New Guitar Day (Small UK luthier content) big pics

-Nolly- · 03-08-2009, 06:29 AM

Hi all,

Yesterday I managed to fulfil a dream of mine and become the owner of a guitar built by Nathan Sheppard. The story is that soon after I started playing, I had lessons with Ben Bartlett, at the time a journo for the Future publishing mags, and pretty early on he received an electro nylon string made by Nathan, a local up and coming luthier. I was blown away by the workmanship and the amazing woods used, and I remember thinking that when I had the money (I was just a 15-year old with no job back then), I would have one of Nathan's guitars. Since then I've only heard the name Nathan Sheppard crop up once or twice, in a glowing review in Guitarist, and very rarely on the odd forum, and I found out not long ago that he'd gone out of business.

Fast forward to a couple of days ago, Pete and I decided to take a trip to Exeter to visit an old buddy and have a look around Mansons and some other music shops around there. Right near the end of our time in Mansons I caught sight of a pre-owned Nathan Sheppard hanging up on the wall, and had to check it out. Time was short and I didn't play it, but the price was very reasonable, and it stuck in my head all the way home. Yesterday I decided that it's an opportunity I couldn't miss out on, since they're extremely rare, and with Nathan out of business, it may literally be a once in a lifetime chance. With the offer of an advance on the money from my awesome mum, I rang up Mansons, and got them to hold it while I drove back to Exeter.
Upon playing it, I was actually a little bit underwhelmed by the set up, but the guy I was dealing with was extremely helpful, and gave the guitar a full set up, including cutting the nut slots right down as I like them, as well as slapping some new D'addario 9-46s on, setting the neck as straight as possible (again, my preference), and intonating it. After he'd done that, the guitar felt brand new, and I had no excuse not to buy it.
As another aside, it turns out the guitar was being sold on behalf of an employee of a certain Bare Knuckle pickups, which I think it pretty neat.

Anyway, some (many) pics:

So from what I can tell, the wood selection is the tried and tested mahogany with a maple cap, set maple neck with a rosewood fretboard. The flame on the top is absolutely stunning, it's very deep, and I love the orangey-red stain. The mahogany body is one-piece, and the neck features heavy birdseye on the sides, with deep flame in the center portion. The looks won't be to everyone's taste, but I think it's amazingly beautiful. The frets are vintage-style, which is not my usual preference, but with such a low and slinky action it plays incredibly, likewise the neck is a like that of a good Tele, with a deep C profile, yet it's still very shreddable.

This guitar features some extremely special Bare Knuckles - the Knuckleduster set, made pretty much exclusively for Nathan's guitars. From what I can tell they're essentially a set of Tele pickups made into humbuckers, and can be split individually by pulling up each of the volume knobs. In split mode they're nothing like conventional humbucker split tones, they actually sound exactly like the woody and sparkly tele I've always wished I've had, yet when in humbucking mode, they're incredibly creamy and smooth - pure Andy Timmons.
The natural sustain of this thing is ridiculous, it just keeps ringing on and on, with such a musical clear fundamental behind every note. I'm in love.

Anyway, sorry for the essay and masses of pics, hope people find this interesting.

Nolly

Wi77iam · 03-08-2009, 06:33 AM

that is classy as classy can be

caughtinamosh · 03-08-2009, 06:38 AM

As classy as a classsy thing at a classy convention

.

-K4G- · 03-08-2009, 06:40 AM

Wow. Not a fan of gold hardware, but that is stunning.

Edit: And clips please.

Apophis · 03-08-2009, 06:53 AM

wow, looks just great, no doubts, congrats

ShadyDavey · 03-08-2009, 06:55 AM

I wondered what happened to him!! Shame to hear that he's gone under but that is a damn lovely piece of work which I'm sure will delight you for years

liamh · 03-08-2009, 07:04 AM

That looks almost edible!

-Nolly- · 03-08-2009, 07:05 AM

Thanks everyone, I haven't put it down since I woke up today. It's definitely going to be my fusion guitar, I've been jamming over Greg Howe and Guthrie tracks and it sounds so damn good!

liamh · 03-08-2009, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by -Nolly-

Thanks everyone, I haven't put it down since I woke up today. It's definitely going to be my fusion guitar, I've been jamming over Greg Howe and Guthrie tracks and it sounds so damn good!

Vids?

PirateMetalTroy · 03-08-2009, 07:51 AM

The woods are sexy, but the overall design is weird. Looks like a good design got a little melted and they stuck with it.

