Zion Guitar Technology - show me what you got! - Page 4

dewman · #46 07-03-2006, 08:08 PM

god I remember Pete siting back in that little room on the left at A L & M playing that blue Zion!!! musta been 81 or 82...wow, we hung out there all the time..we were all a bunch of Van Halen playing high schoolers...and here was Pete and (remember?) 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.

Slick51 · #47 07-03-2006, 08:54 PM

Ah, yes...3PM! I used AL&M as a refuge from engineering classes at NCSU for years! Supposedly, this Zion was finished in a color that wasn't in production at the time (just Lake Placid blue, but still more desirable, at least to me). It played, and still plays, as good as anything I own, and I'm up to almost 30 guitars now...

Slick51

dewman · #48 07-03-2006, 10:45 PM

sounds like we were likely at NCSU not to far apart- I graduated in 90 (PAMS)...Bought my first guitar at ALM- an EVH special- a red Kramer Pacer Deluxe w/ original floyd ...and the guitar is STILL in tune!! he he...worked my first job to get the 650$, waited forever, and when it came Pete ordered the wrong neck...oh well. Still have that guitar. Really nice necks and bodies on the american made Kramers. Strats were pretty anemic in the late 70s and early 80s. I used to take lessons from John Wheelis for quite some time, wicked nice guy and over the top player. He was pretty cool about coming in with some Randy Rhoads thing you wanted to learn and helping you through it. He taught me quite a bit of McLaughlin, although I couldn't remember any if I tried. Never got bit by that fusion buzz, although a lot of people were heading that way in those days. I think I spent most of my free time when I wasn't playing in high school or the first few years of college over at AL&M. I let one guitar slip away that I'll always regret- a no name guitar, silver sparkle tele body with one humbucker and volume knob - best neck and fastest playing guitar I have ever played. Probably a parts guitar or a Schecter or an initial run from a local luthier, but I always regretted letting that one go. Zion was in greensboro at the time and we periodically made the trip over there to check out their guitars. Always nice. Guess they are in Raleigh now, will have to check them out.

KENHOOVER · #49 07-04-2006, 12:02 PM

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...a-99976212fc49

KENHOOVER · #50 07-04-2006, 12:32 PM

r9player · #51 07-05-2006, 08:03 AM

I also owned this one for a while besides the Primera .. not sure what model this is even!

LTE · #52 07-05-2006, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by r9player

I also owned this one for a while besides the Primera .. not sure what model this is even!

It's a kick-ass Zion.

Hey Ken, can that be a real model name?

guitarplayaman · #53 07-06-2006, 07:46 AM

I own one of the early turbo models. Was my first real nice guitar I bought with gig money. That guitar will always be one of my faves though it has a floyd rose and is set up with 9's...so just not my style these days. Still it is a battered beautiful mess..used it a little on the Loadsock debut.

Robroy · #54 07-06-2006, 08:37 AM

I remember that there was a great player from Greensboro named Dick Smith who went on to play with Earth, Wind & Fire ad he endorsed Zion. I would like to know where he is now. He was a real nice guy and a very good player.

I used to own a parts strat with a huge Zion neck that was perfect for me. But I had to sell it. Needed the money.

KENHOOVER · #55 07-06-2006, 08:45 AM

[quote=r9player]I also owned this one for a while besides the Primera .. not sure what model this is even!

Model : RT Classic

KENHOOVER · #56 07-10-2006, 07:46 PM

As the postings ended last week like cutting off a faucet, I may have gone too far listing that Keaggy for sale and crossed some kind of line. Therefore I deleted the posting. I am not the owner now. It does not benefit me personally. I have sold guitars for 30+ years and I am personal friends with Phil Keaggy & Jay Wolfe. Just trying to do a favor. If I offended anyone, I am sorry. If you are new to this board and are curious as to what I am talking about, you can go to my personal site.
http://www.myspace.com/kenhoover scroll down and you will see the exact posting with images. In the future, I will keep it informational only. I like this thread and I don't want to upset anyone!

guitardude5 · #57 07-10-2006, 08:08 PM

Ken,

I for one was not offended. I have seen other people post some cool things they have seen for sale in threads like these. I know you are new to the gear page, and I am glad you are here. It's great that you can add some great input on how you have created some beautiful instruments. Please keep up your posts. You can post stuff for sale on the Manufacturers & Dealers Emporium . It's totally OK to post that kind of stuff there.

For those of you who don't know Ken, he is a stand up guy. I would like to post a little story about my first dealing with him that made me a LONG time Zion customer. Sorry if you have read this on the original post, but I feel it is worth bringing to light.

Quote:

Originally Posted by guitardude5

Here's my first great customer service Zion story...
I was playing guitar in my high school jazz band (about 12 years ago), and I wanted a guitar synth to add some more tones (I was a kid, come on... toys are still cool). I had a Clapton strat, 72 SG, and a Zion Classic Maple (which of those is the only one I still own). I didn't want to put the synth pickup on any of those guitars. Truth be told, I thought about mounting it on the classic maple, but there wasn't enough room between the bridge and the bridge pickup. I set out on a quest to find a great playing guitar that would accomodate the synth pickup. I purchased a Zion Turbo (see the pic). I was still pretty green when it came to gear, and the bridge kept slipping the high E string. I called Ken Hoover about the problem, and he took the time to talk to me about the Floyd system. He sent me a complete replacement saddle so the string wouldn't slip out anymore. NO CHARGE!!! I was floored by the way he would treat a Zion owner. I wasn't the original owner of this guitar. From then on, I was hooked. Granted it wasn't a huge expense, but it made a customer for life. Way to go!

-Jonathan