Blaze
December 19th, 2008, 11:26 AM
Have a look at the first part in post Blade Guitars (http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php?t=9468&highlight=Blade+Guitars) before reading this one
Review part 2
Action, Fit, & Finish : No Opinion
I am the second owner of my Blade guitar so I can not really comment on how it was set up from the factory.
When I received the guitar, the nut holding the tone pot to the pickguard was loose and I needed to remove the tone knob and tighten the nut. Problem easily solved!
All of the workmanship looks exceptional on this guitar. In all honesty, it easily matches the type of quality you would find on an Anderson or other guitars from the top builders. The neck pocket was extremely tight. The fretwork is very clean and there is no evidence of any fret slots on the sides of the fretboard. The finish is deep and glossy. Top quality woods and materials were used throughout.
The guitar is current set up for Ernie Ball Super Slinky .009 gauge strings. The action is extremely low and clean and the pickups are adjusted appropriately.
I have a great eye for workmanship faults and I can not find one on this guitar.
Reliability/Durability : No Opinion
I am unaware of how the guitar was handled or played while it was used by its previous owner, but it does have a few dings on the face. The ebony fretboard was also extremely dirty and dry so I cleaned it up and oiled it (several times) with fretboard conditioner (the fretboard now looks brand new.) The "Levinson" brand name on the pickups has faded slightly in some areas (probably from contact with the pick.)
The guitar was certainly well built and it feels solid to me. My biggest hesitation with using it live without a backup would be the 9 volt battery powering the onboard preamp. Although the guitar will still work with no power from the battery, the active circuits will obviously not function.
My blade guitar is probably 10 or 11 years old and looks great. There is no oxidation on any metal components. I think it is extremely reliable and deserves high marks in this category.
Customer Support : No Opinion
I have been extremely disappointed with a lack of response from Blade guitars and their American distributer. Before I purchased the guitar, I transmitted several E-Mail questions to Gary Levinson that I sent from his bladeguitars.com web page. After a week without response, I faxed the same inquiry to Levinson Music in Switzerland. I have also E-Mailed Blade's American distributer. I have not received a reply from anyone representing Levinson or Blade guitars. This makes me wonder if they're even still in business.
This lack of response worries me because there are several proprietary components on these older Blade guitars. I sincerely hope that I will be supported or will be able to find replacement parts if I ever need to replace something with the tremolo or the active electronic systems.
I have heard that Gary Levinson is very friendly and typically responsive, so I hope that he is well. I am sure that there is a reasonable explanation for the silence from Blade and Levison.
Overall Rating : No Opinion
I have been playing for almost 14 years and have owned several dozen guitars and many amplifiers in this period.
When I found this Blade guitar at Guitar Center, I was unable to bring it home on the same day because of a "police hold" requiring the store to retain the (used) instrument for 1 month after receiving it from someone. I guess that this is done to enable recovery of stolen music instruments or to prevent scams against Guitar Center.
After first seeing and playing the Blade, I put it on layaway to reserve the guitar for me during the police hold period. During this time (nearly 3 weeks), I performed a considerable amount of research on Blade guitars and found that everyone that has commented on the older Blades had very favorable opinions. Because of the waiting period, I was able to make an educated purchase without being impulsive or rushed, and I even used some of the information I discovered as leverage against Guitar Center to reduce the price. I brought the guitar home as soon as it was free to leave the store.
There are many aspects of this guitar that I really appreciate. It plays and sounds fantastic and looks gorgeous. It comes equipped with top quality hardware. There are absolutely no flaws in workmanship or materials. It has been very reliable and feels solid. Finally, it has several innovative features (such as the proprietary tremolo and active electronics circuits) that are functionally very useful.
If I were to make any changes to the design of this guitar, I would:
1) Install a clear pickguard on this guitar. The wood is really too beautiful to be covered by a opaque mirrored pickguard.
2) Add a piezo acoustic pickup system.
3) Invest additional research into the pickup and preamp design. I can easily imagine how cool it would be if it had a four position preamp switch that changed the guitar's tone to the following sounds: A. a true vintage strat, B. true humbucking tone, C. acoustic sound, or D. a unique sound exclusive to Blade guitars.
As it is, the Blade is one of my favorite guitars. If I were a studio musician, I would find that the Blade is close to an ideal working guitar because of its easy playability and versatility. It would also be a wonderful stage instrument for the same reasons.
The guitar really deserves high ranks in all areas. It's not perfect but closer to perfection than nearly all guitars I've owned. It is an innovative and high quality instrument that I plan on owning for a very long time.
