Last week I was in my local guitar shop to see what they have in storage and played and tested some nice guitars. All were 2013 model specs, all were R9 but not only regular R9´s. I chose a R9 lemon burst, a R9 Sunrise Tea Burst, a CC #17 and the Duane Allman VOS 59 LP. There are always some questions here as how do regular R9s compare to certain CCs or artist 59 LP copies. So here is my view.
But first, here are the ladies:
2013 R9 lemon burst VOS at 8 lbs 4 oz
2013 DA 59 Cherry Sunburst LP at 8 lbs 11oz
from left to right: DA 59, the R9 Sunrise Teaburst (8 lbs 6 oz) and the R9 lemon burst
No pics from CC # 17 Louis as I did not play it too long, just a few minutes. Not that I didn´t like it. I just prefered the feel of the VOS models better. The focus here was more on the situation that there were various VOS models, so I wanted to compare only them.
Of course they sound different. The Allman VOS is in some ways really special. Limited production numbers, nice look, the neck is a little thinner than the regular 2013 R9s I played, but no 60ies neck. The Allman VOS has this vintage vibe going on, that for me the CC #17 did not have, at least not to that extent as the Allman VOS. The color is more of a honey color, nice deep honey and the flames are there and subtle. Just probably the right amount. One thing that you hear already accoustically and then on the amp is that the Allman VOS has a more pronounced upper midrange and top end, the highs are there, but not aggressive, the bite is there but never harsh. Whereas the lemon has a thicker midrange, the highs are not as articulate as on the Allman but I would say still enough bite. The Allman is definitely brighter, some would say clearer. Is this a common thing on the Allman 59? Those are hard to come by and in Europe we only got 50 pieces (25 aged and 25 VOS), so no chance that a shop carries more than one. There is only one shop that has a aged and a VOS, but too far away.
The R9 Lemonburst doesn´t lack highs, the top end is clear, but it seems the Allman is louder here or more pronounced.
The R9 Teaburst has a similar sound to the R9 Lemonburst. It lacked for my ears that special something that the Allman VOS or the R9 Lemonburst had.
So you might thing I liked the Allman better. But, I have to say and I am pretty sure that more people would chose the Lemonburst, as it was also a favourite in the shop. It had the right amount of everything, but in no place too much. And the neck was gorgeous. The Allman has a nice neck, but I liked the R9s neck better, just the right amount of wood in your hand IMHO.
in the end Lemonburst and Allman together
So to get back to the beginning. It comes down to the guitar itself. If you find an Artist run you like, thats it. The R9 do not stand behind in terms of sound, but the CCs and Artist models offer that little special something, that is modeled after a certain guitar. I would have a hard time to choose between 2 outstanding models if one was a regular reissue and one a special run and both play great and are awesome in sound, appearence and playaility.
But first, here are the ladies:
2013 R9 lemon burst VOS at 8 lbs 4 oz
2013 DA 59 Cherry Sunburst LP at 8 lbs 11oz
from left to right: DA 59, the R9 Sunrise Teaburst (8 lbs 6 oz) and the R9 lemon burst
No pics from CC # 17 Louis as I did not play it too long, just a few minutes. Not that I didn´t like it. I just prefered the feel of the VOS models better. The focus here was more on the situation that there were various VOS models, so I wanted to compare only them.
Of course they sound different. The Allman VOS is in some ways really special. Limited production numbers, nice look, the neck is a little thinner than the regular 2013 R9s I played, but no 60ies neck. The Allman VOS has this vintage vibe going on, that for me the CC #17 did not have, at least not to that extent as the Allman VOS. The color is more of a honey color, nice deep honey and the flames are there and subtle. Just probably the right amount. One thing that you hear already accoustically and then on the amp is that the Allman VOS has a more pronounced upper midrange and top end, the highs are there, but not aggressive, the bite is there but never harsh. Whereas the lemon has a thicker midrange, the highs are not as articulate as on the Allman but I would say still enough bite. The Allman is definitely brighter, some would say clearer. Is this a common thing on the Allman 59? Those are hard to come by and in Europe we only got 50 pieces (25 aged and 25 VOS), so no chance that a shop carries more than one. There is only one shop that has a aged and a VOS, but too far away.
The R9 Lemonburst doesn´t lack highs, the top end is clear, but it seems the Allman is louder here or more pronounced.
The R9 Teaburst has a similar sound to the R9 Lemonburst. It lacked for my ears that special something that the Allman VOS or the R9 Lemonburst had.
So you might thing I liked the Allman better. But, I have to say and I am pretty sure that more people would chose the Lemonburst, as it was also a favourite in the shop. It had the right amount of everything, but in no place too much. And the neck was gorgeous. The Allman has a nice neck, but I liked the R9s neck better, just the right amount of wood in your hand IMHO.
in the end Lemonburst and Allman together
So to get back to the beginning. It comes down to the guitar itself. If you find an Artist run you like, thats it. The R9 do not stand behind in terms of sound, but the CCs and Artist models offer that little special something, that is modeled after a certain guitar. I would have a hard time to choose between 2 outstanding models if one was a regular reissue and one a special run and both play great and are awesome in sound, appearence and playaility.
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