# NGD: Mayones Regius 7 Gothic



## Aymara (Feb 14, 2016)

Hi,

it was a long journey to find the perfect 7-string for my taste.

The idea came up for two reasons, getting "heavier" than Drop D and combining guitar with an oud. The later is a fretless Arabian lute tuned CFAdgc, so getting a 7-string was obvious (after already having a 5-string bass) and it had to be as versatile as possible and with superb clean tones. Furthermore it should be great for recording.

First I was thinking about the Schecter Hybrid, which I bought as a 6-string last fall, but having two of them seemed strange, though I really like it's sound. So I looked for alternatives.

A few weeks ago I saw, that the shop, where I bought my fretless bass some years ago, became a Mayones dealer last year, so some weeks ago I had a chance to test a Duvell 7 Elite against a Regius 7 Gothic and it ended up with mixed feelings. I found the sharper horns of the Duvell and the poplar top prettier, but the Regius felt much more comfortable due to the neck-through design with rounded edges on the back.

But both seemed optimized for standard B tuning and the B string felt very sloppy in Drop A. Other than that the playability and craftsmanship was top notch. But I was sceptic, if the standard 25,4" scale length would be the right choice for Drop A, which I would often use for heavier stuff.

Last Friday I decided to try the Regius again and I was totally astonished, that this time the experience was much better ... it suddenly felt perfect in Drop A. I became curious and talked to the shop guy, who told me, that the stock SIT strings became dull pretty fast and he exchanged them to D'Addarrio XL in .10-.59 a few days ago ... that explained a lot.

I also asked, when the new Regius Core will be available, which I found stunning from the NAMM photos, but he said, that he wouldn't know and would need to contact Mayones. But he also told me, that new orders currently need a delivery time of a minimum of three months, which I found confirmed by visiting the web site of Music Store in Cologne (Germany's largest Mayones dealer), where all Mayones except one Master Build for 4400&#8364; are sold out and some models won't be in stock again before June 

It seems Mayones currently have a hard time keeping up with the raising demand.

So the final question came up: Will I be patient enough to wait some months?

Yesterday I found the answer: NO 

Testing the swamp ash Regius Gothic with Seymour Duncan Blackouts clearly showed, that it's sound was exactly, what I was searching for so I asked myself, if I should buy the Monolith Black version from the shop or order it in red instead. I came to the conclusion, that though the red one looks stunning at first sight, it's aggressive look might annoy me in the long run.

One final "word" ... this is the first high end guitar I was interested to buy, that was perfect in every respect: craftsmanship, playability, sound and setup. And it's my first guitar, where didn't feel a need to oil the fretboard at once 

Sorry, better photos need to wait due to very bad weather and lighting conditions, so I only attached a bad snapshot to show the wood grain of the top, which looks as if it grew out of the neck.

But other than that it nearly looks identical to the photos on Mayones' website:







Image source: Mayones Regius 7 Gothic - dark side of soul guitar with black gothic ash top

Thanks for your patience to read this long story 

PS: Don't miss the sound demo by Ben Randall in post #8.


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## Captastic (Feb 14, 2016)

Super Gothic sexy!


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## High Plains Drifter (Feb 14, 2016)

I like the grain better on yours than the one in the stock photo. Gorgeous. 

I'll probably never own or even play a Mayones and that's just heart-breaking. 

HNGD.


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## Aymara (Feb 14, 2016)

Thanks guys.



High Plains Drifter said:


> I'll probably never own or even play a Mayones ...



Who knows, maybe you'll find a good price on a used one some day? But the Setius is also nice and in Germany it's around 1700&#8364; ... worth sparing longer compared to a Schecter for example.

Hey, you US guys should make holidays in Germany or Poland and buy a Mayones in Europe  I guess the price difference might pay the holidays.

PS: Joking aside ... I know that guitars in this price range will stay a dream for many people, especially the "young guns" ... I myself had to wait nearly 40 years, until I was able to make a teeny dream of mine come true.


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## Chokey Chicken (Feb 14, 2016)

Boo. I wanna read OP, but my break at work is over. Here's to hoping I remember to pop back in this thread. 

Fwiw, the axe looks super nice. (What mayo doesn't?) Hope it treats you well!


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## Aymara (Feb 14, 2016)

Chokey Chicken said:


> Hope it treats you well!



Thanks ... plays like butter as we say in Germany  ... and sounds stunning. The Blackouts are perfect for this wood choice.


