# Late NGD: Blackmachine B2



## pylyo (Jan 10, 2015)

I have this beast for some time now and just can't put it down.
I gotta admit all the hype about them, about B2, is kinda with the good reason. And all the things about them, coming from the folks that have them, are exactly like that. I did play a B2 really loooong ago, about 8-9 years ago but one with all the mahogany body and no top but I have hard time remembering it. All I remember that I dug it and how loud acoustically it was. It was love on the first sight/touch really. I also played b6 as well. 
But this is on another level. It is just so articulated, easy and effortless to play, the notes pops out piano-like straight forward but they are not harsh, on contrary they are so balanced, alive and full but very tight and the guitar feels so huge like it is something with massive body. And probably the most important part, it rings out like crazy. Really that juicy ring out, I'm always looking for and rarely find it. 

Anyway, I got it from the first owner, who actually has two of them (not any more obviously) and I'm on the verge to get another one too, so if that happens, I might let one go soon because unfortunately I can't keep both as it cost me an arm and a leg...

Few months ago it was at Dougs for a good setup and apparently he said it was a superior one from the pair and one of the better sounding in general.

Currently fitted with Bare Knuckle CS/HD but will put in a Rebel Yell brushed nickel covered set, to see how it sounds with them too. 
Sorry for shitty pics, I'm stuck with my shitty lens, the other photo gear is at my parents house atm, so will make some better pics next week.

Thanks for looking!


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## Dust_to_Dust (Jan 10, 2015)

Nice one!


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## 7 Strings of Hate (Jan 10, 2015)

Screw the black machine. But that parker!


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## Triple7 (Jan 10, 2015)

Congrats on the B2. Love the PRS as well!


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## Jlang (Jan 10, 2015)

That blue PRS. HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG.

Oh yeah, nice b2


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## ikarus (Jan 10, 2015)

HNGD!


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## HRC51 (Jan 10, 2015)

Congratulations

Yeah, love my B2. Blackmachine with the Rhodes is such an amazing tone!

If you are looking to unload one of your B2's, keep me in mind, please.


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## the.godfather (Jan 10, 2015)

Awesome! Nice setup too, I love my Kemper. 

That PRS still blows me away every time I see it.


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## pylyo (Jan 10, 2015)

HRC51 said:


> Congratulations
> 
> Yeah, love my B2. Blackmachine with the Rhodes...



Thanks all!
Rhodes is a great, tight, metal beast, with an amazing clarity... But it has a very specifing voicing and a really deep sound. Tbh I find it hard to play anything else on it than a downtuned metal stuff, which it kills.
For that it's probably one of the best out there if not the best but for most other stuff it lacks that singing midrange tone. I actually much prefer Friedman BE100.


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## MAJ Meadows SF (Jan 10, 2015)

Man cheer to your for being able to grab that, and possibly a second. I live the stealth look of those ebony topped BMs. Awesome stuff. Let us know how the RYs work in it, and HNGD!


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## blckrnblckt (Jan 10, 2015)

Looks really sexy!


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## TauSigmaNova (Jan 10, 2015)

Mm, beautiful guitar and nice Kemper+Rhodes. Loving that PRS like crazy too.


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## Steinmetzify (Jan 10, 2015)

Stealthmachine! Badass, dude. Good score and HNGD!


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## Hollowway (Jan 10, 2015)

Man, I don't know where the hell Ljubljana is, but I want to move there and do whatever you do for a living! That's a sweet collection of expensive gear you have there, my friend.


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## redlol (Jan 11, 2015)

Damn I'd have gotten a new cab before a new guitar cus your PRS and Parker are SICK! Congrats though, and play the hell out of it it looks great and has to sound insane thru that rhodes.


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## pylyo (Jan 11, 2015)

Haha, good eye. 
I do have a Bogner oversized 2x12 as well but it's in the other place.
This one is smaller and sounds just as good, maybe just a little bit tinier since it is smaller too. Loaded with V30.


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## Humbuck (Jan 11, 2015)

Amazing guitar...SO want. Sell it to me when you do!


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## AnP Hardcore (Jan 11, 2015)

HNGD!!!!


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## redlol (Jan 11, 2015)

pylyo said:


> Haha, good eye.
> I do have a Bogner oversized 2x12 as well but it's in the other place.
> This one is smaller and sounds just as good, maybe just a little bit tinier since it is smaller too. Loaded with V30.



yeah ive seen a lot of guys on here from europe with those harley benton cabs. would be nice to see a comparable budget v30 loaded cab in north america. 
unless there is and ive missed it..


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## DancingCloseToU (Jan 11, 2015)

pylyo said:


> Haha, good eye.
> I do have a Bogner oversized...



I read this all wrong... 

Your guitar/gear collection just gave me an oversized bo(g)ner...

Enjoy, HNGD!


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## Curt (Jan 11, 2015)

redlol said:


> yeah ive seen a lot of guys on here from europe with those harley benton cabs. would be nice to see a comparable budget v30 loaded cab in north america.
> unless there is and ive missed it..



Avatar? I mean, it's not _as_ cheap, but still very affordable.


