NGD TV Yellow H137

[LK155]

 

 

Just got this one. A real beauty. 2008 vintage.

Bought it from Ryanaugrad in L.A., who put up with my extreme pickiness and handled the transaction with efficiency and grace.

He even gave in to my insistance on an inspection or trial period before I would accept it.

 

The guitar arrived exactly as described. Looks like it has had very little use; its condition is somewhere between excellent and mint.

Ryan went to great lengths to warn me that the neck was thick, and that I might not like it. No worries.

Yes, it's chunkier than the neck on my H155, and it certainly stays chunky all the way up, but it's absolutely not an issue.

Helps to have big hands and long fingers. It's not as chunky as the neck on my Suhr, although the Suhr's neck carve seems to be quite different from the H137.

 

Took a few low-res pix tonight for your vicarious enjoyment. I'll do a group shot later. What appears to be scratches near the selector switch in the second picture must be some kind of reflection in the late-day light; there are no such marks on the guitar itself. I hope you notice that, not only have I attended the Brentrocks school of outdoor guitar photography, I have taken it to the next level by incorporating props, like a fence and an old wagon wheel.

 

I took it to my local expert for an inspection, and after playing it for about 4 seconds, he said, "love the neck".

Was going to get him to do a full setup on it, but he said all it needed was a bit of relief in the neck and everything else was good to go.

So we got that done and it plays very very nicely. Action's a bit higher than I like, and the intonation's off just a tad, but those things can be corrected as soon as I find some allen keys that fit the bridge. Every allen key I own is either too big or too small. Figures.

 

Very happy with this axe.

It'll be coming to PSPIII, along with my Mille 155.

Can't wait to hear it through the Gibson Falcon amp I'm buying from Kuz.

Cheers,

Lyle

[brentrocks]

that is really cool....those are tone machines

[big bob]

Great news, I love new guitar day.. Hope she works out to be a keeper.. because she sure is purdy...

[High Flying Bird]

Nice guitar. I like the bridge on it. Those 137s have beefy necks on them.

[Cryoman]

Nice guitar. Needs a pickguard. In the mail next week.

 

Cheers. Cryoman

[RJLII]

Nice guitar. Needs a pickguard. In the mail next week.

 

Cheers. Cryoman

 

 

Then it can look like this:

 

[Hfan]

Theres another one on my wish list..good luck with it. I love a chunky neck myself (on a guitar that is) and yellow is the way to go IMHO. What pups are those P90's? through that old Gibson amp should sound old school excellent.

[koula901]

Hey Lyle,

 

Congrats on your new axe! : )

 

I think the size of the neck is very important. I ordered my 150 w/a slighly thicker neck; a 137 came the same day and I sent that back b/c the neck was just too thin. Had a Suhr also, but w/the thinnest neck they make, tried for 2 yrs but just couldn't bond w/that neck, even though I love Suhr guitars.

 

I'm just curious about getting neck relief . . . what does that mean, exactly? Did he thin it out in spots?

[LK155]

In order:

 

RJLII: Yes, it will look just like yours. I'm hoping that Cryoman also sends along a Carr so mine can look exactly like your picture.

 

Hfan: Lollar P90's. Very tasty, and so different from single coils or humbuckers. Not at all thin-sounding.

 

Koula901: Adding some relief just means backing off the truss rod nut about 1/8th of a turn, so that the neck can have a tiny bit of bow in it. If it's too flat you get all sorts of oddball string buzzing.

 

Re color: This particular 137 is indeed yellow, not as pale as my first pic, not as dark as the second one. Somewhere between the two.

 

Thanks for the kind words.

Lyle

[fxdx99]

Congrats, Lyle. Really like those 137s - nice, simple tone machines. Very vintage look in that finish, too. Looking forward to hearing all these solid body P90s in a week.

[FredZepp]

What a classic axe...!!

 

I can find times to like thinner or chunkier necks both.

But for some reason, I tend to like a chunkier neck on guitars that are thinner body depth. It seems to make up for the less amount of wood and feels more substantial.

My 140 is that way and I love it's chunky neck.

[pegleg32]

That's a beauty Lyle, a great addition to your collection.