Zion Guitar Technology - show me what you got!

[r9player]

There was a questin by someone on the board wondering how to tame the brightnss of his zion guitar.

[funky]

Originally Posted by KENHOOVER

As it has been a month since the last post, let's hear from you guys. BTW I check this everyday!

Well, I recently bought this Zion on ebay. I just had her refurbished. New stainless steel frets, a brand new original Floyd, and new switch and pots. I played three gigs last weekend and she plays like a champ. I love Zion guitars. Nothing else feels quite the same.

[Boggs]

For those of you who do not know Funky, he is a MONSTER player and his attention to detail on the setup of his Zions (he has a small stable of them) is second to none. He also is ready and willing to offer his knowledge on them and a great guy. I have no idea why he is not on Zion's "Most Wanted Endorser" list... I would put him up against anybody, and I do mean ANYBODY in terms of tone, technique, phrasing, melodic... The guy is just sick and as humble as he is brilliant...

[Baggins]

Originally Posted by KENHOOVER

As it has been a month since the last post, let's hear from you guys. BTW I check this everyday!

I was just waiting for someone else to post. Nice site, Funky! Too bad my dial-up doesn't allow me to download all your tunes...-they're amazing (from what I can hear)

Chris

[Baggins]

Originally Posted by Boggs

For those of you who do not know Funky, he is a MONSTER player and his attention to detail on the setup of his Zions (he has a small stable of them) is second to none. He also is ready and willing to offer his knowledge on them and a great guy. I have no idea why he is not on Zion's "Most Wanted Endorser" list... I would put him up against anybody, and I do mean ANYBODY in terms of tone, technique, phrasing, melodic... The guy is just sick and as humble as he is brilliant...

All it took was a couple of lines to convince me that he is playing what I want to hear played. Kind of like Andy Timmons on "Resolution". It's how an electric SHOULD be played.

[Boggs]

Glad to hear you took the time to check him out... He should be filling stadiums...

[LTE]

Ken,

I saw on ebay there's a guitar called Zion by design. Can you tell us a little more about it? There's nothing on the Zion homepage about it.

Also, this thread is almost a year old! Imagine that!

[KENHOOVER]

Originally Posted by LTE

Ken,

I saw on ebay there's a guitar called Zion by design. Can you tell us a little more about it? There's nothing on the Zion homepage about it.

Zion by Design is an inexpensive line made in China for us. This guitar is
primarily marketed overseas. We hesitate to put it up on http://www.zionguitars.com as it is separate from the higher price American made guitars. It is targeted for beginners with a limited budget. They are surprisingly nice!!
(image below)

<Also, this thread is almost a year old! Imagine that!> This is the company's 27th year, imagine that!

[tythety]

Originally Posted by r9player

There was a questin by someone on the board wondering how to tame the brightnss of his zion guitar.

I'm having a simular issue with a recently purchased Maple Top T - Ken answered my inquiry about the details of this guitar on Memorial Day! - Many Thanks!! "It's body is a figured maple (1/4") top laminated to a basswood back. Made 6/16/92." It came with Fender Texas Specials, SSS. It's an incredible instrument but sounds a bit "toppy". (picts to come)

My playing style is Casting Crowns / Starfield. I'm also into early King Crimson / Yes / RUSH prog rock sounds. I'd like to know what the more experienced ZION players would suggest about getting more warmth or meat?

Thanks.:RoCkIn

[KENHOOVER]

<There was a question by someone on the board wondering how to tame the brightness of his Zion Guitar.>
__________________
Sincerely <><,

Pai Chung>

Originally Posted by tythety

I'm having a simular issue with a recently purchased Maple Top T - Ken answered my inquiry about the details of this guitar on Memorial Day! - Many Thanks!! "It's body is a figured maple (1/4") top laminated to a basswood back. Made 6/16/92." It came with Fender Texas Specials, SSS. It's an incredible instrument but sounds a bit "toppy". (picts to come)

My playing style is Casting Crowns / Starfield. I'm also into early King Crimson / Yes / RUSH prog rock sounds. I'd like to know what the more experienced ZION players would suggest about getting more warmth or meat?

