Adam Stark Guitars AS1

This guitar is 01/10, completed a couple of weeks ago. Adam has been working on his design for 20 yrs and now has gone into production. I got the first one because I happened to be at a jam when I met him and was blown away with his prototype (and his playing). I had to have one. Timing is everything. It is a 22 fret rosewood board on maple neck with dots, 16" radius, bolt on. Scale is Gibson, 24 3/4". Neck has a very thin finish that leaves it feeling like unfinished wood - very silky. The body is super resonant light weight alder finished with his custom opaque paint called Vintage Desert Tan. Very classy, in an understated way. The body is unique. It is a double cutaway but very small compared to most common guitars. The only body relief is for the left hand in the bottom cutaway and it is sloped to the back side of the guitar for incredibly easy upper register access. Body thickness is roughly 1 3/4". Even though there are no belly or arm carves, it is very ergonomic with the small body. I never feel awkward with my right hand as I do on a standard tele. Because of the smaller body, wood simply isn't in the way of my forearm. The body has twin strap buttons on the bottom making fast strap length changes very user friendly. That configuration also allows the guitar to be leaned on an amp without falling to the side (not that I'd to that but....) It has Dunlop 6000 frets (the largest they make), staggered height Gotoh Kluson tuning keys (split shaft with hole for string end)on a strat configuration head, fixed bridge with string thru body, and pickups are 'AS 59' Humbucker - a full size humbucker for P90 slot manufactured in Germany to Adam's specifications. The pickup cavity being P-90 size accomodates a regular P-90, which was on Adam's guitar I initially played, or mini hums. These are splittable and controlled with a 5 way blade so that postions 2 and 4 are both inside and outside coils for stratty sounds. Knobs are special custom pots for volume and tone. The neck size is quite hefty. Fatter than the PRS wide-fat that I'm used to. Extremely comfortable. TR access is at the bottom of the neck which must be removed for access. The guitar comes with a custom design gig bag that fits the guitar perfectly and is very well padded. I'm giving it a 9 rather than a 10 simply because it's simple and has no trem. But it has everything a player needs to make great music. You can see this guitar on Adam's website, here: http://www.adamstark.com/docs/guitarpage.html

I play rock, blues, and some excuse for jazz. My other guitars include a PRS HB spruce, PRS Custom 22, PRS McCarty soapbar, and a Jim Surles Custom strat. I am a Two Rock dealer and use a TR Custom and a one-off TR 4XEL84. I also use a Fuchs modded DRRI, a Reverend Hellhound, and a PODXT. So, I have some good stuff with which to compare. This guitar covers all the bases. Rock, jazz, blues, it's all there. The full humbucker positions are huge, full, and chimey. The single coil positions are stratty and quacky without being thin. They are, as expected, quieter than the full hum positions, but are beautiful sounds, especially when volume boosted. It's sort of a Gibson meets PRS meets Fender and they're all having a great time together. I don't try to emulate other player's specific sounds so I won't comment on what it sounds like by comparison. I think it suffices to say that not only does it hold its own in my high end sound stable, it's all I've played since getting it. It covers all the bases. And it's quiet. Switching is quiet and the single coil choices are quiet because they're hum cancelling, being used together. The P-90 version, Adam's own guitar that I played at the jam was also a tone monster but as I have a McCarty soapbar, I opted for the humbucker version. I'm glad I did. Adam told me that he'd gone through countless prototypes to find the body and neck configuration that optimized resonant tone. He obviously succeeded.

The action, fit, and finish were, in a word, perfect. Smooth, no flaws, silky action, great sound. I'm used to excellent finish work in my PRSi so I would notice faults here. There were none. Adam's work is obviously meticulous. Strapping it on, it felt like an old friend. The action is low with no buzzing. It took a day or two to get used to the small body and fat neck size, but it wasn't a struggle to do so. Now, I prefer it to all my guitars. It's that good.

It looks and feels like a guitar you could gig with for a lifetime and need no maintenance. I've been bending the crap out of the upper strings and haven't broken one yet. I'd be tempted to gig with it without a backup, but I think that's foolish in general. Strings can always break. But, it hasn't happened yet.

I got to know Adam at a jam hosted by a buddy of mine in LA. I had driven down (from northern CA) for this get together and then a NAMM excursion (Jan '03). I was blown away by Adam's monstrous guitar playing. This was in a setting of about a dozen pro or nearly pro level players. Adam's style is unique and amazing to behold. He's also a helluva nice guy. Very humble, complimentary, and played his own guitar through his own amp (his amp is his design, the Fire Amp). At the very beginning of the jam, he handed me his guitar and though I was nowhere near ready to start playing, the guitar just started playing itself. It was so nice to play and sounded killer. Later, as I heard and watched him perform his mastery on this guitar, I knew it was something special. After the jam, we talked and talked. Once I got back home, we emailed back and forth and I ordered this one. He's in the process of running this first batch (after 20 yrs in development), some of which are going to some very famous players. I don't even know any specifics of a warranty. I just know that Adam is the sort of guy who will take care of his work and his customers like only a custom builder would - to the full extent of his ability. Which seems to be massive.

I've been playing since age 13, and I'm 56 now. Holy crap...... I have a lot of high end gear and I'm a dealer for Two Rock (internet sales, mostly cookie jar money). I play lead in a classic rock band. I'm not a monster player, but at times, I play decently and occasionally, I have my moments of really good playing. I've certainly owned and played a lot of guitars in my time. If it were lost or stolen, I'd be glad I've been paying for a home insurance rider that covers my instruments. Then I'd order another. I love its light weight and despite being 6'1" and about 190#, I have no trouble with the small body. In fact, I really like it. It's extremely ergonomic - ie, comfortable to wear and play for extended periods. You want a guitar that doesn't get in the way of your ability to make music. I need all the help I can get and this guitar just does it for me. I also like its 'understated elegance'. No quilt 10 top, multiple switching setup, trem, etc. Just simple perfection. I'm used to high end stuff and this is as good as anything I've owned or played. Gorgeous resonance in a small but powerful package. I love this ax...