(I actually got the guitar on Monday afternoon, but haven't had chance to take pictures until now!)
I ordered my B7 in January of 2007, and on Monday the 21st of April I finally took the trip down to London to collect the guitar. It is a 2008 model, handbuilt by Doug Cambell in London under the alias of 'Blackmachine Guitars' (for anyone who doesn't know), and with Bareknuckle pickups handwired in Devon, UK.
(No epic-picstory, sorry
). I'd love to make a little video with it or something for you but as of yet I haven't managed to get anything learnt to actually record!
I took some pictures though, and here's a little review based on first impressions
Playability:
I'm still getting used to 7 strings, this being my first actual 7 string guitar, but the playabilty of the guitar is fantastic and has taken the sting off the transition for me somewhat. The action is very low and fast compared to what i'm used to, and the neck is incredibly comfortable (fairly flat at the back), your hand just glides across the rosewood. The access is much better than I anticipated: the cut is quite deep and the heel is smooth and friendly. This is easier to play than some 6 stringers that I've had, and is strung with 10-59s as I won't be down-tuning past Bb/As. The tension is quite nice on the scale, i'm glad i didn't take it to baritone as i'm not sure I would have really needed it for my style.
Aesthetics:
I've been a longtime PRS fan and owner, and the ebony Blackmachines are really the antithesis of the PRS in terms of looks and statement. No flashy quilts/flames, gold plate hardware or bird inlays...just pure and plain natural woods and oil. It looks very understated and organic, and I've always been drawn to this aspect of Blackmachines in-particular. Unfortunately the pictures don't really give a good idea of how beautiful it is, it even smells like a forest or something 
I'm glad I chose the cream ivoroid binding aswell, as I think it set's the guitar off nicely (the all black look is just a bit too black for me).
Sound:
The warpigs are mounted directly to the body. They are dark and brutal, aided by the Mahogany and Rosewood i'd imagine. The leads blew me away when I plugged it in though, I can't believe such a thin guitar can sing for so long and so powerfully! It sounds huge. The pickups are pretty high output of course, this is certainly an axe tailored towards metal, but the pickups do clean up quite nicely, albeit still very dark. The bottom string is maybe a tad crazy for my liking with the warpigs, but it could be my loose technique, or that i'm just not used to the 7th string yet...i'll be giving it a fair trial anyway, and maybe look at Nailbombs or something in the future.
Build Quality:
It makes my Ibanez feel cheap and coldly constructed, the guitar is absolutely rock steady but when you pick it up you can see it's been crafted with passion and care has been taken over every little detail. The cutting and and shaping is very precise, looks like he took a lot of time on it. One thing that I am slightly worried about is the amount of clouding on the body of the guitar, in the oil or whatever, it looks kinda greesy and I have not been able to clean it off with a cloth...if Clive reads this then i'd appreciate it if he could get in touch regarding this, incase he had a similar experience with the ebony and oil.
Specs:
- Blackmachine B7, 25.5" scale.
- African ebony top, headstock and fretboard (Tung-oiled)
- Chambered Brazilian mahogany body (40 years old)
- Honduras Rosewood neck (bolt-on) with ebony fillets
- Ivoroid binding (body, neck and headstock)
- Gotoh fixed bridge and Sperzel tuners
- Bareknuckle Warpig 7s
- Paul Gilbert control arrangement with end-pin jack
Anyway, enough rambling, i'll write a proper review of it for Harmony Central or something after the courting period
, but here's some photos I took of it, more are sure to follow!
