NGD - Kramer Turbulence R729 Prototype

[Fred the Shred]

Well, in spite of the horrible weather in Portugal, the sun managed to shine through for a little bit so I could have proper natural light for the pics of the new gal. I'll probably record some audio samples later, and I'm still trying to find a suitable victim to accompany me to the studio and record decent vids of it (and the JSX, since quite a few people have asked for it) in action.

Without further ado, here are some pics of the final instrument which, in spite of being a prototype, doesn't have the common "screw it, it's a proto" niggles to it:

The aged brass plates with my initials look slightly off in the pic, due to the angle I took the shot from, but you get the idea (I also noticed my cat managed to stick a true DeVries inspired motif under one of the screws - if I had a dog, whis would have been a perfect tribute...

As for specs, here they are for those who missed the original topic:

Construction Neck Through 5 pc laminated maple/walnut ​

Body wings Mahogany with Maple top​

Scale 25.5"​

Frets 29 Jumbo​

Strings 7​

Fingerboard Ebony​

Fingerboard Radius 14"​

Fingerboard Binding 3ply W/B/W​

Headstock binding 3 ply W/B/W​

Headstock color Satin Black​

Headstock logo GKG (gold)​

Fingerboard inlays triple parabolic mother of pearl dots​

Fingerboard scalloping 19 through 29​

Jack Ibanez style recessed barell (relocated)​

Strap buttons Dunlop locking - replaced by the flush version
​

Tuners Gotoh​

Bridge Recessed Floyd Rose Original​

Bridge pickup Seymour Duncan Blackout​

Neck pickup Seymour Duncan Blackout​

Controls Master Volume, Master Tone, 3-way toggle​

Hardware Black​

Color Satin Honey Burst​

In terms of sound and playability, it's just perfect. The switch will be relocated in the production models, as my lovely "hi, I am even weirder than Marty Friedman" picking hand hit the switch accidentally when in the neck position, so I'll rotate it to make sure it moves sideways and gives me a clear picking area.

She's a lot heavier than other Turbulence guitars (not overly so, thankfully), as the body and neck are thicker. It doesn't "feel" heavy in either playing position, so who cares anyway. Sustain is immense, tone is very rich and full, with a nicely defined attack to notes, even unplugged. Comfort is ridiculous, trumping even my R36's, which I didn't think would be possible, and fret access is typical Turbulence fare i.e. effortless.

I'm inclined to say this has to be my fave axe ever, given the absolutely addictive nature of it and how well it suits my playing. I is happy hamster shredder!

 

[Prydogga]

Fred that is the shit! Loving the 5 piece still being visible! Great stuff man, the headstock looks awesome, I've never seen Turbulence headstocks up close before, and Blackouts as well! Fucking epic!

 

[Fred the Shred]

Thanks, Alex! This bitch absolutely SLAYS!

 

[Prydogga]

No prob, good to see you're following the trend of red chair pics too! Hurry up with the widdly widdly clips man!

 

[BrainArt]

Agreed with Pry! Sexy as, Fred! No worries, though; I won't be making any sandwiches or toast to pics of your guitar.

 

[Fred the Shred]

Agreed with Pry! Sexy as, Fred! No worries, though; I won't be making any sandwiches or toast to pics of your guitar.

Good. It's bad enough having to remove cat hair, let alone sandwich residue.

 

[ralphy1976]

Hey Mr Hamster shredder!!!

Awesome stuff, must be pretty unique to know that this is YOUR axe to YOUR specs and that's about it!!

looking forward to the samples when you got time!!!!

 

[Fred the Shred]

Samples should be recorded quick enough, even if I just go through POD Farm - the videos are the part that's being harder to pull so far, although I do hope to get them done relatively quickly.

As for the feeling, that's basically it, most definitely.

 

[Prydogga]

Good. It's bad enough having to remove cat hair, let alone sandwich residue.

Wait a minute, why is there cat residue in your "traffic" cones?

 

[Fred the Shred]

Wait a minute, why is there cat residue in your "traffic" cones?

There isn't. That's why that cat went after the guitar, lusting for revenge!

 

[Crazy_Guitar]

F*ckin' amazing!!!

What are those two pieces of metal in the upper horn?
And why is the low B string touching the screw of the string retainer?

 

[Fred the Shred]

1 - brass protectors with my initials. Plain decoration, unless I choose to impale random audience members.

2 - because the string was inserted from the wrong side of the screw, basically, although the retainer isn't even necessary IMO. Hardly a problem, however, so it'll get the B put on it correctly when I change the strings.

 

[Crazy_Guitar]

1 - brass protectors with my initials. Plain decoration, unless I choose to impale random audience members.

2 - because the string was inserted from the wrong side of the screw, basically, although the retainer isn't even necessary IMO. Hardly a problem, however, so it'll get the B put on it correctly when I change the strings.

No need, you n00b!
Unscrew that one screw... and put it back on!

 

[Fred the Shred]

No, you dick, as the tension from the strings will make it harder to put it back in place for a needless correction for a problem only YOU bothered with.

 

[mrhankey87]

How do you put your picking hand????

 

[Fred the Shred]

Really old video of me murdering Flight of the Bumblebee for fun, but you get the picture :
[myspacevid]1432594[/myspacevid]

 

[lateralus819]

Hot damn, that's the best turbulance so far!!! although, it should be called the frebulance. or phrygiance...hmmmm

 

[Fred the Shred]

Only one thing can turn a Turbulence into a Frebulence, and that thing is hamster shred!

 

[technomancer]

That's pretty sweet... Don't suppose there will be a production model available with passives by any chance?

 

[Fred the Shred]

Steve, I can only go with what Leo told me so far, as I asked him the same thing (a man has the right to variety after all... ), but it isn't decided yet, mainly because of the angled front pickup requiring a blade-type pickup, and considering the average offerings in terms of passives, ordering a specific slant pickup from one of the big guys could prove to be very expensive regarding the final costs.