New EVH models

[MikeStrat]

That big ass EVH logo on the headstock looks freakin stupid! Who designs this shit? Let's build a low cost guitar then make it look really cheap by putting a big cheesy logo on the headstock. Great idea!!

[toejam]

That big ass EVH logo on the headstock looks freakin stupid! Who designs this shit? Let's build a low cost guitar then make it look really cheap by putting a big cheesy logo on the headstock. Great idea!!

Probably to differentiate from the USA models.

[surfreak]

I like the truss rod adjustment wheel at the neck joint. All in all, for what they are, these Mex stripes are a far better value than the Charvel EVH art series.

[Trypp Powell]

Could make a good platform for modding, particularly if purchased used.

[LouSiffer]

Every bASSWOOD guitar I have had was a POS. Strap pins kept pulling out. It was like having a foam body for a guitar.-Lou

[Rupe]

Every bASSWOOD guitar I have had was a POS. Strap pins kept pulling out. It was like having a foam body for a guitar.-Lou

What kinds of basswood guitars have you had? I'm just curious in that as a former dealer, I've never even seen it with Ibanez who was one of the biggest users of basswood...not one ever came back with strap pins pulled out. What I did see was the occasional trem post pushed forward though.
I'm guessing they weren't Charvel, Anderson, Suhr, or other high end builder who uses the stuff.

[ginsambo]

Every bASSWOOD guitar I have had was a POS. Strap pins kept pulling out. It was like having a foam body for a guitar.-Lou

I think the quality of the 'Basswood' varies greatly, just as the weight of swamp ash does. Tonally I don't think it's too bad and many high end guitars are still made of it.

But, you are right, my old Jackson Stealth LT had rocking trem posts and fall out strap button screws. The trem posts were so bad that they doubled in size and chipped the paint badly. That particular piece of wood was like Balsa and probably selected to be extra light because that was after all the selling point of a Japanese Stealth back in the day. But then again, all my model series guitars seem just fine with no rocking trem posts or button probs and they sound great.

So I can only conclude that there are different levels of basswood, although at heart, I agree with you and never deliberately set out to buy one new or get a refinish done on a basswood body. Hell the term Basswood probably covers a bunch of different tree species anyway. Just as mahogany or rosewood does these days. Won't help you in knowing what you are getting though.

Assuming Basswood is Tilia americana or lime, over here the native large leaved lime trees and small leaved limes grow pretty slowly and are pretty hard, but who knows what other species like T Carolina and T. americana and other world species etc are like, or especially how they grow in hotter climates around the world. It's like the asian 'Mahogany' Toona sinensis. It's not really mahogany is it. So until theose trem posts start rocking, you don't really know what you have.

Now, if they were made in the EU, you could pretty much trace the plant passport of the guitar wood back to the specific tree and location to where it was originally grown. Unfortunately however. These models are made in China....

Lime wood, is unfortunately most valued it has decent tone and unfortunately moreover because it's softness means less wear on machining bits and easy workability. This is just modern day reality of production. No one gives two shits about the customer at the end of the day. It's all about economics.

Give me a custom made solid bookmatched quilt maple body that destroyed three cnc machine bits in it's production and took an extra two days to sand anyday!

Even poplar would be harder than basswood and yet most people think Poplar...shocking!

Also in my mind, Alder is the starting benchmark, it is generally harder than poplar and basswood, although some poplar can be as hard. I don't know if this thought is valid or not, but I look at Basswood and Poplar at one level above plywood.

But Suhr and others use basswood with maple caps on some very expensive high end guitars...so who knows. I have my personal gut feeling but I also have had mixed experiences with it.

At the end of the day CNC bits are expensive and changing them takes man hours. I think that, for all the marketing bullshit, that is basically the crux of the matter in black and white.

Great innit?

[Rich#6]

these are made in mexico not china

[pro-fusion]

Eddie's original one (the white one) was a mutt with an old Fender body, wasn't it? I strongly doubt it was basswood.

As for basswood, it's well known that the holes for the trem studs and strap pins are prone to stripping over time because the wood is so soft. That's why Ibanez put locking studs on its guitars for many years, to keep the studs from moving and slowly warping the holes.

Tonally, basswood on its own gives a very "expressive" sound, but not a very deep one or with much 'snap' to it. Great for legato leads, not so great for rhythm. Suhr, Anderson, etc. use basswood, but they put a 1/4" maple top over it to provide some definition to the sound. That's a great combination. These EVH strats don't have that, though the high-end regular EVH models do. The low-end Chinsese ones only have a veneer over the basswood, which is completely pointless.

[The Rossness]

Eddie's original one (the white one) was a mutt with an old Fender body, wasn't it? I strongly doubt it was basswood.

As for basswood, it's well known that the holes for the trem studs and strap pins are prone to stripping over time because the wood is so soft. That's why Ibanez put locking studs on its guitars for many years, to keep the studs from moving and slowly warping the holes.

Tonally, basswood on its own gives a very "expressive" sound, but not a very deep one or with much 'snap' to it. Great for legato leads, not so great for rhythm. Suhr, Anderson, etc. use basswood, but they put a 1/4" maple top over it to provide some definition to the sound. That's a great combination. These EVH strats don't have that, though the high-end regular EVH models do. The low-end Chinsese ones only have a veneer over the basswood, which is completely pointless.

Ed's original guitar, was made of ash. Boogie Bodies made the body and Wayne Charvel made the neck. I've been told that the replica fender made is a total piece of crap. His tone is in his fingers, not his guitar. He could play every guitar every person on JCF hates and make it sound like Van Halen. JCF'ers could use all his equipment and sound like crap.

[j2379]

i just know every basswood stratish guitar i owned sounded kind of thin, very strong in the upper mids and highs. most of my super strats are alder no complaints, i have a few made of "tone woods" that i like too but basswood just havent bonded with. i think the JEMS were/are basswood, back in the day i loved my friends floral JEM playing wise but thought it sounded like thin and tinny

[~K~]

There is no more Japanese factory...

I may be mistaken but isn't this the old Jpanese factory?

http://www.fgnguitars.com/

[lepard]

I may be mistaken but isn't this the old Jpanese factory?

http://www.fgnguitars.com/

Nope, why would you think that ???

http://www.fgnguitars.com/history.html

[Devotee]

Fujigen is known for building Ibanez guitars.