Blogging Ottinger (tim)SX GG5 Custom Hollowbody
My guitar arrived today. It was packed in the original cardboard box by Jeff and Anne, and I had that box packed into a larger box with peanuts for shipping. I was tracking it via FedEx, and they did a very very nice job. The tracking job done by UPS on my Agile PS-900 wasn’t nearly as nice. It came in good shape, and all I needed to do was tune it up. I should also hit it with some polish on the metal (said Jeff) so that we can stave off corrosion. It really is quite attractive and a pleasure to play. I could barely put it down.
The picture is not from me. It’s a slightly gimp-ed photo I downloaded. Mine has no pickguard (a preference of my wife, who finds scratch guards unsightly). Otherwise, this is the same guitar.
This is special. It is not a tremendously expensive guitar, and if you know how to look you can get one for $USD200 or less, but this is the only guitar anyone other than my parents has given me outright. I didn’t know for sure how to react when Jeff told me I could just take it home with me. He’s an old friend from my CSC days, when I lived in Champaign/Urbana IL. We did a lot of programming together in C and C++. There has been a lot of change since then, but I’m still a little jealous of his guitar-playing acumen. He’s actually pretty amazing now, and has taught himself to sing over the years. That puts him two up on me. I’m grateful for this.
The guitar plays very well. The pickups sound good. The 24.5″ scale neck is a little shorter than some of mine, but comfy. It definitely has an ES-335 kind of vibe. No F-holes like the GG5-STD. It doesn’t have quite the quality of pickups that the 335 has (duh) but it has a nice sound, and I like playing it. I sat around playing though a few chord progressions, finger-picking, and fiddling about. This guitar is going to be a pretty constant companion. It may not replace strat or breadwinner, but it will probably get more play at home. It’s a great addition. I don’t feel the immediate need to go out and upgrade anything about it. I won’t even need setup. It’s fine as-is.
I played it through my 9v battery amp and through a couple of Jeff’s nice combos when it was his, but have not yet played it through either my tube amp (Crate Vintage Club 50) nor through my solid state Vox 15R Pathfinder. I am looking forward to those experiences, but I left the amps at church.
I need to pick up some new strings, a hardshell case, a strap, a stand, and some straplocks. It’s my first hollowbody and I don’t want to see it crushed either while being hauled back and forth or by being dropped.
Now, when I have a with P90s and a hybrid I’ll be “done”. For small values of “done”, any way.
I played it on Sunday. It’s very nice. I don’t really know entirely what to do with it, but the guitar did its job. I played it straight through my amp, and used the settings to get overdrive via volume/gain.
I really didn’t have my best day as a guitar player, but the guitar sounded very good when I did my job well (and of course, showed up my mistakes accurately). When picked with a bit of authority, it really sounded great. I love the neck pickup. I’m trying to warm to the bridge pickup, but I’m always a little iffy with bridge P/Us.
I’m glad to have this one. It’s a fine addition to the collection.
Comment by Tim — 2007-October-8 @ 05:54