Blackmachine new headless models

[spudmunkey]

Not sure you can countersink a giant metal rectangle.

Ok, so "qountersink" for the screws, and "recessed" for the plate.

 

[Konfyouzd]

Wasn't the cool thing about Blackmachines the headstocks? Now they've removed them?

 

[A-Branger]

I would say, I rather flush screws but I do see those Hex screws as an aesthetic choice. They go well with a metal backplate for a "roughed look". Might not be practical and the screws would give you a rash back, but they do serve a purpose and its "to look good"

now, after seeing photos of BlackMachines back, you can tell that yes, Doug knows how to recess a backplate. So this new model having a non-recessed one is purely an aesthetic choice..... I get the "but the switch tip is bigger".... maybe when he started?, there should be ones available now that they arent that big?... there shouldnt be a reason why not to fix that problem (IF that was even the issue to start with)

so yeh, that top mounted back plate is an aesthetic choice he made, (same with the little tinny scoop on the lower horn....) just not sure if it was the right choice to do (IMO)

 

[Velokki]

Any of these ready yet, btw?

 

[Yul Brynner]

Is there any pricing on these yet? Where do you put a deposit?

 

[Lorcan Ward]

Any of these ready yet, btw?

He built 5 or 6 and then went back to just building B2s again.

Price is about 5 figures for the base models and goes up considerably with wood choices. You could put down a deposit if you get that far but it doesn’t mean you’ll even get a build in the future.

 

[Lozek]

However, that doesn’t mean that Doug absolutely HAS to compete with these new trends. In my opinion, that is what makes his guitars special and always has been his agenda. He’s almost never advertised for his company and yet he still has no problems selling these guitars. Personally, I can’t imagine Doug ever wanting to compete with the trends of the metal guitar scene of today- this is the closest he’s gotten in recent years to it.

Nail on the head. I've known Doug personally for 20 years, he's a ridiculously smart guy who loves building guitars and exploring ideas that interest him. He knew that he 'could' have commercialised when it all exploded (in fact he had a lot of offers to do so) but consciously chose to not grow into mass production other than the partnership with Jonathan at Feline because he trusts him (they worked together for years previous to Doug starting Blackmachine). There's enough enablers in our social group for him to find willing participants, he doesn't have to pay any attention to the Internet, which is a great position to be in for him.

 

[drgordonfreeman]

Literally everything about a blackmachine screams "some yogurt packing factory worker built this in his garage over a weekend".

Best comment in this thread And he's not wrong

I still laugh Blackmachines were ever a thing, I just didn't realize they were still around. Can they go away again?

 

[Opion]

Nail on the head. I've known Doug personally for 20 years, he's a ridiculously smart guy who loves building guitars and exploring ideas that interest him. He knew that he 'could' have commercialised when it all exploded (in fact he had a lot of offers to do so) but consciously chose to not grow into mass production other than the partnership with Jonathan at Feline because he trusts him (they worked together for years previous to Doug starting Blackmachine). There's enough enablers in our social group for him to find willing participants, he doesn't have to pay any attention to the Internet, which is a great position to be in for him.

That's great to hear that he's retained his integrity after all these years. Not that there was ever any doubt, but I imagine it has had to be an interesting 10+ years for him building his guitars and watching his designs become iconic and damn-near legendary in the ERG scene. He's absolutely earned every bit of success he has and IMO, can do whatever the hell he wants in my book, he always seemed to be exactly as you describe here.

All that being said in regards to this necro bump - just visited the website and saw the pictures of the other headless models he built. I think they look great. I do wish he would've built a couple more, or at least experimented with fanned fret 7's and 8's.

 

[TimSE]

Wtf I saw this the other day and thought someone did this to one/was a shitty copy or something. That thing fucking sucks

 

[Marked Man]

lol at the sustain block.

I'm sure the guitars are very nice.

They should just mount a brass anvil in there!

 

[Miek]

Realize this is a bit of the thread rez but the blackmachine site no longer loads, so I'm not sure if that really signals the end of an era or not, lol.

 

[Lorcan Ward]

The site is a bit needless. It is rarely updated and he must have a list of customers ready to throw him money that he doesn’t need to advertise build slots anymore. He’s still building and made this a few months ago.

 

[maliciousteve]

^Fugly

 

[LostTheTone]

^Fugly

No lies detected.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but that brown finish makes it look like a set of crushed velvet curtains.

 

[pahulkster]

That thing looks like the ass of every person on 600lb life

 

[Bodes]

Anyone else now thinking about the Mallrats scene where the dude is staring at a magic eye picture and a kid walks up and says "it's a sailboat" then the dude royally cracks the poos?

 

[Musiscience]

Blackmachine is the most puzzling guitar brand IMO. With the hype they had going back in the day, it would have been easy to draw investors and turn it into a very lucrative brand with multiple ranges, imports, etc.. But instead he opted to try and keep a mystique around their builds and build from a list of “elite” customers who he deemed worthy. But to what end, street cred?

And now this amateur level headless design years in the making? Why?

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Blackmachine is the most puzzling guitar brand IMO. With the hype they had going back in the day, it would have been easy to draw investors and turn it into a very lucrative brand with multiple ranges, imports, etc.. But instead he opted to try and keep a mystique around their builds and build from a list of “elite” customers who he deemed worthy. But to what end, street cred?

And now this amateur level headless design years in the making? Why?

Doug seemed like the kind of guy who just wanted to make some guitars for some friends and it sort of exploded out of control, and instead of growing rapidly and haphazardly and then burning in a marvelous flash of light, he sort of rejected it and just kept doing things on his own terms.

Design wise, I think it's fairy clear the "B" and it's derivatives were something of a flash in the pan. He's not a master designer, he just sort of got one thing pretty much perfect. That's not a slight, most don't even get that.

 

[Lorcan Ward]

There was people ready to take care of everything so Doug is wouldn’t have to do anything. For whatever reason he said no. Talking to one of his friends he doesn’t build that much and never did. Only a few months a year even back when the brand was popular. Funny that most of the mysticism was caused by genuinely not wanting to build. Every step he took to try and reduce demand like the B6 or closing the queue only drove it up.

I don’t like the headless but when the B2 is made with the right woods it’s still a killer looking guitar that has such a clean look that is very difficult to replicate.