first post and Luke question

[thorvonclemson]

Hello everyone. This is my first post here so I will try to make it a good one.

My name is Zach and I am 22. I've been playing guitar for 10 years. I have been playing USA jackson for most of that time but I have sold them all in the last year because I am getting married three weeks from today.

I will be buying a new axe soon, and I am hoping to buy one that I can play as long as possible. I played a black Luke at a local guitar center and I was amazed. I play prog/tech metal and it worked suprisingly well. The pickups were very responsive, warm, and smooth. The salesman at GC said it was a basswood body though it did not sound like it to me. I thought it was alder and it says alder on the site.. anyone have any ideas?

I like Sperzels so that was a no brainer... glad to see it has Sperzels. The bridge was very comfortable and my hand sat nicely on it. The tone was amazing! I would not expect anything less from the Luke given the specs.

I particularily liked the neck profile, radius, and frets so I have a few questions about them. I've never played a V neck before and I have found that it was very nice considering the fretboard radius is somewhat small. If it was wider, the neck would be unplayable for me but it was perfect.

1) I know they are low-wide frets. Anyone know if they are stainless steel or nickel and their measurements. The felt pretty small to me.

2) anyone have problems with the upper fret access? I did not spend too much time around there and I would imagine it is pretty good.

Any input is greatly appreciated. I have seen some of the beauties that you guys have around here and I am very excited to finally get some BALLS

Blessings,

Zach

[Spudmurphy]

Hey Zach
Welcome to the EB forum.
Getting married huh? Well get as many guitars as u can first !!

Best wishes for the big day.

I can't help u on your query but hold tight and someone will be along soon to answer it.
Spud

[thorvonclemson]

lol..

she knows I have sold two USA Jacksons (one of them was a graduation present from my father) a randall warhead, a line 6 flextone II hd head, a crate acoustic amp, and various other things to help pay for everything. I currently am down to an acoustic and a pod xtl that I run through my Carvin PA setup. I also have a 2x12 custom made cab with sheffield speakers in it but since I do not have a guitar head I do not really have any use for it....yet! (can someone say ENGL Fireball?)

Anyways, she is pretty cool with my buying gear as long as we can afford it. It has become a pretty big priority to us that I have gear that I can play since I have sold all of it.

[brentrocks]

Welcome Zack!

like spud said get your guitars now!

i have never played a Luke, but from what i hear , they are pretty sweet. I'm an EVH guy (if you couldnt tell)

there are lots of cool people here that should be able to help you with your quest!

[Spudmurphy]

That's a cool attitude she has.

I loaded my acoustic in the back of the car when we went on honeymoon, my mates got into the car and put confetti in the soundhole.(you do have confetti in the US?)
It's still there to this day and that was 27 years ago (at this stage Beth in CS would probably be going "Awwwwwhhhh!")
So take a solid away with ya!!

[Roubster]

Welcome to the forum Zach, and congradulations on the marriage. I think the Luke will be the only guitar you will ever need if one is all you can have or what not. I have a Silhouette, which is amazing as well, and recently I got my Carbon Blue LUKE. The frets are definalty nickel, but I dont know the measurments. All I know is that they are perfectly comfortable and they let you dig into the bends and feel that smooth rosewood . The answer to the other question is, that the access to the higher frets is very ACCESSIBLE lol. Very comfortable, and basically the heel conforms to your fretting hand so you can play all kinds of crazyness right around the 22 fret. The tremolo is just pure genious, and it stays in tune perfectly, but once in a while you might want to lubricate it so the strings dont get caught up in the nut. I definatly will be getting a second one at some point with a piezo. It will be between Graph Pearl and Spahire Black w/ matching head. What color combo are you thinkin of for yours ? And good luck with everything for now .

[kbaim]

My advice would be to grab that guitar if you love it and it feels right...assuming you can get the deal you want.

You can always order one if you'd prefer it in a different color, but it may not "feel" exactly like the one you played.

I came upon Lukes sort of the same way, picked it up in a store as it was next to the line 6 amps I was testing out. Got the Line 6, kept going back to play the Luke...and finally bought it like 8 months later...as a back up to the one I special ordered. Wonderful instruments. I can't even get excited playing other guitars now.

[Big Poppa]

Lukes are alder and the keys are Schaller

[thorvonclemson]

I am thinking of black with just a regular natural headstock. The one I played was that color and it looked pretty sweet for just a basic black.

How long do they typically take to get in? I have a friend who works at GC who can get me one at a good price. (maybe that is a question I should ask him eh?)

Anyways, the only other guitar I am considering is a custom Carvin but I am a little hesitant because I have not played one and the Luke was absolute butter in my hands....

[Roubster]

Dont do the Carvin man, I've heard many a people that were dissapointed with them. The Luke is an amazing guitar and the craftsmenship is far superior to other comapnies. I respect other companies, but literally EBMM make them with greater attention to detail. The time it takes is roughly around 3months, but it could be longer or shorter. I ordered mine at the end of January and I got it around mid April or somethin like that. You should also concider Saphire Black. It is a pearl black color which is VERY cool on a Luke.

[kbaim]

I still say get it if it feels like you should.
It's so rare to find one in a store, and if it's calling your name, it's calling your name.

Go back to the store and play the snot out of it...preferably with your amp if you can. You should know within 30 minutes or so. Most players seem to skip the music man guitar line when they go to music stores so it may be basically unplayed.

You can also find out how long they've had it in stock, but they may not be forthright about it.

[fogman]

Hey Zach
Welcome to the EB forum.
Getting married huh? Well get as many guitars as u can first !!

Best wishes for the big day.

I can't help u on your query but hold tight and someone will be along soon to answer it.
Spud

+1

[fogman]

The time it takes is roughly around 3months, but it could be longer or shorter.

EBMM has been extremely busy with the extra guitars this year. 20th Silo, 30th Ray, the Y2Ds....
A few weeks ago BP had mentioned in the bass forum that a guitar ordered that day, would be delivered in October!
So you're looking at approx. 5 months!!!
Good things come to those who wait!

[lumberjack]

Welcome to the forum. Stick around awhile....and enjoy!!!!

[Lucidology]

Okay... I'm risking a "feeling silly-really out of it-missing the obvious" question here.... but where is the "Pearl" in a Pearl black Luke... or what in a guitar's finish does "Pearl" imply...

By exchanging the original black EMG's for white EMG's (very easily done) it created a striking contrast in my All Black Luke... this emphasizes the linear quality of a Luke's outline... (makes the lines of the Luke standout instead of blend in..)

It's a Feng Shui principle to take a solid dark colored object and introduce a contrasting color here & there. Apparently this gives the object new life or vibrancy...

I'm thinking of maybe even changing the knobs to white... I have many spectacular looking axes with eye popping finishes (Tom Anderson's & PRS's..) but now that I've made this slight change in the Luke... the beautiful shiny black finish combined with the all white pickups gives this great axe a strong visual prescence ...