Les
Curl of the Burl
Okay guys, Ive had this for about a month now, waited to do this NGD so i could give you guys the real impressions... so pron first, and I'll go through the details later.
First off, i want to thank Ike over at Flipside in Denver, CO. Great communication and customer service during the preorder process, and it came swiftly once it arrived there and setup how I requested it to be. He even threw in a tin of picks (flipside logo tortex!) and a set of strings based on how i told him i like to tune. (standard b and a half step down)
I'm not going to go over the specs, you guys know by now what these things are, and if not I will answer any questions.
The guitar is made very well. You can see by the photos, neck and body joins are great. Frets are smooth and even, no sharpies anywhere. The bare wood is very nice to touch, feels warm and solid. The bare finish is something i really dig. I think its a wax finish over the swamp ash. Neck is smooth and satin, easy to play. This thing resonates A LOT! The headstock and base of the body sing with resonance when played, and unplugged it is fairly loud and bright. I really enjoy plinking around unplugged while i watch TV or something. It is slightly neck heavy, but nothing that isn't manageable.
The Hipshot hardware is stellar, of course, 'nuff said about that. The controls are just okay, but the "Tele" plate is thick and sturdy, so it should take well to some better pots and switches later on. That being said, i cant really complain, they don't make noise and function as they should, i just don't like the spongy feeling three way switch. The coil tap is fun to play with, but nothing i use for playing metal. I pulled the control plate and the wiring is neat and soldering is done well.
The pickups are good, but still leave something to be desired. I will be upgrading those very soon. The bridge handles the lows very well, but the neck pickup gets sloppy on the low frequencies, especially if your doing drop A tuning. But who plays drop A riffs and chugs on the neck pickup anyway? It does a good job on the upper register of the fret board, so really, it does what it should. Overall, they compliment the guitar well enough, and I wouldn't receive it any other way. (i prefer to chose my own pickups anyway)
Overall, this Chapman is amazing for the price. Even amazing at a more expensive price point! (if it were). I really like it, the neck is a cross between ESP and Fender shape, and its not wizard thin or Les Paul fat. Somewhere in the middle. I cant really describe the shape, as it seems a mix between a C and D shape, all i can really say is that its comfy and i don't fatigue on it like i do my Ibanez 8 string. Maybe im not for thin necks, but i have larger hands.
The ML7-T is a VERY well made, great priced guitar, and its a great platform for some modding in the future, so stay tuned, I have some killer ideas you guys will like. Thanks for reading, if you've made it this far! If you guys want ill share some of my ideas with you in the modifications section.
EDIT: oh yah, the gig bag is insane, for a gig bag. seriously. I dont even like gig bags, but this one is damn good.
First off, i want to thank Ike over at Flipside in Denver, CO. Great communication and customer service during the preorder process, and it came swiftly once it arrived there and setup how I requested it to be. He even threw in a tin of picks (flipside logo tortex!) and a set of strings based on how i told him i like to tune. (standard b and a half step down)
I'm not going to go over the specs, you guys know by now what these things are, and if not I will answer any questions.
The guitar is made very well. You can see by the photos, neck and body joins are great. Frets are smooth and even, no sharpies anywhere. The bare wood is very nice to touch, feels warm and solid. The bare finish is something i really dig. I think its a wax finish over the swamp ash. Neck is smooth and satin, easy to play. This thing resonates A LOT! The headstock and base of the body sing with resonance when played, and unplugged it is fairly loud and bright. I really enjoy plinking around unplugged while i watch TV or something. It is slightly neck heavy, but nothing that isn't manageable.
The Hipshot hardware is stellar, of course, 'nuff said about that. The controls are just okay, but the "Tele" plate is thick and sturdy, so it should take well to some better pots and switches later on. That being said, i cant really complain, they don't make noise and function as they should, i just don't like the spongy feeling three way switch. The coil tap is fun to play with, but nothing i use for playing metal. I pulled the control plate and the wiring is neat and soldering is done well.
The pickups are good, but still leave something to be desired. I will be upgrading those very soon. The bridge handles the lows very well, but the neck pickup gets sloppy on the low frequencies, especially if your doing drop A tuning. But who plays drop A riffs and chugs on the neck pickup anyway? It does a good job on the upper register of the fret board, so really, it does what it should. Overall, they compliment the guitar well enough, and I wouldn't receive it any other way. (i prefer to chose my own pickups anyway)
Overall, this Chapman is amazing for the price. Even amazing at a more expensive price point! (if it were). I really like it, the neck is a cross between ESP and Fender shape, and its not wizard thin or Les Paul fat. Somewhere in the middle. I cant really describe the shape, as it seems a mix between a C and D shape, all i can really say is that its comfy and i don't fatigue on it like i do my Ibanez 8 string. Maybe im not for thin necks, but i have larger hands.
The ML7-T is a VERY well made, great priced guitar, and its a great platform for some modding in the future, so stay tuned, I have some killer ideas you guys will like. Thanks for reading, if you've made it this far! If you guys want ill share some of my ideas with you in the modifications section.
EDIT: oh yah, the gig bag is insane, for a gig bag. seriously. I dont even like gig bags, but this one is damn good.
HNGD!!! Nice to see these pop up, very eager to try one.