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## Adamewf (Jan 11, 2015)

That B2 is lovely, but that PRS won't quit.


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## TheWarAgainstTime (Jan 12, 2015)

Congrats!


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## 693 (Jan 12, 2015)

How much do these go for now?


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## Negav (Jan 12, 2015)

693 said:


> How much do these go for now?



That is actually a great question that could be answered without giving away the actual amount. Now that the hype has died down, I would like to know a relative price for this.


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## pylyo (Jan 12, 2015)

Guys, why don't you ask Doug. 

Hype/prices are not down at all and probably will never be, at least not until he starts building them on a production scale or at least more often. Which is not gonna happen.
The prices are probably higher than ever before, so you got the idea.


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## narad (Jan 12, 2015)

Negav said:


> That is actually a great question that could be answered without giving away the actual amount. Now that the hype has died down, I would like to know a relative price for this.



They're sneaking under $10k now, though YMMV depending on the particular guitar and seller. The last one I saw even sat a little while at that price. B7s seem to go for a bit more. Doug's prices have caught up to the hype, and Doug still gets truly ridiculous offers from what I've heard, so if Doug wants to go to the highest bidder it's basically never going to be you.


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## the.godfather (Jan 12, 2015)

You can't argue with those Harley Benton cabs for the price. Those 2x12's are cheap as chips, I've been tempted to grab one myself actually.


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## pott (Jan 12, 2015)

It's also worth noting that even though the B6s sell for £2.3k new (built by Feline, 2 years wait list), they still sell for >$4k in the classified here i.e. $1k more than new.

No idea what a new, custom B2 costs though.


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## Lorcan Ward (Jan 12, 2015)

Blackmachines are going for more now than they ever were and people are still offering insane amounts of money for second hand ones. 

Doug is steadily working his way through his waitlist but I wouldn't even bother trying to get a hold of one of the POA builds.


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## pylyo (Jan 12, 2015)

narad said:


> They're sneaking under $10k now, though YMMV depending on the particular guitar and seller. The last one I saw even sat a little while at that price. B7s seem to go for a bit more. Doug's prices have caught up to the hype, and Doug still gets truly ridiculous offers from what I've heard, so if Doug wants to go to the highest bidder it's basically never going to be you.



Exactly. I wanted to write it down myself but I didn't want to start another rant about how silly it is and all... but I did reply to a few guys via PM.

I've been on a hunt for a while (years) and I've seen probably all of the last guitars that were sold.


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## narad (Jan 12, 2015)

pott said:


> It's also worth noting that even though the B6s sell for £2.3k new (built by Feline, 2 years wait list), they still sell for >$4k in the classified here i.e. $1k more than new.
> 
> No idea what a new, custom B2 costs though.



£2.3k = $3.5k. The last B6 I saw sell or listed was selling for no more than $4k, and before that no more than $3.7k. There's still an upcharge, but not really a significant one anymore. Definitely haven't seen one sell for $4.5k in a while. 

I mean, it's really easy to keep track of this stuff (or at least establish a upper bound), so I'd be surprised if anyone argues for hype. From my point of view blackmachine's totally jumped the shark. Probably because everyone got bored of waiting around and found other guitars to fill the same niche. The hype is still in place with Doug, but the people talking to Doug are not random forum guys, they're like reasonably well off collector guys in their mid 40s and beyond.


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## pott (Jan 12, 2015)

Ah my bad. All those I checked out were sold for $4.4k, hence the 1k over. 

The reason why Doug slowed down his production is health related (as per Feline's direct feedback). I think the price simply followed the supply/demand curve. It's silly. Brand new these guitars are very reasonably priced. The B6s are 'cheap' by EU custom standards though let's remember these are not custom guitars, just custom-built (no options). They are cheaper than a store-bought full-option JP6 for example.


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## asfeir (Jan 12, 2015)

HNGD! And like someone said before, if you're going to sell it some day you can shoot me a msg.
For what its worth My b6 cost me around 4k usd last summer but the exchange rate was different And you have to take into account shipping (200£ in my case) and customs (5%)
So the second hand prices are ok i guess for a Guitar in good condition


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## Overtone (Jan 12, 2015)

That B2 is amazing, but I nearly hurt myself when I saw that PRS. Unbelievable...


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## JerichoCheng (Jan 13, 2015)

youve own all the dream guitar! B2, PRS and other mayonessss sooo jellyyy
HNGD!!


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## Forkface (Jan 13, 2015)

7 Strings of Hate said:


> Screw the black machine. But that parker!



lel i came here to say this.

but for realz, HNGD. looks epic


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## absolutorigin (Jan 13, 2015)

Oh hell yea my man. Sick ass guitar right there. Digging the collection you got .


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## weirdoku (Jan 13, 2015)

Can I burrow it? Long term.


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## leonardo7 (Jan 13, 2015)

Lorcan Ward said:


> Blackmachines are going for more now than they ever were and people are still offering insane amounts of money for second hand ones.
> 
> Doug is steadily working his way through his waitlist but I wouldn't even bother trying to get a hold of one of the POA builds.



