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Hatsubai « Similar to the very famous Custom »
Published on 09/11/11 at 17:23This is pretty much the more affordable Gibson Custom that they've offered for the past 60 or so years. It's really just as good as the Gibson Custom but at a more affordable price. The guitar features a mahogany body with a maple top, mahogany neck with an ebony fretboard, 22 frets, trapezoid inlays, pickguard, binding, hard tail bridge, two humbuckers, two volumes, two tones and a three way switch.
UTILIZATION
These models are put together very well. The first thing you notice is that the finish itself was pretty much flawless. I couldn't find any drips or any issues where the binding meets the paint. The nut itself was cut perfectly, so there were no tuning problems to worry about. The frets on this were nicely leveled, and I was able to get some nice action going. The ends were also not sharp, so it didn't hurt your hand every time you went up and down the neck.
SOUNDS
The guitar sounded pretty solid. The pickups aren't really my thing, to be honest. The pickups are standard Gibson pickups, but they seem to work for most. The bridge pickup has some nice bite to it, and it has some decent output. I find they lack the character for heavy metal, but they can work for 80s metal. The neck is a bit too bright for me. I like a thick, fat sounding neck tone, and these generally have a bit too much bite for me. However, they're clean sounding, and that works awesome for clean tones.
OVERALL OPINION
This is the guitar you want to get if you're looking for a lower priced Custom. It's lacking a few features that the normal Custom has, but it has all the important ones when it comes to the actual tone of the guitar. Be sure to check the weights of these as they can really vary between the guitars, and I find that the heavier ones don't sound quite as good, although you may feel differently. Definitely a good alternative to the normal Custom that everyone tries to buy.
UTILIZATION
These models are put together very well. The first thing you notice is that the finish itself was pretty much flawless. I couldn't find any drips or any issues where the binding meets the paint. The nut itself was cut perfectly, so there were no tuning problems to worry about. The frets on this were nicely leveled, and I was able to get some nice action going. The ends were also not sharp, so it didn't hurt your hand every time you went up and down the neck.
SOUNDS
The guitar sounded pretty solid. The pickups aren't really my thing, to be honest. The pickups are standard Gibson pickups, but they seem to work for most. The bridge pickup has some nice bite to it, and it has some decent output. I find they lack the character for heavy metal, but they can work for 80s metal. The neck is a bit too bright for me. I like a thick, fat sounding neck tone, and these generally have a bit too much bite for me. However, they're clean sounding, and that works awesome for clean tones.
OVERALL OPINION
This is the guitar you want to get if you're looking for a lower priced Custom. It's lacking a few features that the normal Custom has, but it has all the important ones when it comes to the actual tone of the guitar. Be sure to check the weights of these as they can really vary between the guitars, and I find that the heavier ones don't sound quite as good, although you may feel differently. Definitely a good alternative to the normal Custom that everyone tries to buy.