# NGD: Blackmachine B6 (Pics, Clip, Review)



## bulb (May 26, 2012)

So this one is actually coming a little late, I guess i just forgot to do the NGD, but better late than never:

It's a Blackmachine B6, so let's start with pics:







































Here is a clip of the guitar in action:
Blackmachine B6 Test by iambulb on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free


Review:
What can i say that i haven't already said about Blackmachine before. Doug is obsessed with creating a certain kind of instrument, be it a full on B2 or a stripped down B6 like this one. He is after efficiency, getting a thin and light guitar to sound huge, making a guitar that is optimized for players who enjoy playing fast and hard. Lucky for me, we are on the same wavelength when it comes to what makes an ideal guitar, and once again this guitar does not disappoint. 

To put it in words you guys can relate to. This guitar sound massive. So much low mids and purr to it, and yet it does it with very present attack. That is usually the tradeoff, you normally get a "warmer" sounding instrument by dulling down the high end, for some reason that just doesnt happen with this guitar, you get the warmth and yet it has all the attack i could ever want. Notes are so direct, they just seem to pop out ever so clearly.
The guitar did take me a bit of getting used to because the neck profile is a little bit thicker than usual, but Doug says that a large part of the guitars "hugeness" can be attributed to that.

One sad thing to note, on the way back from the Dream Theater tour (actually on a domestic flight) the TSA decided to check my Scott Dixon case (which holds 3 guitars) and didn't secure the guitars back, so the hardware from 2 of the guitars dented the hell out of the back of this guitar and my Daemoness which fucking sucks. You can see the damage on the back of the guitar in the pics. Annoying, but at least the guitar is not hindered in any way by it.

Specs are:
Lightweight Ash Body
Maple Neck with Dyed Maple Fillets
Rosewood Fretboard
Sperzel Locking Tuners
Schaller Hannes Bridge
Bareknuckle Coldsweat Bridge/VHII Neck
Petrucci Style Switch
1 Vol/No Tone


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## Stealthdjentstic (May 26, 2012)

Damn man, you guys dont have insurance against damage?


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## MFB (May 26, 2012)

Kudos for the new BM, but uh, wrong section bro


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## bulb (May 26, 2012)

Ah damn, my bad, i would have sworn i clicked on Standard guitars. Could a mod please move this there please?


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## theo (May 26, 2012)

That is truly a classy guitar


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## tr0n (May 26, 2012)

That really sucks what happened with the dents, but at least it ain't on the front!

I've got one of these bad boys with a set of Nailbombs and a Schaller Hannes too. What do you think of the Hannes vs the old Hipshot? What about the choice of pickups? I haven't really been able to A/B things.

Anyways, grats on the NGD! You know they say when you go Black(machine) you never go back. My other guitars have had little love since I got it 10 months ago.


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## Xaios (May 26, 2012)

Noice.


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## eastguitar (May 26, 2012)

Sound incredible. Beautiful guitar!!!!


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## theo (May 26, 2012)

Why is one neck screw mismatched?


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## matt397 (May 26, 2012)

HNGD


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## HattersGonnaHat (May 26, 2012)

The grain patterns on more recent B6s I've seen have been gorgeous! Happy belated NGD, good sir.
By the way, do you still have your older B6? I haven't seen you use it in quite a while.


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## bulb (May 26, 2012)

theo said:


> Why is one neck screw mismatched?



That's just the light hitting it in that one pic, totally does look like that though haha


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## Electric Wizard (May 26, 2012)

How do you like the hannes in comparison to a hipshot or a blocked floyd?