Thanks.:RoCkIn

There are a bunch of factors that can ad high end to your tone such as humbuckers vs single coil pickups, fingerboard material, fretwire material, amp, 12" vs 10" speakers, open or closeback speaker cabinet etc. & how they interact. A good tone resource is http://www.seymourduncan.com/compareTones/matrix.asp under EQ
B/M/T or Bass/Midrange/Treble. Of course, this only applies to Duncans. My general observations from 30+ years: single coils tend to be brighter (use dual coil to darken the tone (like a JBjr), maple fingerboards are brighter, 10" speakers are brighter than 12" speakers. These are a few observations. As you can see, this is a very fluid situation with lots of interaction between the elements and no firm rules. The pursuit of great tone is a life long endeavor. Good luck and when possible listen first!

[Frater B]

Originally Posted by dewman

John Wheelis, playing all those fusion lines. Pete even had Steve Morse and Allan Holdsworth do an in store...not bad for back then in Raleighwood.

Just did a search to see if his name would come up.
Surprise! John was my first guitar teacher, great guy and hell of a player.
Pete also got Frank Gambale in there, and Robben Ford which John played
with during the clinic. Man, that was sad when they closed!

Anyone know if John is still around ? ? ?

Sorry for the derail !

I remember seeing the Zion's in the store, they always stood out!

.

[KENHOOVER]

Originally Posted by Frater B

Just did a search to see if his name would come up.
Surprise! John was my first guitar teacher, great guy and hell of a player.
Pete also got Frank Gambale in there, and Robben Ford which John played
with during the clinic. Man, that was sad when they closed!

Anyone know if John is still around ? ? ?

Sorry for the derail !

I remember seeing the Zion's in the store, they always stood out!

.

I remember the A.L.& M./Raleigh days too.

Pete managed A.L.& M./Norfolk for a few years, then went on to be a traveling sales rep with Blacker & Assoc., last time I heard.

No idea about John Wheelis.

[tythety]

Mr. Hoover

In regard to my Maple Top T I think you are correct in post #265. There are a huge numbers of factors in making a guitar "sound", but I have come to the conclusion that it's these darn Fender Texas Specials I don't like. The best description is they don't "sing" they "bark" (like a little doggy - ;-o)). They will soon be history.

In addition, I've decided to go to a SSH config since you were thoughtful enough to route the space under the guard for either SSS or SSH. I just got off the phone with DB, he says pick guards that he's making now wont fit the '92 you made. What should I do, please?

Many Thanks,

[KENHOOVER]

Originally Posted by tythety

Mr. Hoover

In regard to my Maple Top T I think you are correct in post #265. There are a huge numbers of factors in making a guitar "sound", but I have come to the conclusion that it's these darn Fender Texas Specials I don't like. The best description is they don't "sing" they "bark" (like a little doggy - ;-o)). They will soon be history.

In addition, I've decided to go to a SSH config since you were thoughtful enough to route the space under the guard for either SSS or SSH. I just got off the phone with DB, he says pick guards that he's making now wont fit the '92 you made. What should I do, please?

Many Thanks,

BTW "these darn Fender Texas Specials" did not come from us! Probably your best bet is changing the pickups. We like JB humbucker by Seymour Duncan and either their Alnico Pro II (single coils) or Dimarzio Virtual Vintages (dual coil) but that is just my opinion, you'll find everyone has one.

If you go to :
http://www.pickguards.com/PickguardO...tructions2.htm
they can make a custom pickguard for you for a reasonable price.
To make an accurate tracing, you will need to disassemble pickuard. BE ACCURATE! Especially with the original screw holes.

[tythety]

Originally Posted by KENHOOVER

BTW "these darn Fender Texas Specials" did not come from us!

Sorry, I failed to mention that I knew those weren't stock from your shop - I don't want to cause any bad dispersions (grin). I just put some Virtual Vintages in another guitar two '58s and a '61 in the bridge, IMHO they sound great plus no hum. I would recomend them to anyone. Thanks for the info. I'll advise when it's done with some picts since that's what I like seeing too.