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## Chokey Chicken (Feb 14, 2016)

Yeah, there's definitely something to be said about the back of a mayones, these in particular. The neck transition just looks beautiful, and the rounded edges look cozy.


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## Aymara (Feb 15, 2016)

Chokey Chicken said:


> The neck transition just looks beautiful, and the rounded edges look cozy.



That's the reason, why I finally decided for the Regius ... I was first interested in a Duvell, which I find looks awesome with it's sharp horns.

But the neck transition is so much smoother compared to a bolt-on neck and the round edges give the Regius a superb ergonomics in sitting position, which I mainly use as a bedroom producer.

The last reason for my choice over the Duvell is just cosmetics ... the binding looks so beautiful, when you play it ... there is a thin black line below the white binding. This gives the Regius a more worthy feel over the Duvell.

But the main reason for my choice was it's sound and playability, though the later was also great on the Duvell, but the Regius has more sustain too. So far I always found swamp ash sounding too bright, but with the Blackouts it's perfectly balanced sounding. It's worth mentioning, that I was a Les Paul player for decades, so I got used to that warm sound, until I got a Gretsch 

Compare for youself ... I noticed it the first time, when I compared these two videos ... concentrate on the clean tone in the beginning:

Seymour Duncan Blackouts (Regius 6 Gothic):



Seymour Duncan Jazz & Jeff Beck (Standard Regius 7):



It's hard to compare pickups by videos, but I think these two are quite good and he used the same amp, so ... for my taste the Blackouts sound smoother. But you need to hear it for real, especially because the Hughes & Kettner has very bright clean tones ... on my Blackstar it sounds much better for my taste.


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## Aymara (Feb 15, 2016)

Mmh, when I see the following Facebook post by Mayones ...

https://www.facebook.com/Mayones.Gu....1455549344./1075172549169776/?type=3&theater

... and look at that hand selected ash top, it seems I was really lucky with the top of my Gothic.


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## jephjacques (Feb 15, 2016)

Aymara said:


> Hey, you US guys should make holidays in Germany or Poland and buy a Mayones in Europe  I guess the price difference might pay the holidays.



I did this in January (bought a Mayo in Paris) and it was TOTALLY WORTH IT 

And congrats on the Regius, you made a wise choice


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## Aymara (Feb 15, 2016)

Thanks!



jephjacques said:


> ... it was TOTALLY WORTH IT



I guess both, the Mayo and Paris


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## VVolverin3 (Feb 15, 2016)

I used to wonder why and how guitars (like Mayones) could be worth several thousand dollars.

Then I actually got a chance to play one in a shop, and the price seemed pretty well justified. An ash bodied Regius like that, with Blackouts - still probably the best guitar I've ever played, or heard.


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## Aymara (Feb 16, 2016)

VVolverin3 said:


> I used to wonder why and how guitars (like Mayones) could be worth several thousand dollars.



You are right, it becomes obvious, when you hold one in your hand, because it's not pure craftsmanship, but more an art. For example there's a thin black line under the binding and the outer stripes of the neck consist of three layers of different color.

Furthermore Mayones is a family business and it's a huge difference, if you build handmade guitars in Europe or machine made in China.

Not to forget the costs of such beautiful woods and other high end material. The concept of Deamoness guitars clearly shows that, where you pay a fixed price for the craftsmanship and all materials including wood cost extra depending on your personal choice.

It's also worth mentioning, that Mayones uses a Plek machine to achieve a perfect fret work. It doesn't matter which model you play, they all have a perfect setup with lowest possible action.

I myself am more astonished, how it is possible to sell an asian made guitar in Europe for less than 300&#8364; 



VVolverin3 said:


> still probably the best guitar I've ever played, or heard.



Mayones is the only manufacturer I know, that exclusively sells high end instruments with consistent quality without being a pure custom shop.


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## Sang-Drax (Feb 16, 2016)

I'm a sucker for ouds. Still dream of owning one (well, and also learning how to play it). 

And congratz for your lovely guitar as well


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## Aymara (Feb 16, 2016)

Sang-Drax said:


> I'm a sucker for ouds. Still dream of owning one ...



Then you should become a member of the international oud forum:

Mike's Oud Forums - Powered by XMB

A very nice place with people from all around the world, players and luthiers. It's nearly impossible to buy an oud in Germany, so I became to know a guy from Amsterdam in that forum, who's best friend is an oud luthier from Morocco. He used several summer holidays to learn it from him.

