Mik3D23
things
So I've been wanting a higher quality 8 string for quite some time now, being that I'm less than happy with the quality and playability of my Ibanez S8. After weighing my options between Carvin, getting a FF Agile and having the frets professionally touched up, and waiting for Strandberg or Ormsby to start doing 8 strings in their production runs, I took the plunge and went with this. I got it Thursday, and yesterday the rain finally stopped so I could take some decent pictures.
Pics first:
I noticed a paint drip around the 7th fret on the side (it's small but still enough to bother me):
As well as some pretty noticeable finish flaws at the end of the fretboard (someone wasn't careful enough taping I guess?):
Specs:
First off, cleans are a dream on this guitar. The pickups sound fantastic. I'm used to a 57/66 set on my other 8 string, so I'm still getting used to these for distortion, but they definitely don't sound bad. They're very mid-focused and quite low output. The 5 way switch and coil tap add a lot of interesting sound options.
It's lighter than I expected, but still relatively heavy. Very well balanced though. The neck plays like a dream compared to my Ibanez. My ibanez causes a lot of cramping in my hands and I suspected the thickness to be the problem. This seems to alleviate it, the neck is thicker than the Ibanez's and I haven't had any cramping or discomfort yet. The fretwork is good: I was able to get the action pretty low with stock strings. The finish looks great, though you can't see through the finish on the back at all without being in direct light or outside. (And two small imperfections I took pictures of)
The only other thing worth mentioning is that for $1500 it still doesn't come with any sort of case. I bought a baritone Gator case with it since it was on the recommended accessories, but the body is too big for it. AMS sent me a return label to ship it back, and I'm waiting to hear back from them about getting the ESP case for it.
Overall I'm very happy with it.
Pics first:
I noticed a paint drip around the 7th fret on the side (it's small but still enough to bother me):
As well as some pretty noticeable finish flaws at the end of the fretboard (someone wasn't careful enough taping I guess?):
Specs:
- Construction: Neck-thru-body
- Scale: 27"
- Body: Swamp Ash
- Top: Quilted Maple
- Neck: 5-Piece Walnut/Maple/Paduak
- Fingerboard: Ebony
- Fingerboard Radius: 350mm
- Finish: Faded Blue Sunburst
- Nut Width: 54mm
- Nut Type: Graphtech Black Tusq
- Neck Contour: Thin U
- Frets/Type: 24 XJ
- Hardware Color: Gold
- Strap Button: Standard
- Tuners: LTD Locking
- Bridge: Schaller Hannes-8
- Neck Pickup: Dimarzio JR-CTM
- Bridge Pickup: Dimarzio JR-CTM
- Electronics: Passive
- Electronics Layout: Vol/Tone/5-Way Super Switch/Mini Switch (Split Coil
First off, cleans are a dream on this guitar. The pickups sound fantastic. I'm used to a 57/66 set on my other 8 string, so I'm still getting used to these for distortion, but they definitely don't sound bad. They're very mid-focused and quite low output. The 5 way switch and coil tap add a lot of interesting sound options.
It's lighter than I expected, but still relatively heavy. Very well balanced though. The neck plays like a dream compared to my Ibanez. My ibanez causes a lot of cramping in my hands and I suspected the thickness to be the problem. This seems to alleviate it, the neck is thicker than the Ibanez's and I haven't had any cramping or discomfort yet. The fretwork is good: I was able to get the action pretty low with stock strings. The finish looks great, though you can't see through the finish on the back at all without being in direct light or outside. (And two small imperfections I took pictures of)
The only other thing worth mentioning is that for $1500 it still doesn't come with any sort of case. I bought a baritone Gator case with it since it was on the recommended accessories, but the body is too big for it. AMS sent me a return label to ship it back, and I'm waiting to hear back from them about getting the ESP case for it.
Overall I'm very happy with it.
That top looks amazing, enjoy it!
