Review: Tokai TST-50-FS Modern

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The guitar maker Tokai is known worldwide for its high-quality versions of classic vintage guitars, and the instruments are loved and played by many.

But now there’s an interesting new model, devised by Tokai Guitars Nordic, called the Tokai TST-50-FS Modern (current price in Finland: 1,650 €; hard case included). This is an S-type guitar for the player who wants classic looks combined with modern features.

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Tokai’s brand-new TST-50-FS Modern is available in three different versions, which share the same basic build and features, but which differ in terms of finish and pickup choice.

The Modern is available in a traditional Three-Tone Sunburst

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… a beautiful Sienna Sunburst

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… and in a cool, dark Ebony Transparent.

The TST-50-FS’ body is made from two pieces of beautiful swamp ash, with a – near invisible – centre glue line.

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The new model makes it a jiffy to adjust the truss rod by moving the adjustment to the headstock side of the neck.

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The TST-50-FS Modern sports a high-quality set of Gotoh Magnum Lock locking machine heads, resulting in lightning-fast string changes and rock steady tuning stability.

The neck comes with a thin satin finish.

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We find a rosewood fretboard with a modern radius (9.5″), as well as 22 gleaming medium jumbo-sized frets (Dunlop 6105), making string bending much easier than on a vintage guitar.

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The bridge on the Tokai TST-50-FS Modern represents Gotoh’s view of the perfect updated Strat-style vibrato.

Gotoh’s 510T-SF bridge is a two-post affair made of steel. The height-adjustable posts can be locked inside the threaded ferrules to increase vibrational transfer into the body.

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In terms of its pickups, the Three-Tone Sunburst version is the most traditional of the new trio:

The neck and middle pickups are genuine single coils (Seymour Duncan SSL-1), while the bridge humbucker is Duncan’s vintage-voiced Model ’59 (SH-1B Zebra).

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The Sienna Sunburst-variant is completely noise-free thanks to its stacked-coil neck and middle pickups (Seymour Duncan STK-S4; aka Classic Stack Plus). The bridge unit is a hotter-than vintage, covered JB (SH-4).

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The hottest guitar in our trio is the TST-50-FS in Ebony Transparent, which comes with a pair of Hot Stack Plus pickups (STK-S7) and the sheer force of nature that is Seymour Duncan’s SH-14 Custom 5 humbucker.

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The Tokai TST-50-FS Modern is part of the brand’s Made-in-Japan Premium Series, and all three instruments are perfect examples of the excellent workmanship Tokai has to offer.

The new model comes with a rounded neck profile (Tokai call it ”Thin U”) that feels and plays like a dream. The modern fingerboard radius and excellent fretwork make string choking a thing of the past.

The vibrato feels very precise and stays in tune far better than any vintage-style vibrato bridge ever could.

The ash body, locking tuners and steel bridge give the TST-50-FS Modern a sparkling unplugged voice with a long and clear sustain.

Played with an amp the differences between the three versions become very clear:

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The Three-Tone Sunburst version gives you the tones you’d expect from a factory-modded vintage S-type.

Thanks to the vintage-style single coils – as well as the PAF-inspired bridge humbucker – you get a lot of clarity, dynamics and spank.

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I’d call the FS Modern’s Sienna Sunburst variant the ”LA Studio model”, which will deal with any musical situation by giving you a first-rate West Coast sound.

The stacked coil pickups are free from hum and buzz, and they give you a fine, slightly ”pre-compressed” sound that sits well in any mix. The JB-humbucker offers just the right amount of ”push” to complement the neck and middle pickups perfectly.

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If you look for an S-style electric that will take to high gain settings like the proverbial duck to water, you need look no further. The TST-50-FS Modern in Ebony Transparent simply loves gain and distortion, while still making a great figure when it comes to clean tones.

This is noise-free high gain heaven with a healthy dose of bottom end punch and a chunky mid-range.

The demo track features the trio in the following order: Sienna Sunburst –> Ebony Transparent –> Three-Tone Sunburst. Each guitar plays both the rhythm as well as the lead parts of its section:

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The new Tokai TST-50-FS Modern really made a big impression on me.

This is a fantastic alternative to the traditional, vintage-flavoured Tokai models. Both the playability and sounds this trio has to offer are top-notch, and I’m sure you will find your favourite modern S-type guitar from one of the three alternatives.

Tokai’s TST-50-FS Modern offers you custom shop quality at a very fair price.

