# NGD RAN crusher 8 custom 30"



## Speedos (Mar 6, 2015)

YES! 1 year and 4 months! That's how long it's been since i made the first deposit for this guitar , and today it finally arrived! 
First things first - Specs: 
scale : 30 inch
body : american walnut
neck : 5P ovangkol
frets : Stainless steel Jescar
body finish : hand rubbed oil
construction type : RAN AANJ bolt on( i believe it stands for all access neck joint) with neck through body style heel
fingerboard : macassar ebony
blue luminlay side dots
locking tuners : schaller m6 locking
bridge : hipshot 8
pickups : BKP Warpig ceramic set
1 volume 1 tone controls with 3 way toggle
if you are interested about sizes at 12th fret and so on, ask and i shall tell


Impressions:
Before i will begin , i'd like to say that before this guitar i've never had a proper set up , therefore my experience with other various guitars is almost none , so my feelings about this one might be too over-joyous. I had a cheap starter pack electric guitar with a bent neck, grounding problems and screwed up pickups...so yeah...
I am also a mediocre player at best , so don't expect me to tell you how it shreds at 9000 bpm 

Guitar arrived today after 5 days of traveling around countries. It came packed up excellently, with more than enough bubble wraps to satisfy even the worst OCD and paranoid man. I ordered it with a flight case just so that i could be sure nothing happens...it came intact! 

This guitar looks amazing ..i might say it even looks better than Dariusz's photos in reality . I asked them to set it up for E-A-D-G-C-F-A-D , so the action and such is great. 

Then again , i have no good reference to compare this to other than my other crappy guitar where i could fit my pinky under the strings because the action was so high. Strings are EB 10-13-17-26-36-46-59-74, i would've liked to go for an 80 but the locking tuners can only be drilled to fit a 74 , so if i want to go for more i'll have to unwind the string. The tension in the strings seems fine, the 8th string seems like it could need a bit more tension to be perfect, but the way it is now is more than satisfactory. A bit of fret buzz as well, but that was to be expected . 

The finish on the neck is fantastic . Holy crap, the neck is so damn smooth i could think that i'm stroking a rainbow. Nothing gets stuck over there . Very fast neck, with a great accordingly fast fretboard as well. 

The 30" scale might take a bit to adjust to, but i did play a bass for a while so i expect to get used to it in a week or so ( i'm mainly coming from a 25.5" 6 string ). First impressions of the 30" scale is that it is a bit awkward and you might not at all be able to shred like andy james on it when it comes to leads unless you have huge hands, but i for one love this scale ...as everybody says , it's about preference. 

The acoustics of the walnut are out of this world ! I can feel the guitar vibrate in my stomach and whole body(of the guitar).If i put it on the bed and pluck the string, LITERALLY the whole bed vibrates! Each time you play a string the guitar vibrates from bridge to headstock ..i knew this wood would be nice , but it really exceeded my expectations . Great sustain! 

The warpigs are freakin nice! They are dark and compliment the bright sounding walnut and the mahogany-tone-like ovangkol. At first i wanted the aftermaths, but i don't know what i was thinking back then...if i kept them in the specs it might have sounded like a banjo...thankfully , i realized the guitar would be too bright, so i changed to warpigs . 
The cleans are great for what i want, this being mostly ambient and post rock... when it comes to the metal tone, this ran crushes! 

The sound is BIG! i mean holy crap BIG . If i wanted to play some deathcore i could make the most obliterating breakdowns out there ... i expect them to fit perfectly doom , stoner , and jazz. Very versatile tone, and if you have a versatile amp as well, your tone choices are infinite . + the natural harmonics are everywhere..you can have beautiful harmonics even acoustically !

The neck joint... damn! I've never seen such a good bolt on neck join in my entire life...i took some photos of it, hopefully you will see what i'm trying to say . Perks of a neckthru body with bolts right here. That heel should turn you on!

When it comes to durability, this guitar seems solid . I only took it out of the box and played it in my room, but it seems really stiff and nice. 

