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Hatsubai « Nice, big neck »
Published on 07/15/11 at 17:56There are generally two different Standards out there in terms of neck profiles -- the 50 and the 60. The 50 is the larger of the two, and some people tend to feel there is a tonal difference because of the extra wood. The guitar features a mahogany body with a maple top, mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard, 22 frets, trapezoid inlays, pickguard, binding, hard tail bridge, two humbuckers, two volumes, two tones and a three way switch.
UTILIZATION
I noticed that these guitars tend to have some fretwork and nut issues. The frets can sometimes have level issues which will cause issues with you start to lower the action. If you notice some fretting out on certain frets, this is probably a good indicator that you need to get your frets leveled. The edges can sometimes be sharp, too. The nuts can also be problematic at times. If you ever tune your guitar and notice some odd sort of ping, then the guitar goes sharp, your nut is binding. You'll need to get your nut recut if that's the case.
SOUNDS
This guitar was killer, but it had aftermarket pickups installed in it. The guitar had a JB and a Jazz installed. The JB in the bridge is awesome for everything from blues to metal. It can really do every genre, it's that versatile. The mahogany body helps keep the JB sounding fat, and the bass on it is perfect enough to where it's not super tight to where it sounds sterile but it's also not super loose to where it sounds flabby. The Jazz in the neck is like a cleaner, more polite 59. It has a bit more treble and sounds a bit more linear, but it delivers some awesome clean and lead tones. I find that it's a bit clearer sounding than the 59.
OVERALL OPINION
The aftermarket pickups that were installed in this really made the guitar that much better. I'm not a huge fan of the stock Gibson pickups, and those Duncans are some of my persona favorites. If you're in the market for one of these, be sure to check it thoroughly for QC issues as that'll be its biggest downfall. They generally all sound good, though.
UTILIZATION
I noticed that these guitars tend to have some fretwork and nut issues. The frets can sometimes have level issues which will cause issues with you start to lower the action. If you notice some fretting out on certain frets, this is probably a good indicator that you need to get your frets leveled. The edges can sometimes be sharp, too. The nuts can also be problematic at times. If you ever tune your guitar and notice some odd sort of ping, then the guitar goes sharp, your nut is binding. You'll need to get your nut recut if that's the case.
SOUNDS
This guitar was killer, but it had aftermarket pickups installed in it. The guitar had a JB and a Jazz installed. The JB in the bridge is awesome for everything from blues to metal. It can really do every genre, it's that versatile. The mahogany body helps keep the JB sounding fat, and the bass on it is perfect enough to where it's not super tight to where it sounds sterile but it's also not super loose to where it sounds flabby. The Jazz in the neck is like a cleaner, more polite 59. It has a bit more treble and sounds a bit more linear, but it delivers some awesome clean and lead tones. I find that it's a bit clearer sounding than the 59.
OVERALL OPINION
The aftermarket pickups that were installed in this really made the guitar that much better. I'm not a huge fan of the stock Gibson pickups, and those Duncans are some of my persona favorites. If you're in the market for one of these, be sure to check it thoroughly for QC issues as that'll be its biggest downfall. They generally all sound good, though.