Mutt90 Soapbar - Vintage spec - Gerg

[Lt. Bob]

. You gotta be limp wristed.

like in a drag race!

[Greg_L]

Okay I'm done with this bad boy for now.

Double 90s!


New pots, new caps, 50s wiring, new pickups, two new speed knobs (because I broke one of the top-hats)...and she's good to go with a Mutt90 in the bridge and a regular P90 in the neck. Sounds raw and awesome!

Mutt, I "massaged" the corners on that questionable pickup cover with a fine flat file, and it dropped right in. I just rounded the corners over a tiny bit more to a slightly larger radius. Fine file, polished it out with some rough denim, you can't even tell. No problem.

Also, since the neck P90 is actually a bridge pickup, I reverse wired it on the volume pot so it'd be in phase with the Mutt90. Winner winner chicken dinner!

[muttley]

How did I miss this????

Looks good man. Glad it all came together well.

Any news on the Jnr from china??

[Greg_L]

Any news on the Jnr from china??

Yes and no. As you can expect, we're having difficulties with China.

They've made two Jrs to our spec but totally in the wrong color. Two. Wrong color. Fucking Chinese kids in sweatshops.

Anyway, the third model they made for our approval was a TV White. I don't know why they can't do TV Yellow, but whatever. TV white looks gorgeous. So we said yes to TV White and that's the last we've heard from them. Our Chinese liaison to shady deals is not responding anymore. So we've ordered another one from a different counterfeiter. Hopefully this counterfeiter has better ethics.

I'm totally satisfied with my Mutt90. Couldn't be happier. So send me your payment info and I'll send you some trump dollars.

[muttley]

The shitey bobbins I got and then ditched for Lt and JD came from China... I always order up a few samples before buying anything serious. They honestly think we like all that cheap tat they produce over there.... Having said that when you get a good supplier they usually do exactly what you ask they just have a lot more manufacturing "costermongers" than we have who dont give a shit about the product......

I'll PM you soon about the the rest.

Glad it worked out and put up a word for me if anyone else needs hand wound pups, I can compete on price these days now the pound is shot.....

[muttley]

TV yellow is really hard to get right BTW....

Partly because a lot of it is in the ageing and patina.... If you look close at most of the good ones there are several shades of yellow in there over time...

[WhiskeyJack]

Any news on the Jnr from china??

Yes and no. As you can expect, we're having difficulties with China.

They've made two Jrs to our spec but totally in the wrong color. Two. Wrong color. Fucking Chinese kids in sweatshops.

Anyway, the third model they made for our approval was a TV White. I don't know why they can't do TV Yellow, but whatever. TV white looks gorgeous. So we said yes to TV White and that's the last we've heard from them. Our Chinese liaison to shady deals is not responding anymore. So we've ordered another one from a different counterfeiter. Hopefully this counterfeiter has better ethics.

I'm totally satisfied with my Mutt90. Couldn't be happier. So send me your payment info and I'll send you some trump dollars.

Are you ordering a kit or an actual guitar???

[Greg_L]

Are you ordering a kit or an actual guitar???

It's a full built guitar, but we had them make it with a slimmer neck and (I think) neck binding. Can't remember where we landed on the neck binding, but I'd asked for it.

[JD01]

Are you ordering a kit or an actual guitar???

It's a full built guitar, but we had them make it with a slimmer neck and (I think) neck binding. Can't remember where we landed on the neck binding, but I'd asked for it.

Greg, I'd like to know more about this when you get it all sorted. Before I got my PRS i asked Crimson about making me one (£££ £££) and then asked them about modding my PRS which was also £££ £££.

[muttley]

It's a full built guitar, but we had them make it with a slimmer neck and (I think) neck binding. Can't remember where we landed on the neck binding, but I'd asked for it.

Greg, I'd like to know more about this when you get it all sorted. Before I got my PRS i asked Crimson about making me one (£££ £££) and then asked them about modding my PRS which was also £££ £££.

