PMC GUITARS

My second PMC Blast! My sweet 667! Finally, instead of being a clone of my Blast 666, itself being a variation of the Blast "series" (see my review on those two guitars) is a variation of the Blast "Black Maple": the neck is made of flamed maple, oiled, translucent black dyed, and H/S pickups configuration. Since about 2005, I had in mind to have two almost Siamese twin guitars, with fixed bridge, one with EMGs, the other with a sustainer and something other than EMGs. Yes! This project was frozen for a lot of reasons, but then, about a year ago, we gave it a go again. When the Blast model came out, it was decided, I'd get twin Blasts, and nothing else! Almost one year later, the 666 and 667 are in! The specs: -1 piece African mahogany body, with a rather very cool shape, sizing roughly like a Washburn N4. -Black finish-dyed, waxed and oiled. -Top notch ergonomics and body contour (heel carved for easy access to the upper frets, tummy and forearm cut). -1 piece bolt on flame maple neck, with two carbon fiber rods, two way adjustable trussrod, volute reinforcement. -Neck in see through black finish and oiled: ultra comfortable, nothing can compare to the outstanding feel of the wood. And this see through black finish is rather unusual, though definitely cool, on a neck! -Thick ebony heel, this is uncommon too, and soooo cool! -Thick ebony board, round fretboard end. -Scale 25''1 / 2. - Electronics back cover in mahogany, closing with magnets: farewell screwdriver to change batteries! -Medium jumbo frets with hidden feet (that's attention to details!). -Grover 406BC locking tuners. -Fixed Hipshot.125 string through bridge. -SP Custom hand wound Chaosland 2.5 bridge, Fernandes Sustainer FSK-401 neck. -One volume knob ,one 3 way toggle switch, placed further away from the bridge, and the Sustainer controls: intensity pot, on off switch and mode selector switch. -Flushmount Dunlop Straplok and output jack. -Metal pickup rings. -Graphtech Tusq nut. -Luminlay side dots (it's cool, it glows in the dark). -"JG667"carved at the back of the headstock, and filled with padauk, the little goodie PM made! Plenty of challenges for PM for this guitar. - I had in mind a replica of Jackson / Caparison. PM managed to convince me it was better to get one of his own model, and I must admit the Blast looks gorgeous in any way.! This design is gorgeous, PMC has given a real personality to his instruments. - Have a no thrills though classy look: Success! - Have flawless ergonomics: Success! - Have a comfortable neck, which immediate handling: Success! - Slap all the electronics, and there’s a lot with the sustainer, and the battery in a standard electronic route, leaving the knobs quite away from the bridge, so that everything falls to hand, but without interfering with my right hand when playing. I hate when controls are too close to the bridge: Success ! UTILIZATION For this section, I'll do a copy paste of my review of its twin, the 666. Well yes, they're both Blast! The neck is to die for: immediate handling, no adaptation in sight. That's superb job. Flat without excess, neither too thick nor too flat. An incredible compromise, far from the Ibanez Wizard ruler, far from Gibson's log. A bit like my good old Lag (I can blame them for a few things, still the comfort of their necks is exceptional),Washburn N4, or USA Jackson (not the horrible MIJ rulers like the DK2). The ergonomics are flawless: between the bevels, contours, the flat bridge, knobs are not stupidly too close to the bridge, there's no mistake here. The guitar is well balanced, with a rather small body (a bit like the Washburn N4, the ESP Horizon). But rather thick (that's for the good