[sakeido]

If it was Doug I would trust that he knows his shit and I would have ended up with a better sounding guitar. I really don't appreciate the expensive RG comment either, seeing as how its not made of basswood, has ebony laminates in the neck, a fretboard nicer than the one on my old JP7, whatever pickups I want (Lundgren or Bareknuckle hmm) and a body that apparently sounds better than swamp ash...

[7 Strings of Hate]

well, it wasnt a stab at you dude so i wouldnt get so offended, and also reguardless what doug thought, i just think its a little crazy the guy just changed the spec on a custom, thats all, jeeze

[Jason]

Originally Posted by sakeido

If it was Doug I would trust that he knows his shit and I would have ended up with a better sounding guitar. I really don't appreciate the expensive RG comment either, seeing as how its not made of basswood, has ebony laminates in the neck, a fretboard nicer than the one on my old JP7, whatever pickups I want (Lundgren or Bareknuckle hmm) and a body that apparently sounds better than swamp ash...

I wouldn't worry about it. People are always going dislike things. Fuck the haters

[xwmucradiox]

Originally Posted by sakeido

If it was Doug I would trust that he knows his shit and I would have ended up with a better sounding guitar. I really don't appreciate the expensive RG comment either, seeing as how its not made of basswood, has ebony laminates in the neck, a fretboard nicer than the one on my old JP7, whatever pickups I want (Lundgren or Bareknuckle hmm) and a body that apparently sounds better than swamp ash...

Sweet. If he decides basswood is a better call on your $2000 guitar without telling you (I dropped about $4500 but thats irrelevant) Im sure youll be cool with that too.

[sakeido]

Hey man if you don't like your B2 I would gladly buy it off you for almost the full price.

[Nick]

Originally Posted by xwmucradiox

Its strange to me that hes using that wood. I ordered my B2 in mahogany and when he finished it a year later he had made it with swamp ash because he thinks it sounds better with the guitars. Apparently my order didn't matter. Regardless its weird that hes using a wood similar to mahogany on these.

thats pretty fucked up. If it did sound amazing then it would be hard to complain but he should have at least consulted you

[7 Dying Trees]

Well done Doug! If you noticed, you have theChoice of Bareknuckle, DiMarzio, Haeussel or Lundgren. Now you guys know a set of bareknuckles/lundgrens will cost you 400-450$, so compare that to some crappy stock pickups...

It's still customisable as well, and how many production guitars can you get that are Swamp Idigbo? To be honest, I think that is more than reasonably priced for what is still a hand finished guitar, so I don't see why people are bitching.

The only reason people always bitch about blackmachine are:
a) The dollar is shit. Blame your economy, not a guy who lives in london and is try to make a living doing what he loves
b) You guys over in the states are too used to cheap gear. We pay through our noses, if amps were as cheap over here as they are over there I'd have a field day. As it stands, at around 5500$-6500$ a mesa roadking is unnatianable.
c) None of the people bitching have ever played one. Play one and you'll see the amount of effort and thought that goes into each one.

Honestly guys, it costs us 4000-4500$ STILL to buy a dual rectifier. A mesa cab costs 2000$ over here, basically a VHT UL, and a Diezel VH4 are in the same ballpark money wise as a Mesa Dual Rectifier.

Let me do this. I'll take a production model Ibanez, superstrat shape, fixed bridge:
Ibanez RGA321F (GAK)
Now I am going to add in 200£ of Bareknuckles pickups bringing it to 1100£

So a production model guitar, with the pickups you can have in the B6 is actually 50£ more expensive than A hand Finished, Hand assembled guitar, made from select woods with custom luthier touches like the headstock overlay, in woods you simply CANNOT get on a production instrument.

Now, to all the little whinging muppets out there, now do you think he is overpriced? Maybe overpriced for you, but I for one applaud that Doug is trying to make his instruments more accessible without sacrificing quality and his own pride in his guitars. Also, just remember, next time you walk into guitar centre, and get that killer deal on a mesa, that we, in europe, are paying AT LEAST twice as much.

So quit your whinging, because quite frankly, and I think a few others from this side of the pond, I really have had enough of people complaining about the price of an instrument they are never even going to buy. Hell, for us over here they aren't cheap, but after having played them and just been in love with them for years now, they are worth more than every penny, and over here you'd be stupid to buy a Jem over a blackmachine.

If another custom luthier will build you a guitar for half price, then go there.


Here's the specs:

A stripped down B2, this is what many people have asked for.
It is still a handbuilt guitar but with conventional woods and without embellishments. The main focus, as it has always been, is on tone and outright playability.
neck
Maple laminate with volute.

Two way trussrod.

Scale length 650mm(Fender) 24 frets

43mm nut.

Fingerboard and matching headstock overlay in Indian Rosewood.

Dunlop 6100 jumbo fretwire.

body
Swamp Idigbo 35mm thick.

One or two piece.

pickups
Choice of Bareknuckle, DiMarzio, Haeussel or Lundgren.

hardware
Top of the range Gotoh.

Cosmo black finish.

[7 Dying Trees]

Originally Posted by Vegetta

Spalted maple reminds me of plywood or OSB

To each his own I guess

I dunno man, that guitar makes anything else just sound like it was made by mickey mouse. Played it a few months ago. Made all my gear sound like utter shit...

[jammy]

This is starting some interesting arguments!

Still, those blackmachines look like wonderful instruments, and at good prices too. I'll have to arrange a visit to the workshop next time I'm in London. Anyone know exactly where he's located?

[Karl Hungus]

I've always liked the look of blackmachines. The headstock especially looks cool.

The price definitely ain't bad, but obviously, I'd be waiting to see a 7 string version. If that was around the same price, I'd probably snap one up.