whitestrat
Well-known member
A thread on TGP about Gibson bashing prompted this.
I've tried many times to get out of the EBMM rut, and to try to explore other brands. I went thru Fenders, Gibsons and even Ibanezes. They've all given me some problems at one time or another. But even then I still wanted to check others out. PRS, Suhr, Anderson, McNaught, etc etc. The rest were a bit of a question mark. Every Suhr I've played, I didn't like. They were well made, for sure, but I just couldn't connect. There's only one model of the PRS range I dig, and thats the DGT. I've yet to get mine yet, but someday, I will. McNaughts are too rare to get a try, and Andersons are just fantastic, but I've got no clue how to get one in Singapore brand new. Maybe one day.
But then, something ugly always rears its head. Consistency. What if you get a dud? What if that piece you finally get doesn't play well? There are some guitars that no matter how you set up, just don't work right.
What does this have to do with EBMM?
Well, I was reminded about this by a post that asked: "What guitar is there in the market that you can buy, and doesn't require some work of any sort? Anything you get thats good is bound to have a dud somewhere."
Those of you who know me know I've owned a total of 9 EBMMs at the height of my collection. None of them had any problems out of the box.
But this post is not about the 9. It's about ONE of them.
Last year, I had a friend who was in the USA. (NY, I think). He spotted a white Silhouette Special with RW board and a trem, and called me. I told him to get it for me, and I'll pay him back when he gets here.
So he bought it, and I loved the guitar the minute I collected it from him. It had everything. The right vibe, the right look, the right resonance. It had mojo.
Imagine my surprise when I checked with CS here on the DOB. I got the guitar in 2008? It was made on 21st Nov 2000. It was in the store for 8 years. LITERALLY waiting for the right owner. Somehow it happened to be me.
Here was a guitar, NEW OLD STOCK, lying in some corner in the US for 8 years. When I got it, it was PERFECT. No setup needed. No tweaking of the truss rod. The neck was a wee bit dry, so out came the wonderwipes. I've gigged with it. I've jammed with it. I've carried it around so many times, I'm amazed it's still in perfect playing condition without any setup. Singapore is 80% humidity all year round. There's NOTHING wrong with the neck. It sustains so well, it's amazed every guitarist friend I've got who's played it.
It's 9 years old now, and it's still an amazing guitar. Still my no.1. It's so well built, I've never had any problems. Maybe the output jack could do with some contact spray, but that's about it. It's become literally an extension of my creative voice. I'll probably be cremated with this one when I die, unless my son wants it.
What I wanted to say about this is that some companies out there in the guitar making world actually do get it right every time round. EBMM is one of them.
That's why we always come back...
Just wanted to share this thought I had this afternoon.
I've tried many times to get out of the EBMM rut, and to try to explore other brands. I went thru Fenders, Gibsons and even Ibanezes. They've all given me some problems at one time or another. But even then I still wanted to check others out. PRS, Suhr, Anderson, McNaught, etc etc. The rest were a bit of a question mark. Every Suhr I've played, I didn't like. They were well made, for sure, but I just couldn't connect. There's only one model of the PRS range I dig, and thats the DGT. I've yet to get mine yet, but someday, I will. McNaughts are too rare to get a try, and Andersons are just fantastic, but I've got no clue how to get one in Singapore brand new. Maybe one day.
But then, something ugly always rears its head. Consistency. What if you get a dud? What if that piece you finally get doesn't play well? There are some guitars that no matter how you set up, just don't work right.
What does this have to do with EBMM?
Well, I was reminded about this by a post that asked: "What guitar is there in the market that you can buy, and doesn't require some work of any sort? Anything you get thats good is bound to have a dud somewhere."
Those of you who know me know I've owned a total of 9 EBMMs at the height of my collection. None of them had any problems out of the box.
But this post is not about the 9. It's about ONE of them.
Last year, I had a friend who was in the USA. (NY, I think). He spotted a white Silhouette Special with RW board and a trem, and called me. I told him to get it for me, and I'll pay him back when he gets here.
So he bought it, and I loved the guitar the minute I collected it from him. It had everything. The right vibe, the right look, the right resonance. It had mojo.
Imagine my surprise when I checked with CS here on the DOB. I got the guitar in 2008? It was made on 21st Nov 2000. It was in the store for 8 years. LITERALLY waiting for the right owner. Somehow it happened to be me.
Here was a guitar, NEW OLD STOCK, lying in some corner in the US for 8 years. When I got it, it was PERFECT. No setup needed. No tweaking of the truss rod. The neck was a wee bit dry, so out came the wonderwipes. I've gigged with it. I've jammed with it. I've carried it around so many times, I'm amazed it's still in perfect playing condition without any setup. Singapore is 80% humidity all year round. There's NOTHING wrong with the neck. It sustains so well, it's amazed every guitarist friend I've got who's played it.
It's 9 years old now, and it's still an amazing guitar. Still my no.1. It's so well built, I've never had any problems. Maybe the output jack could do with some contact spray, but that's about it. It's become literally an extension of my creative voice. I'll probably be cremated with this one when I die, unless my son wants it.
What I wanted to say about this is that some companies out there in the guitar making world actually do get it right every time round. EBMM is one of them.
That's why we always come back...
Just wanted to share this thought I had this afternoon.
