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My new Moser Custom Shop guitar

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  • My new Moser Custom Shop guitar

    Long story, but I wound up changing/cancelling my custom order MCS guitar and decided to take this guitar. It was in stock and ready to ship, and was also at NAMM 2007.

    It's a Moser 10 with the following specs:

    Two piece laminated Maple neck, Ebony finger board with pearl diamond inlays, Pau Ferro head plate, Grover Super Rotomatics with the Imperial head, Ebony stringers, solid "black Limba" wings, TonePros bridge, DiMarzio Super II bridge, DiMarzio PAF neck, chrome bezels, full MCS custom electronics, Qparts knobs.

    I gotta admit, I would have never ordered a guitar with these specs. I'm not a fan of natural finishes, I really like DiMarzio Super Distorion pickups, and black hardware. I've always wanted a Bich guitar (Neal designed the Bich but his are called Moser 10 or Moser 6 depending on the amount of strings) and figured, why not, I'll take a chance.

    The guitar isn't light, I'm going to guess it's probably 8 pounds or so. The neck is thick; I've grown to like thick necks because thin necks make my hand hurt. It's got medium frets; I prefer jumbo. The finish is flawless and so is the overall build. The action is super low with very little buzz; it's very consistent all over the neck. The fingerboard is very thick and the inlays are super tight. I can't see any filler around them. This is a very resonant guitar; it sounds great unplugged. The bridge feels very soild and doesn't dig into my hand like a BCR Quad bridge can sometimes do. The pictures really don't do it any justice; it's super glossy and so much more "alive" in person.

    I've had people ask what's up with the 10 strings and all the knobs. It's just like a 12 string, but the 2 lowest strings don't have strings next to them. The D and G extra strings are tuned at octaves, and the B and E extra strings are tuned in unision. It's very easy to play but not easy to bend. The extra strings can be removed; the string spacing on the main 6 strings is just like that on any 1 11/16 nut guitar. When I play thru my amp with a lot of gain, the extra strings don't add mudd or fuss; everything is just a little thicker and almost chorus-y.

    As far as the electronics go, here's a diagram:


    I played thru my clean channel, fired up both boosters, and got a super saturated sound. It actually wasn't very noisy at all. Tone wise, it wasn't what I'd normally use, but it wasn't bad. When I play through the gain channels and play with the boosters, they seem to add a lot of sustain for leads and don't muddy my lead tones. The varitone is pretty cool. You get 6 distinct mid sounds; some are wah-like, some are deep and bubbly. It's not a wah replacement but it's pretty damn cool.

    The Super 2 pickup in the bridge is brighter and crisper than my Super D's. The mids sound scooped in comparison, but without a Super D reference, they don't sound mid scooped at all. I think pick harmonics are a little more noticeable with the Super D; however, I haven't been able to crank my amp with this guitar yet. Also, my arm is still healing, so I can't give it a workout like I normally would.

    I'm currently pretty damn happy with this guitar. It just feels flawless and sounds great. Every detail is perfect. The fact that it was handcrafted is a plus. I'm not a Les Paul or Strat guy. I like unique shapes and I don't go searching for a guitar to give me a certain tone. I know how my amp sounds, I know the pickups I like. This guitar plays and sounds a certain way, which I like.

    Would I recommend MCS guitars? If you want top notch quality, and pretty much every things spec'd to your liking, then yes. You will have a long wait time and a hefty price tag. You will get a truly one of a kind instrument with incredible attention to detail.

    What would I chage if I had custom ordered it? I'd put a Super D in the bridge, maybe a PAF Pro in the neck. I'd probably go for solid flamed or quilted maple body wings, a stained finish (probably black cherry or blood red with black underneath) and all black hardware.

    Here's some pics that Neal shot when it was built. I haven't had a chance to take any pics myself:


    Here's a closeup of the body:


  • #2
    Congrats! I bet that is a fantastic guitar. Are you finding that you use all the electronics options much? I think I would hit that switch right next to the bridge pickup a lot.
    I want REAL change. I want dead bodies littering the capitol.

    - Newc

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    • #3
      One of the few tasteful guitars they make IMHO, and that one is gorgeous.
      Sleep!!, That's where I'm a viking!!

      http://www.myspace.com/grindhouseadtheband

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      • #4
        Damn, that's sweet! Congrats.
        I feel my soul go cold... only the dead are smiling.

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        • #5
          Killer!

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          • #6
            Beautiful....but I'd get lost with all those knobs!
            Strat God Music
            http://www.esnips.com/web/Strat-God-Music/?flush=1

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            • #7
              Its a nice looking guitar. What type of music do you play with that kind of string arrangement. It seems more of a novelty guitar rather than a practical guitar to me. It sure is nice though. I always liked the old Bich guitar ever since Joe Perry and Randy Jackson played them.

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              • #8
                I haven't used the electronics much. I'm not convinced I have a need for the boosters all the time since I play metal thru a Framus Cobra. But for a little added sustain, the boosters are cool.

                I used to play with a wah a lot and leave it in a 1/2 way setting, much like Michael Schenker; I really like that tone. The varitone is great for that. As far as the phase and coil splitters, I don't think I'd use them for dirty playing but for clean sounds they add a new dimension.

                The switch next to the pickup doesn't interfere with my playing at all.

                I've always loved the sound of a 12 string and for clean playing the extra strings sound awesome. For dirty playing, they don't make a lot of difference. I can always take them off and not worry about them.

                I'm a firm believer in that you can pretty much play any music on any guitar. Mine just happens to have a few extra bells and whistles. I have 9 other guitars so I don't need to worry about it too much. In terms of cost, the 10 string version isn't much more than the 6 string version (maybe $100 more???).

                And BC Rich couldn't make a guitar that plays this well nowadays

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                • #9
                  Absolutely gorgeous!!!

                  Congrats!!!

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                  • #10
                    Gorgeous is Right!!!!
                    I would prefer a 6 srting version of this for myself, but I've always been a fan of that body style!
                    Congrats!
                    If this is our perdition, will you walk with me?

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                    • #11
                      Beautiful guitar,the only thing I would change is the cheap looking knobs,sling some silvertops on there and it will be perfect in my eyes
                      http://www.bcrichplayers.com/

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                      • #12
                        Thanks everyone. I usually don't like the QParts knobs, but in person they really do look nice. The whole black and chrome motif works out very well. I've been looking at the last batch of MCS guitars thinking, there goes another oak entertainment center with smoked glass doors, there goes a burlwood clock, and getting sick of the whole natural look. But this thing really looks killer in person.

                        I played it tonight and A/B'd with my handmade Beast and KK Wartribe. The Super D in the Beast has more snarl and mids and it's definitely easier to get pinch harmonics to sing. The KK has EMGs which have a completely different character...super clear but still angry. The Super 2 has the most high end and while I wouldn't say it's tinny, it has a tight bottom end but the mids just aren't there enough for me. I'm wondering if I remove the 4 extra strings....that might take away some of the tinniness as well.

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                        • #13
                          FUCKIN A.....thats awesome. honestly the booster is most useful in boosting when your using the varitone. otherwise i never used the preamps. & DAMN thats pretty....makes me miss my 10

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                          • #14
                            Yeah, I did notice a slight drop when using the varitone. I'll have to experiment witht the boosters some more. Thanks for the tip! Neal also said to use Booster 1 like an amp's gain control and booster 2 like the master volume.

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                            • #15
                              Congrats man! Cool review too. Can't wait for #2 to arrive.
                              The only solution to GAS is DEATH...

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