So yeah ... Mike's oud forum is a must for any oud enthusiast.



> well, and also learning how to play it



There is a learning DVD available ... ask for it in the forum. I guess you will have a hard time finding a personal teacher  But for guitarists it's not too hard to learn once you got used to fretless, which was a matter of one or two weeks in my case. And it made so much fun, that I bought a fretless bass one year later.

If someone would have told me that, when I played in my first band as a teeny, I would have called him mad 



> And congratz for your lovely guitar as well



Thanks, and if you have further question regarding the oud, just send me a PM ... I guess it's too off-topic here.

And if all else fails and you can't find an oud, you could buy as a guy from Brazil, the Godin Multi-Oud might be an alternative:



PS: I guess now many will ask themselves, why a Germany guy is interested in ouds ... or what an oud might sound like ... we'll this might help to understand:


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## VVolverin3 (Feb 16, 2016)

Aymara said:


> Mayones is the only manufacturer I know, that exclusively sells high end instruments with consistent quality without being a pure custom shop.



All good points.

The only other one I could think of would be Suhr maybe? Having never played one myself, but my external impression of them is they also make consistently high quality guitars.


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## Aymara (Feb 17, 2016)

VVolverin3 said:


> The only other one I could think of would be Suhr maybe?



Might be, yes ... I only know them from photos. All other manufacturer seem to have gone two way, e.g. Gretsch having the pro line series like the Falcon and the Electromatic entry level series on the other hand.


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## Aymara (Feb 17, 2016)

Aymara said:


> But the Setius is also nice and in Germany it's around 1700&#8364; ...



Correction ... the shop where I bought the Regius has the Setius 6 listed for 1450&#8364; 

Oh, btw ... I saw a user review about the Setius beginning with ...



> _The biggest statement this guitar makes is when you play it - *if you're crap, you'll play good*. If you're good, you'll play amazing._


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## mphsc (Feb 17, 2016)

Congrats, sounds killer. I just grabbed a semi-hollow Regius and it's fantastic.


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## Aymara (Feb 17, 2016)

mphsc said:


> Congrats, sounds killer.



Thanks, yes, I enjoy it very much ... especially these heavenly clean tones.



> I just grabbed a semi-hollow Regius and it's fantastic.



Congrats, but you know, that we don't believe, what we don't see? 

Btw, I'm thinking of replacing the knobs against those Q-Parts knobs, Mayones uses in the custom shop:






I think in black chrome they will look more _gothic_ as those LP like plastic knobs.

Or these with crosses, though I think I prefer the above:


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## Johnny the Kid (Feb 18, 2016)

Wow! That top is gorgeous! What kind of binding is that? 

Love the new knobs, too. I love speed knobs on something like a Les Paul, but I don't think they fit very well on that guitar.


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## Aymara (Feb 18, 2016)

Johnny the Kid said:


> Wow! That top is gorgeous!



Thanks, yes, I love it too ... like the roots of a tree coming out of the neck.



> What kind of binding is that?



Acrylic Pearl ... here's a photo from Mayones' website:







The outer edge of the binding is snow white with a thin black line below ... I need to make a closeup photo ... it looks stunning. I also need to make a headstock photo, because mine has a similar nice grain as the top. It's not as "flat" as in above photo.

I think, I was pretty lucky with my Regius regarding the wood grain.



> Love the new knobs, too.



Yes, but they are black chrome and I guess pure black would look nicer and match the bridge.

This one, called Acrylic Black Pearl, looks tempting ...






... and should match to the binding nicely, but I would need to order from Q-Parts in the US directly, because no shop in Europe has them with this top.

But maybe I should just decide on wooden knobs in ebony. I found these in a German shop too:


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## Johnny the Kid (Feb 18, 2016)

Definitely those ebony ones.


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## Aymara (Feb 18, 2016)

Ok, here are the promised better photos.


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## Aymara (Feb 18, 2016)

Johnny the Kid said:


> Definitely those ebony ones.



They are definitely the most neutral and quite classy.


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## mphsc (Feb 18, 2016)

Aymara said:


> Congrats, but you know, that we don't believe, what we don't see?



Don't want to stink up your thread with a pic, I'll post a NGD if I get time. Those knobs though, all good choices.


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## Aymara (Feb 18, 2016)

mphsc said:


> I'll post a NGD if I get time.



Nice.



> Those knobs though, all good choices.



I already got sceptic about this wooden knob. It seems, it's not ebony, but just black lacquer.


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