Ordering an Albert Lee Jitters

[pickngrin1]

I ordered an AL about a month ago from a local music store.Probably another 2-3 month wait.Is there any reason to believe my axe won't be anything less than spectacular?Will the swamp ash be light, resonant and well figured?Will the neck have outrageous birdseye?Will the P/Ups be wound and balanced just right?This is kinda like waiting for a newborn to arrive and hoping it has 10 toes and fingers.How have the rest of you coped with the waiting game?

 

[Big Poppa]

with an albert lee you pray for 11 fingers!

 

[thindave]

+10 !!!

 

[Jimi D]

Relax... They're wonderful guitars and you're going to love it, whatever the particulars... be patient, be calm...

 

[bearkat16]

I've been awaiting an axis since april. I'm expecting a call anytime within the next 2 months.( 4-6 month wait). I just try not to think about that much. If you think about it too much you're gonna go crazy. Just try to relax a bit and get them fingers in shape because when you get it your not gonna be able to put her down.


Hey, that was post #100!

 

[Norrin Radd]

Look at the bright side, you could NOT be waiting for a new guitar! Relax. Enjoy. Look at gear porn. You are getting one heck of a guitar. Don't worry, be happy. (NO!!! I did NOT say that!)

 

[caucajun]

the prob is: it's easy to get SO worked up about it.....especially when you're spending THAT kind of wampum.........that when you get it, you'll be tempted to critique it to death. ..........avoid this pittfall......and give yourself a couple of months to get REALLY in sync with it............THEN, grasshopper........you will understand!

 

[kbaim]

I remember one post of a guy who got his 2nd Albert and was surpurised to find it much heavier than his first.

I got my first this past feb and was surprised how light it was. Even lighter than my axis ss. Extremely comfortable to play. Unique design, people definitely comment.

Mostly, "Hey Keith, when are you gonna learn to play that thing?"

 

[jongitarz]

with an albert lee you pray for 11 fingers!

 

[tvanveen]

I ordered an AL about a month ago from a local music store.Probably another 2-3 month wait.Is there any reason to believe my axe won't be anything less than spectacular?

No.

Will the swamp ash be light, resonant and well figured?

I've never seen a transparent finished AL with bad grain. The straight transparent finishes seem to darken and enhance the grain more than the burst finishes from what I've seen.

It doesn't really "figure" though, it's not maple.

The 3 that I've owned have varied in weight but all have had a nice resonance.

Will the neck have outrageous birdseye?

That varies too. The one I have now has the craziest birdseye I've ever seen on the neck, the other 2 were average.

Will the P/Ups be wound and balanced just right?

They'll be what they're supposed to be. MM90's are magic and shouldn't be messed with, strat-style pickups are made for experimentation.

I've gone through about 4 sets of pickups on mine. Next stop? Stelly.

This is kinda like waiting for a newborn to arrive and hoping it has 10 toes and fingers.How have the rest of you coped with the waiting game?

Beer.

What exactly did you get? I'll probably be ordering a MM90 version pretty soon if I can stop buying amps.

The AL is a great guitar, and by that I mean it's unique and well made. It affords you the opportunity to become very attached to it, which very few guitars do, in my experience.

Quick story.

My band is trying to record a CD, and I've been recording guitar parts. I have about 5 or 6 guitars of various types...335, Tele, Casino, 12 string, Jazzmaster, etc. When I started, I had the intention of using every one of them so I could get diifferent sounds for different parts.

That was about a month ago. It's ended up that I've used the AL for about 90% of it...I feel connected to that guitar, and I can play the parts I need to play. If they all sound like an AL, hey I'm ok with that. I can get enough variety of tone by using different amps.

Early on I spent about 3 hours trying to get a part right on this '62 custom tele. Just couldn't hit it. Gave up, plugged in the AL, hit it, went home, had a beer.

End of story, end of monthly "AL's rule" rant.

tv

 

[phatduckk]

Beer.

LMAO

 

[GWDavis28]

Dude, like everyone has said it'll be fine and you'll love it. As far as whether or not the neck has tons of figures, that's a crap shoot. As my daughter dance teacher says, "You get what you get and you don't get upset".

I luckly found a AL with a lot of figuring, but my Axes Sports and Silhouette Special have like no figuring. But I love them just as much as the AL and they play no worse.

I can't say I've waited, since I never really ordered one, but I've had to wait to get them (3 months was the max). The waiting will pay off in the end when you plug it in, or not and dig deep into it and say "YAH MAN, HOLY CRAP THESE FRIGGIN THINGS ARE AWESOME!!!".

Then the love and as Koogie calls it the "Addiction" begins.

Best of luck, Glenn |B)

 

[Norrin Radd]

Then the love and as Koogie calls it the "Addiction" begins.

Best of luck, Glenn |B)

I think that qualifies for a nickel!

 

[mbgreene]

...

The AL is a great guitar, and by that I mean it's unique and well made. It affords you the opportunity to become very attached to it, which very few guitars do, in my experience.

...

End of story, end of monthly "AL's rule" rant.

tv

Can't say it much better than that - and all the previous posts (hate getting to these AL posts late - I go to bed way too early for the musician crowd )

Sit back, relax and know you'll be playing a great guitar when it arrives

 

[pickngrin1]

Thanks for all the support guys.I've ordered a trans. orange SSS hardtail with white perloid pickguard.I love good looking wood so I'm hoping to see some nice grain and figure.The sound and playability are a no brainer,that's what we're all doing here isn't it.I bought a Japanese Antigua Tele at a clearout price to keep my fingers going during the wait.You guys might remember I sold a really nice Tele to bid on an Al months ago on E-bay and lost my shirt.I should have went this route in the first place..Now back to that pickin...