Albert Lee folks -- I need some mentoring...

[Gschrock313]

Well I can't remember who told me this about a year ago, but they said "once you buy one EBMM you'll want more" and so it seems that after buying my Silhouette and Absolutely Loving it every time I pick it up (even unplugged) I've come face to face with an uncomfortable situation...
Here in my far away city in China there has appeared an Albert Lee HH trem, solid rosewood neck model, (2017 I think) in excellent condition. The seller is asking about 2k (USD) and I'm torn -- what differences would I expect between it and my Silo (other than the 22 frets)?
Talk me into or out of it - I'm driving myself crazy.

 

[V_S]

My Al HH sounds a little bit warmer than my Silo (ash body). I sold the Silo and it didn't have stock PUs back then.. so don't know how much the PUs contributed to that difference. The neck profiles feel very similar to me (ATM I've got a Silo neck, whith self made body)

>Talk me into or out of it - I'm driving myself crazy.
I love my Al and will never sell it. Go for it ..

 

[xjbebop]

In my limited experience, all MM models have their own personality...
However, I do have a favorite...

 

[Sweat]

Well it is a great guitar, has Axis pups, neck is similar to a Silo IMO, if I was you I would get the serial number and run it through the serial number DB, that way you get an accurate DOB

Cannot remember when they stopped producing the all Rosewood neck ones but the introduction was several years earlier as I had one of the first,

 

[TripHazard]

It is quite different from the silo in my opinion and for me is one of the most comfortable body shapes to play, and that rosewood neck is just a joy. I’ve had a lot of guitars, moved a lot on, but the Albert Lee HH is still here (and I deeply regret selling my sss Albert - one day I’ll have another)

 

[beep.click]

I don't know how the Silhouette is wired, and I don't know if all Albert Lee HH guitars are wired the same -- but my A. Lee HH has a 5 way switch that gives a couple unusual and useful tone options. I'm pretty sure the 2 and 4 positions combine the INSIDE or OUTSIDE coils of the 2 pickups, respectively.

I have 7 EBMM electrics and the necks are quite similar.

 

[Magic Jason]

I recommend you stay away from AL models : they are quite addictive.

Neck is similar to the Silo, round profile, not too slim, not too fat, will fit right in your hand.

Body shape is unconvetional, you love it or hate it. If you ask me : it is super classy. Easy playing when sitting.

Full rosewood neck is a pure joy.

Sounds are GREAT, it's a mix between a Les Paul and an SG. The humbuckers really split well. It's a do-it-all guitar but that does everything WELL, not meh.

If the guitar you are lusting over has chrome knobs, such as the pink one in my picture, it has a push-pull on volume that splits the humbuckers.
If it doesn't, it's a cheap and easy mod that will allow even more sonic possibilities.

I've owned a Silo which was a good "superstrat" but was a bit "dull" IMHO; the AL has a real personnality , is a much better guitar, is much funnier to play.
It has MOJOOOOO for ages.

 

[Gschrock313]

Well as fate would have it - shortly after I posted my request I took a look at the posting and was prepared to make an offer; to my absolute amazement the seller had just dropped the price below what I was going to offer! As a man of faith I took it as a sign from the guitar gods... It has a serial number of G61908 (1/12/12) and a build code of 955-CC-RW-P3-CS-CR. As Magic Jason mentioned it does in fact have the chrome knobs and when the seller dropped it off he told me it splits the neck pickup (as soon as I brought it home I found out it's for both ).

It's currently set up with 10's but I'm planning to go with 9's, I'm feeling like it'll need a tweak or two for the trem as it's sitting flush with the body and feels pretty tight. I'm not much of a trem user but having access to give it a nudge via the bridge plate will come in handy. *One thing I've noticed is the 5-way flicks really easily, is that a common thing or might I be able to add some resistance? -- (I saw this in another post, seems normal and I'll get used to it unless someone has a simple fix.)

I had to travel the very next morning so I was only able to play it until about 3am and I just returned home -- tomorrow will be a fun morning for sure. No decent pics yet - but very soon!
Thanks to all for the input - much appreciated!