From: DrJ
To: Roger Giffin
Cc:
Subject: Elvis is King
Date: Fri, 05 Sep 2003 10:59:10 -0400
Elvis has landed! Roger, the guitar is truly wonderful. I don't know where to begin- you are a master. Every detail is is like a brushstroke of a great painting; each part of the instrument has cohesion of itself but artfully integrates with the others to create an entirety. Example: I had forgotten that you cut the f hole bindings as a continuous insert - the precision of the fit and the esthetic quality of the rosewood strip... breathtaking testimony to consummate skill. Wooden artistry. I spent a good deal of time just looking at everything and appreciating the embellishments before playing a chord. I even appreciated the access panels. The photos do not do justice [do they ever?] to the finish. The face is everything I'd hoped for, and the faded pumpkin amber is superb. I didn't want "perfect", I wanted to see lots of grain [not just symmetrical tiger stripes] "imperfections". variations in the stain, a vintage look... I have exactly that. I hoped it would have such iridescence [it does] and am so pleased to find that it "changes color" as the light changes and takes on a warmer browner quality with indirect light and leaps out brilliantly in direct light- it seems to defy physics- it glows like stained glass. I appreciate that you went and chose the color for the mahogany- again, the photo looks chocolately- while the instrument is actually warm and luscious with red undertones that highlight the grain. Please extend my compliments and admiration to your paint man! It plays wonderfully and the more I played the better I liked it. The neck is ideal and you have provided me the access I dreamed of. Effortlessly sliding up to higher register without banging into the cutaway- YES. After an hour I A/B'd it with the Gretsch 6120 and the Gibson 333... it blends the features of each that I wanted and then some. As I expected, the Pumpkin resembles the Gibson more than the Gretsch- and it blows the Gibson out of the pond. Period! Thank you for recommending these pickups [what is the manufacturer?] The P-90s have so much more tonal range than I knew. The tone controls actually WORK [as opposed to turning the sound muddy when you roll off the treble, I can get bassier jazz tones from the neck pickup- que bella. The bridge pickup is frightening! Your description is indeed accurate- it has all the bite one could want and it screams like a fiend]. I need much more time than I had last night to explore the tonal spectrum but I was channeling Michael Bloomfield [both pickups on, bridge pickup tone 8 / neck pickup tone 5] when my wife flashed the lights which is to say... you know. It is hard to concentrate on work today, my mind swimming in possibilities. I could say much more but I don't want to keep you. I'll add, the Bigsby is perfect. I was anticipating that it would have typical "dead spots" in the higher register from the string length but this is minimal- and, I'm able to bend strings with ease and create the swirling vibrato/subtle tremolo that is my style- best of both worlds. I didn't find the plans and hoped you might send them- the only question that remains regarding the design is the thickness of the sides- namely, did you feel that the sides needed to be thick for top-mounted Bigsby infrastructure? It is "tighter" than I anticipated and I wondered for future reference what you think thinner sides might gain in terms of "breathability", a feature of the 6120- vs. the risk of threatening the structural integrity with more torque from the tailpiece. Oh- another quick thing- the scalloped back is just so fine. I can actually see the difference in the muscles of my bad right shoulder; ergonomically, you've given me a guitar that is fatter than the 335 but more comfortable to play [and so much more esthetically beautiful]. I have the vibe! Elvis is King but you should be knighted... would it make you uncomfortable if I call you Sir Roger from henceforth and heretofore? Thank you Sir, from this deliriously happy customer David