McGrawsome
New member
- Joined
- May 15, 2016
- Messages
- 1
I've had this guitar for a week now. I like it a lot and there is a lot to like. (I posted this in the Premier Guitar review, too).
The best things about the St. Vincent Signature guitar are the neck and the tremelo system. The neck is narrow with a C-profile and feels good in my hands. I'd compare if the a Fender Mustang though the oil/wax combo on the neck make it more playable. The tremolo system is tight. It snaps back in place and actually stays in tune perfectly due to the superb locking tuners. I don't see why anyone puts a Bigsby on their guitar with all of the hassles that come with it. It does dive bombs without issue, but is a little tight for subtle flavorings, though practice might change my opinion of this.
Design and Playability:
The St. Vincent Guitar is very comfortable and light. I play standing up and did not have any neck dive issues. I found myself natural using the body as a rest for my right arm which had the bonus effect of keeping the body away from the belt buckle.
The design is pretty futuristic to my eyes. It looks to me like a space-Firebird. The V-bevel on the top is very cool looking. I am less impressed with the controls. Accessing the volume knob on the fly will have you fueling around the whammy bar to get to it unless you have that bar already pushed out of the way. The controls work great, with silent switching and gradual roll-off.
I had no trouble accessing the higher frets, but I never really play past fret 17.
This is a narrow guitar. I'd recommend checking yourself out in a mirror to see if the design really suits you. I'm a bigger guy and would say my actual firebird looks better on me than the St. Vincent. Personal preference is involved, of course.
Tone:
Very versatile. The 5 position (Neck and Bridge) is my favorite. Very open sounding but a bit brighter than most of my other guitars in this position. Position 4 (All three pickups) sounds like a Strat in the 4 position, though toned down a little bit. Position 3-2-1 go from warm and open, and increase in treble and mid response. The bridge pick-up definitely has a boosted mid feel which would be great for cutting through a mix and for solos. I don't really use positions 2 and 3 unless I am trying to mellow out the tone os position 1. Personally, I would have added coil-tap options for extra versatility.
Value:
I think if you pay list price you are paying the premium for a signature model guitar. This is definitely a top quality guitar. The playability due to the great feeling neck and the perfect tuners make it worth the price tag for me, give or take a couple hundred buck.

The best things about the St. Vincent Signature guitar are the neck and the tremelo system. The neck is narrow with a C-profile and feels good in my hands. I'd compare if the a Fender Mustang though the oil/wax combo on the neck make it more playable. The tremolo system is tight. It snaps back in place and actually stays in tune perfectly due to the superb locking tuners. I don't see why anyone puts a Bigsby on their guitar with all of the hassles that come with it. It does dive bombs without issue, but is a little tight for subtle flavorings, though practice might change my opinion of this.
Design and Playability:
The St. Vincent Guitar is very comfortable and light. I play standing up and did not have any neck dive issues. I found myself natural using the body as a rest for my right arm which had the bonus effect of keeping the body away from the belt buckle.
The design is pretty futuristic to my eyes. It looks to me like a space-Firebird. The V-bevel on the top is very cool looking. I am less impressed with the controls. Accessing the volume knob on the fly will have you fueling around the whammy bar to get to it unless you have that bar already pushed out of the way. The controls work great, with silent switching and gradual roll-off.
I had no trouble accessing the higher frets, but I never really play past fret 17.
This is a narrow guitar. I'd recommend checking yourself out in a mirror to see if the design really suits you. I'm a bigger guy and would say my actual firebird looks better on me than the St. Vincent. Personal preference is involved, of course.
Tone:
Very versatile. The 5 position (Neck and Bridge) is my favorite. Very open sounding but a bit brighter than most of my other guitars in this position. Position 4 (All three pickups) sounds like a Strat in the 4 position, though toned down a little bit. Position 3-2-1 go from warm and open, and increase in treble and mid response. The bridge pick-up definitely has a boosted mid feel which would be great for cutting through a mix and for solos. I don't really use positions 2 and 3 unless I am trying to mellow out the tone os position 1. Personally, I would have added coil-tap options for extra versatility.
Value:
I think if you pay list price you are paying the premium for a signature model guitar. This is definitely a top quality guitar. The playability due to the great feeling neck and the perfect tuners make it worth the price tag for me, give or take a couple hundred buck.
