Gibson Double Cut Longhorn Guitar
November 5, 2008 by Chazders · Leave a Comment
Gibson USA’s Guitar of the Month for November ‘08, the Longhorn Double-cutaway has an appealing body design that incorporate slightly extended, asymmetrical cutaways on a solid chunk of mahogany topped with a beautiful AA figured maple top.
The level of detail continues with its white three-ply binding around the body and headstock, which not only adds beauty to the guitar, it adds bump protection as well. And the improvements don’t end there. The Longhorn is loaded with the legendary EMG-85 active humbuckers. The EMG-85 actives deliver tone, power, and performance for all styles of musicians. The innovation continues on with a special designed L.R. Baggs piezo pickup located underneath the Tune-o-matic bridge. This gives guitarists the option of either blending the two sounds together or using them separately, thus allowing players all types of sonic capabilities.
Gibson employing a pair of EMG 85 pickups and an LR Baggs piezo pickup shows the company isn’t afraid to think outside the box. Innovated ideas like the detailed unique-style flowerpot headstock inlay add to the beauty and definition of detail. The flowerpot inlay dates back to the early 1900s which several of Gibson’s rare historic mandolins and archtops employed. The Gibson USA Longhorn guitar is limited to just 1,000 instruments. Estimated price $1999 - $2299
The neck is a solid-one-piece mahogany with Gibson’s established ’50s rounded profile, topped by an ebony fingerboard with white acrylic small-block fretboard inlays created specifically for the Longhorn. Also in keeping with tradition is the headstock’s flowerpot inlay.
The End Line
Design
Gibson’s pioneering spirit has no boundaries, and nowhere is this more evident than in Gibson USA’s - Longhorn Double Cut. This soon-to-be-classic features Gibson’s newest body design, consisting of slightly extended, asymmetrical cutaways on a solid piece of mahogany, topped by a beautiful AA figured maple top. White three-ply binding around the body and traditional headstock adds both beauty and protection to the guitar. A special-design L.R. Baggs piezo pickup has been added beneath the Tune-o-matic bridge to deliver outstanding acoustic simulation capabilities. A pair of EMG’s legendary 85 active humbuckers deliver incredible tone, power, and performance at all levels, while a new two-jack input, also from L.R. Baggs, offers separate outputs for both the piezo and humbuckers.
Neck
The neck is a solid-one-piece mahogany with Gibson’s traditional ’50s rounded profile, topped by an ebony fingerboard with white acrylic small-block fretboard inlays created especially for the Longhorn. Also in keeping with tradition is the headstock’s Flowerpot inlay, which dates back to the early 1900s and several of Gibson’s historic mandolins and archtops. The fingerboard on the Longhorn is constructed from the highest grade ebony on the planet. The resilience of this dense and durable wood makes every fingerboard extremely balanced and stable, and gives each chord and note unparalleled clarity and bite. The fret wire on the Gibson models is a combination nickel and silver alloy (approximately 80 percent nickel and 20 percent silver) specifically designed for long life and superior wear. The small block inlays on the new Longhorn Double Cutaway are a new inlay design from Gibson. They are a variation of Gibson’s more traditional larger block inlays, and give the Longhorn’s fingerboard a distinctly smooth look.
Body
The joining together of a solid mahogany back and maple top is a time-honored tradition at Gibson, and a critical part of making the new Longhorn Double Cutaway. The formula employed to select the wood and dry it is just as important. On the Longhorn, the mahogany back is matched with a AA figured maple top, both of which are personally inspected and qualified by Gibson’s team of skilled wood experts.
Electronics
The EMG 85 is one of most popular active humbuckers in the world, and rightfully so. Equipped with a bar-shaped Alnico V magnet and coils with separate outputs, the EMG 85 yields a warmer and more natural tone, and delivers balanced and uniform string response. The wide aperture of the coils produces a beefier low end and fatter top end, with loads of output that doesn’t get muddy. They can be used to play everything from classic rhythm and blues to heavy metal. The new, special-design L.R. Baggs piezo pickup is located under the Tune-o-matic bridge and offers a wide range of outstanding acoustic simulation capabilities. The Longhorn also comes equipped with a new two-jack input, also from L.R. Baggs, that offers separate outputs for both the piezo and the humbuckers, allowing for plenty of options to blend the two distinct sounds, or playing them individually.
