NGD SBMM Cutlass in Seafoam Green

[benoa]

Finaly, I picked up my SBMM Cutlass in Seafoam Green this Saturday while on a personal trip to NYC.

Haven't played it yet in an amp. Will report when I'll be back home.

Pros:

Really really digging the color and the neck shape. The back of it is more V then C with a flat top. Very comfortable and the finish is somewhat of a thin satin on both back and top. Feeling almost like unfinished. Cool. Fret access is nice too up to the 22nd.

I have nothing to weight it and without being super heavy, it does feel solid and not lite.

I really dig the shape of the body. The asymetrical contour looks nice and is very comfortable.

Whammy bar sits on top of the body and it is very stable. I am surprised. I got a brand new model and out of the box and the setup was as I like it even if the strings were a bit higher than what I'm used too.

Cons:

Fret ends are sharps and not smooth at all. At least, not as bad as on the floor model that GC had in stock that day.

Neck pocket isn't tight. But neck is solid and straight. But there a small gap all around the neck joint.

Some paint lines are visible on the sides of the guitar but I've seen worst on some recent Gibson.

Some screws of the pickguard are over screwed while one isn't. Anyway, I'll will go through all of them one by one when I'll remove the protective film.

Side input jack is screwed not parallel to the body line.

The bar of the tremolo feels light and as it would not endure severe whammy abuse.

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I was lucky as I got an awesome deal on my Cutlass as these sells for a bit for too much in Canada. Even with the currency exchange I saved a lot.

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Disclaimer #1: I own two JP6 and the quality, fit & finish are simply awesome one these guitars. The SBMM doesn't compare.

Disclaimer #2: The colors available for the EBMM Cutlass do nothing for me. I really wish they had the Seafoam green. But the new Coral Red is growing badly on me.

My GAS isn't cured as I played an EBMM Cutlass today and it felt so great. The neck was so smooth and awesome. Whammy bar was smooth. Pickup switch felt strong. I compared to a new Elite Stratocaster and I really prefered the EBMM. Pickups seemed a bit less high gain on the EBMM but overall feel and tone made it the clear winner for me.

 

[xjbebop]

Congrats. As good as the SBMM's are for the $$, there is plenty of room for improvement. But they really illustrate the difference in quality = price for the higher end models.

 

[banjoplayer]

Hi benoa,
thanks for your report and congrats to the new fiddle.
It covers my experience on my own SBMM Cutlass. Well written (except min seems to be lighter and doesn´t have sharp fret ends)

 

[gnomeo]

Hi banjoplayer. I was just wondering are your polepieces staggered in height? I noticed on benoas pictures his are but on my Cutlass and the pictures on the Sterling website they are not. This might explain the sound difference. Also I would say my fret ends are not sharp either but in mass production there are normally variations, its the QC that is suppose to spot these things. So is there anyone on this forum that would no if there was a spec change on the electrics?.

 

[banjoplayer]

I was just wondering are your polepieces staggered in height?

well I guess they are not. Original pickups are in a little box somewhere in the cellar. has to check it. On this pic I´d say they are not staggered but I will check

edit: I can confirm: they are not staggered

 

[johnnyboogie]

Congratulations and happy playing!! =D

 

[benoa]

@banjoplayer the neck pocket on your SBMM Cutlass seems tighter than the one on mine. What PU did you put in yours?

Will be able to test mine in my amps a bit later tonite.

 

[banjoplayer]

@banjoplayer the neck pocket on your SBMM Cutlass seems tighter than the one on mine. What PU did you put in yours?

I don´t have a pic that shows the neck pocket right but the neck pocket is okay.
You may check the photobucketlink below, I added some new pics as I am thinking about selling it. It´s a nice guitar but with all the pros and cons we discussed here plus the fact that I don´t particularly like the V-neckshape I tend to move on...
Pickups are Leosounds Red House from a German manufacturer. They are nice and have a bit more bite
LEOSOUNDS - Handwound Guitar Pickups

 

[benoa]

Well, out of luck. The pickup switch is defective. :-(

Positions 1 & 2 sound the same, position 3 is dead, no sound, position 4 & 5 sound the same... I don't know if I'll have any kind of warranty as I brought this guitar from the USA to Canada.

Anyway, I was going to see my tech for the sharp fret edges, I'll have a decent switch installed at the same time (or I can do it myself if I don't feel too lazy in the coming days).

 

[xjbebop]

Well that sucks...

 

[SBMM]

Well, out of luck. The pickup switch is defective. :-(

Positions 1 & 2 sound the same, position 3 is dead, no sound, position 4 & 5 sound the same

BenoA - Email me directly, let's see what we can do for you. [email protected]

 

[benoa]

BenoA - Email me directly, let's see what we can do for you. [email protected]

Thanks Brian, email sent!

And something weird happened, the switch started to work again this morning??? Go figure! First time this happens to me on the over 20 guitars I have owned (I have 17 right now).

Also, I don't know if it's the temperature in my house but the fret ends are a bit less sharp since I brought the Cutlass home. We will see with Spring coming in a few weeks.