Atlas Luxurious

Luxurious - 2009 Model.
Custom Made in Thailand.
Bolt on Neck.
5A - Flame Maple Top.
Mahogany Body.
Birds Eye Maple Neck.
Ebony Fingerboard.
10 - 14" Compound Radius. (I really love the feel)
Vintage Tremolo.
Pickups Custom Made by Atlas,Hum/S/S.
1 x Volume, 1 x Tone with Push/Pull Pot.
Locking Tuners.
Hard Case.

I was after a F-nder American Deluxe FMT - HSS, the Price in Australia for this Model is approx $3000.00AUD, plus it is massed produced.

Atlas Handmade Guitars, has no equal. Custom Hand Made one at a time.

I play classic rock, heavy rock, Blues, Pop.

I really wanted a versatile Strat, but with a humbucker in the bridge to get a heavier sound.

Wow, I really love this Guitar, I can get all the classic Strat tones with this Guitar, Quacky tones, I love the Neck pickup.

I have played 3 gigs with this Guitar, I have given the tremolo a bit of a work out, the locking tuners really keep it all in tune.

Humbucker in the Bridge, but pull the Tone knob and you have a Single coil tone. It sounds fantastic in Position #4 with the split coil very straty.

Look, I need a guitar that is easy to play, sounds killer and looks killer to boot, this Guitar has it all.

I can not stop playing this Guitar, that is the sign of a great guitar.

I did not find any Flaws, straight from the factory to my first gig, everything setup just right.

Action for me was perfect, the only thing I needed to adjust was the Tremolo, I like my Bridge Flat, some like the Bridge slight up towards the Neck, me I like mine flat. It took 2 minutes at the gig to adjust the Spring claw.

Pickups all set up right.

This is my 4th, yes 4th Guitar from Altas.

I wish they would sponsor my Duo, as we both Play Atlas Guitars, we get many compliments form a lot of Guitar players and also non- guitar players.

They are such beautiful looking Guitars, with tone to die for.

Andrew is your man.

Ask him what to need, he will make it happen.

As I said I have bought 4 Guitars.

They are so well made, I have been using my Atlas for 2+ Years, never missed a beat.

I have Playing Guitar for 28 years, semi- pro for 15 years.

I have bought a lot of Guitars in my time. I have then turned around and then sold the guitar a month later.

It has taken me many years to understand what suits me.

Altas Guitars are different.

You can not buy a Guitar off the shelf, like the mass produced ones.

You have to find a model that you like, then tell them what you want it to do.
Then buy it, then they start making your dream come true.

I can't not describe the tone I get from my Atlas Guitars, they scream, they cry, they sing, sustain for ever. I especially love the 10 - 14" Compound Radius it just feels to effortless to play lead on this Guitar.

If any of my Atlas Guitar were stolen I would buy another from Atlas in a heartbeat.

I have put my Atlas Guitars up against the American Made Guitars, not even close. The Atlas Guitars just have a Vibe about them.

If you are sick of the Mass Produced Guitars, if you love to play Guitar. You owe it to yourself to at least check them out.

It is the best money that I have spent.

I will now only buy Atlas Guitars.

My guitar is an Atlas Luxurious 2008. It was made in Thailand by Atlas Custom Guitars.

The guitar was a complete custom guitar, built from scratch to my specs, and finished in around 8 weeks from order date.

Its a 22-fret luxury bolt-on style guitar, similar to Suhr, Anderson etc. All specifications are bespoke, you can order it whatever way you like. Mine has a curly ash body, 5A quilted maple top, bolt-on maple neck, gotoh 2-point trem, HH config.

Controls are volume and tone, 5 way switch. The tone has a push pull that was supposed to have a coil split, but this was not wired up for some reason

The quilted top is insanely figured, one of the best ive seen on any guitar. It is a generously thick top too, not a thin laminate.

Pickups are Atlas's own brand.

My neck is one-piece flamed maple, with a separate flamed maple fingerboard. The neck is a mainstream profile, similar in thickness to a US Strat.

Guitar came with a basic hardcase.

The guitar sounds great, I was very impressed. I had planned on changing the pickups if necessary, but the Atlas pickups really are very good, I will probably leave them on.

Factory setup was perfect, guitar had a well adjusted action and was intonated perfectly.

Fit and finish are almost flawless, especially for a handmade guitar. Everything fits perfectly and the overall craftsmanship is excellent.

The quilt top is highly figured, one of the best quilt tops ive seen. Overall the grade of timbers used is above anything you will get even paying 2 or 3 times this price. And the stain job is awesome, it really makes the grain stand out. However, there is an unusual 'something' in the finish, im not sure if its moisture trapped under the laquer, or part of the process used to pop the grain. I will have to investigate this further.

The laquer had some hair-line swirling straight from the factory. They need to take a look at their polishing process; I don't mind a finish getting swirls/scratches after ive wiped it myself a few times, but it should not come like that from the factory.

The frets were very well levelled, however the final finishing should have been a little better, there were some tooling marks on the frets.

The nut was perfectly cut.

The wiring is very neat. However, as mentioned, my tone pot push-pull was not wired at all for some reason.

There is some very slight overpainting (of shielding paint) on the control cavity. Also the backplates are not quite as refined as they should be, there is just a slight 'rough' quality about them. The screws used in the backplates are too small (diameter), they are more like delicate precision screws and will strip too easily from being screwed into and out of the ash body.

The headstock angle is almost flat, im not a luthier but I feel like it could do with being a few degrees more, there is almost no angle over the nut on the low E.

The fingerboard edges are a little sharp, they should be rolled/rounded a little more.

The guitar is very solidly built and I don't feel like there are any quality issues that affect durability.

I dealt directly with Atlas during the ordering and building of the guitar. Andrew is very helpful and friendly, and answers e-mails very quickly.

However, after I completed payment, they did not respond to my e-mails at all for several weeks, leaving me wondering if they had even shipped the guitar, or if they had gone bust, scammed me, or something.

The guitar arrived safely in the end, but they should have informed me the exact day they had shipped it, and given me a tracking number.

I have been playing under 10 years, but I have owned and played some high-quality guitars. I mostly play high-end Ibanez (J-Custom, Jems etc) into Mesa/Boogie.

The build quality is not quite in the same league as very high-end production guitars (J-Custom, Suhr, PRS etc), but it is close, and of course it is completely hand-made and to your own specs.

The quality of wood used is exceptional. You won't get a quilted top this good on anything below a PRS Private Stock. The neck and fingerboard are both also highly figured..to get something like this on a 'first world' guitar would cost 5x as much probably.

If I lost the guitar, I would consider buying another definitely. I have some little complaints (fingerboard edges, headstock angle etc), but because Atlas is a custom shop, im confident that if I asked for these things to be changed, there wouldn't be a problem.

The guitar overall is superb, and the price is very competitive for a custom guitar. I recommend it highly.