Making you a what JD? A neck or the full guitar? Junr's are some of the easiest to put together..

[JD01]

Greg, I'd like to know more about this when you get it all sorted. Before I got my PRS i asked Crimson about making me one (£££ £££) and then asked them about modding my PRS which was also £££ £££.

Making you a what JD? A neck or the full guitar? Junr's are some of the easiest to put together..

A full guitar, only asked 'cos I was down there. I can't afford another 2 grand on a custom. And given the tax bill I just had I'm gonna struggle pay 300 quid for a bass!

[muttley]

2k for a jnr is way too much... Speak to me when you are a little more flush.

[Greg_L]

2k for a jnr is way too much... Speak to me when you are a little more flush.

Not only that, those Crimson wankers will totally fluff it up.

[Greg_L]

Greg, I'd like to know more about this when you get it all sorted.

What do you want to know about it?

[JD01]

Greg, I'd like to know more about this when you get it all sorted.

What do you want to know about it?

Just what you're actually looking at getting, how much you'd expect to pay, how you went about organising it, and what the final quality of it is... there's no real sense in replacing the PRS with something shit, just 'cos it looks cooler though. The PRS, while ugly as fuck, is actually a pretty nice guitar.

No rush though, its not like I'm buying another guitar any time soon and I'm sure you'll give us a separate thread about whatever you're planning when its all sorted. I'm definitely very happy with the sound of a P90 loaded guitar though and will be using it a lot.

[muttley]

2k for a jnr is way too much... Speak to me when you are a little more flush.

Not only that, those Crimson wankers will totally fluff it up.

They do good work mostly but they are way over priced for what they do. Mostly he is about instant impact which is why you see all that drift wood stuff and wacky shit.I got that out of my system years ago...

[JD01]

Not only that, those Crimson wankers will totally fluff it up.

They do good work mostly but they are way over priced for what they do. Mostly he is about instant impact which is why you see all that drift wood stuff and wacky shit.I got that out of my system years ago...

I'm impressed with their quality - but I'm not interested in any of their really weird stuff. I've played on quite a few of their guitars and its all nice. But if unless you want something which isn't really available on the open market, its hard to justify the price.

[Greg_L]

Just what you're actually looking at getting, how much you'd expect to pay, how you went about organising it, and what the final quality of it is... there's no real sense in replacing the PRS with something shit, just 'cos it looks cooler though. The PRS, while ugly as fuck, is actually a pretty nice guitar.

No rush though, its not like I'm buying another guitar any time soon and I'm sure you'll give us a separate thread about whatever you're planning when its all sorted. I'm definitely very happy with the sound of a PRS loaded guitar though and will be using it a lot.

The first step is finding the right Chibson pirate. It's kind of like movie torrents. You can download a shaky hand-held iphone recording from a guy sitting in a theater, or you can get a Blue-Ray rip that's perfect. I was not involved in this process. My bandmate is on facebook and is part of some usergroup that networks and shares their good and bad Chibson experiences. They have a list of trusted sources, so he picked one of them. Then you go to their online store, usually on aliexpress, and browse what they have for sale. It's usually mindblowing stuff. If you see something you like, you contact them. Hopefully their English communication skills are good.

If you see something you like but want to change a few things, the good Chinese counterfeiters can accommodate that. My bandmate also just bought a stunning Tobacco burst LP Custom with a black-back finish. $237. Lol. They can sometimes add things like a LP Custom headstock inlay on an SG, or in our case, neck binding on a LP Jr. I think we also opted for the tune-o-matic + tailpiece instead of wraparound stopbar. Better intonation adjustability is a good idea from a Chinese sweatshop. They can do things like that. They're gonna use junk tuners and pickups and pots and stuff, but that's no big deal. If you tell them you want Kluson tuners, they'll use junko cheap knockoffs, but the holes will at least be drilled for real ones you can swap in later. You can specify wood and construction. Like if you want a 70s style Maple neck, ebony board, with an unchambered Mahogany body, some of them can do that. The one thing they all seem to have in common is the maple cap veneer. It's not actually a thick maple cap like a proper LP. It's sometimes a carved full-Mahogany body with a paper-thin flamed maple veneer, or it will be a decent but ugly maple cap with a thin flamed maple veneer. Either way, it's a veneer for the maple top finish. The worst of the bunch will use an actual wood looking sticker. One thing the chinese often get very right is the finish. They do some amazing paint/stain work and clearcoating. They can't seem to get the color we asked for, but whatever color they paint it will be done well.