vibes!) In short, well balanced, flawless ergonomics, incredible woods, you literally become one with the guitar, I had not felt this way since ... wow ... in fact, I never felt that with a guitar! That's it, I'm just über satisfied and happy with my Blast! I dig my Blast! SOUNDS So there is the difference between my Blast 666 and my Blast! And it was the idea :o) Currently, I play on a Fractal Audio Axe Fx Ultra (which replaces with no regrets a Engl E570 and a floor full of pedals), either straight into Fostex PM-0.5 mkII monitors or plugged into a VHT / Fryette 2/50/2 and a VHT / Fryette at Bottom 2x12. Holly cow, what a sound! The 666 and 667 differ from the wood used for the necks (padauk vs maple) and the pickups. Where I am on a familiar ground with the 666, its EMGs, the 667 was a little unknown. SP Custom Chaosland 2.5 is an excellent surprise. A revelation. I've had (and sometimes suffered) a whole lot of passive pickups. To always go back to EMG. Not this time! SP Custom know their job! Oooh yes they do! This 2.5 is the same as the one installed on Scarve's axeman's Blast (yes, I am a groupie). Output level is rather high (more than a EMG 81)! On PM’s Bogner Extasy, the Chaosland had such a high output the clean channel crunched, where the EMG passed without difficulty. On my Fractal, it remains clean (ok, I moved the Chaosland down in its route to have less output too). The Chaosland is absolutely organic, singing, where the 81 give hand, even in 18v. Harmonics all the way, you get artificial harmonics very easily, way more easily than with my usual EMGs!!! This pickup is just awesome! Its clean is ok, though you fell it just want to bark in high gain, but, again, on my Fractal, it works well. In crunch, we feel that the pickup is at ease. Organic, singing, while remaining sharp. In heavy distortion, omfg! I am totally conquered! Still, the Chaosland is not as sharp as the EMG 81. Still, the Chaosland owns the 81 on all other domains. To the point that I’m going to replace all my axes equipped with EMGs by SP Custom pickups! Oooh yes!! I can not believe I just said that ... Now the FSK-401 sustainer. As a simple single coil, it is not as bad as I expected. This is not best single coil ever, far from it, there are way tastier single coils on the market. And yet it is obvious that I'm not a reference in single coils. But it is still usable. An attack that’s typical of single coil, with no awful hum. It suits me, although I always grin when I listen to a good old Duncan SSL1 for instance, or most Kinman. Ok I’m just learning how to use the sustainer! So for now, either I'm playing with larsen (5th harmonic) on demand, or I am experimenting pretty funny sounds using my Fractal’s presets, giving eerie atmospheres, synth like sounds, etc. Uber funny! But I am far from mastering the sustainer! OVERALL OPINION Oooh well, I can't say anything else. I dig this guitar! A simple guitar, yet beautifully done, full of little details (like the gorgeous flamed maple neck with its ebony heel, black is beautiful!). Hyper selected woods and rich, without frills. The feel of the wood, that you can't have on any mass production guitar. The body plank come from the same timber as body of the Blast made for Scarve's guitarist, Patrick, my idol and a cool mate! PM's follow up, with an impressive package of pictures, throughout the creation of my guitars, the visits to the workshop, PM's warmth and friendliness, and those incredible BBQs at PM, duck breast grilled on maple and mahogany embers! (it's an option hey :o) ). Wow, exceptional moments, to end up with an equally exceptional guitar! Well I got to go playing with my guitar now! I want more PMC now!

