Booya! BFRs hittin the store

[roburado]

Techno, I think everyone that has seen one of these 'in the flesh' has raved about the quality of the tops.

I really don't think that it's fair of you to say things like this based on what is probably a fairly heavily compressed picture.

Yeah. Forgot about the compression.

 

[Big Poppa]

"but the tops on the first and third ones are poor. Lighting doesn't account for poor figuring on half of a guitar from two different angles. Especially when they have a few six string F1s that were shot in the same location that look fine."

Im still looking for the question. Reads like a judgement to me....

 

[Sub1 Zero]

I personally think the ones in question look awesome... I don't see what all the fuss is about

 

[robelinda2]

gosh there's some crazy people out there.....

the tops are awesome!!!!!! as if they would ever be bad!!!

 

[roburado]

I just think some pictures are more compelling than others. Of course, as has been said, there are so many factors that will affect the appearance of the picture. I'm sure all the tops are great, and I'm looking forward to seeing the one that's got my name on it. Really, I'm looking forward to seeing any of these BFRS. I'm sure they're all fantastic in person.

 

[Sub1 Zero]

Probably even more fantastic when it's strapped onto you

 

[philiprst]

I have photographed a lot of guitars and a lot of quilt tops and I can assure you that I have taken plenty of pictures of the most gorgeous quilts that are very poor representations of real life. When you have a lot of figure, especially 3D quilt, the look depends very much on the angle it is viewed at. This becomes especially important with a camera which has a single fixed lens and doesn't do stereo like you eyes do. To get a proper representation you need a lot of patience, a cloudy sky and possibly a fill flash.

I hope you will forgive me if I show a non-EBMM example just to illustrate this without misrepresenting an EBMM model. Here is a nameless guitar that has a stunning even quilt bookmatched between the two body wings yet you would think they are completely different pieces of wood from this picture. This photo was taken in RAW format on a Nikon digital SLR with a very good lens and I have shown the unprocessed image (albeit with compression to get it on the forum).

 

[roburado]

Interesting demonstration. Beautiful pic, by the way. One of these days, I'd love to have a Nikon DSLR.

 

[Sub1 Zero]

Looks like snakeskin

 

[jeffrey]

Great pic. I had an ollllld Mockingbird that I kind of regret letting go.

 

[Dizzy]

Really?

Compare the BFR JPs to this Luke:

Look harder Karl.

Check out the intensity of the reflections of the sun from the bridge & frets on this Luke.
Also check the shadows...... whilst all shots have the cameras in the same (ish) position, the location of the sun for the Luke shot gives maximum reflection and intensity (again, check the bridge and fret reflections).
The JP's have the sun from behind the camera - with any reflection to the left of the guitar.

The thing about outdoor pics is that lighting can be completely different on any given day, which is why Pete's shots are always consistent.

Hell, some of my quilts are the most 3D I've ever seen, yet can look quite bland in the wrong pic environment.

 

[technomancer]

Ok cool, must just be the pics. One question BP, what wood grade are the tops going on these? (apologies if it's already been covered, I don't remember reading it while going through threads about these F1 models).

 

[midopa]

oh my goodness that top is swaaaate

 

[adamrogo]

They are 10 tops, or 5A.

 

[jaxadam]

I was under the impression that 4A were considered "10 tops", and 5A is just something a little extra special and out of the ordinary.

I've seen some 10 tops that were barely 3A, and some 4A that weren't even classified as a 10 top.

 

[adamrogo]

Gibson's Supreme Les Pauls supposedly use 5A, so I'm assuming thats what a 10 top is.

 

[technomancer]

To the best of my knowledge '10 top' is a marketing term, not a wood grade.

 

[jaxadam]

To the best of my knowledge '10 top' is a marketing term, not a wood grade.

Yup, I agree.

 

[phatduckk]

a buddy of mine bought a guitar from them where th pic on the side looked BAD! the top didnt look bookmatched at all. i told him not to buy it... he did anyways and it looks awesome in person.

so first hand i know that these guys have some pics that dont flatter the guitar's actual look

 

[technomancer]

Yup I already acknowledged it could well be the pics on those two at DCGL. I asked for a piece of factual information, what quilt/flame wood grade is being used for the tops on these.

(I'm asking because one of the things I've got on the back burner is a custom and I'm trying to get a better feel for what the various grades look like in actual practice... not really related to the original topic, but interesting none the less)