Brian Moore Guitars i2.13

This is a 2003/2004 Brian Moore Tobacco Sunburst, "made in Korea". I bought this online and the setup was perfect, "unlike other guitars I have bought that way". Beautiful flamed top with one small flaw,I think it was in the wood though. Magnetic Seymour Duncans with push pull pot. RMC 13 pin piezo for use with my GR-33. Synth volume, Piezo Volume, Magnetic Volume, Magentic Tone=Push/Pull. 3 way magnetic pickup selector. 3 way synth/both/magnetic switch. 2 way program step up/step down switch. Tune-O-Matic Bridge. Sperzel Locking Tuners. Medium to small width neck. Case not included.

I love the fact that the RMC/piezo tracks well with the Roland GR-33 synth. Seymour Duncans are not my favorite magnetic pickups. If this had some Gibson pickups in it, it would be perfect, "just my opinion".
I am running direct right now with the RMC going to the GR-33 via the 13pin then L&R out to the mixer. The magnetic's are going through a bunch of my rack stuff to the mixer. I am only recording with it right now. I have not tried the Seymour Duncans through a tube amp yet. I will be buying a tube amp soon to record via a isolation cab. The Duncans are very bright through my POD. More of a blues based sound so far, hard to get a metal tone?

Like I said before, this guitar was set up perfectly. Just one minor flaw in the flamed maple bookmatch, that is why I gave it a 9. Everything is solid and well put together.

No problem with my gold plating yet, "I have had it two weeks". I think I will replace the strap buttons with straplocks. No manual came with this guitar, so I downloaded one from their website.TWO COMPLAINTS: First, I didn't have any Idea how sperzel tuners work, Second, there was no mention of what the 9 volt battery in the back controls, I assume it is the RMC, "but I could be wrong"! I would use it without a backup, because I cannot afford another one.

N/A

I have learned this guitar very quickly, very easy to play. Looks like a Les Paul for synth! I compared it to the Godin's, but I couldn't find anywhere that sold them.

6 different mag pu selections(humbucking or coil tapped), piezo, synth (and with a VG-88, to many guitar/pickup sounds to list), and
mag/synth blend. Sometimes I get completely lost in the selection and have to take a time out to find my way back out. The sounds are all great.

JBs on the bridge may sound a bit bright to some, but they are very clear and sound dense/silky distorted. If someone would cross-breed this sound with the HFS on a PRS we'd have a winner.

Nice look/finish. Very light guitar. Nice tuners. Ebony fretboard seems to be dyed for even color as I found this black muck all over the frets (returned it and bought a better looking one from another store - had to settle for the natural quilt on that one).

Everybody has a neck shape they like, but IMHO THIS IS THEEEEEEE BEST NECK OUT THERE. If this was a stand alone category I'd give it a 15. In fact, that's the only reason I felt compelled to write this review.

So light it just bounces off things. I'm sure it will hold up.

Like Goldmember said "..it's a keeper." I may get a US made DC1, but why pay over twice as much when this sounds and plays so good.

Synth, acoustic, humbucker AND single coil sounds, enough said!!

Classic Seymour Duncans, RMC acoustic pickups (Better than Baggs AND Fishman) into Roland GK type pickup. The best tracking I've heard and Ive tried Fender, Godin Axon pickups and external Roland. This IS the best.

I love America, but damn this Korean guitar looks and sounds amazing!! I know the body and neck are made there and the rest is assembled some where in New York.

Tone knob started scratching but was instantly replaced by the company. I was able to solder it myself.

These guys are great, very courteous and easy to get in touch with.

I would buy it again. Ive had top line Ibanez, G&Ls and custom Gibsons and this one kicks.

Comfort contoured body, Unique scuplted headstock, Set neck construction, Kalantas Mahogany body and highly figured maple top, Matching headstock, Ivoroid binding, 22 fret, 3 piece Kalantas Mahogany neck, Rosewood fingerboard, 24.75" scale 12" radius, Gold covered Seymour Duncan pickups, Gold Hardware, Sperzel Tuners
Tunomatic bridge, Innovative output jack location, RMC piezo (via stereo 'Y' cable) for warm, authentic acoustic tone, 13pin RMC system for fast tracking access to Roland and compatible 13pin guitar processors.

