ScoobySteve
Well-known member
I wanted to write this review because of two things. I only got to play the 25th ONCE for 3minutes and decided to trade in my JP blind to Pete to get this bad boy. I was sold on the guitar based on the Neck position in Series mode. Wonderfully melodic and warm but also searing lead sound.
However after playing, practicing, some minor recording and weekly gigging for six months with the 25th my eyes have opened quite a bit.
I was so sold on the way the guitar handled in series mode, but to be totally honest, I have been playing the 25th almost exclusively in parallel now.
Don't get me wrong, series mode is great. Helps me get sweet, fat, and round tones for my clean rhythm sections, and melting faces at the neck and bridge position on high-gain settings made separating from my JP a breeze...
But! The 25th and its settings in parallel is where it shines. In my opinion of course.
There isn't a single position I don't love. Yes, I said love, and not like. First of all, its hard to find a HH guitar that can quack. And the 25th can quack at both split positions at 2 and 4, but what impresses me most about the 25th and in parallel is how it responds to...
Pick attack.
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME. It amazes me how I can have my amp and stompboxes to generate blues level gains, fuzz gains, vintage crunch, modern crunch, and overdriven high-gain, and even CLEAN LEVELS and still able to have such precise control over my tone and gain at the tip of my pick. It's remarkable. Phrasing and voicing is important to anyone who wants to make sure the notes and chords they strike are clear and articulate even if its distorted.
Having that precise pickup response when rocking out at the bridge position in parallel gives you such diversity in your playing. It makes you a more methodical and careful picker, and a better guitar player just by playing it. Yes at first, I had to struggle with the guitar and mix-match stompbox positions, amp settings, etc to get the right sounds I wanted, but once I was able to carefully identify the tones I really, really liked (I'm a massive EJ nuthead and purist, chasing tone is a vain and unfortunate weakness of mine) and I found MANY I enjoyed with this guitar. I can't stop playing lead tones in the neck position. It's addicting!
I use positions 2,3,4 for basic clean tones. 2 and 4 for lead cleans, and 3 and sometimes 4 for rhythm cleans. And they sound just pristine. I add some compression for increased sustain, minor delay and chorus and I have lushness that could make a tone purist blush. But with that aside I just wanted to say if you want an axe that can practically do it all, get the reflex. I honestly don't know of a genre this can't do. .
It will require patience and mixing-matching and practice on your part, but it gives you something many guitar manufacturers have tried to offer and have failed at: a guitar that is more than a one trick pony and does its various jobs very, very well.
I could go on, but I'll just hurt your eyes with more text. Pull the trigger!
-Scooby
However after playing, practicing, some minor recording and weekly gigging for six months with the 25th my eyes have opened quite a bit.
I was so sold on the way the guitar handled in series mode, but to be totally honest, I have been playing the 25th almost exclusively in parallel now.
Don't get me wrong, series mode is great. Helps me get sweet, fat, and round tones for my clean rhythm sections, and melting faces at the neck and bridge position on high-gain settings made separating from my JP a breeze...
But! The 25th and its settings in parallel is where it shines. In my opinion of course.
There isn't a single position I don't love. Yes, I said love, and not like. First of all, its hard to find a HH guitar that can quack. And the 25th can quack at both split positions at 2 and 4, but what impresses me most about the 25th and in parallel is how it responds to...
Pick attack.
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME. It amazes me how I can have my amp and stompboxes to generate blues level gains, fuzz gains, vintage crunch, modern crunch, and overdriven high-gain, and even CLEAN LEVELS and still able to have such precise control over my tone and gain at the tip of my pick. It's remarkable. Phrasing and voicing is important to anyone who wants to make sure the notes and chords they strike are clear and articulate even if its distorted.
Having that precise pickup response when rocking out at the bridge position in parallel gives you such diversity in your playing. It makes you a more methodical and careful picker, and a better guitar player just by playing it. Yes at first, I had to struggle with the guitar and mix-match stompbox positions, amp settings, etc to get the right sounds I wanted, but once I was able to carefully identify the tones I really, really liked (I'm a massive EJ nuthead and purist, chasing tone is a vain and unfortunate weakness of mine) and I found MANY I enjoyed with this guitar. I can't stop playing lead tones in the neck position. It's addicting!
I use positions 2,3,4 for basic clean tones. 2 and 4 for lead cleans, and 3 and sometimes 4 for rhythm cleans. And they sound just pristine. I add some compression for increased sustain, minor delay and chorus and I have lushness that could make a tone purist blush. But with that aside I just wanted to say if you want an axe that can practically do it all, get the reflex. I honestly don't know of a genre this can't do. .
It will require patience and mixing-matching and practice on your part, but it gives you something many guitar manufacturers have tried to offer and have failed at: a guitar that is more than a one trick pony and does its various jobs very, very well.
I could go on, but I'll just hurt your eyes with more text. Pull the trigger!
-Scooby
