flamesarewicked
Senior Member
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2013
- Messages
- 2,459
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A guy I know once said, gold ones sound better
I actually got it in a couple of days ago and wanted to let the “new guitar day” vibe wear off first. While discussing with a few forum members out side of here.. as guitar nerds do.. I wanted a gold top. The 50s USA model would have been a great choice. Of course as guitar nerds do, we say, why don’t ya find a used R7. Todays market doesn’t yield the deals we were used to. I looked anyhow and discovered one from Sam Ash in NY via Reverb. It was a 2023 model VOS. They had two listed for the same price. The second one had stock photos while this one had actual photos. The original ad wasn’t very specific on specs but being that’s easily found online I figured that turned people off. It also didn’t say the year but the serial number on the back of the headstock revealed it. ML is cool but not really my thing. The light aged would be the only one I would be interested if I did go that route. VOS is more of my vibe. This one was heavily discounted. It was a wall hanger model. Listed as mint but I try not to take that to heart. Especially when there’s discount involved. I looked it over thoroughly and couldn’t see any defects.
After some setup to my taste.. it’s a total banger. 9lbs and it’s a light back.. dark back would have been a little cooler to have but at this price.. no complaints. After a few hours of playing it, when I grabbed it by the butt end by the strap button, I felt a mark in the finish. The tiniest little bo bo on the back edge of the body. I didn’t even care all things considered. Also, something that tends to happen with the lofton cases.. it put pressure on the bridge causing the post to lean slightly backward. It’s an easy fix, and it’s not affecting intonation or playability as it is. I’ll come out and say it, outside of visual appeal, these cases suck lol. I’m gonna get a standard issue brown USA case for it.
To comment on the latest version of the Custom Buckers, I really like the ones in this guitar. They’re usually too thin for my liking but maybe it’s just these in this guitar specifically. They’re bright without being too harsh in the high end. P90s without the hum type of vibe…
Maybe the market is hurting and they needed to move some higher end models.. or maybe the ML is taking all of the thunder from the VOS models. Who knows, the next R7 price wise was for 200-300 less and it was over 10 years old and had some wear and tear. The next step up in price was a second hand light aged ML that was a little more than 1000 bucks than this one. Thanks to Joe, peer pressure is mofo
not that it took much convincing.
This thing loves classic rock riffs. These have a very modest neck.. close to the current 50s Standard shape and thickness. The ‘13 traditionals I’ve owned before had a more robust shape in the shoulder area.
Now for the money shots
I actually got it in a couple of days ago and wanted to let the “new guitar day” vibe wear off first. While discussing with a few forum members out side of here.. as guitar nerds do.. I wanted a gold top. The 50s USA model would have been a great choice. Of course as guitar nerds do, we say, why don’t ya find a used R7. Todays market doesn’t yield the deals we were used to. I looked anyhow and discovered one from Sam Ash in NY via Reverb. It was a 2023 model VOS. They had two listed for the same price. The second one had stock photos while this one had actual photos. The original ad wasn’t very specific on specs but being that’s easily found online I figured that turned people off. It also didn’t say the year but the serial number on the back of the headstock revealed it. ML is cool but not really my thing. The light aged would be the only one I would be interested if I did go that route. VOS is more of my vibe. This one was heavily discounted. It was a wall hanger model. Listed as mint but I try not to take that to heart. Especially when there’s discount involved. I looked it over thoroughly and couldn’t see any defects.
After some setup to my taste.. it’s a total banger. 9lbs and it’s a light back.. dark back would have been a little cooler to have but at this price.. no complaints. After a few hours of playing it, when I grabbed it by the butt end by the strap button, I felt a mark in the finish. The tiniest little bo bo on the back edge of the body. I didn’t even care all things considered. Also, something that tends to happen with the lofton cases.. it put pressure on the bridge causing the post to lean slightly backward. It’s an easy fix, and it’s not affecting intonation or playability as it is. I’ll come out and say it, outside of visual appeal, these cases suck lol. I’m gonna get a standard issue brown USA case for it.
To comment on the latest version of the Custom Buckers, I really like the ones in this guitar. They’re usually too thin for my liking but maybe it’s just these in this guitar specifically. They’re bright without being too harsh in the high end. P90s without the hum type of vibe…
Maybe the market is hurting and they needed to move some higher end models.. or maybe the ML is taking all of the thunder from the VOS models. Who knows, the next R7 price wise was for 200-300 less and it was over 10 years old and had some wear and tear. The next step up in price was a second hand light aged ML that was a little more than 1000 bucks than this one. Thanks to Joe, peer pressure is mofo
not that it took much convincing.This thing loves classic rock riffs. These have a very modest neck.. close to the current 50s Standard shape and thickness. The ‘13 traditionals I’ve owned before had a more robust shape in the shoulder area.
Now for the money shots