LOUDONE · 03-08-2009, 07:56 AM

Nice guitar! Congrats!

Fred · 03-08-2009, 07:59 AM

The whole thing ....ing flows... Seriously pretty guitar, and most satisfyingly shiny, haha.

technomancer · 03-08-2009, 09:58 AM

Wow the design on that is weird... but awesome. And the wood on that is just gorgeous

hufschmid · 03-08-2009, 10:00 AM

Awesome looking guitar!

thesimo · 03-08-2009, 10:08 AM

extremely tasty!

how are the pickups mounted? there isn't any recesses for the normal mounts to silde into?

Jem7RB · 03-08-2009, 10:18 AM

Thats awesome, looks amazing and knowing of the work of Nathan it'll still be going in 100 years time, Grtz M8

Regards

Rob

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShadyDavey

I wondered what happened to him!! Shame to hear that he's gone under but that is a damn lovely piece of work which I'm sure will delight you for years

kek @ Richard Avatar

E Lucevan Le Stelle · 03-08-2009, 10:23 AM

That's beautiful...

HOW'd you afford all this cool stuff!?

GazPots · 03-08-2009, 10:28 AM

Ah i remember lots of his guitars from the old Intermusic forum (now music radar).

PeteyG · 03-08-2009, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by E Lucevan Le Stelle

HOW'd you afford all this cool stuff!?

Take it from me, he works VERY hard for all of this stuff. When we're not at college, he is normally at his job, or teaching.

I love the look of this guitar, it's quite Parker like in a lot of ways. I really cannot wait to hear it and play it tomorrow

-Nolly- · 03-08-2009, 10:46 AM

Thanks everyone, like I say, I know the design won't be to everyone's tastes but I think it's ....ing awesome hahah

I uncovered some info on the pickups from Tim himself:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim, BKP

What we did for Nathan Sheppard was in effect combine two sets of Tele pickups together to form an extremely versatile humbucker set.
One pair of pickups was stock polarity and wind , the other RWRP, so when wired in series each pair is a true humbucker, when split you get real single coils.
The Guitarist verdict was the guitar was worth buying for the pickups alone and the first time anyone had convincingly got the tone of both a LP and a Tele from one instrument.

The bridge unit is angled like a Tele bridge so requires a considerable route whereas the neck is more akin to a mini humbucker, a touch bigger maybe.

...

I wouldn't say they're PAFish, there's too much power on tap for a real PAF but it is a huge humbucking tone and genuine Tele all rolled into one.
As for inclusion into our range, I not sure because they are very specialist and would need custom routing to be fitted.

Quote:

Originally Posted by liamh

Vids?

Maybe, just maybe!

Quote:

Originally Posted by E Lucevan Le Stelle

HOW'd you afford all this cool stuff!?

Well, as Petey says, I do work pretty hard for it, but even then like I said, I could only get this via an advance from the mother, and now I really need to sell my G-system and Elmwood to pay it off and afford the Axe-FX I'm getting soon!

NiCkMiLnE · 03-08-2009, 10:54 AM

amazing, i could tell from the first pic that it was a shep

nathan is an incredible builder who's work will be sadly missed!
Nolly, you gotta let me jam that thing

-Nolly- · 03-08-2009, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thesimo

extremely tasty!

how are the pickups mounted? there isn't any recesses for the normal mounts to silde into?

Well, the neck pickup is screwed in via those screws in the middle of each bobbin, but I actually don't know how the bridge pickup is being held in there!

possumkiller · 03-08-2009, 01:25 PM

Beautiful

CapenCyber · 03-08-2009, 01:28 PM

Amazing looking guitar!

budda · 03-08-2009, 03:23 PM

that is a gorgeous guitar, and congrats to meeting one of your goals!

I would love to get a pair of knuckledusters for my custom build, your and tim's description sounds like what I'm after with the coil-tappable (split?) pickups I plan to put in mine.

The neck looks similar to what I'm going for on my custom as well

hehe, similarities all over the place!