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Tokai TST-50-FS Modern

1,650 € (hard case included)

Distributor: Musamaailma

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Pros:

+ value-for-money

+ workmanship

+ three different pickup configurations

+ playability

+ sound

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Testipenkissä: Tokai TST-50-FS Modern

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Kitaravalmistaja Tokai tunnetaan laadukkaista klassikkokitaroiden uusintapainoksista, ja soittimet ovat löytäneet tiensä monen vintage-fanin käsiin.

Tokai Guitars Nordicin kehittämä uutuusmalli Tokai TST-50-FS Modern (1.650 €, sis. kova laukku) on sen sijaan suunnattu kitaristeille, jotka haluavat tuttua Tokai-laatua nykyaikaisilla ominaisuuksilla.

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Tokai TST-50-FS Modern on saatavilla kolmessa eri versiossa, joiden rakenteelliset ominaisuudet ovat samat, mutta jotka eroavat toisistaan värityksen ja mikrofonien suhteen.

Kitaran värivaihtoehtoina on Three-Tone Sunburst

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… vaalea Sienna Sunburst

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… ja tumma Ebony Transparent.

Kaikissa versioissa runko on veistetty kuvankauniista suosaarnista. Rungot on koottu kahdesta saarnipalasta, joiden (käytännössä näkymätön) liimasauma kulkee siististi keskeltä runkoa.

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Kaularaudan säätäminen on TST-50-FS-mallissa todella helppoa, koska säätöruuvi on sijoitettu viritinlavan puolelle.

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Tässä mallissa on erittäin laadukkaat Gotoh Magnum Lock -lukkovirittimet – kieltenvaihto sujuu nopeasti ja vire pysyy.

Kaulassa on ohut mattapintainen viimeistely.

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Otelaudan radius on selvästi vintagea loivempi, ja ruusupuuhun on siististi asennettu 22 medium jumbo -kokoista nauhaa (Dunlop 6105), minkä ansiosta venytykset vaativat vähemmän voimaa.

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Tokai TST-50-FS Modernin talla on huippulaadukas, Gotohin valmistama modernisoitu versio Strato-vibratallasta.

Gotoh 510T-SF -talla on valmistettu teräksestä ja se on veitsenterälaakeroitu. Vibraton tapit lukitaan kierreholkkeihinsa, mikä parantaa tallan sustainia.

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Three-Tone Sunburst -version mikrofonitarjonta on tästä kolmikosta se perinteisin:

Kaula- ja keskimikki ovat aitoja yksikelaisia (Seymour Duncan SSL-1) ja talla-asemasta löytyy Duncanin ’59-humbucker (SH-1B Zebra).

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Sienna Sunburstin mikrofonivarustus on täysin hurinaton, sillä kaula- ja keskimikrofonit ovat kahdella päällekkäisellä kelalla varustettuja Seymour Duncan STK-S4 -mikrofoneja (Classic Stack Plus), kun taas tallahumbuckerina toimii vintagea kuumempi JB-malli (SH-4 JB).

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Malleista lähtöteholtaan kuumin on Ebony Transparent -versio, joka yhdistää tehokkaat Hot Stack Plus -mikrofonit (STK-S7) Seymour Duncan SH-14 Custom 5 -humbuckerin tarjoamaan täyslaidalliseen.

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Tokai TST-50-FS Modern kuuluu valmistajan japanilaiseen Premium-sarjaan, ja testissä käynyt kolmikko on – jälleen kerran – täydellinen esimerkki japanilaisesta, erinomaisesta soitinrakennusosaamisesta.

Uutuusmallin pyöreä, mutta suhteellisen ohut kaulaprofiili tuntuu erittäin nopealta, ja nykyaikainen nauhoitus ja otelautaradius luovat kevyen soittotuntuman.

Vibratalla toimii sulavasti ja erittäin tarkasti.

Saarnirungon, lukkovirittimien ja teräsvibran ansiosta TST-50-FS Modernin akustinen ääni on hyvin raikas ja pitkällä sustainilla höystetty.

Versioiden väliset erot tulevat esiin vahvistimen kautta soitettaessa:

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Three-Tone Sunburst -versio antaa soittajalle aimon annoksen kustomoidun vintage-kitaran hehkua.

Aitojen yksikelaisten mikkien, sekä PAF-tyylisen tallahumbuckerin ansiosta vahvistettu ääni on tuore ja erittäin dynaaminen. Pletraniskujen naksahteleva luonne tuo väkisinkin mieleen vintage-Straton.