The co-operation with RAN was good, Dariusz was a very nice and cool dude and in the nearly 100 mails we have exchanged on the course of 1 year and 4 months, he answered all my amateur questions and was very friendly. The only thing that was a bit of a bummer was the lack of photos of the building process. I did ask about getting some photos taken and he said he will take some asap, but it seems he never got around to it . I know they have been busy since , from what i've heard, they moved their "headquarters" , but still, some photos would have been nice . I did try to let this fact go because Dariusz was a helpful dude. 

Overall impressions : amazing craftsmanship . Even if i am a noob when it comes to guitars, i can clearly distinguish between a mediocre guitar and a great one . This one is fantastic!

Here come the photos : First the ones Dariusz took , then mine

































BUBBLE WRAAAPS :













LOOK AT DAT HEEL!





I don't have any recording interfaces and software , so i'll try to figure something out so that you can hear this beast...at least on the clean channel . 

If you have any questions, go ahead and ask!


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## Webmaestro (Mar 6, 2015)

Very nice, happy NGD. I've always loved the look of the RAN Crushers and would love to order one myself.

I think you made the right choice with the Warpigs. I love Aftermaths for rhythm, but they're too icepick-y for leads (to me, anyway). I could never get them EQ'd to my liking for leads, so I put mine in a guitar that's only used for rhythm.

I can't imagine how good this guitar must feel to you if you've never experienced a decent setup. And I'd be willing to bet it could still be tweaked a bit to be even better, but don't worry about that if it's feeling good to you now. It's just an FYI: No matter how well it was set up at the factory, guitars always get a little out-of-whack during shipping.

I love that headstock style--exactly the one I would've ordered too.

That looks like a road case in the photos. Is it heavy?

Excited for you man. Congrats!


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## Ajaydizzle (Mar 6, 2015)

Looks amazing! I'd really like to hear it in action


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## JLesher6505 (Mar 6, 2015)

And my love for Ran grows even more <3 HNGD!


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## Noxon (Mar 6, 2015)

Holy shit! So simple, yet brutal! HNGD!


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## Speedos (Mar 6, 2015)

Ty all ! The wood is a bit more dark than the pictures above, in reality it looks even more appetizing ...i'm working on a short clean channel demo for the pickups with my crappy skype mic , i'll try to upload it as fast as possible when i'm done . 
Don't get your hopes up for anything complex because as i've said, my skills aren't here yet  .
I'll update when i'm done 

I'll try to save some money for an audio interface, maybe a scarlett 2i2 and a proper mic..until then , i'll try to manage


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## BigHandy (Mar 6, 2015)

Really nice guitar! Total Cost?


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## Speedos (Mar 6, 2015)

BigHandy said:


> Really nice guitar! Total Cost?


sorry m8, will not say. If you are curios about pricings though, email ran at ranguitars.ranguitars.com


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## Lorcan Ward (Mar 6, 2015)

Happy NGD!!!



Speedos said:


> The finish on the neck is fantastic . Holy crap, the neck is so damn smooth i could think that i'm stroking a rainbow. Nothing gets stuck over there . Very fast neck, with a great accordingly fast fretboard as well.
> 
> The neck joint... damn! I've never seen such a good bolt on neck join in my entire life



RAN are very consistent with their super tight neck joints and their oil finish is ridiculously smooth.


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## GenghisCoyne (Mar 6, 2015)

you just went from stroller to ducati...


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## Speedos (Mar 6, 2015)

With absolute shit logitech skypemic, that's from where the all unwanted noise comes from . In reality , this guitar sounds more than 10 times better than this . Once i get a new audio interface , i'll try to make some time to post a proper audio clip . Here it is with my shitty playing(and mixing) skills. i tried to make it as neutral and raw as possible : pre gain , lows, mids , highs at noon, post gain at 3 o'clock ; no other effects have been blended except a bit of reverb and delay . The amp is a peavey vypyr tube 60
[SC]https://soundcloud.com/proxxey/1-1[/SC]
[SC]https://soundcloud.com/proxxey/2-1[/SC]


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## Thorerges (Mar 6, 2015)

Firs of all, HNGD - it is a very beautiful guitar. 

