High Plains Drifter
... drifting...
Limited characters so this will have to be a two-part NGD. ( Part I = The good/ Part II = The bad)
I've had this guitar for a couple weeks now. Wanted to give it some time before posting in order to be able to get away from the honeymoon phase. And also to be able to give it a complete inspection, set-up, and ultimately a proper unbiased review.
Purchased this from Sweetwater and specifically chose one of the lighter ones at 7.5 lb. My other Sustainiac equipped Schecter ( 2015 Blackjack) is more than a pound heavier and I intentionally wanted to go the opposite direction with this one. I've had probably a dozen or more lower/ mid-tier Schecters over the years so I didn't have much hesitation buying this one as I've been overall very pleased with the brand at this price point.
The good:
Fret-board: The majority of my fret-boards have been rosewood/ ebony with probably less than 1/2 dozen being maple as I typically like rosewood and ebony better. But I gotta say that this particular neck and board is an absolute winner. The feel, play-ability, and resonance, are fantastic. Doesn't hurt aesthetically, that the maple REALLY compliments the sea-foam green body as well. Wasn't sure where I'd land with the black appointments/ hardware but I have to say that I love the contrast against the maple board/ neck and sea-foam green body. Gives a very modernized appearance to the otherwise traditional tele shape. 9-10/ 10 imo.
Neck: I've got a Reverend TA that too has a maple neck but it's roasted. And although also smooth as silk, they don't feel the same.. super comfy and similar profiles but I feel like the roasted maple is a bit "stiffer" feeling and maybe more "ping-y ping-ish" lol. Not better or worse necessarily, but this hard-maple board just feels a bit more organic if that makes sense. Whatever the case, this neck is just fantastic... even inspiring as it makes me want to play more and to learn more songs. Whether generic ambient stuff or like recently playing some Ullrich/ Schenker type stuff... add in some long sustain, a little delay/ echo, and FR fluttering and it's simply amazing. 10/ 10.
Vol. controls: The control knob layout is notably different on this one ( NECK VOLUME/ BRIDGE VOLUME) as opposed to my other Sustainiac guitar ( VOL/ TONE/ INTENSITY). I was a bit leery of this configuration but I have to say that now having familiarized myself with it, I sincerely love the tonal versatility of this design. It behaves very differently than my other Sustainiac and that's def a great thing.I feel that I'm able to achieve a better balance between the neck and bridge ( output? frequency? idk) with this config... like I have great control of the harmonics/ tone. 9/ 10.
Frets: The other most notable feature of this guitar are the SS frets. With the exception of Jescar EVO's, all of my guitars have had nickel so this ( combined with the maple board) was quite intriguing to me. And while I figured that these frets might feel nice, I truly had no idea how absolutely amazing they'd sound... like a bright chime-like tonality. And the feel... sweet jebus, yes! Bending and sliding along SS frets is a game changer. It seems that the more I play, the better they feel/ respond and although I initially wondered if it was "just in my head", I can confidently attest that it's not. I see why people opt for SS over nikel. I really have had no issues with nickel frets on any of my other guitars yet I'm not sure that I would ever buy another guitar that didn't have stainless. Ends could be dressed but otherwise I wouldn't change a thing about them ( besides adding a couple more heh!). And they're not sharp by any means... just that dressed ends are the cat's pj's. 9/ 10.
Body contours: I have another tele-shape guitar that I also love but it has no belly/ forearm contour and at least on the forearm, it's somewhat noticeable after some time playing. On this Sun Valley, the contours make the body much more comfortable. I'm also able to more comfortably position the guitar ( while sitting) so that I can see more of the top of the fret-board which especially helps when playing past the 12th fret... and especially when learning new lead stuff up high. 10/ 10.
Body finish: Not flawless but pretty close. Bottom horn at the tip isn't quite as glossy/ perfect as the rest of the body... I'm almost not able to feel it at this point but it was caused by a bit of light over-spray. Also coincidentally at the concave of that lower bout there is a tiny black "fleck"... like a pin-point. Obviously, neither of these flaws are at all a "thing" so only mentioning in a nit-picky kinda way. 8/ 10.
Bridge pickup: So far I'm pretty happy with the EMG Retro Active Hot 70 in the bridge. My other Sustainiac has an SD Full Shred and although I've never had an issue with that one, it seems that the EMG pairs better ( compliments better) the Sustainiac. Not here nor there really but I did raise the EMG just a hair on both sides. 8/ 10.
I'm not a big fan of the EB 9-46's that came on this guitar so I may swap those out to Elixir's or NYXL's ( same gauge) eventually. 7/ 10.
Also just as an 'aside', I was initially thinking that I wanted to change out the pick-guard to a brown tortie or white pearl but the black has very quickly grown on me so it's probably going to stay as is. If the hardware was silver/ chrome then I'd likely still be inclined to swap it out but I feel that the black/ natural maple/ sea-foam green look quite nice together. *** Open to opinions on this.***
Anyway... pics:
I've had this guitar for a couple weeks now. Wanted to give it some time before posting in order to be able to get away from the honeymoon phase. And also to be able to give it a complete inspection, set-up, and ultimately a proper unbiased review.
Purchased this from Sweetwater and specifically chose one of the lighter ones at 7.5 lb. My other Sustainiac equipped Schecter ( 2015 Blackjack) is more than a pound heavier and I intentionally wanted to go the opposite direction with this one. I've had probably a dozen or more lower/ mid-tier Schecters over the years so I didn't have much hesitation buying this one as I've been overall very pleased with the brand at this price point.
The good:
Fret-board: The majority of my fret-boards have been rosewood/ ebony with probably less than 1/2 dozen being maple as I typically like rosewood and ebony better. But I gotta say that this particular neck and board is an absolute winner. The feel, play-ability, and resonance, are fantastic. Doesn't hurt aesthetically, that the maple REALLY compliments the sea-foam green body as well. Wasn't sure where I'd land with the black appointments/ hardware but I have to say that I love the contrast against the maple board/ neck and sea-foam green body. Gives a very modernized appearance to the otherwise traditional tele shape. 9-10/ 10 imo.
Neck: I've got a Reverend TA that too has a maple neck but it's roasted. And although also smooth as silk, they don't feel the same.. super comfy and similar profiles but I feel like the roasted maple is a bit "stiffer" feeling and maybe more "ping-y ping-ish" lol. Not better or worse necessarily, but this hard-maple board just feels a bit more organic if that makes sense. Whatever the case, this neck is just fantastic... even inspiring as it makes me want to play more and to learn more songs. Whether generic ambient stuff or like recently playing some Ullrich/ Schenker type stuff... add in some long sustain, a little delay/ echo, and FR fluttering and it's simply amazing. 10/ 10.
Vol. controls: The control knob layout is notably different on this one ( NECK VOLUME/ BRIDGE VOLUME) as opposed to my other Sustainiac guitar ( VOL/ TONE/ INTENSITY). I was a bit leery of this configuration but I have to say that now having familiarized myself with it, I sincerely love the tonal versatility of this design. It behaves very differently than my other Sustainiac and that's def a great thing.I feel that I'm able to achieve a better balance between the neck and bridge ( output? frequency? idk) with this config... like I have great control of the harmonics/ tone. 9/ 10.
Frets: The other most notable feature of this guitar are the SS frets. With the exception of Jescar EVO's, all of my guitars have had nickel so this ( combined with the maple board) was quite intriguing to me. And while I figured that these frets might feel nice, I truly had no idea how absolutely amazing they'd sound... like a bright chime-like tonality. And the feel... sweet jebus, yes! Bending and sliding along SS frets is a game changer. It seems that the more I play, the better they feel/ respond and although I initially wondered if it was "just in my head", I can confidently attest that it's not. I see why people opt for SS over nikel. I really have had no issues with nickel frets on any of my other guitars yet I'm not sure that I would ever buy another guitar that didn't have stainless. Ends could be dressed but otherwise I wouldn't change a thing about them ( besides adding a couple more heh!). And they're not sharp by any means... just that dressed ends are the cat's pj's. 9/ 10.
Body contours: I have another tele-shape guitar that I also love but it has no belly/ forearm contour and at least on the forearm, it's somewhat noticeable after some time playing. On this Sun Valley, the contours make the body much more comfortable. I'm also able to more comfortably position the guitar ( while sitting) so that I can see more of the top of the fret-board which especially helps when playing past the 12th fret... and especially when learning new lead stuff up high. 10/ 10.
Body finish: Not flawless but pretty close. Bottom horn at the tip isn't quite as glossy/ perfect as the rest of the body... I'm almost not able to feel it at this point but it was caused by a bit of light over-spray. Also coincidentally at the concave of that lower bout there is a tiny black "fleck"... like a pin-point. Obviously, neither of these flaws are at all a "thing" so only mentioning in a nit-picky kinda way. 8/ 10.
Bridge pickup: So far I'm pretty happy with the EMG Retro Active Hot 70 in the bridge. My other Sustainiac has an SD Full Shred and although I've never had an issue with that one, it seems that the EMG pairs better ( compliments better) the Sustainiac. Not here nor there really but I did raise the EMG just a hair on both sides. 8/ 10.
I'm not a big fan of the EB 9-46's that came on this guitar so I may swap those out to Elixir's or NYXL's ( same gauge) eventually. 7/ 10.
Also just as an 'aside', I was initially thinking that I wanted to change out the pick-guard to a brown tortie or white pearl but the black has very quickly grown on me so it's probably going to stay as is. If the hardware was silver/ chrome then I'd likely still be inclined to swap it out but I feel that the black/ natural maple/ sea-foam green look quite nice together. *** Open to opinions on this.***
Anyway... pics:
