Leaderboard

I like them but always thought it was weird they used block inlays higher up on the neck. If they'd pointed them at the ends like a spear instead of square, it'd look better & match the rest IMO. I think these look good with the blocks I also like the bound F holes, it pops the shapes out of the darkness. Didn't the originals have maple necks too? That was something else that set them apart from the 535

That is basically the take home message from this comparison. There are some features of the R9 that I wish were on the Custom Core, and visa versa. But they are both great guitars.

I've made my living with music as a full time musician for 30+ years now, and I'll be lugging out my tube amps till the very end. I get the convenience factor, but as with most things I've found: when you try cutting corners, something else ends up suffering. In this case, the tone IMO. Just can't beat feeling that wave of sound blowing out of an amplifier. To me, there's no substitute for the real thing.

I would NEVER use a modeler live in my original rock band. To me, there is nothing like a wound up Fender tweed or Marshall style amp reacting to your playing. And those amp sounds are what inspire me to write the songs for my band. It's the sound of the rock and roll that I love. And, none of the amps that I use live are that heavy, especially with the cart that I keep in my car. The amps I use live are just loud enough to get a decent clean sound that works with the acoustic sound of the drums. That said, I have one pedal board for my original solo acoustic shows where I have all the songs programmed, and I use a HX Stomp for all the time delay stuff, and even some dirt, and it works fine. But I run my guitar through an acoustic amp before it goes to the PA.

I was very happy to see this. I had a custom-order 2015 in faded cherry, which I stupidly sold, and very much miss. It was a great guitar, and I've every confidence the new version will be as good. GAS officially triggered here!

I like all that swirly stuff on the tops. Plantain tops are only good on TV Yellow guitars. However, if you leave them out for a few days, they start to do some self aging.