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## Gilbertsgotbrootz (May 26, 2012)

bulb said:


> Review:
> What can i say that i haven't already said about Blackmachine before. Doug is obsessed with creating a certain kind of instrument, be it a full on B2 or a stripped down B6 like this one. He is after efficiency, getting a thin and light guitar to sound huge, making a guitar that is optimized for players who enjoy playing fast and hard. Lucky for me, we are on the same wavelength when it comes to what makes an ideal guitar, and once again this guitar does not disappoint.
> 
> To put it in words you guys can relate to. This guitar sound massive. So much low mids and purr to it, and yet it does it with very present attack. That is usually the tradeoff, you normally get a "warmer" sounding instrument by dulling down the high end, for some reason that just doesnt happen with this guitar, you get the warmth and yet it has all the attack i could ever want. Notes are so direct, they just seem to pop out ever so clearly.
> The guitar did take me a bit of getting used to because the neck profile is a little bit thicker than usual, but Doug says that a large part of the guitars "hugeness" can be attributed to that.


Well we obviously know it can dent .... But the question is ....... Will it djent ? Sorry Mr, Mansoor I had to ....


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## Advv (May 26, 2012)

Very nice. Sucks that it got dented though...


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## MiPwnYew (May 26, 2012)

Beautiful B6. Hate to ask, but any pictures of the damage done to the Daemoness?


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## mhickman2 (May 26, 2012)

Amazing! How does the Coldsweat/VHll sound together?


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## Adeamus (May 26, 2012)

Advv said:


> Very nice. Sucks that it got dented though...



To quote a very famous woman

"THE FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST!!!!!!" 

I can't help but sing that every time I put a scratch in a new guitar. But after that first one is done I find it freeing. You stop worrying about keeping it pristine, and you just use it.


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## Bigfan (May 27, 2012)

Adeamus said:


> To quote a very famous woman



Cat Stevens is a woman now? Wut?


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## White Cluster (May 27, 2012)

Awesome Mischa. 
If I were you I'd tell everyone the dents were caused by the friction of my diction. But that's just me.


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## Ryan Duke (May 27, 2012)

The piece you wrote for the test is about as beautiful as the guitar and it's not dented.


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## GSingleton (May 27, 2012)

Just love those headstocks


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## Poho (May 27, 2012)

She's a beauty, man. That's really too bad about the denting. You gonna file a complaint?


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## BlackStar7 (May 27, 2012)

gluhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
(the sound that drooling makes)


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## Erazoender (May 27, 2012)

That bridge always looked so cool to me.... but epic NGD altogether. Shitty about the scratches and at least now you won't be terrified to play her live


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## endo (May 27, 2012)

The damage to both this and the Daemoness is literally jaw dropping. If I was bulb, I'd definitely be getting reimbursed for damages to remind them why blackmachines are blackmachines. Mother fuckers.

Anywho, amazing stuff, man. Even for a stripped down guitar.


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## musikizlife (May 27, 2012)

It's awesome that such a simple yet elegant instrument can sound that monstrously huge.
Good luck with that one mish!


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## Erazoender (May 27, 2012)

The back of the guitar always reminds me of Doctor Who for some reason... Totally should put the TARDIS as the back plate


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## j_m_s (May 27, 2012)

Gorgeous! Hopefully I'll get to try a BM someday! Sucks to hear about the damage though =/


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## leonardo7 (May 27, 2012)

Congrats! It sounds like a master for leads and those melodic ambient passages.


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## Overt1 (May 27, 2012)

looks hot. too bad about the djents on the back of the guitar


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## kruneh (May 27, 2012)

Sorry to hear about the dents, but still an awesome guitar!
Congrats!


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## AVH (May 27, 2012)

Contact me if you want that repaired Misha.


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## Djentlyman (May 27, 2012)

Damn that's a sexy headstock and a smooth looking Hannes bridge. Wish Doug was still making these guitars. Congrats Misha!!


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## MF_Kitten (May 27, 2012)

Other than this being awesome, did you listen to Devin Townsend again? 

if so, i'm RIGHT there with ya


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## Solodini (May 27, 2012)

How has no one made a joke yet about "will it d(j)ent"?!


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## JP Universe (May 27, 2012)

Loving the wood grain on this....