Previously, I did not know why RAN aren't more popular. But I am also curious as to why everyone gets the same finish. It seems that RAN, like Mayones/Skerv - get prohibitively expensive as you modify them, but if you go for the stripped version, its a fairly affordable high end. Also might be the design, I really dig the shape and everything, but I guess aesthetically - it looks like a metal guitar period.


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## Speedos (Mar 6, 2015)

Thorerges said:


> But I am also curious as to why everyone gets the same finish. It seems that RAN, like Mayones/Skerv - get prohibitively expensive as you modify them


Indeed , once you go out of the basic specs , the price goes up, but it is really worth it! I for one went for this finish because i just love natural wood guitars ..it makes them look delicious .. i won't turn down a painted guitar, but i don't really dig them (daemoness is an exception)


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## RV350ALSCYTHE (Mar 6, 2015)

BigHandy said:


> Really nice guitar! Total Cost?



Mine came out to just Under $3500CDN after all shipping and import fees.
Mine took 14Months. (Crusher FF8 with a couple wood "upgrades").



Thorerges said:


> I am also curious as to why everyone gets the same finish.



I went with the "stock" oil finish because I recently tried Tung Oil and I was impressed with the natural look and feel compared to a thicker gloss or satin finish. I find it makes the guitar stand out/pop when it's beside another finish type. The finish is beautiful and lets the grain come out, it feels very natural almost like unfinished materials. It's also the cheapest option, which is a plus.
Sometimes a gloss can make a guitar look cheap IMO, whereas an oil finish is very Artisan looking 

I'm making a guess here as I didn't inquire, but I'd assume the upcharge for a full gloss coating would be anywhere above 200EU.

I think it would be a major pain trying to coat the neck and neck joint pocket and still end up with the smooth flawless AANJ neck-through style heel.



Thorerges said:


> Previously, I did not know why RAN aren't more popular.



Ran needs a few Shills for that to happen


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## Speedos (Mar 6, 2015)

Webmaestro said:


> That looks like a road case in the photos. Is it heavy?



around 5.6 kg


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## teddy_baca (Mar 6, 2015)

Damn, looks like that thing was packaged for war!

Beautiful guitar, congrats!


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## seek (Mar 6, 2015)

GLORIOUS! My own experience was pretty much exactly yours - went from only having played low-end production guitars to a fanned-fret Ran Crusher 8. Little could surpass that feeling. Feeling it in your hands for the first time.. oh man.

I have a 30" build the works with Ran at the moment as well, expected completion in May. Awesome to see your thread here as a precursor to it's arrival


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## Speedos (Mar 6, 2015)

seek said:


> GLORIOUS!
> 
> I have a 30" build the works with Ran at the moment as well, expected completion in May. Awesome to see your thread here as a precursor to it's arrival


i'll keep looking out for your NGD ...yep, after more than a year , holding this guitar in my hands was a dream come true


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## Greenbrettiscool (Mar 6, 2015)

Damn dude, I've always wanted a Ran and this doesn't help my lust, congrats man this thing is just brutal and super classy at the same time. HNGD!


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## M3CHK1LLA (Mar 7, 2015)

amazing axe...congrats!


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## BigHandy (Mar 7, 2015)

RV350ALSCYTHE said:


> Mine came out to just Under $3500CDN after all shipping and import fees.
> Mine took 14Months. (Crusher FF8 with a couple wood "upgrades").



Just as I expected, the Halo Guitar's custom calculator gave me around the same price, but maybe they work a bit faster... Looks like it will remain a desire for me for a while and stick to mass production ERGs...

Edit: I wasn't the Halo rather the Skervesen calculator, sry...


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## Speedos (Mar 7, 2015)

you can't imagine how it was waiting for this guitar for more than a year...i couldn't even sleep on thursday night knowing that friday it will arrive. I felt 6 again around Christmas, waking up tirless more than 20 times a night to go check under tree and see if santa came. This guitar remembered me of that lost excitement ..damn


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## Nlelith (Mar 7, 2015)

Looks absolutely beautiful, that neck heel... HNGD!