Overall, the guitar is packed full of features. There were a few very minor things BM could have done to give the guitar even greater versatility. The output jack is a TRS connector where the tip outputs the magnetic pickups and the sleeve outputs the piezo pickup. I have the same config on my tele with fishman piezo bridge. I had my guitar tech put a 3 way toggle switch on the output of it so that I could make the tip of the input jack be magnetic or piezo or both. This allowed me to use my wireless or a standard guitar cable and access all the sounds of the guitar. I took the BM to the same guitar tech to do the same job. Because the piezo is connected through the synth he was unable to do it. He contacted BM and they said it was not possible with the current guitar configuration but I was welcome to purchase ANOTHER guitar from BM, a custom guitar, that they could "special wire" for me.

Im giving this an 8 simply because, BM could have made just a small change to the design and made it way more versatile.

I have been able to get some nice midrange growl sounds. The neck pickup is a little bit muddy but have been able to eq it out with my processor. The coil splitters are nice especially when using both bridge and neck pickup at the same time. This pickup combination gives a rather "nuetral" sound which is very well balanced. The output of the guitar is pretty high compared to my other guitars I own.

The piezo is just that, a piezo. If you are looking for true authentic acoustic tone you need to buy an acoustic. People need to realize this. Many people ding it because they dont sound exactly like an acoustic. If you want the real thing, then get an acoustic. The piezo is warm and rich. Not as bright as my tele fishman piezo but I'm glad, between the two guitars, it gives me more tonal textures.

Synth:
Here is where BM loses. I bought the Roland GR33 to go with the BM guitar. I am going to admit, I tried EVERYTHING to get it to play correctly. I adjusted the string sensitivity at every level, changed ALL the playing style settings on the guitar. Adjusted the string height from top to bottom and everywhere in between and could never and still cant get it to play properly. The guitar would play extra notes for no apparent reason and would sometimes play extra notes. I sent two emails and 1 voicemail to BM guitars. I finally got a callback and after explaining the problem to the customer service person his only response was that I don't play the guitar correctly and that I should glue some rubber to the bridge of the guitar and quickly got off the phone with me. First of all, I have been playing guitar for 20+ years and while I am by no means an expert, I do know who to correctly hold, fret, and play a guitar. I found this solution to be rather lacking and disappointing. As far as a future customer, at this point I would never purchase another one of these guitars since one of the main reasons I bought it was for the added bonus of the synth at which at this point, its worthless and just another guitar that I could have spent far less money and got the same features.

Fit: The fit of the guitar is perfect. The neck is solidly glued into the neck with no gaps or gaping seams and the hardware is perfectly aligned.

Action: The action is set extremely high. I lowered the bridge as best I could, but the nut is cut incorrectly. It appears it wasn't setup correctly from the factory and when it was inspected it was overlooked. The strings set way to high on the neck at the nut. It is NOT up to BM specs for initial height adjustment. Because the strings set so high, you have to press harder than normal which if you play chords or notes within the 1st 4 frets it can go out of tune by as much as a 1/4 tone. I also contacted BM about this and the same customer service rep told me that they are all set that way from the factory and if I wanted it set to my custom tastes I could purchase another guitar from BM from their custom shop otherwise I would have to take it to my guitar tech to have it setup to my taste or simply not fret so hard. Its not that the guitar needs to be setup to my playing style or that I fret too hard, its the nut is set TOO HIGH to be playable. So, the only way I can correct the problem is fork out $50 to take it to my guitar tech to be setup and have the nut shaved and lowered.

Finish: Ok, this is where BM bombs. The finish on the front of the guitar is absolutely gorgeous. It is perfect without a single flaw. However, the back of the guitar has some major issues. Underneath the gloss there is what appears to be a handprint. It looks like the person assembling the guitar, hands had glue on them and held the guitar at that point on the back of teh body after it was stained. It wasn't corrected and then the finish was then placed over the guitar. While this doesn't affect the playbility of the guitar, such as it is, I spent over $1400 on this guitar and for that price, I as a consumer expect a good looking guitar. Once again, I spoke with customer service about this and they said that once the finish is put on the guitar, there is nothing they can do about it.

The components used on the guitar are very high quality and very well made. BM uses the best components for building these guitars and given the reliability of the components they use should stand up to years to use.

As mentioned above in the review. The customer service for BM guitars is awful.

For the three issues listed above I sent an email and got no response, I called and left a voicemail and got a call back about 3 days later, the customer service rep was very defensive of their product and for the issue with the synth and the nut he dutifuly explained to me that it was my playing style and no fault of the guitar. With the issue of the finish he said that there was NOTHING they could do about it and very quickly got off the phone with me. After this experience, I documented the phone call and emailed BM again and copied the president of the company on the issue. I havent heard anything from them again, that was 2 months ago.

