Birthday GAS

[Ian B]

Ok, my birthday was well over a week ago, but I got one of these beauties back from a full setup on Friday. The pic doesn't even come close to doing it justice, the binding on the body, neck and headstock is stunning.



It's a AcePro AE625, full specs

Style Double Cutaway Set neck PRS style
Body Carved Solid Mahogany with contoured back
Neck Solid Mahogany/set neck
Top Spalted Maple
Headstock Spalted Maple
Back Mahogany
Hardware Gold
Tuners Gold Grovers
Fingerboard Rosewood/abalone surround and markers
Pickups 2 EMG Hz Humbuckers/black surrounds
Switching 3-way
Controls 1V 1T
Knobs Knurled Gold/Abalone inlaid
Bridge Tunomatic/Thro' body stringing
Truss cover Wood
Nut 44 mm
Frets 22 Jumbo nickel
Fretmarkers 2mm black dots
binding Ivory coloured
Scale 24 3/4"
Case Black wood/vinyl hard case/padded
Strings 010"-046"
Body Purfling Abalone inlay
Binding Ivory coloured

I won't deny there weren't issues, it had been dispatched from the factory with a *frozen* truss rod, which my guitar tech had a hell of a job to sort out. He ended up cutting a groove on the truss rod, then used a screwdriver to free it, but all that happened was a loud crack, and what appeared to be half the end of the truss rod came off When he looked closer he realised it was a double truss rod (I may have got that wrong) and what had broken off was a piece of a nut of some kind, the truss rod itself was fine, and adjusted normally.

He went on to say there was some kind of hard resin present, which had stopped the key fitting the truss rod, tho' what that was doing there neither of us could guess.

After the setup, this guitar now plays as well as it looks (imo) and sounds. It's the first EMG'd guitar I've owned, and I'm so impressed by them it'll be the first guitar in many a long year I haven't felt the need to upgrade the pups. The guitar only cost £249, and inc the setup means I've spent under £300, which considering the woods used, the pups and grovers/hardware, even with the probs with the truss rod, make it a astonishing bargain imo.

[TrevCircleStudios]

I'm not keen on the binding but otherwise it's a pretty guitar. How does it play?

[Ian B]

It play's beautifully now

The neck is pretty slim, which suits my girly sized hands, and the action is great after a good fret levelling/crowning/etc. It's not as low as my pride'n'joy, a uber stunning limited edition Richwood Tree Of Life LP clone, but isn't far off. The body/neck/headstock binding is very similar on both guitars, so no doubt you'd dislike that as well, especially the inlay on the fretboard

The pups are superb, I can't believe these could be fitted, along with gold grovers, on a guitar at this price level, let alone the woods used, and that's not counting a hard case as well

If I was being ultra critical, I'd have to point out that the nut slots would need recutting to use anything heavier than 10's, but I'm nit picking there. It's well balanced, and just oozes class, tho' the splalted maple on mine is slighly different than in the pic. The binding shows better here http://www.skylarkguitars.com/acepro...ar-1023-0.html

I know, and can understand why, people say never buy a guitar untried, but I've done just that for the past 5 years or so and never bought a dog yet.

[TrevCircleStudios]

Cool. Enjoy!