christoph_trummer's Reviews

Versatile and very useable... heavy though!

I used to have a prejudice against Solid State amps, then I found this cheap in a thrift store and got it fixed up a bit, and now I have a hard time going back to my full tube amps. Whenever I do the shootout, this turns almost always out to be the most versatile and controlable option. It doesn't do the airy Fender Deluxe-clean-thing quite as well, it isn't anywhere close to the dry bite of a Marshall, but it does so many other things. So it's great for the stage and for studio situation, where you won't have time to change everything between takes. It loves pedals, for example. It has a great EQ section including the mids that I miss on the Deluxe Reverb. It may not get the warmth of a full tube amp, but it's far from harsh or cold, and the setup allows you to dial in working tones with different pedals that a lot of full-tube amps will get cranky with. It has a lot of switches and input options that actually make a difference and make it real easy to work with different guitars. I love the High / Low buttons, they're often the easy solution switching from single coils to humbuckers. I also love the reverb on it, it starts reasonably modest and goes wide. And I love it, that both channels have a pre-amp and a master section. You can get great clean tones with just the right amount of sparkle even at reasonable volumes. And: you can be real loud and still real clean.

Downsides: The Distortion Channel is it's own thing that you're not gonna get from just any pedal, but you also may not look for this version of fuzzy, open-sounding drive. There is an option for an FX loop, but it's complicated (you need a Y-cable) and I've had hum problems with it, when the pedals are not running on batteries. And: It is heavy! Bring a cart, if you can. Or make sure you practice safe lifting techniques...

Great instrument, may need a bit of setting up depending on how you get it

Most people know this from Kim Thayil (Soundgarden). You don't need to play heavy on it though, it's a very versatile instrument. Also: I don't think it's really a cheaper SG. It's very much it's own thing. I bought the Polara mainly because of the interesting pick-ups (so be aware that some 90ies models are stacked differently!). It's a pretty cheap guitar and as usual, that means it depends a lot on how your seller sets it up (or doesn't). In my case, I had to order it online and when it arrived I had to have the saddle lowered and adjust the trussrod. there's also some questions on the wiring: there's a lot of cable in that electronics space, I had a fifties wiring done by my luthier and the sound is a bit more direct now. All this being said, I love this guitar. The overall quality is amazing for the price. The sound is unique, it's wide and huge, beautifully warm and full of textures and harmonics. There's a transparent warmth on the neck pup. The bridge-pup has a great powerful bite but also stays transparent. Think Telecaster meets Gretsch. Playabilty took me a bit of getting used to, coming from mainly Fender guitars. The neck is full and wide, frets are higher than I was used to as well. But now that I figured out just what this thing is good for, it's gonna be with me for a while.

Great guitar, did some updates to make it fit my sound better

This came as a beautifully worked first class guitar. After a while I realized I needed a bit more bite, less warmth and fullness for it to cut through in the band, so I had some Duesenberg P-90s put on it, and while I was at it, also the Duesenberg version of a Bigsby (which works just as fine, but costs a lot less...). Has been one of my all time Go To guitars now for more than 10 years.