Congrats Nolly, I need to hear this guitar

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03-08-2009, 06:29 AM	#1
-Nolly- Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bath, UK Posts: 2,621 Thanked: 116 Feedback Score: 1 reviews	New Guitar Day (Small UK luthier content) big pics Hi all, Yesterday I managed to fulfil a dream of mine and become the owner of a guitar built by Nathan Sheppard. The story is that soon after I started playing, I had lessons with Ben Bartlett, at the time a journo for the Future publishing mags, and pretty early on he received an electro nylon string made by Nathan, a local up and coming luthier. I was blown away by the workmanship and the amazing woods used, and I remember thinking that when I had the money (I was just a 15-year old with no job back then), I would have one of Nathan's guitars. Since then I've only heard the name Nathan Sheppard crop up once or twice, in a glowing review in Guitarist, and very rarely on the odd forum, and I found out not long ago that he'd gone out of business. Fast forward to a couple of days ago, Pete and I decided to take a trip to Exeter to visit an old buddy and have a look around Mansons and some other music shops around there. Right near the end of our time in Mansons I caught sight of a pre-owned Nathan Sheppard hanging up on the wall, and had to check it out. Time was short and I didn't play it, but the price was very reasonable, and it stuck in my head all the way home. Yesterday I decided that it's an opportunity I couldn't miss out on, since they're extremely rare, and with Nathan out of business, it may literally be a once in a lifetime chance. With the offer of an advance on the money from my awesome mum, I rang up Mansons, and got them to hold it while I drove back to Exeter. Upon playing it, I was actually a little bit underwhelmed by the set up, but the guy I was dealing with was extremely helpful, and gave the guitar a full set up, including cutting the nut slots right down as I like them, as well as slapping some new D'addario 9-46s on, setting the neck as straight as possible (again, my preference), and intonating it. After he'd done that, the guitar felt brand new, and I had no excuse not to buy it. As another aside, it turns out the guitar was being sold on behalf of an employee of a certain Bare Knuckle pickups, which I think it pretty neat. Anyway, some (many) pics: So from what I can tell, the wood selection is the tried and tested mahogany with a maple cap, set maple neck with a rosewood fretboard. The flame on the top is absolutely stunning, it's very deep, and I love the orangey-red stain. The mahogany body is one-piece, and the neck features heavy birdseye on the sides, with deep flame in the center portion. The looks won't be to everyone's taste, but I think it's amazingly beautiful. The frets are vintage-style, which is not my usual preference, but with such a low and slinky action it plays incredibly, likewise the neck is a like that of a good Tele, with a deep C profile, yet it's still very shreddable. This guitar features some extremely special Bare Knuckles - the Knuckleduster set, made pretty much exclusively for Nathan's guitars. From what I can tell they're essentially a set of Tele pickups made into humbuckers, and can be split individually by pulling up each of the volume knobs. In split mode they're nothing like conventional humbucker split tones, they actually sound exactly like the woody and sparkly tele I've always wished I've had, yet when in humbucking mode, they're incredibly creamy and smooth - pure Andy Timmons. The natural sustain of this thing is ridiculous, it just keeps ringing on and on, with such a musical clear fundamental behind every note. I'm in love. Anyway, sorry for the essay and masses of pics, hope people find this interesting. Nolly Top Secret \| Band \| Clips \| Pics \| Tumblr

03-08-2009, 06:38 AM	#3
caughtinamosh Linguist Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 3,775 Thanked: 55 Feedback Score: 4 reviews	As classy as a classsy thing at a classy convention . Find me under the same username on www.metalguitarist.org

03-08-2009, 06:40 AM	#4
-K4G- Go Auckland Blues! Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Singapore Posts: 2,236 Thanked: 10 Feedback Score: 1 reviews	Wow. Not a fan of gold hardware, but that is stunning. Edit: And clips please. Last edited by -K4G-; 03-08-2009 at 06:41 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

03-08-2009, 06:55 AM	#6
ShadyDavey 7ibrarian Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Peterborough, UK Posts: 6,578 Thanked: 104 Feedback Score: 1 reviews	I wondered what happened to him!! Shame to hear that he's gone under but that is a damn lovely piece of work which I'm sure will delight you for years While raping a bear in Yellowstone and snorting coke out of a freshly-dead baby's skull, I finally felt that I had found my calling and built a time machine out of Iraqi WMDs and LOTS OF HEMP WHOA. Using this time machine I went back in time and shot JFK from outer ....ing space. I am now your god - Jeff .....and then all of a sudden he drops the musical equivilant of a steaming turd right in our laps - ESP Griffyn

Today
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03-08-2009, 06:33 AM	#2
Wi77iam Ibanez fanboi Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 2,739 Thanked: 20 Feedback Score: 8 reviews	that is classy as classy can be

03-08-2009, 06:53 AM	#5
Apophis Banned Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Poland Posts: 18,280 Thanked: 71 Feedback Score: 1 reviews	wow, looks just great, no doubts, congrats

03-08-2009, 07:04 AM	#7
liamh Geek-chic Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: England Posts: 2,123 Thanked: 13 Feedback Score: 0 reviews	That looks almost edible!