And voila! My Blast is built, I've had it now for a good month, and I'm stick to it every day since! It deserves a little review! Flashback: I've known PM, for... wow ... 7 or 8 years ... He knows my tastes, what I like what I hate ... He even happened to identify specs that I had not thought of or did not want to hear about, though they would be eventually accurate. Hey, Pm's pretty smart! So eventually, my sweet 666, and her twin sister, the 667, are in! In short, my 666! The specs: -1 piece African mahogany body, with a rather very cool shape, sizing roughly like a Washburn N4. -Black finish-dyed, waxed and oiled. -Top notch ergonomics and body contour (heel carved for easy access to the upper frets, tummy and forearm cut). -1 piece bolt on Padauk neck with two carbon fiber rods, two way adjustable trussrod, volute reinforcement. The padauk PM picked has dried for more than 20 years! - Oiled neck: ultra comfortable, nothing can compare to the outstanding feel of the wood. -Thick ebony board, round fretboard end. -Scale 25''1 / 2. - Electronics back cover in mahogany, closing with magnets: farewell screwdriver to change batteries! -Medium jumbo frets with hidden feet (that's attention to details!). -Grover 406BC locking tuners. -Fixed Hipshot.125 string through bridge. -EMG 81 bridge and 60A neck, wired in 18v. -One volume knob ,one 3 way toggle switch, placed further away from the bridge. -Flushmount Dunlop Straplok and output jack. -Metal pickup rings. -Graphtech Tusq nut. -Luminlay side dots (it's cool, it glows in the dark). -"JG666"carved at the back of the headstock, and filled with ebony, the little goodie PM made! At the beginning, I was gob smacked by the body shape, but I wasn't crazy about the headstock. I wanted an angled headstock with a scarf joint, like any Jackson USA. In the end, I find that this headstock is great and is a good match, the overall look is great! One piece neck, with the usual (at PMC at least!) carbon reinforcements along the trussrod: the neck is as stiff as a very stiff neck indeed! You can use any string gauge without any fear of warping it. I let PM decide what shape he would do for the neck. He knows me by heart, and I do not regret it a second! The woods are outstanding. The feel is incredible, you feel the wood living and vibrating. To be honest, we're light years away from mass production of guitars that really feel like cheap plastic compared to this guitar. That is pure excellence! UTILIZATION The neck is to die for: immediate handling, no adaptation in sight. That's superb job. Flat without excess, neither too thick nor too flat. An incredible compromise, far from the Ibanez Wizard ruler, far from Gibson's log. A bit like my good old Lag (I can blame them for a few things, still the comfort of their necks is exceptional),Washburn N4, or USA Jackson (not the horrible MIJ rulers like the DK2). The ergonomics are flawless: between the bevels, contours, the flat bridge, knobs are not stupidly too close to the bridge, there's no mistake here. The guitar is well balanced, with a rather small body (a bit like the Washburn N4, the ESP Horizon). But rather thick (that's for the good vibes!) In short, well balanced, flawless ergonomics, incredible woods, you literally become one with the guitar, I had not felt this way since ... wow ... in fact, I never felt that with a guitar! That's it, I'm just über satisfied and happy with my Blast! I dig my Blast! SOUNDS It's not a scoop, I'm not into fancy music. Definitely not. The pickups I chose prove it :o). Currently, I play on a Fractal Audio Axe Fx Ultra (which replaces with no regrets a Engl E570 and a floor full of pedals), either straight into Fostex PM-0.5 mkII monitors or plugged into a VHT / Fryette 2/50/2 and a VHT / Fryette Fat Bottom 2x12. Holly cow, what a sound! Again, the EMGs are not as extreme as stubbornly believed. The 81,is very precise, a bit compressed. The mount 18v gives more grain a bit more of an organic feel, less compression, without changing it into a passive Duncan pickup though. Distortion is its domain. There it just does an excellent job. It is not so ridiculous with clean sounds, its output level is way less radical than a lot of passive ceramic pickups (think Duncan SH6, SH13, SH8 Invader rubbish, DiMarzio X2N, Super Distortion, Evolution, Drop Sonic etc to name a few). The 60A, wow ... is to my ears the best EMG neck humbucker. An attack closer to the SA than the 85, still with a certain roundness common to