Members voided3 Posted September 21, 2009 Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 As per a request of a TDPRI member, I will post my thread about my newly acquired PW sig: I've been on the hunt lately for a bright sounding extra slide guitar to compliment my loud and fat as heck slide Strat I built, but since all of my slide guitars have either been free or dirt cheap, I thought I'd limit myself to spending no more than $60 on my next. I had found a Teisco solid body, sans pickups, on Craigslist for $10, but I never got a reply from the seller, so I decided to keep looking locally in the area for something. I didn't realize this before, but First Act sells brand new solid body guitars for as cheap as $44 on their site! This intrigued me as the First Act headquarters/showroom is very close to where I live, so I took a walk down there today and came back with one of these brand new for $67.99, plus tax: http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y247/voided3/DSC00634.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y247/voided3/DSC00636.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y247/voided3/DSC00639.jpg I am honestly amazed with this guitar for how much it cost. The fretwork was nearly perfect (just needed polishing) and the neck was dead straight, all of the binding on the neck and body is cleanly done, the tuners are pretty smooth, and the string-through-body bridge has a super thick plate with the strings fed through a roughly 1/4" thick brass sustain block instead of ferrules on the back (seen here): I popped it open and the pickup, while mounted in a humbucker casing, is an alnico single coil (read about 5.3k) wired to a pair of 500k Alpha mini pots. The control cavity is painted with shielding paint and the back cover has a foil on it; it's very quiet. I popped the neck off, expecting a rough pocket like on my SX SST, but it was perfectly smooth with a tight fit to the neck; I tried jiggling the neck side to side while it was unbolted with no success. I don't have a scale to weigh it, but it can't weigh more than 6 or 6.5lbs so it's definitely light. I have it setup with a .013-.056 set of D'Addarios, tuned to open G or D, with very high action (my preference for slide; jacked up the saddles and pickup). It sounds great and with a minor truss rod adjustment, the neck is still straight, even with .013's on it! It's like a cross between a LP Junior and an Esquire with it's 25.5" scale and single pickup w/ volume + tone. The only thing I replaced on it was the output jack with a better one I had since the original was a plastic stereo jack that looked a little sketch, but it was easy enough to swap. It also has an ergonomically shaped neck heel like on the AM. Dlx. Fenders and a deep cutaway, which makes grabbing notes past the fretboard w/ a slide super easy. Overall, if you don't mind the plaid pickguard, you can snag yourself a nice guitar for the price of a guitar case. Here's a rough demo of it I recorded (amp details in video description): [YOUTUBE]i_xS1GEpuUw[/YOUTUBE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chqtarzan Posted September 21, 2009 Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 HNGD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted September 21, 2009 Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 Man that sounds sweet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frets99 Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Excellent playing! Can't beat that guitar at 3 xs the price!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vintage55 Posted September 21, 2009 Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 HNGD! Super playing too... Love the tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lowbrow Posted September 21, 2009 Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 Dang. Nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ccasey Posted September 21, 2009 Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 Wow. HNGD, and kudos for the great sound and playing as well. Duly impressed. Your post said something about amp being identified in video description, but I don't see it. I apologize if I'm being blind, but what are you playing through? Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members roygbiv Posted September 21, 2009 Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 Well, sheeyit. Not only was that some really really tasty slide playing, but Mr Westerberg hisself would most likely be tickled to have his sig guitar involved with it... sweet, dood. And "deal with the plaid" pickguard? Hell, that's the coolest part of the whole guitar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ganjaseed Posted September 21, 2009 Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 HNGD! Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members d_dave_c Posted September 21, 2009 Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 If you don't like the pickguard, you can get a 'Replacement.' get it? Nice playing - thanks for the vid and the review. HNGD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Citizen_Insane Posted September 21, 2009 Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 Your playing is fantastic, but to me it just sounds like a really cheap guitar....tone sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members diceman1000 Posted September 21, 2009 Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 Your playing is fantastic, but to me it just sounds like a really cheap guitar....tone sucks. it's a mental thing dude.it could sound exactly the same and say gibson on it and people would be like HOLY F#$K:eek::poke: Damon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Orange Jackson Posted September 21, 2009 Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 Your playing is fantastic, but to me it just sounds like a really cheap guitar....tone sucks. Man, I totally disagree. Sounds great. I got a first Act Lola for $100 months back, everytime I pick it up I am impressed with what a nice guitar it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brian Krashpad Posted September 21, 2009 Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 Congrats! (o)(o) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Woody_in_MN Posted September 21, 2009 Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 It's plaid-a-licous. hngd. - w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members maltomario Posted September 21, 2009 Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 it's a mental thing dude.it could sound exactly the same and say gibson on it and people would be like HOLY F#$K:eek: :poke: Damon no, people here pretty much say that gibsons suck/overpriced no matter what, so your argument is weak. this forum has a very heavy bias towards inexpensive guitars. to the OP, happy new guitar day! enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members voided3 Posted September 21, 2009 Author Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 To those who asked, I was playing through a Fender Pro Junior w/ a Ragin Cajun speaker w/ the volume at 4 and a Boss OD-3 to get the overdrive since I can't play loud in my apartment. It was mic'd with a Shure Beta 57A. As per the comment on the tone, it is a low output single coil wired to 500k pots, so it's a naturally bright sound and I'm playing through a small amp, but in the video I had the tone control rolled down to about 3 or 4 on the dial and the glass slide mutes the highs a little more still. If I could have turned the amp up more, it would have had way more bass to it, but I didn't have the option, so I rolled the tone down to focus it more on the mids. I haven't tried the guitar through anything that's more than 15 watts yet. As per the pickguard, while unorthodox, it's part of what makes the guitar what it is, so I'm not going to swap it and it has grown on me aesthetically. Plus it's easier to leave it alone, isn't it? It'll probably get strap locks, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamdogg Posted September 21, 2009 Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 no, people here pretty much say that gibsons suck/overpriced no matter what, so your argument is weak. this forum has a very heavy bias towards inexpensive guitars. to the OP, happy new guitar day! enjoy! ya think? Brave of you to call a spade a spade. HNGD! I had the FA VE591 which played/sounded surprisingly well for a cheap guitar. Did you have the chance to try that bamboo double-cut they have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members THEE HAMMER Posted September 21, 2009 Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 great deal, hngd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brandass Posted September 21, 2009 Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 Sounds great! Enjoyed your playing, and the tone as well. The pickguard... whatever, your axe not mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members senor-penguin Posted September 21, 2009 Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 That's sick!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted September 21, 2009 Members Share Posted September 21, 2009 Your playing is fantastic, but to me it just sounds like a really cheap guitar....tone sucks.I'm hoping you aren't talking about the tone in the vid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members roygbiv Posted September 22, 2009 Members Share Posted September 22, 2009 I'm hoping you aren't talking about the tone in the vid. yah, seriously. i was when i read that. well, i guess opinions are like assholes. but that's a head scratcher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted September 22, 2009 Members Share Posted September 22, 2009 For those who own one, is there a swimming pool under the pickguard or just a route for the bridge pickup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members foppy Posted September 22, 2009 Members Share Posted September 22, 2009 Another vote for nice playing + a great tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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