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## bhakan (May 27, 2012)

It's amazing how such a simple guitar can look and sound soooo nice.

SSO will probably now declare war on the TSA, they damaged a blackmachine _and _a daemoness .


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## jake7doyle (May 27, 2012)

looks great, wouldnt expect anything else from BM though


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## 2ManyShoes (May 27, 2012)

Just awesome! Congratulations!


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## Nakon14 (May 27, 2012)

Aaaaaaand I've got my new phone wallpaper 

Needless to say, this guitar is incredible. I also hope you expand on that clip a bit more


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## Rook (May 27, 2012)

Solodini said:


> How has no one made a joke yet about "will it d(j)ent"?!





Gilbertsgotbrootz said:


> Well we obviously know it can dent .... But the question is ....... Will it djent ? Sorry Mr, Mansoor I had to ....





Can I ask Misha, why'd you chose another B6 over say a B2 or something? 

I've always loved the look of the B6 btw, DAT ASH.


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## Tyler (May 27, 2012)

....dat bridge

Never been a fan of Ash but the work looks superb as every Blackmachine does


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## Solodini (May 27, 2012)

Fun111 said:


> Can I ask Misha, why'd you chose another B6 over say a B2 or something?
> 
> I've always loved the look of the B6 btw, DAT ASH.



Haha seems I missed that.


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## bulb (May 27, 2012)

Dendroaspis said:


> Contact me if you want that repaired Misha.



Really? It can be fixed?
We are playing in Sweden later this year, not in Norway sadly (which is a bummer because we had a blast when we played there with DT)
I know you handle Meshuggah's guitars and i have seen how meticulous your work is, so i trust that you must know some secret as to how it can be fixed haha.


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## bulb (May 27, 2012)

Fun111 said:


> Can I ask Misha, why'd you chose another B6 over say a B2 or something?
> 
> I've always loved the look of the B6 btw, DAT ASH.



Haha nice!

For a few reasons: A B6 takes a fraction of the time that a B2 takes to make, hell i have been waiting on my B7 for years now haha.
Also this one was actually just to replace my old one that didn't have a hannes, and i loved the crap out of that. 
See to me the B2 is like the most perfect balanced rich sounding guitar, it just has everything.
But a B2 is mids, low mid purr and high mid attack and it is really cool in it's own way and really sounds like nothing else, so it's nice to have both. To add to that, i will actually use the B6 live.


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## GenghisCoyne (May 27, 2012)

Steam and sand the back perhaps?


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## The Buttmonkey (May 27, 2012)

Man that really sucks and makes me hate the TSA more than I did, but you've gotta admit, it's not super bad, and it does give it some character.

But I totally understand wanting it to stay pristine, heck I would too! I thought I heard that Doug came out of retirement (from commission work?) to build this guitar. If that's the case you aughta remind the TSA just how special this thing is.


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## JamesM (May 27, 2012)

theo said:


> Why is one neck screw mismatched?



It's a tone screw.


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## Ocara-Jacob (May 27, 2012)

The TSA has officially committed a crime. Against guitars. That is... just terrible. I can't really go into a lengthy rant the way I usually do because both of the damaged guitars are so beautiful. Aaaaanyways. HNGD! I've actually never played a Blackmachine, but the things I've heard are all good.


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## Nag (May 27, 2012)

it's always funny how a guitar with "nothing on it" looks nice 

HNGD


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## bulb (May 27, 2012)

Nagash said:


> it's always funny how a guitar with "nothing on it" looks nice
> 
> HNGD



Sometimes less is truly more haha


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## AngstRiddenDreams (May 27, 2012)

http://soundcloud.com/user8576358/bulb-b6-test-tonehttp://soundcloud.com/user8576358/bulb

I tried to figure out the riff, and tone. Pod Hd500, Schecter Hellraiser with Emg's. . .

I think it needs a bit more gain and mids to sound more similar.