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## Schectersilence (Mar 7, 2015)

That's beautiful and that neck pocket is one of the tightest over ever seen! I was really close to going with Ran for my custom, as they were happy to make a Crusher FF9. I know I'd have been really happy if I had, but I wanted to go to meet the luthier and I wanted it to be "local" (UK).

Unrelated, do Ran use CNC only? You can change so much, I imagine it'd be quite awkward on a CNC, so I presumed they use a combination of hand and CNC. Am I totally wrong?


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## chopeth (Mar 7, 2015)

Speedos said:


> around 5.6 kg



What? isn't that too much even for a walnut/ovankgol 30'' eight stringer? all of my guitars are around 3.5 kg

Btw, congrats on that awesome piece of instrument, I am also waiting for the last month to get mine


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## Speedos (Mar 7, 2015)

chopeth said:


> What? isn't that too much even for a walnut/ovankgol 30'' eight stringer? all of my guitars are around 3.5 kg
> 
> Btw, congrats on that awesome piece of instrument, I am also waiting for the last month to get mine


that is the flight case, the guitar itself is around 3.9-4kg



Schectersilence said:


> Unrelated, do Ran use CNC only? You can change so much, I imagine it'd be quite awkward on a CNC, so I presumed they use a combination of hand and CNC. Am I totally wrong?


Not sure about that m8, but if i'd have to guess it would be in combination, yeah


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## IChuckFinleyI (Mar 7, 2015)

I'm swollen with envy! HNGD!


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## dimitrio (Mar 9, 2015)

very nice, congrats! And +1 for oil finish


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## Peteus (Mar 14, 2015)

I find it odd that they don't bond in the supports in the case. I mean a £160 case and they can't be arsed to finish it properly! Hope it plays better than my FF8 does.


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## Humbuck (Mar 15, 2015)

delete


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## SilentCartographer (Mar 15, 2015)

boner jams 03


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## SilentCartographer (Mar 15, 2015)

Im a fan, and dat heel indeed!


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## Speedos (Mar 15, 2015)

Peteus said:


> I find it odd that they don't bond in the supports in the case. I mean a £160 case and they can't be arsed to finish it properly!



-Well , from another point of view, i guess i can use this case for more guitars since it has these parts of foam that i can move around . Mine came really snug and fit though, and it doesn't really bother me to adjust the foam if it is needed 
-The guitar plays fantastic... i wish i could try an ff8 as well, what don't you like about yours ?


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## Speedos (Mar 17, 2015)

another short riff on the clean channel, this time with a shure sm57 and a scarlett 2i2 interface , recorded in audacity. Yet, i have no idea how to record. It seems that it still doesn't sound as authentic as it does in real life. I'm not sure how i can bring that awesome tone through the mic to the computer  . On the "metal" channel it's even worse...in real life the walls crumble , inside the computer it is soulless and muddy
[SC]https://soundcloud.com/proxxey/ran-crusher-custom-30-with-shure-sm57[/SC]
[SC]https://soundcloud.com/proxxey/ran-crusher-8-custom-30-with-shure-sm57-clean-channel[/SC]


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## Speedos (Apr 12, 2015)

made a small instrumental, i managed to capture a nicer tone this time with the shure 
one is the instrumental with a small solo, the other is without. Hopefully my mixing isn't as bad as i think ( nor my playing ).

some feedback on these ones would be nice (how the mixing is, how the tone is , etc.) 

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/proxxey/ran-crusher-8-30?in=proxxey/sets/ran-crusher-8-30-instrumental[/SC]
[SC]https://soundcloud.com/proxxey/ran-crusher-8-30-instrumental?in=proxxey/sets/ran-crusher-8-30-instrumental[/SC]


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## SilentCartographer (Apr 12, 2015)

beauty


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## Nlelith (Apr 13, 2015)

^Can't say anything bad about mixing or playing. There's not much to mix anyway, though, so it's not really a best example to judge your mixing skills. As for the music, I really like it, especially with the solo.