AlNiCo humbuckers. Some very interesting cleans, crunch to die for, and far from being ridiculous in high gain. All the notes sound, precise, sharp, the harmonics are here, albeit a tad less rich with ... SP Custom Handwound Pickups! Yes, see my opinion on the PMC Blast Black Maple, which is equipped with these). In short, the Blast blasts!!! OVERALL OPINION I was thinking about a guitar with these specifications for a while now... since 2005! I looked,tried, bought standard series guitars in shops: going to a luthier is more involving, more ... risky ... than picking any mass production guitar. And also I always said that given my pathetic level, I did not deserve a luthier's guitar. All in all, I do not regret my choice one second. I've had quite a bunch of guitars, lots, theoretically, could suit me. In fact, I've never been completely stick to a guitar for ten years. I always found something wrong, whether ergonomics (for example, I don’t feel that comfortable with a Tune O'Matic), or whatever ... sound (eg, my slight disappointment with my ESP Horizon NT2, not as exceptional as expected). The Blast is one damn great guitar! I forgot: the little details that kill. The inlay at the back of the headstock of the 666 was made with ebony taken from my Blast 667. The inlay at the back of the headstock of the 667 was made with Padauk taken from my Blast 666. The neck and body planks come from the same timber as the neck and body of the Blast made for Scarve's guitarist, Patrick, my idol and a cool mate! I chose most of the wood directly in PM's stock, looking at all planks and timber! The "JG 666" inlay was not planned at all, it was big surprise when I went to pick my guitars! It's spoiling his customers, isn't it? I like that :o)

Precision Bass kit put together and highly modded by PMC guitars. Specs: -Bolt on Mighty Mite Jazz Bass replacement neck, 20 frets all maple, with walnut skunk stripe. -2-piece ash body produced by a fellow luthier of PMC. -Warwick tuners. -Hipshot Model A Bridge with string through. -Precision type Delano PMVC4 FE/M2 in neck. -MusicMan type Delano MC4 FE bridge. -Active Delano Sonar 2 electronics: on/off by push / pull on the volume knob, master volume, blend, low boost / cut , treble boost / cut. -3 way switch for the MM pickup coils: series / split / parallel. -flushmount Straplok Dunlop. -Battery clip on the back of the bass. -Satin finish neck, body tainted in voodoo finish! gray and black, highlighting the wood grain. <a>See the thread on its construction </a> (ok, it’s in French…) UTILIZATION Good grip, like any Precision with a Jazz Bass neck :o). A big body, not too heavy, the bass is well balanced (certainly thanks to the massive headstock). High frets access is alright,; not outstanding (it's still a Precision). But it's better than a Fender, thanks to the highly sculpted heel. Still, for the very scarce moment I need to reach the 20th fret, it suits me perfectly. The neck, typical Jazz Bass is fine. Far more pleasant than usual PB log. In short, it's still a super Precision with a great Jazz Bass neck, and a hybrid between the PB and a Warwick (pickups and woods). SOUNDS Plugged in a Ampeg SVP-Pro preamp, a cab simulator (Torpedo PI, awesome), a Firepod and Cubase. Now plugged in my Fractal Axe-FX Ultra with a few great sims!. This Meanie is a happy compromise between a Precision that would have more guts and ... a Warwick! Yep, it&rsquo;s more punchy, than my Corvette $ $! Perfect, I love these sounds! It has way punch enough for big rock and metal! And it&rsquo;s still rather versatile for more styles, from bluesy to jazzy stuff, and slap, etc. Still with a good character (I hate bland basses like Ibanez, they can handle any style, but desperately bland in all styles). It is still quite versatile, with a beautiful personality, a look that I love, a real in your face sound. OVERALL OPINION It&rsquo;s just a very simple parts mutt, still, it goes beyond what was expected of her! Very enjoyable to play, a real character and punch, and a look that I like The finish is excellent, flawless assembly (well, it's still a Mighty Mite neck, not ultra high end stuff). Slight criticism only for the looks, the tuners that are ridiculously small compared to the size of the headstock. But I wanted modern tuners, not those awful dust friendly tuners you still find on any Fender. Apart from that, now I want a 100% PMC made bass! I can't wait to see his Blast bass that should be unleashed within a few months!