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## USMarine75 (May 27, 2012)

Alright fine... well... I'll still buy it from you... but I expect a discount because of the dents... I'm not paying extra for a Blackmachine Roadworn series 

I might be down your way for work in a couple months... there's a large 5-sided building I might be transferring to... if I do and I come across the Regional Director of DC TSA I'll reprimand him for you.


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## toiletstand (May 27, 2012)

spencers vocals would sound amazing over that huge melody line


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## zero_end (May 27, 2012)

> The guitar did take me a bit of getting used to because the neck profile is a little bit thicker than usual


And what type of profile is that neck, C, D, U?


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## Rook (May 27, 2012)

bulb said:


> Haha nice!
> 
> For a few reasons: A B6 takes a fraction of the time that a B2 takes to make, hell i have been waiting on my B7 for years now haha.
> Also this one was actually just to replace my old one that didn't have a hannes, and i loved the crap out of that.
> ...



Ah the using on the road thing makes sense, my swamp ash Warwick has had the utter nuts kicked out of it and it still looks perfectly clean from any distance at all, on close inspection it looks like its been dropped down the stairs but it kinda blends in enough that it doesn't matter 

'replace [your] old one', is it gone? I thought that level of Blackmachine motion would have attracted some attention on the forum haha.

How does the sound acoustically compare to the strandberg? I always pictured the strandberg bridge as producing a really nice, loud acoustic sound. I dunno about yours but my Regius Gothic is a nice benchmark for acoustic loudness, it's nearly as loud as my JPX (was, sold) and that was chambered.

Gotta love them hardtails.


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## FrancescoFiligoi (May 27, 2012)

On a side note, the neck fillets are not ebony but dyed black maple instead (I thought they were ebony until some time ago as well).


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## bulb (May 28, 2012)

FrancescoFiligoi said:


> On a side note, the neck fillets are not ebony but dyed black maple instead (I thought they were ebony until some time ago as well).



Ah very cool, i didn't know that, i just assumed ebony like my B2, so ill fix that now!


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## gunch (May 28, 2012)

> One sad thing to note, on the way back from the Dream Theater tour (actually on a domestic flight) the TSA decided to check my Scott Dixon case (which holds 3 guitars) and didn't secure the guitars back, so the hardware from 2 of the guitars dented the hell out of the back of this guitar and my Daemoness which fucking sucks. You can see the damage on the back of the guitar in the pics. Annoying, but at least the guitar is not hindered in any way by it.


I would have went on a hatchet killing spree


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## Pikka Bird (May 28, 2012)

^Me too... Or at least keyed all their cars. Do they not offer some sort of compensation for something like this? Because if you kicked some of their car doors you'd be definitely not be let off the hook, even though the damages are 100% comparable.


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## bulb (May 28, 2012)

Fun111 said:


> 'replace [your] old one', is it gone? I thought that level of Blackmachine motion would have attracted some attention on the forum haha.
> 
> How does the sound acoustically compare to the strandberg? I always pictured the strandberg bridge as producing a really nice, loud acoustic sound. I dunno about yours but my Regius Gothic is a nice benchmark for acoustic loudness, it's nearly as loud as my JPX (was, sold) and that was chambered.
> 
> Gotta love them hardtails.



Haha thats because i didn't tell anyone on the forum or anywhere else for that matter, it's not exactly hard to sell a blackmachine haha!

This guitar is one of the loudest non-chambered/hollow guitars i have ever played, the strandberg is as well for that matter, i haven't compared them side to side (the b6 is at the practice spot now) but they are both extremely resonant which is why i think they both sound so big!


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## Compton (May 29, 2012)

Beautiful guitar! That bridge is awesome


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## JoeyBTL (May 29, 2012)

The hugeness you're talking about is mostly chords and rhythm stuff right? How are the leads on it?


