Reply With QuoteA few image tweaks of the headstock.
Saturation
Edginess
Gold, baby!
High contrast B&W
Valar Morghulis
NGD: Hell Guitars No. 2
Hell has landed upon my house this week, and I welcomed it with opened arms.
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!
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!
Robert has better photos than mine here.
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.
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.
The Pickups
This No. 2 came with the same Bare Knuckles "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.
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.
Guitar: Gibson SG Standard Natural Burst, Squier CV 50's Tele, Hell Guitars No. 2, Squier CV 50's Strat, Reverend Club King 290, Taylor 522e 12-Fret mahogany,
Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Bass Short Scale
Amp: Fender Super Champ X2 Head, Egnater Tweaker 15, Fender Mustang I, Acoustic B20 1x12 bass amp
Pedal: Budda Budwah wah, Wampler Ego Compressor, Electro-Harmonix Soul Food, Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive, Wampler Velvet Fuzz, Seven Sisters Eve Tremolo, TC Electronics Gravy Tri Chorus & Vibrato, Catalinbread Echorec, TC Electronic Alter Ego 2 Delay, Hardwire Supernatural Ambient Verb, MXR Carbon Copy, Catalinbread RAH, Big Muff Pi with Tone Wicker, BYOC Mouse 2.0 Distortion, BYOC Boost/OD-2
Valar Morghulis
A few image tweaks of the headstock.
Saturation
Edginess
Gold, baby!
High contrast B&W
Regular Fretter
Very nice! Congrats!
Guitars:
Fender 2006 MIM Fender Stratocaster HSS in 3TS
Ibanez RG 570 with a bridge Invader
ESP M II Deluxe with a Tune-o-Matic bridge
Eleanor, the magical, mystical Road Worn wonder Tele
Blackstar HT Club 40
Displaced Texan
Looks like 3 Texans in a row agree, Hell is the way to go! Congratulations, Tig!
Regular Fretter
Happy NGD! Looks like a great score
Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St. Clements...
Congrats! Now you can Go To Hell anytime you want to.
The Law of Gravity is nonsense. No such law exists. If I think I float, and you think I float, then it happens.
Master Guitar Academy - I also teach via SKYPE.
Valar Morghulis
Originally Posted by Robert
Congrats! Now you can Go To Hell anytime you want to.
Good one, Robert!
Perhaps when the Hell Hounds (owners) numbers are higher, you can create a Hell Guitars sub-forum. I've seen similar ones in places like TDPRI.
Hopeless Noodler
Nice! Way to go to Hell, Doug!
-Sean
Guitars: Lots.
Amphs: More than last year.
Pedals: Many, although I go straight from guitar to amp more often lately.
Regular Fretter
Very nice Tig. Your one lucky dude. I've been trying to get one for awhile now. But not much luck in the response department. Was suppose to get back to me about some prototypes. But too busy I guess. Very nice guitar....enjoy!!!
Guilar Guy
Hey Rick. I apologize for not getting back to you yet. You should have heard from me before now and I'm sorry. Tig's No. 2 was arranged quite awhile ago before any of the demos were up. Since then I have been struggling to deal with a literal mountain of enquiries while trying to maintain everything else. We really aren't actually open for business yet although I have made some exceptions, yourself included.
I'll write to your email today. Again my apologies.
Regular Fretter
Cool looking forward to hearing from you.
Regular Fretter
Congrats enjoy side note great job SYO.
Maxi...................
Bootsy Collins:
I pledge allegiance to the funk, the whole funk, and nothing but the funk, so help me James, Sly and George, Amen!!
Guitars: 2010 American Special HSS Strat, 2010 CIC Squire CV ThinLine Tele, & 2006 MIM FSR Strat.
Basses: 1979 Peavey T-40, 2007 Ibanez SR 500, 2013 Ibanez SR375F, 2013 CIJ Fender Geddy Lee Jazz Bass, 2014 Sadowsky Will Lee VI, & 2014 Sadowsky Will Lee Metro V
Amps: Mesa Boogie BASS STRATEGY:Eight:88, Aguliar DB 4X12, Augilar DB 751, Genz Benz CTR500-210T/Focus 1X15 CAB, Fender Hot Rod Deville 410, VHT Deliverance 60/VHT 2X12 fat Bottom Cab, & VOX DA20
Effects: Boss ME-25, MXR Custom Baddass 78, MXR Custom Baddass modified O.D., Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator, MXR Phase 90, MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe/Octave Deluxe/Bass Compressor/Envelope Filter/, Way Huge Pork Loin
Regular Fretter
Gold star to Syo for taking care of a fellow Fretter! Great job, man.
Guitars:
Fender 2006 MIM Fender Stratocaster HSS in 3TS
Ibanez RG 570 with a bridge Invader
ESP M II Deluxe with a Tune-o-Matic bridge
Eleanor, the magical, mystical Road Worn wonder Tele
Blackstar HT Club 40
Regular Fretter
I'll see your gold and add a platinum star as well! Displaying excellent customer service before you are even technically open for business A+
Valar Morghulis
I did a little setup work and intonation last night on the No.2.
Lowered the action some, but not shredder uber low. Only a few strings needed more than a slight intonation adjustment, which was easy with the modern Tele bridge and saddles.
So after a week of playing, I'm quite happy with this guitar. The fit and finish are a higher quality than the price range usually gets, and the playability/feel are very close to some expensive guitars I've managed to play. What puts this guitar above all the other Tele guitars I've played are the pickups. I've never played single coils that sounded this good. Ever.
I'll be putting my CV 50's Strat up for sell/trade.I have met my single coil Fender tones and range needs with the No.2. Thinking of getting a Mustang II or Hot Rod Pro Jr. amph.
playin' from the heart
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