Not strictly a NGD, as I've had this guitar for a few weeks now, this lovely looking and playing Pugilist from this forum's very own, Darren aka
@Danielsguitars
Here's a picture of the front
Here are the specs, some measurements too. I know they aren't for everyone, but I get a little geeky about these things, maybe others do too?
Specs
Neck - Obeche
Fretboard - Madagascar Rosewood
Body - Obeche
Neck Pickup - Mojo Firebird (A5)
Bridge - Mojo Staple Bucker (A5)
Wiring - CTS 500k in 50's wiring
Dimensions
Weight - a bit over 6lbs
Width at nut - 43.2mm
Width at 12th fret - 52.9mm
Width at the end of the fretboard - 57.0mm
Depth of neck at 1st fret - 22.2mm
Depth of neck at 12th fret - 24.0mm
Neck shape - C shape
Contours - front and back
How does it play?
The guitar body is a touch smaller than a Strat, it's quite a small instrument. It sits well in the lap, and also good balance when played on a strap too. I've got a late 60's SG which is about the same for it's weight, but the SG has terrible neck dive, no such problems with this guitar even though it's incredibly light.
One of the neck joint, this is one of my favourite features for this guitar. I don't go to the high end of the frets that much, but it's very easy to do when I am around the 21st/22nd fret.
How does it sound?
The guitar is incredibly light, and acoustically it has a very interesting sound. It's a lively instrument played acoustically, fairly loud.
@Mojopickups did a superb job with the pickups here. The Staple Bucker is an interesting one, it's the humbucker take on on the staple P90. It has superb clarity, I'd say it reminds me a little of a good AWG42 Alnico 5 Telecaster bridge pickup, that similar kind of bite and it works really well with my favourite fuzz pedals (eg Green Russian, Red Llama), which not all humbuckers do.
The Firebird pickup in the neck is a little brute of a pickup. I've heard it compared to a Strat Pickup on steroids, but I'm not sure I agree with that description, I find the FB to have a lot of the clarity of a A5 Strat pickup, but with more everything (bass, treble, midrange). I found it a bit much to begin with, it's very sensitive to string height. Once I dialled it in, it's truly wonderful.
The 50's wiring took me a bit of time to get used too, especially with the CTS pots. I've said it before here, but I'm not the biggest fan of CTS pots.
Final thoughts.
It took me a bit of time to get used to the guitar. Like most people, I was used to playing a Strat/Tele/LP/SG, and this guitar is very different to those. The ergonomics of the body shape, and the neck profile, but once I got used to them, I can't really go back to my other guitars. Plugged in, it doesn't really sound like any other guitar I own or have played, it has it's own character. I will try to record something down the line and upload it. Expect pointless Grouper/Earth drone worship at sometime!
I've been in discussion with Darren about ordering another one sometime down the line.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading. If not, then I hope you liked the pictures.
TLDR version - I love this guitar.
Comments
Punchy....
*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.
Just my type of thing this. I’m guessing out of my price range sadly.
I hope you will be able to go back to them in time, and also carry on enjoying this one.
I'll be making a new telepaul pugilist for me next.
(formerly customkits)
(formerly customkits)
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C55gcEcseNA/?igsh=MWM2Y251cjM4bmJjYg==
(formerly customkits)
I must admit when the video first popped up I thought it was Dave Hill from Slade!
My favourite at the moment is my surf green HSS
versions with a split coil and blend pot circuit.
(formerly customkits)