Gibson Longhorn Double Cut Features:
* Body Style: Longhorn
* Top Species: AA Maple
* Back Species: Mahogany
* Binding: 3-Ply
* Finish: Heritage Cherry Sunburst
* Fingerboard Species: Ebony
* Scale Length: 24-3/4
* Number of Frets: 22
* Inlays: Small Block
* Neck Pickup: EMG 85
* Bridge Pickup: EMG 85
* Controls: Dual Output Blending Magnetic and Piezo Volumes, 1 Tone
* Neck Species: Mahogany
* Profile: ’60s Slim Taper
* Peghead Pitch: 17
* Nut Width: 1.695
* Neck Joint: 19th
* Hardware Plating Finish: Gold
* Tailpiece: Stop Bar
* Bridge: L.R. Baggs Piezo Tune-O-Matic
* Knobs: Gold Speed
* Tuners: Grover Keystone
* Includes special Guitar of the Month case
www.gibson.com
Buy - Sell - Trade Used Music Gear at GEAR-VAULT CLASSIFIEDS
Schaller Hannes Bridge
October 18, 2008 by Chazders · Leave a Comment
Roland Hannes partners with Schaller-Electronics to bring the guitarworld new innovations.
The newly announced Schaller “Hannes” bridge is claimed to be “the best of all worlds,” and “outstanding combination of sound, innovation and perfection of the highest quality” with “premium standards with no frills.” Well, we can certainly agree on one thing, the sleek design and functionality of this unique bridge is definitely appealing.
How does the bridge fit on the guitar and how does it work? Installation is undeniably fascinating; the bridge sits directly on the guitars surface. It features a separate couple unit for each string, allowing individually adjustable intonation and height. Each string is fed via a separate coupler which is individually adjustable in terms of intonation and height. Access technical details and drawings by going to Schaller’s TZ file.
How does it sound? The design decouples each string from its neighbors, allowing every string vibration to be transferred directly and independently to the body, improving harmonic response and definition.
How does it feel? This is one of my favorite features, no protruding screws, edges or spikes at all and the flat design ensures outstanding playing comfort. Another thing that I find interesting is the bridge features a ‘Graph Tech String Saver’ design; everything is contoured perfectly for the players who like to rest their palm on the bridge. The sharp edge that some bridges have, namely, the Tune-O-Matic, some players, like myself, may have found them a bit uncomfortable. Feels great - Check!
What other benefits come with the Schaller Hammes Bridge? As mentioned above, the ‘Graph Tech String Saver’ saddles are heat-treated high-performance polymers with Teflon, which ensures minimal friction on the string contact points. The Teflon significantly extends string life 15% - 25%.
What’s more, the Hannes Bridge is available in nickel, chrome, gold, black chrome, ruthenium and satin finishes. Price for the Schaller Hannes Bridge is TBD.
Learn more about the new Schaller “Hannes” bridge at Schaller’s official website.
Find – Buy – Sell - Trade
Gear-Vault Classifieds
Vaccaro Groove Jet & X-Ray Guitar Review
July 7, 2008 by Chazders · Leave a Comment
If you’ve seen advertisements for Vaccaro’s guitars on the internet or magazines, you may have noted their slightly confrontational slogan: “They’re not for everybody.” This statement, it seems, is absolutely true. The reactions I’ve seen when whipping one of these unorthodox instruments out of my gig bag have ranged from shock (“Where di you get that?”) to covetous (“Awesome! Where can I get one?”).
Brought to you buy the people who created Kramer’s distinctive aluminum and wood-necked guitars in the late Seventies and early Eighties, Vaccaro’s guitars feature daringly designed popular bodies, bold finishes and unique aluminum, maple and ebanol composite necks. The Groove Jet evokes the unholy alliance of a Gibson SG and a satanic dung beetle, and features two Seymour Duncan Custom ’59 humbuckers, a three-way switch pickup selector located on the top horn of the guitar, two volume controls and a master tone control. Our review model was flawlessly finished in a stunning see-through emerald green. The X-Ray, whose sleek, orange sparkle body has a space-age Rickenbacker vibe, boasts two Rio Grande Muy Grande pickups: a humbucker in the bridge and a single coil in the neck position. Both pickups are topped off with the same mother-of-toilet-seat plastic as the pickguard, adding to the instrument’s undeniable ie ne sais quoi. The X-Ray’s control layout is simple yet versatile: a three-way pickup selector, coil-tap switch for the humbucker and single volume and tone controls. The hardware on both guitars (Sperzel locking tuning machines, super-sleek Tune-O-Matic-style bridges and top-notch components) is bullet-proof. The phenolic “I can’t believe it’s not ebony!” fingerboard are smooth and natural feeling, and the well-finished frets provide a sleek, effortless playing surface.
Run through a Bogner Ecstacy head powering a vintage Marshall 4×12 cabinet, both guitars performed admirably well. The Groove Jet’s Duncans are not obnoxiously hot, yet they provide full, articulate, distorted sounds that are both aggressive and musical. Backing off the volume controls allow for dead-on bluesy “in between sounds,” and on clean settings the instrument responds exactly as a two-humbucker contender should. The X-Ray’s Muy Grande pickups (as the name so subtly indicates) have a zingy, refried Texas tone, and when the single coil is combined with the humbuckers in single-coil configuration, they produce extremely hot ‘n’ tasty Fender-like tones. These guitars may look wild and crazy, but their sound and feel are full and old-fashioned goodness.
Gear-Vault Classifieds is an eBay alternative. Come sell with us.
