junkmale2000's Reviews
20 reviews Back to junkmale2000's Equipboard
235
Unique SG. Almost perfect
I love SGs but I am not too keed on the chunky necks. This is an asymmetrical neck which is so comfortable. On top of that you get a handy 24 frets (rather than 22) and the excellent Steinberger 40:1 ratio tuners. Some people don't like the look of the Steinbergers or the telecaster chrome control knobs, but I do. You can add a scratchplate if you want but I think it looks great without one. The only things I don't like are the 'Future' truss rod cover (which got changed for an 'SG' one) and the horrible Corian nut (which will be changed for Tusq in due course). I like these so much I got an ebony one to add to my chocolate one.
235
Everything you need
I got fed up with swapping out and finding space for effects of an analogue board. This was an almost ideal solution. It's basically a cut down version of the Helix. It has only one signal path but I have never found that to be an issue, although I would prefer a bit more flexibility in the number of pedals in the path. A big plus is the bluetooth link to a mobile phone app that lets you edit and save patches to the board or the cloud (so you never lose them). You have dozens of amp and cab patches as well as as all the effects you could imagine. Most are copies and some of them are unique and apart from the flangers (for some reason), they all sound as good as analogue effects. You can plug it direct into the PA and get sound back through a monitor or use a FRFR or keyboard amp as an onstage monitor. I would give it five stars but they made a design mistake by putting the effects buttons above the patch buttons, making it a bit awkward to hit them sometimes.
235
Good SG - a winner
Great guitar. 120th anniversay inlay on neck. Sounds very powerful. 24 frets
235
Ridiculously inexpensive guitar
This 25.5" scale Floyd Rose guitar can now be found for a pittance second hand. Don't let that fool you. Although made in Indonesia, you get an incredible amount for your money. H-S-H configuration pickups are good quality and the neck is very comfortable. The colour is cool (midnight blue) and the reverse headstock looks great. For the £65 I paid for it, this is a steal and is well gigable.
235
A Matsumolu cracker
This is a though-neck, heavy, guitar with the neck and centre section made of maple and the rest of the body made of sycamore with thin walnut strips. 24 frets on a rosewood neck with an unusually long 25.5" scale. It features the excellent Protomatic III HB pickups, coil tap and phasing switching. The sound is bright and sustains for ages. Mine is the earlier 'Tri Sound' version with the strat-like neck. Later versions were re-badged 'Thor Sound' and have different headstocks but are essentially the same guitar.
235
Versatile pitch shifter
The Pitch Fork is a great pitch shifter. It has several pitch shift pre-sets. Not just octaves but fifths, sevenths etc. It works best with single notes but can handle chords adequately. I use it with a Mooer slow engine to get an organ swell effect and for whacked out lead breaks
235
OK stage tuner
The pitchblack is a bit temperamental. When it picks up the note it is very accurate but, especially on the high E, it is a bit flaky
235
reverse echo / volume pedal effect
A tiny unit, this is a very nice addition, especially on a crowded pedalboard. The slow engine does organ-like swells and Robert Fripp style wierdness. A useful niche pedal
235
Good flanger
Out of the box this is a very adequate budget flanger. I modded mine with a Fromel Electronics kit and is now sounds lush! Love it.
235
Good looper
What can you say? It's a looper and that's what it does. It's TC Electronics so the build and quality is superb.
235
Great Delay
This is a very versatile delay pedal. It has a fully featured set on controls and you can get some odd effects out of this box - warbly chorus and reverse echo among them An advantage for live playing is that you can save pre-sets. The only downside is the lack of an LED display showing repeat rate.
235
Beutiful acoustic for a fantastic price
I love my AE27. It has the most playable neck on any acoustic, low action and a fantastic tone. The internal pickup is decent too. For the cost, this is a really decent guitar.
235
Superb Hand-wired Fender Bassman Copy
This is a superb 2 x 12 two channel combo hand-wired amp built by Yorkville in Canada. It's the ultimate clean amp but can be filthied up by cranking the pre-amp tubes (but not massively). It takes effects very well. This amp is built like a tank and weighs a ton. It is rated at 80 amps but I have never got my master volume beyond three in a live setting. I did get it to eight once but the house started shaking. The tone and clarity of this amp is absolutely spectacular - nothing better. It has a lovely tremolo and a Fender-like reverb. I love to play this amp live. The only drawback is no effects loop (they hadn't been invented). My version is 1977.
235
Super value entry SG
I'm only giving this 3 stars because this guitar is basic - but for what you pay for this you do get value. Fundamentally, the build quality is fine, but the hardware is cheap. I replaced everything on mine including the pickups, nut, switches and wiring and it is now one of my favourite playing guitars.
235
Pro Specification SG in classic '66 blue
This is a lovely guitar that with stand up against any Gibson SG in nearly every respect. Featuring covered Alnico pickups and coil switching it is very versatile (but sound is improved by replacing the tone caps with 0.015 uF paper-in-oils). A quite chunky neck, despite the designation as 'thin tapered', The nut needed adjusting slightly from factory set up (too high) but in other respects it plays very well out of the box. I am replacing the disappointing Wilkinson Deluxe tuners with 15:1 Gotohs. All in all, though, you get a massive amount of build quality with this guitar. And it looks uber-cool!
-s.webp?v=1784645923)
235
Nice offset variant
Although built in Indonesia, this guitar has a quality feel. The shape is close to Jaguar but it isn't the same. The 9.5" neck is close to strat standard. The electrics are killer. A Jazzmaster single coil in the neck and a three (!) blade humbucker in the bridge which can be split and combined in a number of ways by the five way switch. Comes in a lovely nitro blue sparkle or black.
235
Superly made and speced Japanese Les Paul Killer
The Vox Custom 24 was part of limited range (including Standard 24, Standard 25 and Custom 25) built for Vox in the Matsumoku factory in 1984/5. These are possibly the best guitars made in that facility and certainly the best produced under the Vox name. Featuring a 24 fret rosewood though-body maple neck on a maple and alder body, with DiMarzio pickups it has almost infinite sustain. Electonics were custom designed by Adrian Legg and feature both phase and split coil switching. A thing of beauty that is also a pleasure to play.
235
US version of the classic SG range
The SGB was the version of the SG that Yamaha produced for the US market. Superficially the same as the SG, this model has a thinner and therefore lighter body. In most other respects it is identical, but the SG 'witch hat' knobs are replaced with Gibson-style speed knobs. Set neck with rosewood fretboard. Ultra low action and huge sustain.
235
Excellent rare 80s Yamaha model
A fantastic Japan-built later version in the Super Flighter range, the SF400 is a bit more 'pointy' than its predecessor but is now a bit of a mystery guitar as it doesn't appear in Yamaha's catalogues. It has the same pickups as earlier SF 500 and 700 but the set rosewood neck is much thinner. No pickguard. Mine has a lovely faded red finish and I haven't seen any in other colours. The SF400 is a rarer guitar than others in the Super Flighter range. Snap it up if you see one for sale before me!
235
Cool Les Paul Killer
Made in Japan. Really nice Gibson-style guitar from Yamaha's great 80s period. The same pickups as the SG range but it has a more chunky neck. Sustain is superb; the SF 500 has a bolt on neck, whereas other models are set neck. The sound from the pickups was (as the other review says) a bit too dark, but changing the tone capacitors fixed that. When I got this the frets were worn beyond levelling so I had to replace them. Lovely guitar, although it weighs a ton.