This is correct. They are selling for 15K-22K directly from Doug and second hand these days, and most guys are turning down offers of 20K. The last 5 or so Ive followed up on have gone in this range, with the exception of two B2's recently that were heavily used, one of which had some issues for not being taken care of properly and still went for 10K.


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## _MonSTeR_ (Jan 13, 2015)

leonardo7 said:


> This is correct. They are selling for 15K-22K directly from Doug and second hand these days, and most guys are turning down offers of 20K. The last 5 or so Ive followed up on have gone in this range, with the exception of two B2's recently that were heavily used, one of which had some issues for not being taken care of properly and still went for 10K.



If I'd known in 2003 what I know now! I'll always remember the first time I tried one of the early Blackmachines and thought 'meh, s'ok, but y u no have Edge trem?'


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## Alcoholocaust (Jan 13, 2015)

Killer rig right there! That Parker though......hnnnng


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## illimmigrant (Jan 13, 2015)

leonardo7 said:


> This is correct. They are selling for 15K-22K directly from Doug and second hand these days, and most guys are turning down offers of 20K. The last 5 or so Ive followed up on have gone in this range, with the exception of two B2's recently that were heavily used, one of which had some issues for not being taken care of properly and still went for 10K.



Just this week, with all the NAMM hype, I was wondering if Doug was still building. I haven't seen anything new come out from him in quite a while. When I first saw these they were going for 3-4k. Should have also bought one then haha.


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## Lorcan Ward (Jan 13, 2015)

Doug is still building. He completed 5+ B2s, a B7 and a FF8 last year.


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## StevenC (Jan 13, 2015)

Lorcan Ward said:


> Doug is still building. He completed 5+ B2s, a B7 and a FF8 last year.



And an FF8?!


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## Lorcan Ward (Jan 13, 2015)

StevenC said:


> And an FF8?!



The Spalt Maple one he was going to bring to Messe. Didn't you ask him about it?


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## hairychris (Jan 14, 2015)

Congrats to the OP! Nice & shiny.

I highly recommend a set of the Doug-designed ASL Blackbirds, they're A5 bridge and A4 neck and sound very organic.


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## Humbuck (Feb 5, 2015)

Pylyo, it doesn't look like your B2 has the arm bevel in the top...am I seeing that right?


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## Lorcan Ward (Feb 5, 2015)

Humbuck said:


> Pylyo, it doesn't look like your B2 has the arm bevel in the top...am I seeing that right?



Early ones didn't have one. A couple of people mentioned it to Doug and he started to implement it.


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## Humbuck (Feb 5, 2015)

Interesting...I have noticed that in some older pics. I guess I assumed this one was recently built?


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## Humbuck (Feb 5, 2015)

Here ya go...forward to 3:33.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtEbPHnEpTg


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## pylyo (Feb 5, 2015)

it's a year older than Nolly's quilt B2, I believe he started building those bevels just after that. 

Here's some new super quick pics, shot at random (obviously ). 
It's been a shitty weather period over here, hence the dark pictures...


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## Neilzord (Feb 5, 2015)

Looks like a lovely B2, As said before though That PRS and Parker are also delicious. 

Super HNGD.


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## asher (Feb 5, 2015)

What a pair.


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## Nik_Left_RG (Feb 5, 2015)

Now THATS A Rig To DIE FOR !!


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## guitaardvark (Feb 5, 2015)

You literally own my 3 dream guitars. 

So.
Jealous.
;_;


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## pylyo (Feb 6, 2015)

Tnx, it's fitted with BK Rebel Yell covered set, sounds sooooo good.


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## jahosy (Feb 6, 2015)

oh man... sorry to be off-topic but damn love those limed oak floor boards!  What finish is is that storage box btw? 

Now i understand why you sold all off all your Mayos. Nice collection you have there


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## pylyo (Feb 6, 2015)

Haha, I got no idea about the floor boards.
And the box is matte.


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## Eclipse (Feb 6, 2015)

Gorgeous guitars!!


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## pylyo (Feb 7, 2015)

jahosy said:


> Now i understand why you sold all off all your Mayos. Nice collection you have there



There always needs to be at least one Regius at home.
However, I have two of them atm.


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## Possessed (Feb 7, 2015)

pylyo said:


> There always needs to be at least one Regius at home.
> However, I have two of them atm.



Pics or you have no regius


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## Possessed (Feb 7, 2015)

BTW, the BM is unbelievable nice! I hope i can own a B6 in future


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## pylyo (Feb 8, 2015)




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## sherpa_man (Feb 10, 2015)

Possessed said:


> BTW, the BM is unbelievable nice! I hope i can own a B6 in future



i may have a doug built black machine for sale to help fund a b2


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## Eclipse (Feb 12, 2015)

Does anyone have any idea how long the wait list is for the B6? Is that something I can ask Feline?

I already posted a congrats in this thread before but I came back because this guitar is soooooo sexy.


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## pylyo (Feb 12, 2015)

Yes, you can ask Jon of Feline guitars. He's a nice guy and will reply quickly...
That's the only reliable source of info too I guess, since he produces them.


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