03-08-2009, 07:05 AM	#8
-Nolly- Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bath, UK Posts: 2,621 Thanked: 116 Feedback Score: 1 reviews	Thanks everyone, I haven't put it down since I woke up today. It's definitely going to be my fusion guitar, I've been jamming over Greg Howe and Guthrie tracks and it sounds so damn good! Top Secret \| Band \| Clips \| Pics \| Tumblr

03-08-2009, 07:51 AM	#10
PirateMetalTroy The Tooth Fairy Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: London, ON (Canada) Posts: 1,204 Thanked: 51 Feedback Score: 2 reviews	The woods are sexy, but the overall design is weird. Looks like a good design got a little melted and they stuck with it.

03-08-2009, 07:56 AM	#11
LOUDONE SS.org Regular Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Maine Posts: 253 Thanked: 14 Feedback Score: 0 reviews	Nice guitar! Congrats!

03-08-2009, 07:59 AM	#12
Fred SS.org Regular Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: London or Bristol, UK. Posts: 2,078 Thanked: 62 $Fred is rather kvlt and tr00. \m/$ $Fred is rather kvlt and tr00. \m/$ $Fred is rather kvlt and tr00. \m/$ $Fred is rather kvlt and tr00. \m/$ $Fred is rather kvlt and tr00. \m/$ $Fred is rather kvlt and tr00. \m/$ $Fred is rather kvlt and tr00. \m/$ Feedback Score: 6 reviews	The whole thing ....ing flows... Seriously pretty guitar, and most satisfyingly shiny, haha.

03-08-2009, 09:58 AM	#13
technomancer Gearus Pimptasticus • Super Moderator • Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Out there, somewhere Posts: 23,113 Thanked: 173 Feedback Score: 34 reviews	Wow the design on that is weird... but awesome. And the wood on that is just gorgeous Incoming It's a surprise

03-08-2009, 10:00 AM	#14
hufschmid Banned Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: switzerland Posts: 9,088 Thanked: 284 Feedback Score: 1 reviews	Awesome looking guitar!

03-08-2009, 10:08 AM	#15
thesimo ss.org Regular Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 1,409 Thanked: 4 Feedback Score: 5 reviews	extremely tasty! how are the pickups mounted? there isn't any recesses for the normal mounts to silde into?

03-08-2009, 10:23 AM	#17
E Lucevan Le Stelle in love with Judas Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: London / Cambridge, UK Posts: 724 Thanked: 19 Feedback Score: 4 reviews	That's beautiful... HOW'd you afford all this cool stuff!?

03-08-2009, 10:28 AM	#18
GazPots Is A Complete Idiot. Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Glasgow, Scotland Posts: 2,524 Thanked: 16 Feedback Score: 4 reviews	Ah i remember lots of his guitars from the old Intermusic forum (now music radar). http://www.youtube.com/GazPots <--- Guitar vids. www.soundclick.com/GazTop <--- Random Guitar tunes.

03-08-2009, 10:54 AM	#21
NiCkMiLnE 7>6 Join Date: May 2007 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 1,044 Thanked: 13 Feedback Score: 0 reviews	amazing, i could tell from the first pic that it was a shep nathan is an incredible builder who's work will be sadly missed! Nolly, you gotta let me jam that thing laney aor series II mesa boogie nomad ^in stereo^ el34+ 6l6 = <3

03-08-2009, 01:25 PM	#23
possumkiller SS.org Regular Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: no Posts: 1,991 Thanked: 39 Feedback Score: 4 reviews	Beautiful sol niger 333: "I'm guessing a dildo was used. A truth dildo."

03-08-2009, 01:28 PM	#24
CapenCyber SS.org Regular Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: London Posts: 330 Thanked: 6 Feedback Score: 0 reviews	Amazing looking guitar!

03-08-2009, 03:23 PM	#25
budda Guiterrorizer Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: London ONT Posts: 18,906 Thanked: 174 Feedback Score: 1 reviews	that is a gorgeous guitar, and congrats to meeting one of your goals! I would love to get a pair of knuckledusters for my custom build, your and tim's description sounds like what I'm after with the coil-tappable (split?) pickups I plan to put in mine. The neck looks similar to what I'm going for on my custom as well hehe, similarities all over the place! Congrats Nolly, I need to hear this guitar _______________________ J S Moore pickups: www.tonefordays.com Rock on!

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