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Kutsuisin 50-FS Modernin Sienna Sunburst -kitaraa LA Studio -malliksi, jolla hoituu sessio kuin sessio aidolla länsirannikon soundilla.

Stacked coil -mikrofonit eivät hurise, ja niillä on oikein mainio, hieman ”esikompressoitu” soundi, jonka saa mukavasti istutettua miksaukseen. JB-humbucker on sekä teholtaan että soundiltaan oiva valinta näiden ”yksikelaisten” rinnalle.

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Jos etsit S-tyylistä kitaraa, joka tarjoaa loistavia high gain -särösoundeja, mutta joka samalla kuulostaa myös mehevältä puhtaasti soitettuna, Ebony Transparent on sinulle oikea valinta.

Tämä kitara tarjoaa hurinatonta high gain -meinikiä tuhdilla alakerralla ja herkullisella keskialueella.

Demobiisissä testikitarat kuullaan järjestyksessä Sienna Sunburst –> Ebony Transparent –> Three-Tone Sunburst. Samalla kitaralla soitetaan aina sekä komppiosuudet että soolo:

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Minun mielestäni Tokai TST-50-FS Modern lunastaa lupauksensa täydellisesti ja avokätisesti.

Uutuusmalli on huippulaadukas, nykyaikainen vaihtoehto vintage-tyylisille Tokai-kitaroille. Soittotuntuma ja soundi ovat enemmän kuin kohdillaan, ja jokainen meistä löytää varmasti kolmesta vaihtoehdoista sen itselleen sopivan.

TST-50-FS Modern tarjoaa custom shop -tasoista laatua reiluun hintaan.

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Tokai TST-50-FS Modern

1.650 € (kova laukku kuuluu hintaan)

Maahantuoja: Musamaailma

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Plussat:

+ hinta-laatu-suhde

+ työnjälki

+ kolme mikrofonivaihtoehtoa

+ soitettavuus

+ soundi

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Now on Soundcloud: Tokai TST-50-FS Modern

Tokai TST-50-FS Modern

• Premium Series model

• Made in Japan

• Premium swamp ash body (two-piece, centre-joined)

• Rosewood fingerboard with 9.5″ radius

• 22 Dunlop 6105 frets

• Locking Gotoh tuners

• Two-post Gotoh vibrato

• Sienna Sunburst version: 2 x Seymour Duncan STK-S4 + TB-4

• Ebony Transparent version: 2 x STK-S7 + TB-14

• Three-Tone Sunburst version: 2 x SSL-1 + ’59

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The demo track has the three guitars in the order Sienna Sunburst –> Ebony Transparent –> Three-Tone Sunburst.

Tokai TST-50-FS – the Kitarablogi-video

Uusi Tokai TST-50-FS on tällä hetkellä saatavilla kolmella eri mikrofonivarustuksilla:

Three-Tone Sunburst -versiossa on kaksi yksikelaista SSL-1-mikrofonia, sekä Seymour Duncan ’59 -humbucker.

Sienna Sunburst -mallissa on kaksi SD Classic Stack Plus -mikrofonia (hurinattomia, stacked-coil mikrofonia), sekä JB-humbucker metallikuorella.

Ebony Transparent -kitarassa taas on kaksi Duncanin Vintage Hot Stack -mikrofonia (hurinattomia) ja tallamikrofonina toimii saman firman Custom 5 -humbucker.

Kitarablogin testi on tulossa lähiaikoina!

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The new Tokai TST-50-FS is currently available with three different pickup configurations:

• The Three-Tone Sunburst version has a pair of SSL-1 single-coils and a Seymour Duncan ’59 humbucker.

• The Sienna Sunburst model comes with two noiseless SD Classic Stack Plus pickups, as well as a covered JB model.

• The Ebony Transparent guitar sports two noiseless Duncan Vintage Hot Stacks and a Custom 5 in the bridge position.

Watch this space for a full review in the very near future!

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Testipenkissä: ESP LTD MM-30

ESP LTD MM-30 – body beauty 2

Helsinkiläinen soitinkauppa ja soitinlaitteiden maahantuoja Musamaailma täyttää tänä vuonna 30 vuotta. Juhlan kunniaksi Musamaailma on järjestänyt/järjestämässä mm. arvontoja ja ale-kampanjoita.