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## Speedos (Jun 16, 2015)

another more recent short post rock improv
[SC]https://soundcloud.com/proxxey/warpigs-instrumental[/SC]


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## MAJ Meadows SF (Jun 20, 2015)

That guitar looks massive. Wow. Beautiful stuff, and I dig the tones you are getting in the clips. I think she's a winner!


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## jeremyb (Jun 20, 2015)

Beautiful guitar man, congrats!!


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## Speedos (Sep 27, 2015)

got some short distortion tone soundclips..still need to work on the presets more 
2 is tighter, neutral is fatter
tuning E-A-D-G-C-F-A-D 
[sc]https://soundcloud.com/proxxey/2-2?in=proxxey/sets/warpigs-tone-test[/sc]
[sc]https://soundcloud.com/proxxey/neutral?in=proxxey/sets/warpigs-tone-test[/sc]


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## HexaneLake (Sep 28, 2015)

Dear lord man. That neck joint is serious. 

Hope you don't mind if I fap to this...?




..could I get your blessing?


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## Speedos (Sep 28, 2015)

wootsmitty said:


> Dear lord man. That neck joint is serious.
> 
> Hope you don't mind if I fap to this...?
> 
> ...


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## Clebby (Sep 29, 2015)

Speedos said:


>



I laughed pretty hard at that. 

Guitar looks absolutely gorgeous, enjoy your new axe!


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## Jarmake (Oct 9, 2015)

chopeth said:


> What? isn't that too much even for a walnut/ovankgol 30'' eight stringer? all of my guitars are around 3.5 kg
> 
> Btw, congrats on that awesome piece of instrument, I am also waiting for the last month to get mine



I believe they were talking about the case...


Op: congrats, it's a mighty fine looking instrument!


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## Ian King (Oct 16, 2015)

HNGD! I love Ran Crushers absolutely beautiful


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## Cold_Aeon (Oct 22, 2015)

Ran is amaizing as usual, but 12 - 24 month build time is really long for a custom built...


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## ikarus (Oct 22, 2015)

Cold_Aeon said:


> Ran is amaizing as usual, but 12 - 24 month build time is really long for a custom built...



 that is not a long time for a custom build.

with some builders you can be thankfull if you receive a guitar at all...


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## narad (Oct 22, 2015)

Cold_Aeon said:


> Ran is amaizing as usual, but 12 - 24 month build time is really long for a custom built...



That's like the minimum for anyone doing decent in-house open custom work and not like a Suhr style big-team with minimum ala carte options. I think I'm on like year 3 of my Oni 4-5 year build, and I waited 5 years for my Matsuda, 3.5 years for a Ken Lawrence. By all accounts, 12-24 is not a "really long" time.


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## Speedos (Jan 2, 2016)

just a short , not at all fancy, neck pickup doodling
[SC]https://soundcloud.com/proxxey/ran-crusher-neck[/SC]

also a short clean comparison between the bridge,middle and neck pickup
[SC]https://soundcloud.com/proxxey/1-revamped-bridge-middle-neck[/SC]


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## Cold_Aeon (Jan 20, 2016)

narad said:


> That's like the minimum for anyone doing decent in-house open custom work and not like a Suhr style big-team with minimum ala carte options. I think I'm on like year 3 of my Oni 4-5 year build, and I waited 5 years for my Matsuda, 3.5 years for a Ken Lawrence. By all accounts, 12-24 is not a "really long" time.


oh, 5 years its ridiculous (IMO). What they do for a 5 years? Growing the trees for each guitar?


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## narad (Jan 20, 2016)

Cold_Aeon said:


> oh, 5 years its ridiculous (IMO). What they do for a 5 years? Growing the trees for each guitar?



No, they take their time building a long queue of guitars. Both Dan @ Oni and Michi Matsuda were up front in that it would take roughly that long to deliver a guitar. I'm far more annoyed if someone quotes 12 months and takes 18, than if someone quotes 5 years and delivers in precisely that time. Or if someone delivers in 12 months a guitar that they quoted at 12 months, but would realistically take them 18 months to build _properly_.


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