Gahr
Ambassador of Blues & Brews
Like I said in gball's Firebird thread, I just scored an Epiphone Ltd. Ed. Joe Bonamassa "Treasure" Firebird I. I picked it up today, and here are my first impressions:
It looks every bit as cool in real life as in the pictures. The lacquer is not 100 % perfect (the "groove" where the upper wing is glued to the centerpiece is a bit uneven), but it is only visible on close inspection. There is a ding on the back of the neck around the first fret, but the seller was open with that, so it's not a problem at all. The nickel hardware is already beginning to take on a really nice patina. a previous owner has for some reason added a second strap button on the shoulder of it. I don't really see why, but it doesn't really bother me. I might unscrew it and plug the hole, but we'll see. All in all, I'm throughly happy with the looks.
The volume pot was a bit scratchy (again, the seller was open with the info), but a bit of cleaning spray took care of it right away.
The 15th fret was a bit high, causing the D string to buzz a bit when fretting the 14th fret. I simply used some fine grit sand paper, a crowning file and some fine steel wool, and the problem was solved quickly. It now plays like butter with the action nice and low.
Apart form checking the volume pot through my battery powered Marshall on the workbench, I have not had time to play the guitar plugged yet, and it's too late to test it at the moment. I'll get back to the sound later. I have high hopes though, because everybody seems to speak highly of the pickup.
Anyway, here are a few snaps of it:
It looks every bit as cool in real life as in the pictures. The lacquer is not 100 % perfect (the "groove" where the upper wing is glued to the centerpiece is a bit uneven), but it is only visible on close inspection. There is a ding on the back of the neck around the first fret, but the seller was open with that, so it's not a problem at all. The nickel hardware is already beginning to take on a really nice patina. a previous owner has for some reason added a second strap button on the shoulder of it. I don't really see why, but it doesn't really bother me. I might unscrew it and plug the hole, but we'll see. All in all, I'm throughly happy with the looks.
The volume pot was a bit scratchy (again, the seller was open with the info), but a bit of cleaning spray took care of it right away.
The 15th fret was a bit high, causing the D string to buzz a bit when fretting the 14th fret. I simply used some fine grit sand paper, a crowning file and some fine steel wool, and the problem was solved quickly. It now plays like butter with the action nice and low.
Apart form checking the volume pot through my battery powered Marshall on the workbench, I have not had time to play the guitar plugged yet, and it's too late to test it at the moment. I'll get back to the sound later. I have high hopes though, because everybody seems to speak highly of the pickup.
Anyway, here are a few snaps of it:
