch scale length - not really comparable.

Better comparison would be something like an Aristides vs. ESP NT Horizon, with the same pickups. I wonder if anybody has done similar?

Another thought is that the Aristides *is* fun to play, partly because of that very loud and percussive feel when strumming it. It's not my only resonant guitar, but there is some satisfaction from getting that kind of "feedback" from the guitar and feeling it vibrate. Not worth €2,500 for that though

 

[LeviathanKiller]

I temperature control my living space for personal comfort so conditioning it for my instruments isn't gonna happen. Weather is wild here. Some days everything stays in tune, some days everything shifts. Recently all of my guitars went positive by a couple of cents. It sucks. It's nice having something to just pick up when you're tired of the daily bs and just wanna relax by playing guitar instead of fiddling with any adjustments whatsoever. Like I said before though, EverTune can take a whack at the main problem which is the tuning going out.

 

[Avedas]

How much does Evertune matter when all the wood between it and the nut is moving? Wouldn't that throw off the intonation regardless?

 

[BuckarooBanzai]

I have to tweak the truss rod on pretty much all of my guitars twice a year due to humidity/temp changes. For a while my main gigging instrument was a Steinberger with a Moses carbon-fiber neck and it never needed adjustment; it was very convenient, to say the least.

 

[bmth4111]

How does the 070 neck compare to a agile interceptor pro 725? Any one have experience with both guitars? Really thinking about ordering a 070. Wondering how the shape would compare. And if the scale increase is that big of a deal. I'm 6'1 so I have decent sized hands but I'm still weary.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

How much does Evertune matter when all the wood between it and the nut is moving? Wouldn't that throw off the intonation regardless?

It's very minimal. I've yet to notice any intonation shifting.

 

[SnowfaLL]

How much does Evertune matter when all the wood between it and the nut is moving? Wouldn't that throw off the intonation regardless?

From my understanding, the way the evertune is designed is to adjust itself when the body/strings/etc shift, so it keeps it at the perfect tension and tuning. I only had my evertune for a few months but it worked (on the cheap shitty VGS guitar) - I have 2 wood guitars coming with evertunes which I hope will help, then I have like 4 carbon fiber guitars, and the remaining wood ones are more just ones Ive owned forever and dont wanna sell for sentimental reasons (my two Carvins, and my headless kiesel)

IMO if you like hardtail guitars, evertune is the way to go for wood guitars.

 

[Jonathan20022]

The wood doesn't just start flexing more because it has an evertune installed guys. The reason I said what I did is because if you leave a guitar untouched for awhile, you'll either develop bowing or back bowing depending on a number of factors, all wooden guitars do this to some degree or another. All the Evertune does is keep the strings in tune, so your action will be higher if you develop bowing and you'll still be in tune because the springs are working to do solely that. Of course if you let your guitar go and it sits unadjusted your intonation will be off, nothing will ever fix that if you just neglect the instrument after putting the cash into one of these solutions.

I think if you notice and start caring about your action staying the same you'll keep a small ruler around and check your relief once a week or once a month to bring it back to where you're used to. Even if the guitar bows, if you adjust the truss rod and set it back to where it was then the intonation should revert to where it was once again with no problem. Old strings are also an intonation killer. Like I said before the evertune is a solution to a single problem, not an all in one intonation/tuning/setup fix.

 

[Flappydoodle]

The wood doesn't just start flexing more because it has an evertune installed guys. The reason I said what I did is because if you leave a guitar untouched for awhile, you'll either develop bowing or back bowing depending on a number of factors, all wooden guitars do this to some degree or another. All the Evertune does is keep the strings in tune, so your action will be higher if you develop bowing and you'll still be in tune because the springs are working to do solely that. Of course if you let your guitar go and it sits unadjusted your intonation will be off, nothing will ever fix that if you just neglect the instrument after putting the cash into one of these solutions.

I think if you notice and start caring about your action staying the same you'll keep a small ruler around and check your relief once a week or once a month to bring it back to where you're used to. Even if the guitar bows, if you adjust the truss rod and set it back to where it was then the intonation should revert to where it was once again with no problem. Old strings are also an intonation killer. Like I said before the evertune is a solution to a single problem, not an all in one intonation/tuning/setup fix.

Well described.

I think one reason is because we see all these artists and Youtubers saying "my Everyone guitar NEVER goes out of tune. We fly around the world, I take it out and gig with it and it's still in tune"

Nobody talks about the action and intonation, which will still go wrong when the guitar wood itself moves, even though the springs compensate for string tension and therefore tuning.

 

[BananaDemocracy]

Holy guacamole
That is SERIOUS work, my goodness....

 

[SnowfaLL]

I mean within the reasonable amount of time for a set of strings (and I only really change them every few months at the most, compared to weekly like some people) - your guitars should not be going out of wack that much to drastically change the action in a month or two imo. (That shouldn't happen to a guitar with proper wood). Do your action adjustments when you change your strings and set your tuning and intonation the best you can with the Evertune and you should have a highly stable wooden guitar.

 

[Grand Moff Tim]

I don't even care about having to adjust the truss rod for changes in temperature or humidity. What I'm sick of is getting fret sprout when the fingerboard contracts. I mean, sure, it'd be nice to not have to adjust the neck relief as much or as often, but at least adjusting it is possible, unlike fret sprout (barring a set of fret files, I suppose, haha).

People can save the "maintain a better environment" and "buy better guitars" responses, though. I run a humidifier in my flat as soon as dry season rolls around, and I still just discovered a bit of sprout on the Suhr MS7 I bought last fall. I never had this problem back in the states, but since moving to Korea, I have more guitars that have developed it than guitars that haven't.

So yeah, like 90% of the reason I want an alternative materials guitar is to not have to worry about pokey frets. I'm clearly willing to drop decent money on gear, but I still can't really get past the scoops on Aristides. If they ever release a model I like the looks of, though, I'll be happy to put my money where my mouth is.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

I don't even care about having to adjust the truss rod for changes in temperature or humidity. What I'm sick of is getting fret sprout when the fingerboard contracts. I mean, sure, it'd be nice to not have to adjust the neck relief as much or as often, but at least adjusting it is possible, unlike fret sprout (barring a set of fret files, I suppose, haha).

People can save the "maintain a better environment" and "buy better guitars" responses, though. I run a humidifier in my flat as soon as dry season rolls around, and I still just discovered a bit of sprout on the Suhr MS7 I bought last fall. I never had this problem back in the states, but since moving to Korea, I have more guitars that have developed it than guitars that haven't.

So yeah, like 90% of the reason I want an alternative materials guitar is to not have to worry about pokey frets. I'm clearly willing to drop decent money on gear, but I still can't really get past the scoops on Aristides. If they ever release a model I like the looks of, though, I'll be happy to put my money where my mouth is.

I think just having a synthetic fretboard on a guitar might be a solid compromise since fret sprout is a huge pain in the ass for a lot of guitarists (including myself).

 

[MSS]

Are you able to select strings guage and tunings when ordering? I don’t see on their site where they say this.

 

[pott]

Yes, you just ask them

 

[pott]

Note; I never used the automated system to place an order, but they've always both asked and delivered on my preferred setup.

 

[BananaDemocracy]

I wanted to ask

The wood doesn't just start flexing more because it has an evertune installed guys. The reason I said what I did is because if you leave a guitar untouched for awhile, you'll either develop bowing or back bowing depending on a number of factors, all wooden guitars do this to some degree or another. All the Evertune does is keep the strings in tune, so your action will be higher if you develop bowing and you'll still be in tune because the springs are working to do solely that. Of course if you let your guitar go and it sits unadjusted your intonation will be off, nothing will ever fix that if you just neglect the instrument after putting the cash into one of these solutions.

I think if you notice and start caring about your action staying the same you'll keep a small ruler around and check your relief once a week or once a month to bring it back to where you're used to. Even if the guitar bows, if you adjust the truss rod and set it back to where it was then the intonation should revert to where it was once again with no problem. Old strings are also an intonation killer. Like I said before the evertune is a solution to a single problem, not an all in one intonation/tuning/setup fix.

Great post and info....can you please tell me, in regards to guitars that you dont play a lot or if you rarely take it out of the case even, how often should you play and for about how long to prevent this if possible? I mean for the most limited amount just for maintenance and damage prevention? I know it would seem arbitrary and depends on many factors, but I mean, just REALLY generally

 

[Fred the Shred]

It's super hard to tell as it varies very substantially depending on the guitar and how exact the measurements need to be for you to feel you're in the comfort zone. For example, my Capa Angelus 7 and TAT 7 almost don't move at all and are quite planted in Aristides "I don't have to care" territory, but my 2011 Horus is a bit more finicky with seasonal changes and needs a fair bit more TLC to account for neck movement, and the Horus C2 is almost as rock solid as the 7's, to use but one brand as an example.

 

[Jonathan20022]

I wanted to ask


Great post and info....can you please tell me, in regards to guitars that you dont play a lot or if you rarely take it out of the case even, how often should you play and for about how long to prevent this if possible? I mean for the most limited amount just for maintenance and damage prevention? I know it would seem arbitrary and depends on many factors, but I mean, just REALLY generally

There's no real rhyme or reason to it, reinforced necks tend to do better but it can vary. My RG550 has a super thin neck and zero reinforcement on a 1pc neck and it moves maybe once a year at this point. My Thorn Rune has never shifted even once, but my Stingray moves a decent amount enough for me to adjust it once every 2 months but it also has much higher string tension.

Playing it doesn't really do much in the way of prevention, but you do notice less since it'll feel more gradual over the time you play it vs the string change and week after, then several months later for example. I'd say just keep your room's humidity under control and if you feel like doing the extra work, take measurements and note them down in a small notepad and check it every week to see how much your guitar shifts.