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## wakjob (May 29, 2012)

Just sitting here staring at the pics. Can't really add anything that hasn't already been said. That Doug dude can build a mean guitar, and where in the hell does he find those cuts of lumber?

Anyway, congratulations Misha...you deserve it.


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## joaocunha (May 29, 2012)

Those are not dents. Those are djents.

Battle scars!


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## MaxStatic (May 30, 2012)

Nice axe Misha.

Rant hijack:
I fucking hate the TSA. Forced to work with them a few times professionally, most moronic bunch of fucktards I've ever had the displeasure of being in the same room with.

When traveling personally I've had several issues. One time they wanted me to remove the metal folding leg bar on my Steinburg Synapse travel guitar because it "looked like a bladed object under xray." When I showed them it was not a "bladed object" but a functional and intergral part of the guitar and could not be removed without damage the dumb slag staired at me with the "Brondo has what plants need" face. 

Another time I got nailed by the bomb sniffing machine....cordite residue all over my bag apparently....I was in uniform and had my bag at the range the day prior. Had to talk to a supervisor to get out of the rubber glove inspection. They wanted to keep my belt too but I told them to F off, its my damnt belt, it holds my pants up. Keep in mind I was traveling on mil orders and in uniform. Now its not the hassel I fault them for, its the complete lack of anything resembling congnitive function.

Fuck 'em in the goatass.

Ohh yea, again, nice guitar man.


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## Malkav (May 30, 2012)

I seriously think you should seek compensation - Airlines should be held accountable for their negligence, and they shouldn't have been fucking around with your guitar cases when they obviously didn't understand enough to close them up and secure them correctly.

If they won't recompensate you for the damages done to your instruments simply write a song about it and do a youtube video like this guy: 
United Breaks Guitars - YouTube

He got 2 free taylors afterwards because of how much exposure Taylor got for this, and the airline practically begged him to take the song down after it went viral, win win situation and a bit of a kick in the pants to a heartless neglegent corporation.


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## guy in latvia (May 30, 2012)

Damn, that BM is the bomb! Congrats Misha.

I would never have guessed that the guitar in the clip is ash, especially with a CS bridge pickup, which should essentially be a pure treble combo. Its got so much body to the sound, just sick!


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## Rook (May 30, 2012)

bulb said:


> Haha thats because i didn't tell anyone on the forum or anywhere else for that matter, it's not exactly hard to sell a blackmachine haha!
> 
> This guitar is one of the loudest non-chambered/hollow guitars i have ever played, the strandberg is as well for that matter, i haven't compared them side to side (the b6 is at the practice spot now) but they are both extremely resonant which is why i think they both sound so big!





I don't know if you've seen 'In Time' (the really average film with Justin Timberlake) but I kinda imagine it being like that. 'We've just had a huge amount of Blackmachine change zone!' with the red flashy lights and lots of concerned faces.

If you haven't seen the film none of that makes any sense 

Interesting to know about the resonance thing. My strandberg GAS has just increased slightly too haha. Thanks for your thoughts dude


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## Najka (May 30, 2012)

That would drive me insane!


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## thatguy5557123 (May 31, 2012)

Misha I have lost track of all the bands guitars (yes I am a guitar stalker) any chance we will get an extensive tour of gear between touring on the new album?


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## KiD Cudi (Jun 2, 2012)

Daaaaaamn I gotta get a summer job because I effing want one!
Btw how does the cold sweat sound in ash? I'm thinking of putting one in an alder guitar.


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## wizbit81 (Jun 4, 2012)

yup that's something I'd definitely like in my xmas stocking. I am disgusted at Misha's guitar collection now, and Nolly's too. Absolutely sickening display of guitar pr0n. More disturbingly is that I keep putting off getting a house to buy things like this :'(
Then again, a house can't Djent.


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## engage757 (Jun 6, 2012)

zero_end said:


> And what type of profile is that neck, C, D, U?




It doesn't matter. Neither you or I or anyone else will ever touch one.


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