NGD: OAF/Xen Autumn Build

[Aris_T]

Great choice! Congrats!

HNGD and enjoy!

 

[XEN]

I'm glad you like your guitar! Congrats man!

 

[SevenStringJones]

Does this have a chambered body like the Strandbergs or is it solid?

 

[ThePhilosopher]

This is what inspired me to conspire on a XEN build.

 

[Cloudy]

Glad to hear you dig the endurneck as well, its absolutely killer.

 

[Eviga]

Congrats and hngd!

 

[thraxil]

Does this have a chambered body like the Strandbergs or is it solid?

This run was all solid. Some of Tom's other builds have been chambered though.

 

[brutus627]

These things are awesome I had the opportunity to play one and really thought it was impressive all the way around. Would love to try the headless version hngd!!! She's sweet

 

[Splinterhead]

Its been fun watching the Xen name start to materialize. These are beautiful instruments and the party only just getting started. I'm thinking the HDC8 is going to hit it big.

congrats and enjoy!

 

[Jackley]

HNGD!

 

[codycarter]

This is not helping my GAS what so ever

 

[Erockomania]

Super nice man! I kinda wish I'd have gotten into this run. Tom's stuff seems great!

I do have a bit of concern about the fret slots being exposed and not sealed tho... are you planning on sealing those or having Tom seal them? I'd imagine moisture could really eff things up if it got in there.

 

[thraxil]

Super nice man! I kinda wish I'd have gotten into this run. Tom's stuff seems great!

I do have a bit of concern about the fret slots being exposed and not sealed tho... are you planning on sealing those or having Tom seal them? I'd imagine moisture could really eff things up if it got in there.

Haven't discussed it. I don't really know how realistic a problem it is and Tom generally seems to know what he's doing, so at least for now, I'll defer to him.

 

[ElRay]

I know this is a bit of a necrobump, but it's good to keep relevant stuff together.

...
* Lace Alumitone Deathbucker in the bridge, X-bar in the neck
...
I haven't entirely figured out the Alumitones yet either. Out of the gate, the cleans are fantastic in every configuration. Very wide open sound. Almost reminds me of a bit of a very nice blend of magnetic and piezo pickups. Massive dynamic range. I don't think I've ever played other pickups with this much dynamic range. I think that's making it tough to dial in a heavy tone though. I mean, it sounds *good* distorted, but I have a hard time dialing in the particular tones that I'm used to. Playing dynamics have such a huge impact. If I dial in what I like and then play just a little bit harder or softer, it ends up very different. So, I'm probably going to have to work on developing more control there and spend some more time figuring out how they interact with different preamps and pedals.

How is this pick-up combo working for you now? This is definitely a pairing I've been considering.

Ray

 

[thraxil]

I know this is a bit of a necrobump, but it's good to keep relevant stuff together.

How is this pick-up combo working for you now? This is definitely a pairing I've been considering.

Ray

So, in the interim, I upgraded my main rig from a Pod X3 to an Axe-Fx II. The tweakability of the Axe seems to make it much easier to get settings that work with the Alumitones. I've got all my base presets working pretty well. There are still a few presets here and there that really only sound right with the particular pickups of a different guitar, but that's always going to be the case. I'm not about to rip the pickups out of any other guitars and replace them with Deathbuckers, but it's working fine for now.