Flamey Redwood and Tonal Heaven: Chapin arrives

[Testudo]

Same report as on BaM, just spreading the joy.

It's a cliche by now, but the pics don't do it justice.

Specs:
Redwood top, ash back
Mahogany neck w/ blackwood board.
Powertron in bridge pos., TVTron in neck
3-way blade switch, 3-way toggle for series, tapped, and parallel.

This is one killer guitar. In full humbucking mode it is very Les Paulish, especially with the tone rolled back a bit. With the tone on full it gets more gretsch-like.
Tapped it does bright, aggressive Tele sounds, even sounding vaguely Strattish, and parallel covers the mellower aspects of a Tele.
All that "Tele" stuff I count as a bonus. I wanted a killer humbucking guitar, and figured we might as well do coil-tapping.
As with everything Bill makes, you get useful sounds with the volume and tone in all positions. Tone at zero in humbucking mode, you can do that sustainy cello-like tone that Page did occasionally and Fripp did all the time.
Roll back the tone a bit in HB mode for LP fatness, then switch to tap and bring the tone to full - no loss of signal.
The bridge pickup is set slightly hotter than the neck in humbucking mode, so that they equal out in tapped and parallel.
So many more tonal possibilities I can't remember tham all.

Full tone report later - this is just initial impressions from the dropoff last night.

[bluestein]

Love the shades!

[hawkeyeinexile]

congrats, PJ, and excellent choice of features.

i think you'll find, as you compare to LPs & teles & gretsches plus plug into different amps, that the guitar exhibits an increasingly unique quality, id'ing it as a Chapin. a matter of clarity mostly, to my ear.

enjoy,

[Testudo]

Originally posted by hawkeyeinexile
congrats, PJ, and excellent choice of features.

i think you'll find, as you compare to LPs & teles & gretsches plus plug into different amps, that the guitar exhibits an increasingly unique quality, id'ing it as a Chapin. a matter of clarity mostly, to my ear.

enjoy,

Absolutely. Tonal comparisons are gross generalizations only. It's a lot more than a Tele/LP/Gretsch/Strat-in-one.

[hawkeyeinexile]

Originally posted by Testudo
Absolutely. Tonal comparisons are gross generalizations only. It's a lot more than a Tele/LP/Gretsch/Strat-in-one.

and how about that blackwood 'board? w/mahogany that neck must be a tone engine. what's its profile?

[58gasman]

Congrats on the new Chapin.

One aspect of all Chapins is the versatility that they exhibit. His T-birds or Stratahoulas will give you the basic sounds of teles and strats but depending on you amp and pedal setups you will find sounds that go well beyond what a Typical Fender is capable of.

Beautiful Guitar.. enjoy.

Craig

[58gasman]

Not trying to derail this thread but any pictures of the Devil Dog in progress??

[cnardone]

beautifully guitar. i wonder if that is the same piece oe Redwood as mine. That guitar is going to treat you really well for a long time. Congratualtions. Enjoy her for a long time.

cmn

[abergdahl]

WOW .. Really cool looking and i suspect it sounds even better.

It makes me want my next Chapin even more...

[Bonedance]

That is a beautiful guitar! Classy, understated elegance. The Baby Grand bridge looks very sweet and everything seems to work in harmony. Congrats!

[Testudo]

Originally posted by hawkeyeinexile
and how about that blackwood 'board? w/mahogany that neck must be a tone engine. what's its profile?

What's its profile? I was in Bill's shop, picked it up, said "This is an incredible neck. I want it." That's as specific as I can get.

Originally posted by cnardone
beautifully guitar. i wonder if that is the same piece oe Redwood as mine. That guitar is going to treat you really well for a long time. Congratualtions. Enjoy her for a long time.

cmn

It probably was. Pictures of your guitar kept me going through many a cold and lonely night.

[hawkeyeinexile]

Originally posted by Testudo
What's its profile? I was in Bill's shop, picked it up, said "This is an incredible neck. I want it." That's as specific as I can get.
...

just heard from Bill, it's ".860-ish, chunky C-to-D style"

yowzah

[edgarallanpoe]

Amen brother...Redwood is the shiznits. I have been getting out of the maple tops because they always seem to make the guitar overly harsh. However...I love the look. When I heard about the redwood, I was intrigued. Well..I am a convert. Redwood sounds amazing...

Mine is a Nik Huber Redwood Dolphin..the one on the far right.

One piece exceptional Redwood top
Korina Body and neck
Brazillian board
Body is chambered

[decay-o-caster]

Peter - so cool! Congrats, bro!

[big mike]

Oh yeah!!!