Musamaailma on yksi pitkä-aikaisimmista ESP- ja LTD-soittimien maahantuojista, joten se ei ole ihme, että ESP on rakentanut firman vuosipäivää varten erittäin rajoitetun erän (30 kitaraa) Musamaailma-juhlamallia.

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ESP LTD MM-30 – full front

LTD MM-30 (999 €) on nykyaikainen, kahdella soololovella varustettu lankkukitara.

Runko on veistetty lepästä, johon on liimattu kaareva loimuvaahterakansi.

ESP LTD MM-30 – full back

Vaahterakaula on liitetty runkoon ESP:n set-thru-liitoksella, jossa kaulapuu jatkuu rungon sisällä ihan tallan saakka.

ESP LTD MM-30 – neck joint

Paremman sustainin lisäksi set-thru-liitos mahdollistaa erittäin sulavan ylimenon kaulasta runkoon, koska perinteistä kaulakorkoa ei tarvita.

MM-30:ssä otekäsi saa lisää vauhtia kaulan mattapintaisen viimeistelyn ansiosta.

ESP LTD MM-30 – headstock

Viritinlavan etupuoleen on liimattu loimuvaahteraviilu, ja se on viimeistelty kauniilla liukuvärityksellä (see-through blood red sunburst).

LTD MM-30:n otelauta on sysimustaa eebenpuuta. Otelautaan on asennettu 24 jumbo-kokoista nauhaa, ja otelaudan radius on nykyaikaisen loiva (14 tuumaa/350 mm).

ESP LTD MM-30 – locking tuners

Laadukas linja jatkuu myös juhlamallin mustissa metalliosissa:

MM-30:ssä käytetään lukkovirittimiä…

ESP LTD MM-30 – body beauty 1

…sekä lukittavaa TonePros tune-o-matic-tallaa. Kielet pujotetaan tässä mallissa rungon läpi.

ESP LTD MM-30 – pickups

ESP LTD MM-30:n mikrofonivarustus on Rock-, Fusion- ja Metal-henkinen:

Kaulamikrofoni on Seymour Duncanin kestosuosikki ’59 Neck (SH-1N), joka tarjoaa vintageen nojaavan soundin yhdistettynä kevyesti lisättyyn tehoon. Tallamikrofoniksi taas on valittu alnicomagneetin pohjalta rakennettu tehopakkaus (resistanssi: 14,1 kilo-ohmia) nimeltään Custom 5 (SH-14).

ESP LTD MM-30 – controls from PS

Säädinosastolta löytyy kolmiasentoinen mikrofonikytkin, sekä master volume- ja tone-säätimet. Toneen on lisätty nostokytkin, jolla molemmat humbuckerit puolitetaan.

ESP LTD MM-30 – control cavity

Elektroniikkalokero on suojattu ulkoisia häiriöitä vastaan grafiittipitoisella maalilla.

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ESP LTD MM-30 – beauty shot 1

Painoltaan testikitara sijoittuu mukavasti keskiluokkaan – se ei ole erityisen kevyt, muttei liian painavakaan.

Nykyaikaisena Strato-johdannaisena MM-30:n istuu hyvin sylissä (tai hihnassa) ja sen balanssi on erinomainen.

LTD ilmoittaa tämän kitaran kaulaprofiiliksi Thin U -muodon, mikä käytännössä tarkoittaa, että kaula on jonkin verran vintagea ohuempi, mutta silti poikkileikkaukselta pyöreä (eikä laakea). Kun tähän kaulaprofiiliin lisätään vielä eebenpuuinen otelauta ja jumbo-kokoisia nauhoja, lopputulosta voi kutsua rauhallisin mielin ”vauhtikaulaksi”.

Kaula- ja tallamikrofonin hyvin eriävät luonteet voi helpoiten havaita puhtaista soundeista. Puolitetuissa vaihtoehdoissa (jotka tulevat tässä ääniklipissä ensimmäisinä) Custom 5:n turboahdettu luonne johtaa siihen, että puolitetun tallamikin soundi on (vahvan keskialueensa takia) jopa aavistuksen verran tummempi kuin kaulamikki. Myös täysissä humbucker-asetuksissa tallamikrofonin raamikas keskialue nousee selvästi esiin, mutta Custom 5 ei silti kuulosta yksitoikkoiselta tai honottavalta:

Särösoundeissa mikrofonien väliset erot – niin soundissa kuin tehon suhteen – eivät nouse niin selkeästi esille (putkisärön kompression ansiosta). Mehukkaan kaulahumbuckerin soundi sopii tässä erittäin hyvin ärhäkkäämmän tallamikrofonin kanssa yhteen:

Demobiisissä komppikitarat käyttävät puolitettuja humbuckereita – vasemmalla soivat molemmat mikit yhdessä, kun taas oikealta tulee puolitettu tallahumbuckeri yksin. Soolokitara alkaa puolitetulla kaulamikrofonilla, ennen kuin vaihdetaan (kohdalla 0’42”) täyteen tallahumbuckeriin:

ESP LTD MM-30 – back beauty

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ESP LTD MM-30 – beauty shot 2

Musamaailman kunniaksi valmistettu LTD MM-30 on mielestäni hyvin kaunis kitara, joka sopii ehkä parhaiten nykyaikaisen Rock- ja Metal-genrien virtuoosille.

Erittäin pienen valmistuserän vuoksi LTD MM-30 on myös aito keräilykohde erittäin reiluun hintaan, ja näin myös sopiva kunnianosoitus Musamaailmalle.

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ESP LTD MM-30

999 €

Lisätiedot: Musamaailma

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Plussat:

+ hinta-laatu-suhde

+ soitettavuus

+ monipuolinen soundi

+ keräilykohde

Review: Jericho Guitars Fusion

Usually, we get the products we review from the Finnish distributors, or directly from Finnish guitar- or amp-makers.

This time, though, I was approached by guitarist Jaakko Rytsölä. Jaakko had ordered a guitar for himself, liked what he got, and is now thinking seriously about importing this brand, in partnership with Espoo-based company Guitarworx.

Jericho Guitars – who are based in Plano, Texas – are a brand specialising exclusively in long-scale baritone electric guitars. Jericho use what they call a ping-pong manufacturing process: The raw tonewood is hand-selected at a wood supplier in British Columbia (Canada), and then sent to a manufacturer in South Korea for all the basic neck and body work. The half-finished guitars are then shipped back to Texas, where they are assembled and set up. According to Jericho, this process results in high-quality instruments with a player-friendly price tag.

Jericho have already caused quite a few waves with their Avenger model, which is squarely aimed at the Hard ’n’ Heavy crowd. Now the company has introduced a new model, called the Jericho Fusion. We received a preproduction version of the Jericho Fusion Black And Gold-version for review.

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Jericho Fusion – full front – smaller

The Jericho Fusion (price in Finland approximately 999 €) is a sleek and elegant baritone guitar, with a body outline that is based on the venerable Fender Telecaster.

The Fusion has a three-piece mahogany set neck, as well as a mahogany body with a contoured front.

The Fusion has a scale length of 26.9″, which means 68.3 cm in the metric system.

Jericho Fusion – back beauty

The body’s back features a generous rib cage chamfer.

Jericho Fusion – headstock

Jericho’s headstock design looks very nice, and offers almost straight string pull, which is a definite plus for tuning stability.

The Fusion comes with a self-lubricating black Graph Tech Tusq XL nut.

Jericho Fusion – tuners

A set of golden Grover Rotomatics keeps the tuning solid.

Jericho Fusion – fingerboard

The black ebony fretboard sports 22 medium-sized frets.

Jericho Fusion – bridge

The bridge is a chunky Hipshot design, constructed from a machined brass base and stainless steel bridge saddles.

Jericho Fusion – pickups

The Jericho Fusion comes equipped with a classic pair of Seymour Duncan humbuckers – a ’59-model in the neck position, and a Custom TB-5 at the bridge.

Jericho Fusion – controls

The guitar’s controls are configured in traditional Les Paul-style, giving you independent volume and tone controls for each pickup.

Jericho Fusion – control cavity NEW

A look under the hood reveals quality components and clean workmanship. Our preproduction review guitar has regular Les Paul-style wiring, but production models will come with push/pull-pots for splitting the humbuckers.

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Jericho Fusion – beauty shot 2

The Jericho Fusion is a great player. Actually – and this might come as a bit of a surprise – it is very easy for the guitarist to adjust to the longer-than-usual scale length. After a minute or two, you simply forget about the longer scale, and just get on with playing.

The guitar’s neck profile is a neither too slim, nor too fat, ”D”. Our review sample had a comfortable medium weight, and it came with a very low and slinky setup.

While Jericho’s Avenger was designed to be a balls-to-the-wall Metal-machine, the new Fusion model covers much more musical and tonal ground, thanks to its less powerful pickups. Don’t worry, the Jericho Fusion can do the head-banging stuff with aplomb, too, but this guitar also holds very lush clean tones in store, should you be so inclined.