So you find a seller, give em your specs, and they build them somewhere in Pyongyang or something. My bandmate already has a 59 LP Chibson, and I'll be damned if it doesn't look exactly like a real one. We had it at a gig one time, and I showed to a total gear snob dude I'm friends with and told him it was a real 59. The guy damn near shit his pants that we'd take a real 59 LP to a crappy club gig. He didn't even want to touch it. I picked it up and spun it around in my hands like a baton and the guy lost his mind. Lol. I let him off the hook a few minutes later. The point is, some of them look that good. The problem to me with this "59" in particular, is that while it looks great, it's really light and way too resonant. It has this hollow midrange honk that sounds more like an ES guitar than a LP. It's so light. I don't know what kind o reject Mahogany they used, but it must be very porous or something. It almost sounds like a hollow body.

The build quality of the guitars themselves is a crapshoot. They usually are mostly playable right out of the box. They look way better than they actually are. But for a few hundred bucks and a gamble, you could get a fantastic looking gigging guitar that you don't care about if it falls over and gets dinged up. Fret ends might need some work, fret leveling will most definitely need some work, and usual set up stuff needs to happen. You will absolutely need to swap in better pots, switches, and pickups. That's a best-case scenario. Worst case stuff is the neck might be set wrong, the bridge will be too far forwards or backwards or the strings won't line up over the pickup pole pieces, one E-string will be closer to the edge of the fretboard than the other, The pots won't be oriented correctly, stuff like that. That's the gamble you take with a cheap chinese knockoff guitar. Risk/reward. At best you can get an Epiphone quality "Gibson", or worse,a useless piece of shit. Absolute worst case is they just take your money and send you nothing. But for the most part I've seen more success stories than total basketcases.

[JD01]

Thanks, mate. That's really interesting. An LP jr/special is probably my dream guitar. The 2001 re-issues float about at a reasonable(ish) price and I can't see them depreciating at all now. So, I'm either gonna get one. Mod my PRS to look less like a PRS (probably do this as it will be fun), get something expensive from Mutt or Crimson. Or get a copy..

[Greg_L]

Thanks, mate. That's really interesting. An LP jr/special is probably my dream guitar. The 2001 re-issues float about at a reasonable(ish) price and I can't see them depreciating at all now. So, I'm either gonna get one. Mod my PRS to look less like a PRS (probably do this as it will be fun), get something expensive from Mutt or Crimson. Or get a copy..

I found a killer Mosrite clone one time, and as I was inspecting it's pics, it had no input jack. Lol. Not on the pickguard, it wasn't a sidejack, it was a no-jack. Hilarious.

Here's an example of an easy-to-spot bad one. This one is a definite no-go just from the pics.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Top-qua ... 0ec718baf6

Now, it does look beautiful. Nice Wine Red Custom. Two things immediately jump out at me.
1) See how the tailpiece is behind the neck volume knob? No good. On real Gibsons, the tailpiece is slightly closer to the bridge than the centerline of the rhythm vol knob.
2) The knobs are not symmetrical. On LPs, the knobs make an almost equilateral parallelogram shape. The volume/volume and tone/tone knobs are not that close together.

And lol @ the specs...
Hardware: Korean imported ones

On the plus side, it is "customizable" and for $230 it might be a decent guitar, knobs and tailpiece aside....

Little things like that don't really matter, but those are the things that a lot of Chinese counterfeiters get wrong. If they get that minor stuff wrong, what kinds of big stuff do they get wrong?