GUITAR BLOG
Welcome to my guitar blog! As I have collected and played many used guitars for the last couple of years, I have noticed that there is not always is there a lot of solid information on guitar. At times there is not even an online version of a manual to refer to, making adjusting knobs and switches guesswork if they aren't obvious with their results.
Thus I will be recording in this blog all the guitars I own or have owned, taking notes on build quality, electronics, tone, and anything worth noting that may not be immediately apperent about them.
FENDER LITE ASH TELE
A seemingly a normal telecaster from a distance, however this one is packed with beautiful subtleties. Suprisingly this model is made in Korea unlike many Fender flagship models, and they were constructed from around 2004 to 2008.
What sets this guitar apart for me, and why I would recommend it over a normal telecaster, is the neck. It has a stunning bird's eye maple neck with abalone inlays, and the very lightest finish that prevents the sticky feeling that heavier gloss finishes have. This creates a premium look that isn't recreated on any of the high end USA Fender telecasters that I have seen, and the neck plays incredibly well of course.
When it comes to the sound of this guitar, it's essentially just a telecaster...BRIGHT. It has Seymore Duncan Alnico Pro pickups, APTR-1 and APTL-1. With this tele, you can string through body or directly onto the bridge, though it has the classic 3 saddles instead of 6.
This is a sick guitar (current bogus Fender news aside) that I wish they would bring back, as these are not the most common to find. I believe with this model there was only 2 color options, black and natural wood, but correct me if I'm wrong. Unfortunately I sold mine a while back, and if I come across one again I'll definitely have to get it.
SCHECTER OMEN ELITE-4
The Omen Elite-4 is an absolutely beautiful bass that rides the line of classic Schecter edgienss and their more sleek modern designs. The mahogany body looks and feels absolutely stunning, and the pale colored stains used on the back of the body and neck really accent the cold tones that this bass has.
Among Schecter basses, this one definetly stands out as it is less obnoxious in design than the "Extreme" seires they have, specifically with the more subtle Omen line inlays. It is a fairly hefty bass, however to me is a little more managable than a Schecter C-4 due to its offset strap peg, and is much better if you wear your strap low. It is equipped with two Schecter Diamond J-Bucker passive pickups, which have individual switches below the control pots to change between series, parallel, and split coil.
The pots are volume, blend, and tone (neck to bridge), and have awesome clear knobs that flow incredibly well with the gloss of the body. The only issues I have here is that personally I am unable to tell which switch positon goes to which setting for the pickups, as there is not a manual for this bass, so the best option is to isolate each pickup and determine what works best, then blend the two.
However the largest issue that I have with this bass is what I eluded to before...it is the single most nasally bass I have ever had or played. No matter what combination of switch positions, blending, and tone I use, it is still noticeably nasally compared to any other bass. Even when isolating the neck pickup and setting tone all the way down, this bass does NOT want to produce a lick of a warm, wide tone. If you are using distortion or other effects this bass is sick, however if you are looking for a bass that can be used as a swiss army knife, to fit into any track, it will take much more effort in EQ and processing to make the Omen Elite fit properly into anything besides genres of metal.
It looks so wicked though...