Here’s a short clip of all three toggle switch settings (starting at the neck), played through a clean amplifier:

And here’s the audio track from the You Tube-video:

Jericho Fusion – body beauty

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Jericho Fusion – beauty shot – NEW

Jericho Guitars’ Fusion is a great-playing, versatile modern baritone electric. This guitar is well-made, no-nonsense tone machine for the player who wants to go low or even lower. Let’s hope that Jericho’s instruments will soon become more widely available in Finland.

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Jericho Guitars Fusion

Price in Finland: c. 999 €

Tiedustelut: Guitarworx

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Pros:

+ elegant design

+ workmanship

+ playability

+ sound

Review: ESP Eclipse II FM FT Distressed

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A pre-aged guitar – to some people it’s the daftest idea ever, while others think relicing imbues the instrument with its own type of charm.

But one thing is clear: artificial ageing is here to stay!

This time we will take a new-old ESP for a spin – the Eclipse II FM FT Distressed.

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The ESP Eclipse II Distressed (current price in Finland: 1.889 €) is a Japanese quality instrument treated to look and feel like a 50-year-plus veteran of the stage and studio.

The rather realistic impression is achieved not only by dings, dents and scratches, but also by using a laqcuer that looks old and sunken in.

The flip side of the Eclipse II Distressed’s body has also received lots of scratches and a bout of artificial belt buckle rash. The neck, though, has been left fairly clean.

The mahogany looks scrumptious, and the finish does its bit to underscore the lively wood grain.

ESP have restrained themselves from adding over-the-top finish cracks, which is a good decision, in my opinion.

The Gotoh-machines look traditional, but are in fact up-to-date locking tuners.

The Eclipse’s beautiful rosewood ’board and jumbo-sized frets have been left untouched by relicing – this is a brand-new guitar with a pristine playing feel, great!

The neck joint is a traditional set-in job.

This viewing angle makes it easy to spot all the dents in the sunken in finish (click the picture for a larger view).

The Distressed-model comes fitted with Seymour Duncans: The neck unit is a ’59-model, while a Duncan JB -humbucker has been installed near the bridge.

The brushed metal covers fit the ESP’s lightly-aged look to a tee.

The neck pickup’s tone control is equipped with a push/push-switch that splits the humbuckers in the up-position.

Everything’s hunky-dory in the control cavity – quality parts, clean workmanship and thorough shielding wherever you look.

The tune-o-matic-type bridge and the guitars tailpiece are quality parts made by Gotoh.

The ESP Eclipse II Distressed is sold in its own, beautiful case.

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Many players complain about the weight of a good deal of LP-type electrics, which can give you a sore shoulder or a hurting back. I can only suggest that these guitarists take a stoll to their friendly ESP-dealer, if this test sample is anything to go by!

I don’t know whether it’s in the wood selection or whether ESP employ an Emmental-method (like Gibson) for weight-relief – by drilling large-diameter holes into the mahogany before gluing the maple top on – but this ESP is the most lightweight LP-style guitar I have ever played!

The neck profile is a very friendly medium-depth ”D”, not far removed from Gibson’s 60s-neck. The sunken-in finish feels smooth and fast, and the fine fretwork and large fretboard radius make for an easy playability.

It’s hard to gauge whether this is due to the relicing or not, but the ESP Eclipse II Distressed feels really live. The guitar breathes and resonates freely, and its fine acoustic tone has a nice warmth and a sinewy midrange.

Seymour Duncan’s ’59/JB-pairing is an excellent choice for the ESP Eclipse II. The pickups have a good balance between themselves, and manage to convey this instrument’s tonefulness onwards to the amp with fine detail. The ability to split the ’buckers adds three fresh and springy selections to your arsenal.

Both sound examples start with the split neck pickup, followed by the full neck pickup, and so on:

ESP Eclipse II Distressed – clean

ESP Eclipse II Distressed – distorted

Regardless of your stance towards pre-aged guitars, there’s no denying that ESP’s Eclipse II Distressed is a fine, high-quality instrument, with its own hefty dose of charm. Shame we had to give it back…

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ESP Eclipse II FM FT Distressed 

Current price in Finland: 1.889 €

Finnish distributor: Musamaailma

Pros:

+ looks

+ sound

+ weight

+ playability

+ coil-split 

+ workmanship

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