Tig
May 28th, 2011, 10:56 PM
Hell (http://www.hellguitars.com/) has landed upon my house this week, and I welcomed it with opened arms. :flamemad:
Hell Guitar No. 2, that is!
I've been GASing for a Tele style guitar for several months now. I wanted something a little different and unique. It has to cover Tele twang, but with a richer tonal pallet. Something better than the Squier CV's, even though they are a great guitar for the money, but under $700. Then, along comes Robert's Hell No. 2 demos and sound clips. Wow, now we're talking!
http://www.hellguitars.com/newsltr/hellnews_1_header.gif
Syo had a few prototypes and B-stocks available, so I jumped at the opportunity to get one. He has been very busy getting everything organized, but made time to work with me. We're talking customer service at its best here. It shipped quickly and was professionally packed. By all means, buy the tweed "Hell" case. This is cool stuff!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3445/5766990362_9d34aa505e_z.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2733/5766990358_7de033a01d_z.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3336/5766990364_fd4b9a734e_b.jpg
Robert has better photos than mine here (https://picasaweb.google.com/DolphinstreetGuitar/HellGuitar?pli=1&gsessionid=Mzcdgzk8bWv8g7BYbKkGqw#).
I strummed it immediately and it produced a nice, loud resonant sound unplugged... A good sign! My prototype B-stock has a very minor ding on the back of the headstock, nearly impossible to find. The pickguard is an original laser cut pre-production, but it turned out fine. The build quality and hardware are indeed top notch on this guitar. The neck has a nice round profile that isn't too big for my hands, but thick enough to feel solid. The medium frets were dressed cleanly. The neck is flatter than my other guitars, but I haven't had any issues adjusting to it yet.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3658/5766999060_4fb74e430d_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3554/5766450473_049025ed97_b.jpg
It took only a minute to tune. The tuners feel tight and smooth. The setup feels almost perfect out of the box. So far, I've played it directly into the Egnater Tweaker only. It sounds so good, I don't want to run it through anything to color the tones.
The Body
I love the body of this guitar for its slightly smaller size. I don't like most slab bodies because they dig into my forearm, but the shape at the upper base is cut low, preventing that problem even when played sitting. The edges are rounded enough to also aid in comfort.
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5269/5766450467_3e0a15b2fa_z.jpg
The Pickups
This No. 2 came with the same Bare Knuckles "The Boss" (http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/pickups.php?cat=teles&sub=vintage_hot&pickup=the_boss) pickups as Robert's. They are onto something here. I've demo'ed over 10 Tele guitars in the last few months, and only one really impressed me tone wise. These Bare Knuckles sound even better to me. They are punchy and have no hint of any icepick brittleness. They have a warmth and roundness that most Tele pickups don't have. I'm not sure how to describe it. What impresses me most is how clearly each note is defined within a chord. They push into higher gain really well, but the bridge can still make the Tele twang convincingly. The neck produces jazzy warmth when rolled down, and a sweet woody blues tone when pushed. Both pickups together create such a balanced range of tones. The pots react in a nice uniform taper.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2366/5766450475_0124fc3b4c_z.jpg
The only criticisms I can come up with so far are things that would increase the cost quite a bit, like a compound radius fretboard with stainless frets. I'm still getting used to the "mumps" headstock profile, but it sure isn't a deal killer.
I'll spend more time playing this week and add to my impressions. I see a bright future for Syo and his Hell Guitars. I'm not sugar coating this guitar just because it is new to me or because Syo is a regular here at The Fret. This thing really is a great guitar, and well priced on top of it all. It simply feels and sounds great.
Hell Guitar No. 2, that is!
I've been GASing for a Tele style guitar for several months now. I wanted something a little different and unique. It has to cover Tele twang, but with a richer tonal pallet. Something better than the Squier CV's, even though they are a great guitar for the money, but under $700. Then, along comes Robert's Hell No. 2 demos and sound clips. Wow, now we're talking!
http://www.hellguitars.com/newsltr/hellnews_1_header.gif
Syo had a few prototypes and B-stocks available, so I jumped at the opportunity to get one. He has been very busy getting everything organized, but made time to work with me. We're talking customer service at its best here. It shipped quickly and was professionally packed. By all means, buy the tweed "Hell" case. This is cool stuff!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3445/5766990362_9d34aa505e_z.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2733/5766990358_7de033a01d_z.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3336/5766990364_fd4b9a734e_b.jpg
Robert has better photos than mine here (https://picasaweb.google.com/DolphinstreetGuitar/HellGuitar?pli=1&gsessionid=Mzcdgzk8bWv8g7BYbKkGqw#).
I strummed it immediately and it produced a nice, loud resonant sound unplugged... A good sign! My prototype B-stock has a very minor ding on the back of the headstock, nearly impossible to find. The pickguard is an original laser cut pre-production, but it turned out fine. The build quality and hardware are indeed top notch on this guitar. The neck has a nice round profile that isn't too big for my hands, but thick enough to feel solid. The medium frets were dressed cleanly. The neck is flatter than my other guitars, but I haven't had any issues adjusting to it yet.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3658/5766999060_4fb74e430d_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3554/5766450473_049025ed97_b.jpg
It took only a minute to tune. The tuners feel tight and smooth. The setup feels almost perfect out of the box. So far, I've played it directly into the Egnater Tweaker only. It sounds so good, I don't want to run it through anything to color the tones.
The Body
I love the body of this guitar for its slightly smaller size. I don't like most slab bodies because they dig into my forearm, but the shape at the upper base is cut low, preventing that problem even when played sitting. The edges are rounded enough to also aid in comfort.
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5269/5766450467_3e0a15b2fa_z.jpg
The Pickups
This No. 2 came with the same Bare Knuckles "The Boss" (http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/pickups.php?cat=teles&sub=vintage_hot&pickup=the_boss) pickups as Robert's. They are onto something here. I've demo'ed over 10 Tele guitars in the last few months, and only one really impressed me tone wise. These Bare Knuckles sound even better to me. They are punchy and have no hint of any icepick brittleness. They have a warmth and roundness that most Tele pickups don't have. I'm not sure how to describe it. What impresses me most is how clearly each note is defined within a chord. They push into higher gain really well, but the bridge can still make the Tele twang convincingly. The neck produces jazzy warmth when rolled down, and a sweet woody blues tone when pushed. Both pickups together create such a balanced range of tones. The pots react in a nice uniform taper.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2366/5766450475_0124fc3b4c_z.jpg
The only criticisms I can come up with so far are things that would increase the cost quite a bit, like a compound radius fretboard with stainless frets. I'm still getting used to the "mumps" headstock profile, but it sure isn't a deal killer.
I'll spend more time playing this week and add to my impressions. I see a bright future for Syo and his Hell Guitars. I'm not sugar coating this guitar just because it is new to me or because Syo is a regular here at The Fret. This thing really is a great guitar, and well priced on top of it all. It simply feels and sounds great.