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Since AMS was blowing out the Import Charvels, I thought I'd pick up a Cobalt Blue Model A. Here's a quick take on the guitar for those of you that may be interested:
The Good
When I took it out of the box, I was initially impressed with the fit and finish. The fretwork looked great, no sharp fret ends and they were highly polished. Thick Ebony board, and nice Mother of Pearl dots. Upon plugging it in to the Recto... Whoa! I had to turn my gain down from 12 o'clock to about 3 o'clock. Those Live Wires scream! Notes jump out of the guitar, harmonics like crazy! Great feeling neck, very similar to the 1987 Jackson bolt on that I used to own. After fooling with it for a bit, it was time to set it up (slight neck bow and high action, plus the trem was not balanced). That's were the soup turns sour...
The Bad
The truss rod adjustment access hole was off about a 1/16th of an inch, so I couldn't get the wrench in there all the way. I thought the truss rod cavity was cut in one pass, but I guess not in this case... The access hole on the headstock was drilled later. The locking not shelf was drilled unevenly, requiring a shim on the treble side. I know shims are common, but this one was 1/16th thick, small, and looked like it was added as an afterthought. Also, the screws that hold the nut on the guitar were drilled crooked, so the locking not does not sit flush against the fretboard end. You could get a credit card between the nut and the fretboard end on the bass side! This effects scale length causing the guitar to play slightly out of tune everywhere except open on the fifth and sixth strings. Very poor QC... unexuseable for a guitar that lists for $1100. Also, I can't get the action any lower than about 2mm at the 17th fret... All the frets from where the neck meets the body to the 24th fret are high from the G to Low E. The JT580 trem SUCKS! This is not my first experience with it and I knew what I was in for when I bought this guitar. It stays in tune all right, but it is uncomfortable on my picking hand and the bar tension adjustment is worthless after a week. It also feels cheap.
Over all, I'm very dissappointed. This guitar should be better for the price that they were originally going for. I've seen another in a store and it didn't have the neck problems I've mentioned. The neck profile is it's saving grace so I'm gonna keep it. I'm just gonna try and get a new neck for it under warranty, put an OFR on it (and rout the rear cavity if need be), and put different pickups in it. The Live Wires are too over the top for the music I play and it is TOTALLY impossible to get a clean sound with them.
The Good
When I took it out of the box, I was initially impressed with the fit and finish. The fretwork looked great, no sharp fret ends and they were highly polished. Thick Ebony board, and nice Mother of Pearl dots. Upon plugging it in to the Recto... Whoa! I had to turn my gain down from 12 o'clock to about 3 o'clock. Those Live Wires scream! Notes jump out of the guitar, harmonics like crazy! Great feeling neck, very similar to the 1987 Jackson bolt on that I used to own. After fooling with it for a bit, it was time to set it up (slight neck bow and high action, plus the trem was not balanced). That's were the soup turns sour...
The Bad
The truss rod adjustment access hole was off about a 1/16th of an inch, so I couldn't get the wrench in there all the way. I thought the truss rod cavity was cut in one pass, but I guess not in this case... The access hole on the headstock was drilled later. The locking not shelf was drilled unevenly, requiring a shim on the treble side. I know shims are common, but this one was 1/16th thick, small, and looked like it was added as an afterthought. Also, the screws that hold the nut on the guitar were drilled crooked, so the locking not does not sit flush against the fretboard end. You could get a credit card between the nut and the fretboard end on the bass side! This effects scale length causing the guitar to play slightly out of tune everywhere except open on the fifth and sixth strings. Very poor QC... unexuseable for a guitar that lists for $1100. Also, I can't get the action any lower than about 2mm at the 17th fret... All the frets from where the neck meets the body to the 24th fret are high from the G to Low E. The JT580 trem SUCKS! This is not my first experience with it and I knew what I was in for when I bought this guitar. It stays in tune all right, but it is uncomfortable on my picking hand and the bar tension adjustment is worthless after a week. It also feels cheap.
Over all, I'm very dissappointed. This guitar should be better for the price that they were originally going for. I've seen another in a store and it didn't have the neck problems I've mentioned. The neck profile is it's saving grace so I'm gonna keep it. I'm just gonna try and get a new neck for it under warranty, put an OFR on it (and rout the rear cavity if need be), and put different pickups in it. The Live Wires are too over the top for the music I play and it is TOTALLY impossible to get a clean sound with them.
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