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Ultimate Super Rad Craptastic NGD

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 2:27 am
by Agileguy_101
And honestly, the title may be underselling it. Don't believe me? Scroll past my wall of text and judge for yourself.

Hey guys, I just had to share my new guitar because it's... well, you'll see.

This guitar has a bit of a story behind it. I ordered it in January 2014, and after a long delay that was no fault of the builder, I received it in October last year. Unfortunately, Fedex damaged it in shipping, even though it was in a very protective case. I kept it for a week or two before sending it to Fedex for inspection, as it was insured. Unfortunately, they denied the claim and then damaged it AGAIN when they shipped it across the country back to the builder! :picard:

It then spent a few months in limbo while I tried to get a payout for the repair. And once that eventually happened, it took another 4-6 weeks to get it back from repair. Ugh. But it's all good now, because I have it in my grubby mitts, and it's absolutely perfect.

I designed this guitar with input from the builder. I originally wanted a very basic tele config with a few alterations - this body shape, SS frets, a Gibson 3 way toggle, and a P90 in the neck. Those ideas didn't last long as I discussed with Mike all of the options that he offers and even ones that at that time he was still developing, like the contoured heel. Somehow, we ended up with what you see here - 1 piece mahogany back, super flamed maple top, rosewood neck, jet black ebony board, direct mounted Zhangbucker pickups (with a tap on the bridge), hipshot hardtail bridge and locking tuners, and the incredible paint job (dark cherry burst top, LP Goldtop style dark back). I based the neck off one of the best necks I've ever played, my old Music Man Morse Y2D, which I actually sold last year to fund a PRS McCarty. It's got a 1 5/8" nut, which fits my hand just perfectly. The combo of rosewood shaft, ebony board, and stainless frets makes this thing a motherfucking speed demon like nothing else I've ever played, and MIke's setup work is beyond brilliant, so it just sings.

I've never had another guitar as good as this one. It blows my PRSi out of the water, there's not even any comparison. The pickup combination makes it super versatile, especially since - unlike most every guitar I've tried - I actually find the tone knob super useful on this instrument. I can run it wide open for awesome tele-esque tones or pull it down to 6-7 to get into more humbucker territory, but still with a bit of that tele bite. And even with the tone rolled back, the P90 never gets muddy. I only got this four days ago, so I haven't really had time to compare it to other guitars, but I've never played a tele that can do for me what this guitar does.

Now I just want to get this out of the way - I am far from rich. I saved up for a long time to get this guitar. I'm just a 23 year old student - no trust fund, no super rich parents, none of that shit. I just knew that this is the best time I'll ever have in my life to splurge on a custom guitar like this, and I'm very glad I did, because I will never ever get rid of this thing. Have I mentioned that it's the best guitar I've ever played yet?

Anyway, this thread is shit without pics, so here they are.

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Re: Ultimate Super Rad Craptastic NGD

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 2:43 am
by fcknoise
Congratulations!! That guitar looks so slick dude, and the the first pic of the neck made me shiver irl. Happy NGD!

Re: Ultimate Super Rad Craptastic NGD

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 2:53 am
by greeny23
that neck..

Re: Ultimate Super Rad Craptastic NGD

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 2:58 am
by Agileguy_101
Thanks guys! I was pretty much sold on rosewood before even playing one - I was at GC a few years ago and my brother handed me a Music Man Bongo with a rosewood neck. I just fell in love immediately with the feel, it's unreal. If you've never picked up a rosewood neck, you owe it to yourself to try one. They're pure sex.

Oh and yeah it sounds good too

Re: Ultimate Super Rad Craptastic NGD

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:14 pm
by gaussgunn
hmmm offset tele-style guitar looks cool , happy NGD man ;)

Re: Ultimate Super Rad Craptastic NGD

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:16 pm
by Chankgeez
That's crazy clean lookin'.

Re: Ultimate Super Rad Craptastic NGD

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:28 pm
by D.o.S.
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Re: Ultimate Super Rad Craptastic NGD

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:30 pm
by Inconuucl
Dibs on- Oh nevermind. 8DDD That guitar looks absolutely stunning, makes me want to dump a bunch of stuff in b/s/5 (again!) to buy one like it. :drool:

Re: Ultimate Super Rad Craptastic NGD

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 1:04 pm
by whoismarykelly
Very nice! I have rosewood necks on an 8 string and a 6 and they're both fantastic.

Re: Ultimate Super Rad Craptastic NGD

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 1:22 pm
by backwardsvoyager
WELP
rosewood neck curiousity piqued
Agileguy_101 wrote:Now I just want to get this out of the way - I am far from rich. I saved up for a long time to get this guitar. I'm just a 23 year old student - no trust fund, no super rich parents, none of that shit. I just knew that this is the best time I'll ever have in my life to splurge on a custom guitar like this, and I'm very glad I did, because I will never ever get rid of this thing. Have I mentioned that it's the best guitar I've ever played yet?
i'm with you there, i did the same last year thinking 'fuck it i'll just order my dream guitar now so i don't have to spend time fawning over shit i can't afford if i ever pick up any real responsibilities in life'
plus the irony of driving around in a shitbox car worth less than half as much as the guitar sitting in the back never seems to get old. PRIORITIES.

glad the shipping woes worked out eventually, that's such a bummer to happen after waiting ages for a build.

Re: Ultimate Super Rad Craptastic NGD

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 1:25 pm
by coldbrightsunlight
Beautiful! No frills, very clean looking and wow that neck! Very pretty.

Glad it worked out after that shipping nightmare!

Re: Ultimate Super Rad Craptastic NGD

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 4:29 pm
by friendship
That's gorgeous. May you enjoy a lifetime of playing with it.

Re: Ultimate Super Rad Craptastic NGD

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 5:35 pm
by Agileguy_101
Thanks guys.

I just wanted to mention my favorite little feature I didn't put in the OP - hidden fret tangs. Basically, a very thin stop is left in the end of each side of the fretboard, and then the underside (tang) of the fret is cut off (an especially impressive feat considering that these are stainless steel Jescar frets, among the hardest out there). This way, the fretboard is left pure on the sides. It makes for a VERY smooth experiences sliding your hands up and down the neck, and it also has the added benefit of preventing the frets from protruding due to climate changes. You can see what I mean in this picture:

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