Everything began during the autumn of 2013 at the reading of a dossier on French stringed instrument makers, in a specialized magazine, Guitarist & Bass magazine. The Waukesha photographed was a real shock at first sight. I then visited Pierre Marie Châteauneuf’s internet site, he’s a young “ luthier “ based near Montpellier. A first mail to ask him how to proceed, and this was the beginning of the adventure. I had a first trip in November, and started my visit testing the prototype pictured in the magazine. Then I had the honor to visit the Master’s workshop. No CNC machines here, everything is done by hand or with traditional machines (band saw, router ...). A heated room whose hydrometric is continuously monitored is used to store wood and for the instruments final assembly. In the same room begins a long and passionate discussion in order to specify the guitar and the choice of hardware, microphones, electronic components, where potentiometers, jack and toggle switch sould be located, with an eraser and a pencil, directly on the the naked neckless guitar’s plain mahogany body resting on a padded workbench. The delivery is agreed to occur on December 9, and will be honored. Meanwhile Pierre-Marie allowed me to follow its progress with pictures of the various stages of the manufacturing process, that he sent me by mail almost on a daily basis. These pictures will be compiled on a CD that will be provided to me along with the instrument and its flight case + a Tee-Shirt a PMC logo & a few PMC picks. UTILIZATION Three months have passed, and the almost daily use of my PMC Waukesha Legacy confirms that the choice I made was the right one. I must say that this is a dream I had since something like forty years and Pierre-Marie succeeded in making me realize it. For the price of a top of the range industrial guitar, I play on a single model whose qualities have nothing to envy models crowned by an artist’s signature or a custom shop. Both aesthetics and sound, everything is as expected as expressed in my specifications, even more, Pierre-Marie convinced me to reason and with gentillessse regarding the choice of such a component rather than another. Many technical explanations were brought to me, we are dealing with a true professional. SOUNDS The Waukesha Legacy is a very nice guitar to play, comfortable and light, just over three kilos, which for a Les Paul type guitar is a feat. The name of the guitar is a tribute, since it is in the city of Waukesha, Wisconsin, that someone called Lester William Polfus was born... I find this idea quite bright too. It was designed, like all PMC instruments, to be as easy to play as to maintain. The technical specifications are on https://www.pmcguitars.com/fr/creation/guitares-electriques/106.html?task=view website but I want to clarify some specific characteristics to the Waukesha Legacy and other PMC models that leave me speechless : The plate housing the electronics is of the same essence as the body and the neck, and it is fixed with… magnets. No need of a screwdriver no more, a thumb pressure and Sesame opens the cavity whose interior is brushed with a graphite paint, which gives it the properties of Faraday cage (avoiding noise interferences, the signal is clean and pure). The choice of SP Custom pickups (a humbucker in the bridge position and a P90 type near to the neck) gives free rein to several styles, I particularly appreciate their power. Two carbon reinforcements and a double action truss rod with tuning access at the heel of the neck, not at the head avoiding to weaken it. The head is completely straight and an embedded machine heads system associated to the trussrod reinforced up to the tuners allow maximum rigidity of the head. This also results in an enhanced sustain, a better chord holding + increased longevity. The choice operated on HIPSHOT locking head machines makes tuning with a precision that I have never known before. They have a " gear ratio " of 18:1 : it takes 18 turns of the key to make the hole where the string is threaded make one turn. No inlay on the fretboard , they are in its edge and are phosphorescent. The translucent black finish dyed and " tru - oil" varnish is not only beautiful to the eyes, it also makes my Waukesha Legacy pleasant to touch while playing and helps to give it a very characteristic sound. The strap locks are inlaid, another aesthetic success because when removing the strap, the body shape is not " broken " by traditional attachments that exceed, one more idea that makes the Waukesha a real original single cut solid body guitar. OVERALL OPINION Well, that’s real happiness for a Rock-Blues guitar player, who also affects, funk, in other words with sounds ranging from clean to good old crunch. The Waukesha Legacy is a fabulous guitar, wonderful, fantastic. Thank you to Pierre-Marie Chateauneuf for his welcoming, listening and great expertise.