Man, no kidding. Wes just makes it look so easy. The fact that he's playing my two very favorite Pantera tunes doesn't help either. 
Vik Guitars Discussion
- Thread starter leonardo7
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links like Ebay, Amazon, and others.
This site may earn a commission from merchant links like Ebay, Amazon, and others.
narad
Progressive metal and politics
Man, no kidding. Wes just makes it look so easy. The fact that he's playing my two very favorite Pantera tunes doesn't help either.
Ha, yes, exactly. And in about 3 seconds of watching the clip I realized I've been playing Cemetery Gates wrong, or at least with more effort than necessary, for about 10 years!
Khoi
Well-Known Member
he can make anything sound good, but I have to say, those pickups sound AMAZING. So much articulation and harmonic content, I'd order just a set of pickups even. How long would that take? like 1 year?
I wonder if the production line will have custom Vik pickups then.
I wonder if the production line will have custom Vik pickups then.
Stereordinary
Well-Known Member
I'm having a hard time following everything going on in this thread, because I'm still getting to know the people involved, but I thought I would post my photo with Vik from NAMM.
I stopped by his booth within the last hour of the last day of the show, when it looked like they were packing up already. This was the only guitar that wasn't packed up yet, and I was lucky to arrive when there was no crowd around the booth. They really were busy the entire time, I checked probably twice a day for a chance to see the guitars up close, and there was always a crowd. So finally I showed up at the right moment. I didn't play it, I'm not a very good player, but I looked it over real close. Overall, I thought it was a finely crafted instrument. The neck profile was not to my taste, but I do suppose others might like it, because that particular flat D shape seems to be fairly common on extended range guitars (everything I checked out from Strictly 7 was the same way). He's saving himself a lot of headache not doing a high gloss finish over the whole guitar, opting for an open-grained satin finish. Again, a builder's choice that may not have been my preference, but I don't look at as something that should reflect poorly on the builder.
I stopped by his booth within the last hour of the last day of the show, when it looked like they were packing up already. This was the only guitar that wasn't packed up yet, and I was lucky to arrive when there was no crowd around the booth. They really were busy the entire time, I checked probably twice a day for a chance to see the guitars up close, and there was always a crowd. So finally I showed up at the right moment. I didn't play it, I'm not a very good player, but I looked it over real close. Overall, I thought it was a finely crafted instrument. The neck profile was not to my taste, but I do suppose others might like it, because that particular flat D shape seems to be fairly common on extended range guitars (everything I checked out from Strictly 7 was the same way). He's saving himself a lot of headache not doing a high gloss finish over the whole guitar, opting for an open-grained satin finish. Again, a builder's choice that may not have been my preference, but I don't look at as something that should reflect poorly on the builder.
blanco
Well-Known Member
So is his "HQ" being in El Paso and the guitars made in Cali or is he moving everything to Cali?
themike
Chug Life
Workhorse
Well-Known Member
Ok. Quick question. When they say production line - as in PRS custom production (i.e a few thousand)? So can I go to MusiciansFriend or Sweetwater and just buy one off there in like a year from now?
ikarus
Well-Known Member
counter question: Can you go to MusiciansFriend or Sweetwater to buy a production Strandberg?
I think you have to buy directly from VIK USA.
Watty
Naturally Cynical
Production Spec =/= Mass Market Spec
JayT
Active Member
Two people have already reported that the guitars shown at NAMM had some sort of problems, both guessing rush was the reason for it. Can somebody explain what those issues were?
I am a bit concerned, have to be honest, because I don't see how rush could have been a valid reason. He was preparing for NAMM for many months. Hopefully our builds are not "rushed" the same way, unless we are talking some very minor issues?
I am a bit concerned, have to be honest, because I don't see how rush could have been a valid reason. He was preparing for NAMM for many months. Hopefully our builds are not "rushed" the same way, unless we are talking some very minor issues?
thrsher
\m/-_-\m/
only thing i had heard is the neck joint on the fanned redwood was shoddy...but no pictures have been posted of it.
Last edited:
StevenC
Needs a hobby
I had heard about the bad neck joint on the Duality FF7, too. Though I don't know how you can give rushing as an excuse when you promote things like the Vik in a Week.
arkohors
Well-Known Member
I don't have any pictures, but the neck joint was awful. You could fit a dime in the gap between the neck and the side wall of the pocket.
