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Hatsubai « Sick guitar all around »
Published on 10/22/11 at 13:28This is a guitar that was released for 2003 only as a limited edition model. It has a few cool features that most of the regular line up doesn't have that helps make it stand out from the crowd. In fact, this is very close to some of the coveted J-Custom models out there. The guitar features a mahogany body with a flame maple top, a maple neck with a rosewood fretboard, 24 extra jumbo frets with a vine inlay, an Edge Pro bridge, two humbuckers, one volume, one tone and a five way switch.
UTILIZATION
The first thing you notice about this guitar is that the flame on this is pretty good. It's not quite as nice as some of the J-Customs out there, but it's still very solid. The guitar had a nice weight to it despite being mahogany, and it's very comfortable when it comes to holding the guitar. The fretwork on this was superb. They were crowned just perfectly, and the height on these were perfect. I was able to get some sick, low action with this without any problems at all. This model has the Edge Pro, and while some people were disappointed with it, it's actually a very solid trem. While it doesn't have the locking studs that the others had, you can easily add them for about 40 bucks. It's a little stiffer than the others, but it's still cool.
SOUNDS
The guitar had some real DiMarzio pickups installed in it. The bridge pickup was a DiMarzio Tone Zone and the neck was an Air Norton. The bridge pickup has lots of mids and bass. It's great when it comes to those shred lines as it doesn't get thin. Rhythm can be real cool as well for that almost cocked wah kind of sound. I found that lowering the pickup a bit helped it terms of overall clarity. The Air Norton happens to be one of my favorite neck pickups ever made by a pickup company. It's super smooth and fat. If you've ever heard any of John Petrucci's lead lines, you've heard this pickup. It can sometimes be a touch too fat, but it's easily fixed with the bass knob on the amplifier.
OVERALL OPINION
These are very high quality guitars, but they can be a bit hard to find because they weren't exactly regular production items. The fretwork is great, the bridge is solid and the tone is right up there with all the rest of them. The one thing you might want to do is swap the pickups as the stock ones aren't that great. Other than that, you should enjoy this guitar.
UTILIZATION
The first thing you notice about this guitar is that the flame on this is pretty good. It's not quite as nice as some of the J-Customs out there, but it's still very solid. The guitar had a nice weight to it despite being mahogany, and it's very comfortable when it comes to holding the guitar. The fretwork on this was superb. They were crowned just perfectly, and the height on these were perfect. I was able to get some sick, low action with this without any problems at all. This model has the Edge Pro, and while some people were disappointed with it, it's actually a very solid trem. While it doesn't have the locking studs that the others had, you can easily add them for about 40 bucks. It's a little stiffer than the others, but it's still cool.
SOUNDS
The guitar had some real DiMarzio pickups installed in it. The bridge pickup was a DiMarzio Tone Zone and the neck was an Air Norton. The bridge pickup has lots of mids and bass. It's great when it comes to those shred lines as it doesn't get thin. Rhythm can be real cool as well for that almost cocked wah kind of sound. I found that lowering the pickup a bit helped it terms of overall clarity. The Air Norton happens to be one of my favorite neck pickups ever made by a pickup company. It's super smooth and fat. If you've ever heard any of John Petrucci's lead lines, you've heard this pickup. It can sometimes be a touch too fat, but it's easily fixed with the bass knob on the amplifier.
OVERALL OPINION
These are very high quality guitars, but they can be a bit hard to find because they weren't exactly regular production items. The fretwork is great, the bridge is solid and the tone is right up there with all the rest of them. The one thing you might want to do is swap the pickups as the stock ones aren't that great. Other than that, you should enjoy this guitar.