NGD Cutlass SSS in Charcoal Frost!!

[Cenobyte]

Hey folks, so I finally got my hands on a Cutlass and I'm loving it. I had a choice between a Vintage Turquoise with Roasted Maple or the original version new in shipping box in Charcoal Frost for $500 less. I played both and I have to be honest the classic neck felt better to me, the fret work also seemed better on the beautifully even and dark rosewood board (There are no visible fret seams on the edges of the rosewood board). I was also getting a little bit of buzz on the Vintage Turquoise one in positions 1, 3 and 5 in high gain situations... didn't have that on the charcoal one. Either way they both sounded and felt great, but this one spoke to me more plus it's the first MM I've purchased which was in it's shipper and wasn't already man handled by gubby music store people hands.

Mod wise, I plan on buying a couple alternate pickguards, I'm not a big brown fan so I'll grab a black tortoise shell along with a classic .90 single ply black guard... we shall see which ones look best with the paint job, though I have used photoshop to simulate the look and it's pretty cool.

 

[DrKev]

Great guitar! Well done! I’m looking forward to seeing whatever you decide to do with the pick guard.

 

[fogman]

Beautiful!!! Congrats!!!

 

[GWDavis28]

Nice, congrats, great combination!!!

Glenn |B)

 

[johnnyboogie]

Congratulations, enjoy!!

 

[JasonT]

Nice axe!

 

[vuduhwy]

Nice guitar!!! Makes me want one!

 

[Twang Banger]

Very nice! Enjoy!


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[Cenobyte]

Thanks folks, I'll be sure to post any upgrades to the guard in the new year! Been playing along to some Betty Davis today, and this guitar does the funk nicely... loving it!

 

[Cenobyte]

So this is interesting... I did a SN check in the SN thread and got this back:

This Cutlass RS SSS was completed on June 5th, 2018. The color is Charcoal Frost with the Rosewood fretboard.

That was surprising, I just assumed this was NOS from the Canadian distributor. So, if you look at the pics attached to my original NGD post above, this is clearly a base model Cutlass, not an RS. I'm honestly starting to wonder if something has been changed on this guitar. The reason is... I've never owned a MM guitar that didn't have 2 bar code stickers included... the large one that sits on the back of the body and the smaller one that sits on the bolt on section. Well this guitar out of the box/bag was missing the bolt on tag... i'd already been wondering about that, and now that the SN shows this as being a RS model I'm really wondering whats up! I would have preferred the RS version but limited MM distribution in Canada leaves people like me in a "get what you can when you can" situation most of the time... we have one distributor for the whole country as far as I know.

For added info I got this at Long & McQuade, at my request they ordered it directly from the distributor a day before I picked it up (their system shows MM distributor stock)... it was in the shipper, but I didn't see if it was re-taped, wish I had checked now. It looked mint upon removal from the bag, EB tag was still on the head and the included accessory envelope was unopened.

Any thoughts folks?

 

[TripHazard]

Might be worth an email to customer services

 

[Cenobyte]

Might be worth an email to customer services

So I just sent my inquiry via the contact form on the MM website... hopefully that's the best method, never really had to contact customer support before for this kind of thing, I usually call directly to order parts etc
Contact | Ernie Ball Music Man

 

[beej]

Either filling out the form or calling is good. I imagine with NAMM around the corner, it may be difficult to reach anyone for the next two weeks.

 

[xjbebop]

1] gorgeous gittar!
2] I would CALL customer service... they are awesome!
3] Personally, I would try a vintage white / pearl pg on that. It would match the pup covers and brighten / lighten the over all look of the guitar. A black pg will just make the whole thing look that much darker... however, maybe that's what your after.

 

[DrKev]

Just thinking out loud here, but surely long & McQuade and the Canadian distributors should be able to verify this? If EBMM say this was 2018 made them it should be an RS and that will be reflected in the documentation somewhere.

Was the price consistent with the price of a RS or an old stock standard?

 

[Anklelocker]

I have the same color Cutlass in the RS HSS form. My number 1 guitar! Congrats!

 

[Cenobyte]

1] gorgeous gittar!
2] I would CALL customer service... they are awesome!
3] Personally, I would try a vintage white / pearl pg on that. It would match the pup covers and brighten / lighten the over all look of the guitar. A black pg will just make the whole thing look that much darker... however, maybe that's what your after.

Will try calling on Monday, though as mentioned NAMM may slow this "investigation" down slightly lol

Totally going for dark, always liked off white PU Covers and knobs on black... David Gilmour style Strats have always been something I enjoy visually, have owned a couple of all black Strats over the years (when I used to still buy them). I also got them to round bezel the edges, it's going to look cool! I'll post pics!

Just thinking out loud here, but surely long & McQuade and the Canadian distributors should be able to verify this? If EBMM say this was 2018 made them it should be an RS and that will be reflected in the documentation somewhere.

Was the price consistent with the price of a RS or an old stock standard?

It was priced as a non RS which is why i assumed it was NoS... I also witnessed this being removed from the shipping box and it was in a plastic bag within the case... the sales guy opened all this for me in front of me etc. I don't have the distributor info but my receipt doesn't refer to the guitar as an RS, nor did the listing on their web site (it's gone now as I bought the last one)... I may call L&M on Monday but honestly this is more like a mystery at this point, I love the guitar, just kind of want to know why the SN says one thing but it's totally not that thing! I would have paid extra for an RS if I had that option in this colour... but as I said in Toronto you get what you can, when you can when it comes to EBMM's.

Also just a general thanks for the thoughts and input everyone, much appreciated!

 

[coolhandluc]

Gorgeous guitar! Looks like a NOS neck from 2017 since it's not roasted. I've had my eye on this color Cutlass for years. I'd love to have a Cutlass and StingRay in matching finishes like this. The pair would cover about everything I do.

Enjoy!

 

[Cenobyte]

So I got a response from Customer Service, turns out due to a mid 2018 birth date it was just assumed to be an RS, on further inspection it's actually confirmed as including the original vintage neck. I took the guitar apart while I was installing my new pickguard earlier and the neck was dated Oct 2017 where as the body was dated (illegible) 2018... I'm told it was likely ordered at the end of 2017 and put together in June etc. Which totally makes sense!

That said, as promised, black pickguard images! The guard from from Pickguard Planet, apparently they provide and cut the guards for MM... I asked for a round bevel ala David Gilmour's black strat custom guard. Fits nicely, looks cool... I dig it!

Again thanks everyone for input on the SN stuff, appreciated!

 

[wesman11483]

Okay...I love tourtise shell pgs...and was 100% team pearloid when it was mentioned earlier in this thread...but that black looks dead sexy!! Great looking guitar, and now she has a back story. The sexiest women have a little mystery in their background!