So, I snagged this off Evil-bay 2 weeks ago, and it arrived yesterday. I`m not sure if the seller frequents this forum although I am sure i probably bid against fellow members here.
Little back story before I get onto the pics.
I`ve been after a KV1 for forever but always been outbid or someones backdoored it before auction end. The last one I saw on Evil-bay a month or two back got backdoored too Anyway, a little whilst ago I scored a CHEAP japanese KV2 and considered making my own KV1 bolt on clone. I messaged GMW and got a quote for the work, replacing the fretboard with ebony and sharkies, body fills and re-routes etc and was quoted ~$1200 minus the cost of a new kahler fixed bridge. I`m sure some of you are WTF`ing at my idea of spending that on a lowly KV2 but for me it was seriously worth considering to get the guitar I`d wanted. Pretty much growing up Mustaines KV, Freidmans Kelly and Spitz`s Turtles RR where the guitars I most wanted, they where making the music I most loved. Now I`ve always had one major issue with the KV1, those damn fugly tuners! For me they`re a real turn off and so not what I saw on record sleeves, magazines or at shows growing up so converting the KV2 had the advantage of not having them (I`d be loathe to change them). So I`m browsing Evil-bay and find this KV Pro Mustaine, and it has everything I was going to do to the KV2. This is a must have at any price! As it was it ran about the $1200 I would have looked to have spent on the KV2 minus the trem, so yup, I probably overpaid (£780) but it was worth it and tbh it feels lke a bargain.
Onto the guitar itself, for a 20 year old guitar its in pretty good shape, couple of dings to the horns where its been stood up without a stand as expected but not to the headstock (big win). Plenty of life in the frets, the fretwire seems kinda small, not sure they`re jumbos but they feel real comfy. The neck feels super thin and flat at the back, definately a different shape to my SL2H, I`d say it was more akin to my DK3 or PS3 in profile. When I saw the auction I was initially a little bothered by the colour, silver sparkle wouldnt have been my first choice if I`m honest, I always loved the Megadeth logo`d black KV but a refinish was a possibility and I wasnt about to let that put me off. Out of the box tho its not silver. The clearcoat has yellowed significantly, it now looks like a gold sparkle. Not a fan of gold in any shape or form, nor do i like `bling` but this looks stunning. I`m really loving the colour, its a very subtle gold and the flake size seems good. When you look at it it appears to have a texture like those fake plastic rocks you can buy, it looks 3d almost but is smooth, no texture at all. It`s in need of a good clean, theres ALOT of mojo on the fretboard from the previous owner and quite a bit of dust on it but nothing major, no rust or pitting.
Anyway so here they are.
mojo
The yellowing and golden colour is hard to capture in a photo, probably due to the lighting.
and finally with my SL2H
Overall, I LOVE it, it actually feels nicer than my SL2h and is pretty much perfect in every way. I`m one seriously happy bunny with this guitar and I know its gonna get a lot more play time than its yellow sibling, especially as I dont have to worry about dings and knocks
Sorry for anyone else that bid on that auction but I would have paid more if needs be, and if the seller is a member here a big shout out for a great service at auction end.
My next target is a white KE1 with kahler, hopefully one will turn up eventually
Little back story before I get onto the pics.
I`ve been after a KV1 for forever but always been outbid or someones backdoored it before auction end. The last one I saw on Evil-bay a month or two back got backdoored too Anyway, a little whilst ago I scored a CHEAP japanese KV2 and considered making my own KV1 bolt on clone. I messaged GMW and got a quote for the work, replacing the fretboard with ebony and sharkies, body fills and re-routes etc and was quoted ~$1200 minus the cost of a new kahler fixed bridge. I`m sure some of you are WTF`ing at my idea of spending that on a lowly KV2 but for me it was seriously worth considering to get the guitar I`d wanted. Pretty much growing up Mustaines KV, Freidmans Kelly and Spitz`s Turtles RR where the guitars I most wanted, they where making the music I most loved. Now I`ve always had one major issue with the KV1, those damn fugly tuners! For me they`re a real turn off and so not what I saw on record sleeves, magazines or at shows growing up so converting the KV2 had the advantage of not having them (I`d be loathe to change them). So I`m browsing Evil-bay and find this KV Pro Mustaine, and it has everything I was going to do to the KV2. This is a must have at any price! As it was it ran about the $1200 I would have looked to have spent on the KV2 minus the trem, so yup, I probably overpaid (£780) but it was worth it and tbh it feels lke a bargain.
Onto the guitar itself, for a 20 year old guitar its in pretty good shape, couple of dings to the horns where its been stood up without a stand as expected but not to the headstock (big win). Plenty of life in the frets, the fretwire seems kinda small, not sure they`re jumbos but they feel real comfy. The neck feels super thin and flat at the back, definately a different shape to my SL2H, I`d say it was more akin to my DK3 or PS3 in profile. When I saw the auction I was initially a little bothered by the colour, silver sparkle wouldnt have been my first choice if I`m honest, I always loved the Megadeth logo`d black KV but a refinish was a possibility and I wasnt about to let that put me off. Out of the box tho its not silver. The clearcoat has yellowed significantly, it now looks like a gold sparkle. Not a fan of gold in any shape or form, nor do i like `bling` but this looks stunning. I`m really loving the colour, its a very subtle gold and the flake size seems good. When you look at it it appears to have a texture like those fake plastic rocks you can buy, it looks 3d almost but is smooth, no texture at all. It`s in need of a good clean, theres ALOT of mojo on the fretboard from the previous owner and quite a bit of dust on it but nothing major, no rust or pitting.
Anyway so here they are.
mojo
The yellowing and golden colour is hard to capture in a photo, probably due to the lighting.
and finally with my SL2H
Overall, I LOVE it, it actually feels nicer than my SL2h and is pretty much perfect in every way. I`m one seriously happy bunny with this guitar and I know its gonna get a lot more play time than its yellow sibling, especially as I dont have to worry about dings and knocks
Sorry for anyone else that bid on that auction but I would have paid more if needs be, and if the seller is a member here a big shout out for a great service at auction end.
My next target is a white KE1 with kahler, hopefully one will turn up eventually
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