I picked it up last around 9pm, paid $200 for it. Had to stand out in the 20' weather waiting on the guy to show up for a gig at a Blues Club in downtown Atlanta.
Got it home and ran straight to the Marshall JCM 900 Hi Gain Dual Reverb 2 x12" Combo. It sounds great. It blows my EMG Jagstang out of the water, for clean tones, clarity, versatily, playablity & looks. Flame does the blues all day long, that's what it was designed for. It does the metallz perfectly fine also but EMG Jagstang has that edge over her.
At first look, your thinking PRS or Gibson. The weight is "slightly" heavier then a Jagstang, but not by much. The body is chambered, it lightens the load on your back. Sustain is amazing, you bend a note, drop it back and it's still ringing anywhere along the neck, she killed my Jagstang in that department. Feedback is narly. Drop D tune, palm mute the 3 bass strings and it sounds like a dog breathing down your neck ready to go with controllable feedback.
The neck is rosewood with mother of pearl inlays. Should of been blocks. Bound neck & body, fretwork is excellant. Wider slightly taller frets. It's been set up with lighter gauge strings then I'm used to. Bends, slides & vibrato are effortless & no friction at all. I don't know if it's the taller frets, flater radius, fretboard material or strings but it feels great. Scale is 24 3/4", no time was needed to get used to it, came very natural. Headstock is bound with "Flame" logo & "Fender" logo. Truss rod access is on headstock (hell yeh!). Truss rod cover is cut the same shape as the headstock shape. Great attention to detail. Tuners are stamped "Fender", they do the job fine. Other reviews say they are weak. Neck is set, not thru. The neck feel, screams Fender. Not a flat wide Ibanez or bulky Gibson feel. She also kills my Jagstang in the neck feel department, I swore I would never find a better neck then the Jagstang, well I did. Easy access to upper frets.
The body is maple top, alder back. Carved top with my favorite tobacco burst. The neck and rear are a solid tobacco color, would of been ice to see a burst on the neck and rear. Belly contour, alder/maple and 3 peice neck are probally why they didn't burst the rear. Binding on the neck & body are in great shape. Carved top looks amazing. I installed a Jaguar tremolo over the hole, will stay this way for a while. I've got some sunburst left over from another project so I can touch up chips in the body.
She sports "F" knobs. Toggle switch is out and outta my way, where I like it. Pots are firm, but not stiff when adjusting. Slight noise, need to be cleaned. Adjusting tone & volume, very stuble change as you turn, was expecting more variation. Bridge & Neck pickup sound great, I even enjoy using them at the same time.... never used the 81 & 85 on my Jagstang at the same time. Pick attack does little to change the tone of the guitar, my JS has huge varainces in tone by pick attack. 3 screw adjustable pickups, allow you to control height as well as tilt (very thoughtful). Plenty of space between pickups for my strum, not crowded by like my Jagstang. The pickups are arched like the guitar top. Rear control access, love it! Already a spot routed in the control area for a split coil switch, it was an option at the time. I don't know if it's sheilded yet. But shielded wire was used, jack is in an enclosed shield case... pretty quiet guitar. JS is quieter, but if I shield her further should be about even.
Schaller rolling bridge, saddles sits on a threaded rod... looks like you could adjust string spacing. Wish it had a tremolo.
Block inlay & tremolo would of been the icing on the cake for me. Maybe electronics that were more responsive also. It's a blues guitar all the way. Light weight, amazing feel and it still says "Fender" on the headstock.
Bad photo, will get a dizzy cam tonight & post tomorrow.
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