So, after thinking about this, I decided to make a small edit....but first let me say I'm not backpedaling on what i original said. I saw a gap, and I stand by that. I believe that some people (more specifically, one person) interpreted what i said as you could you could fit an entire dime in the gap....that's not what i meant. What i meant was that there was a gap, roughly the width of a dime, that you could slide into the pocket. Would it go all the way down? Not from what i recall seeing....but there was a gap and it was approximately that wide. For a $7000 guitar, that's awful....
Workhorse
Well-Known Member
Ok. I have never checked out Stranberg, had no idea they were production guitars. I am pretty excited for a Nolly signature Duality though.
My only hope Vik can get this project running, this kind of stuff is no joke - it takes a ton of work and responsibility on behalf of the owner.
narad
Progressive metal and politics
So it's a bolt-on? Perhaps it'll shimmed into place before final shipping? I don't know...interesting to hear about it though.
capoeiraesp
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2009
- Messages
- 2,877
- Reaction score
- 781
Perhaps he's changing something in the neck width?
Just looking at this pic it seems he's not spacing the bridge pieces like he has in previous fanned models.
Just looking at this pic it seems he's not spacing the bridge pieces like he has in previous fanned models.
leonardo7
Banned
No disrespect but I have to say says the guy with the Robbins Duality rip offs who has all the reason in the world to try and make Vik look bad
That set neck looked just fine to me. Hardly "awful" or "fit a dime in the gap". Someone did say in PM that there was some glue seep in the neck joint, they also said that it was hardly noticeable and really a very minor thing. I certainly didnt notice. Ive seen that on a sick PRS Private Stock which was a totally amazing guitar. A tiny bit of glue seeping out on the inside of a set neck isnt all that much of a flaw. It can easily be chipped away. All guitars have some type of little flaws in the finish or something. Ive seen finish flaws in just about every high end CS Jackson and ESP Ive ever owned.
Its a set neck
They are customs and each is different. By the way, this Duality was an experiment in a 25.5"-26.5" fan
absolutorigin
Well-Known Member
Having checked out the Redwood Duality a few times during the couple days I was at NAMM, it wasn't perfect. The guitar definitely had a gap that's not typical. I can't give a real reason why it was because I don't know, but it seemed there wasn't enough glue used or maybe not clamped properly, as you could probably slide a credit card into the joint slightly. If I'm being real nit-picky, the bindings probably could have been done a little cleaner, but that's real minor.
It's typical of some NAMM guitars to be rushed as I remember two DEAN custom shop display models had binding that was done terribly, and one with the color fading off on the binding.
In the limited time I've played them the VIK guitars are definitely awesome, and sweet aesthetics. But Vik is human and mistakes can happen, especially when its a one-man shop. For the matter, as Leonardo7 said, finish issues can happen on ANY guitar, regardless of price. But I don't really call that neck-gap a simple finish issue.
It's typical of some NAMM guitars to be rushed as I remember two DEAN custom shop display models had binding that was done terribly, and one with the color fading off on the binding.
In the limited time I've played them the VIK guitars are definitely awesome, and sweet aesthetics. But Vik is human and mistakes can happen, especially when its a one-man shop. For the matter, as Leonardo7 said, finish issues can happen on ANY guitar, regardless of price. But I don't really call that neck-gap a simple finish issue.
leonardo7
Banned
Yeah NAMM pieces do tend to have flaws on more occasion than general customs. Ive noticed that with all companies actually. Most NAMM pieces are flawless though and really do show off a companies talent, but its true that once in a while they are rush assembled in the end. Also, customers some times ruin a piece on display and then it gets blamed as a rush job.
The PRS I saw had glue seepage, definitely not a set neck gap. I know who bought the Redwood Duality, he lives an hour away from me. I will be checking it out within a week or so and see about this
The PRS I saw had glue seepage, definitely not a set neck gap. I know who bought the Redwood Duality, he lives an hour away from me. I will be checking it out within a week or so and see about this
absolutorigin
Well-Known Member
Yea I mis-read your posting lol, I edited mine. I wouldn't call the neck joint "terrible," but I do think it's a bit sloppily done in comparison to his other customs where the heel/neck joint were just smooth as butter.
