So I hadn't had much time to sit down and play this guitar until today. Today I had the time gave it a full/proper setup and put her through the paces and wow, I'm really digging it!
The Vistatone pickups have a great sound! They're very fat, and have more output than I expected without sound overwound or congested. They have a very "vocal" midrange and go from polite when played soft to growling when pushed. Lots of p90-like qualities, but they also have that great glassy clarity of Fender single coils, the bridge position even has bit of tele twang. Compared to the Roadhouse Kingston neck pickup that I have (also a Supro design, similar to the "gold foils" in the reissue guitars) they have a little less juicy roundness and a more aggressive bite.
The neck on this guitar might be the new favorite of the Warmoth necks that I own, for three reasons really:
1. The bloodwood shaft is wicked dense and smooth, and just feels richer with just a tad bit of waxy-ness compared to the drier feel of roasted maple. Definitely not as waxy goncalo or wenge though.
2. I've gotten to where I love the 59' roundback profile. Having played a standard thin for a long time, the 59' seemed a little too fat at first; now it feels comfy and just right in my hand. I don't think I'll ever order a profile other than the 59' again!
3. The frets on this neck are just about as perfect as you can get without having a pro fret level. I just cleaned up the fret ends a bit and polished them and they're just about perfect. I was able to get the action very low and it's playing so good that I can't believe it's not butter!
One thing that I don't love about this build is the weight... It's not ridiculously heavy, but it's definitely noticeable. The poplar that I used for the body was very heavy for some reason, and combine that with a heavy neck and hardware and you get a heavy guitar. Oh well, I still love her!
ccasion14:
