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Audiofanzine FR
Published on 10/03/08 at 06:41
(Originally written by ledzep2007/translated from Audiofanzine FR)
Made in Korea
Original Bigsby gold bridge
Michael Kelly designed pickups
21 frets
Lubricated Grover Imperial machine heads
Gibson-style neck
UTILIZATION
Conceived in the USA by Michael Kelly. Very comfortable and fast neck. Well-profiled frets, wonderfully slim fingerboard, same abalone inlays as on an Epiphone Sheraton II. (same Korean manufacture?) The handling reminds me of a Gretsh or an ES335. But the instrument is a bit heavier than a 335. The Bigsby tremolo works very well. Almost no detuning for a tremolo that is as far as you can get from a Floyd. Very good finish, well balanced guitar both in sitting and standing positions. Reference-class Grover Imp�rial machine heads. Awesome sound... see below, it's the most important thing.
SOUNDS
There's nothing this guitar can't do. Jazz, blues, rock, heavy rock, rockabilly (Setzer and Stray Cats). The first time I played it unplugged I was impressed by the sound projection, it crunches even unplugged!!
As if I were playing with a small overdrive pedal... but unplugged. It was amazing. It probably comes from the hollowbody shaping and size which captures the vibration. Try it out and you'll understand. Inside the body there is a wooden block from the neck to the bridge pickup (the end of the one-piece neck perhaps?). The rest of the body is hollow like an Epiphone Casino, but heavier. You can hear the weight and the sustain of the wooden block. The clean sound blew me away with a Peavey Classic 50. It's round, powerful and ideal for jazz and bossa. With a slight overdriven amp, you get a very good crunch sound. Blues, rock, rockabilly, it sounds great! The best is to add a TS9, TS808 or OD9 pedal. With this setup the pickups really show you what they can. I also tested the guitar with a small solid-state amp (Champion 110) and it was a success. Each of the three pickup combinations delivers a clearly distinctive sound. It shows that the instrument has been well-designed. The sound of most guitars is almost always the same in the neck and the neck+bridge combinations... But here, you've got two distinctive tones.
OVERALL OPINION
I've been playing it for about 6 months. This guitar has its own sound character and it looks great. It looks like a Gretsh with the Bigsby and its large head crowned with Grover Imperial machine heads. The maple flamed top is wonderful. I give it a 9 only because perfection doesn't belong to this world. But this MK Jumbo nearly reaches perfection. Fabulous value for money! But its availability is a problem... I'm used to Fender guitars but I wanted a king-size guitar with Bigsby and I would buy it again. The sound is incredible, just plug it in and you'll know what I mean. Best-known for its Patriot Series (type LP), Michael Kelly is brand that is gaining recognition due to its high-quality instruments. Nonetheless I think I will sell it. I'm not at all disappointed by this beauty but I currently like Fender-style guitars. But I'm not sure because it's a very appealing guitar. All Bigsby lovers and versatility fans (the main advantage of this MK) ought to try it!
Made in Korea
Original Bigsby gold bridge
Michael Kelly designed pickups
21 frets
Lubricated Grover Imperial machine heads
Gibson-style neck
UTILIZATION
Conceived in the USA by Michael Kelly. Very comfortable and fast neck. Well-profiled frets, wonderfully slim fingerboard, same abalone inlays as on an Epiphone Sheraton II. (same Korean manufacture?) The handling reminds me of a Gretsh or an ES335. But the instrument is a bit heavier than a 335. The Bigsby tremolo works very well. Almost no detuning for a tremolo that is as far as you can get from a Floyd. Very good finish, well balanced guitar both in sitting and standing positions. Reference-class Grover Imp�rial machine heads. Awesome sound... see below, it's the most important thing.
SOUNDS
There's nothing this guitar can't do. Jazz, blues, rock, heavy rock, rockabilly (Setzer and Stray Cats). The first time I played it unplugged I was impressed by the sound projection, it crunches even unplugged!!
As if I were playing with a small overdrive pedal... but unplugged. It was amazing. It probably comes from the hollowbody shaping and size which captures the vibration. Try it out and you'll understand. Inside the body there is a wooden block from the neck to the bridge pickup (the end of the one-piece neck perhaps?). The rest of the body is hollow like an Epiphone Casino, but heavier. You can hear the weight and the sustain of the wooden block. The clean sound blew me away with a Peavey Classic 50. It's round, powerful and ideal for jazz and bossa. With a slight overdriven amp, you get a very good crunch sound. Blues, rock, rockabilly, it sounds great! The best is to add a TS9, TS808 or OD9 pedal. With this setup the pickups really show you what they can. I also tested the guitar with a small solid-state amp (Champion 110) and it was a success. Each of the three pickup combinations delivers a clearly distinctive sound. It shows that the instrument has been well-designed. The sound of most guitars is almost always the same in the neck and the neck+bridge combinations... But here, you've got two distinctive tones.
OVERALL OPINION
I've been playing it for about 6 months. This guitar has its own sound character and it looks great. It looks like a Gretsh with the Bigsby and its large head crowned with Grover Imperial machine heads. The maple flamed top is wonderful. I give it a 9 only because perfection doesn't belong to this world. But this MK Jumbo nearly reaches perfection. Fabulous value for money! But its availability is a problem... I'm used to Fender guitars but I wanted a king-size guitar with Bigsby and I would buy it again. The sound is incredible, just plug it in and you'll know what I mean. Best-known for its Patriot Series (type LP), Michael Kelly is brand that is gaining recognition due to its high-quality instruments. Nonetheless I think I will sell it. I'm not at all disappointed by this beauty but I currently like Fender-style guitars. But I'm not sure because it's a very appealing guitar. All Bigsby lovers and versatility fans (the main advantage of this MK) ought to try it!