Review part 2
Action, Fit, & Finish : No Opinion
I am the second owner of my Blade guitar so I can not really comment on how it was set up from the factory.
When I received the guitar, the nut holding the tone pot to the pickguard was loose and I needed to remove the tone knob and tighten the nut. Problem easily solved!
All of the workmanship looks exceptional on this guitar. In all honesty, it easily matches the type of quality you would find on an Anderson or other guitars from the top builders. The neck pocket was extremely tight. The fretwork is very clean and there is no evidence of any fret slots on the sides of the fretboard. The finish is deep and glossy. Top quality woods and materials were used throughout.
The guitar is current set up for Ernie Ball Super Slinky .009 gauge strings. The action is extremely low and clean and the pickups are adjusted appropriately.
I have a great eye for workmanship faults and I can not find one on this guitar.
Reliability/Durability : No Opinion
I am unaware of how the guitar was handled or played while it was used by its previous owner, but it does have a few dings on the face. The ebony fretboard was also extremely dirty and dry so I cleaned it up and oiled it (several times) with fretboard conditioner (the fretboard now looks brand new.) The "Levinson" brand name on the pickups has faded slightly in some areas (probably from contact with the pick.)
The guitar was certainly well built and it feels solid to me. My biggest hesitation with using it live without a backup would be the 9 volt battery powering the onboard preamp. Although the guitar will still work with no power from the battery, the active circuits will obviously not function.
My blade guitar is probably 10 or 11 years old and looks great. There is no oxidation on any metal components. I think it is extremely reliable and deserves high marks in this category.
Customer Support : No Opinion
I have been extremely disappointed with a lack of response from Blade guitars and their American distributer. Before I purchased the guitar, I transmitted several E-Mail questions to Gary Levinson that I sent from his bladeguitars.com web page. After a week without response, I faxed the same inquiry to Levinson Music in Switzerland. I have also E-Mailed Blade's American distributer. I have not received a reply from anyone representing Levinson or Blade guitars. This makes me wonder if they're even still in business.
This lack of response worries me because there are several proprietary components on these older Blade guitars. I sincerely hope that I will be supported or will be able to find replacement parts if I ever need to replace something with the tremolo or the active electronic systems.
I have heard that Gary Levinson is very friendly and typically responsive, so I hope that he is well. I am sure that there is a reasonable explanation for the silence from Blade and Levison.
Overall Rating : No Opinion
I have been playing for almost 14 years and have owned several dozen guitars and many amplifiers in this period.
When I found this Blade guitar at Guitar Center, I was unable to bring it home on the same day because of a "police hold" requiring the store to retain the (used) instrument for 1 month after receiving it from someone. I guess that this is done to enable recovery of stolen music instruments or to prevent scams against Guitar Center.
After first seeing and playing the Blade, I put it on layaway to reserve the guitar for me during the police hold period. During this time (nearly 3 weeks), I performed a considerable amount of research on Blade guitars and found that everyone that has commented on the older Blades had very favorable opinions. Because of the waiting period, I was able to make an educated purchase without being impulsive or rushed, and I even used some of the information I discovered as leverage against Guitar Center to reduce the price. I brought the guitar home as soon as it was free to leave the store.
There are many aspects of this guitar that I really appreciate. It plays and sounds fantastic and looks gorgeous. It comes equipped with top quality hardware. There are absolutely no flaws in workmanship or materials. It has been very reliable and feels solid. Finally, it has several innovative features (such as the proprietary tremolo and active electronics circuits) that are functionally very useful.
If I were to make any changes to the design of this guitar, I would:
1) Install a clear pickguard on this guitar. The wood is really too beautiful to be covered by a opaque mirrored pickguard.
2) Add a piezo acoustic pickup system.
3) Invest additional research into the pickup and preamp design. I can easily imagine how cool it would be if it had a four position preamp switch that changed the guitar's tone to the following sounds: A. a true vintage strat, B. true humbucking tone, C. acoustic sound, or D. a unique sound exclusive to Blade guitars.
As it is, the Blade is one of my favorite guitars. If I were a studio musician, I would find that the Blade is close to an ideal working guitar because of its easy playability and versatility. It would also be a wonderful stage instrument for the same reasons.
The guitar really deserves high ranks in all areas. It's not perfect but closer to perfection than nearly all guitars I've owned. It is an innovative and high quality instrument that I plan on owning for a very long time.