As a consumer I am very disappointed in BM guitars. Given the current situation, I will not purchase another guitar from them. I spent over $1400 dollars on this guitar and for that price I expected more from the company and their product.

If you feel you MUST purchase one of these guitars, DO NOT buy one from a mail order warehouse. You can avoid the issues I have by going over the guitar you buy with a fine toothed comb. Only buy the EXACT guitar that you play. Do not play the demo model and then order one. Only buy the guitar you play and check closely the items above.

The only feature I wish it had-and will rectify soon: adding the locking Sperzels.
Amazed by the workmanship / soud / tracking / VERY happy with it. Plays like "butter" is the only way I can describe it. Been playing my own built guitars for approx. 12 years now - not very often now.

The only noise on bridge P/U . Great sound.
Got lots of amps / little /big /old / line 6. But the ONLY thing I use much anymore(recording or live-STEREO) - is a Vamp2. The ONLY one I have EVER found that has the warmth I was looking for. I am buying a VAP PRO(rackmount).
Sounds crazy, but works for me. Been playin' 30 years.

Set up well. Being in QA for numerous years - really looked this over almost NO defects. A little spot where fish bleeds a TINY bit from neck to body.
Very impressive quality.

Yes to all your questions. What did I do years ago when I played 5-6 nights a week endlessly with 1 guitar? Now I have 10 (I think). I hear people speak of backups. What a laugh. Have too many - no time to play them. This ONE is for me. Does it all.

30 years. Way too much too list. Yes- would buy another.

I believe this one was created 2002 in Korea I think. Most people would shoot a guitar like this down (me too) but before I bought this one I checked out other Brian Moores including the cheaper i21.13 and I was really impressed with the work on those guitars. So I kept watching for a good deal. I knew I wanted the i2.13 because I liked the way it looked and the functions it had (Humbucker, single coil, acoustic, synth). I had a Strat that I put a acoustic pickup AND an external GK2A pickup. It felt too busy and the GK didn't track well so I sold the synth pickup. I wasn;t really using my Gibson Les Paul studio so I sold it for this guitar. I love the work on this guitar. It was a factory second because they missed some finishing near the neck pickup but it is hardly noticeabl and I saved $500 plus I recieved a hard case when these guitars normally get a soft case. NICE!!

OH BOY, the Seymour Duncans sing the acoustic sounds better than a buddies Parker and the synth picks up as well as my Godin Nylon string. I'm set!!! The only thing I would change is having the Guitar synth sound mixed with the acoustic instead of the electric. I am going to ask them because I heard customer service is stunning. But overall sound wa better than my Les Paul Studio becuase it has more versatility and greater sound than any other guitar I've ever used.

I bought a factory second becuase I am not completely into looks, and I still got an amazing looking guitar. amazing work for Korean made. Besides my Godin Nylon, this is the best looking guitar I have.

Don't now Yet

I will test these guys soon. see above

I love this guitar, and I can use it a lot because it has a lot to offer. I would love to get an all black model with gold hardware (all of my guitars are black). but i don't want to pay $4000 for it. With the money I saved I may have someone repaint it, but the quilted Maple top looks so nice. I would buy it again at full price, DEFINITELY.

This is a follow up on my post dated 08/25/2002 10:45. I am so happy with the i2.13 that I'm selling my '76 Les Paul Standard and my Ovation Elite S778 so as to purchase a second one. It covers both guitars and midi so well that I would have more enjoyment and productivity with less hassles with two i2.13's.

The thing that surprises me is why the Brian Moore i21.3 is not more popular and why the Godin LGX-SA / LGXT is more widely used. Granted the Godin is also a fine guitar but the neck on the Godin's are as cumbersome as an old baseball bat.

Anyway I plan to get a natural finish as the one I have now is tabacco sunburst.

Arguably the most versatile guitar anywhere near this price as it has an RMC piezo to allow acoustic-like tones and Roland 13 pin RMC MIDI compatibility plus two coil spliting Seymour Duncans. Very comfortable contoured body and and highly figured maple top.

The sound of the Seymour Duncans can go to Fender and Gibson land but keeps it's own personality. It's not as mid range as a Les Paul nor as honking as a Strat. Balance and projection is what this tone is all about. Add in the piezo for acoustic-like tones and trigger a MIDI sound module with the 13 pin RMC MIDI and nothing comes close except the Godin and the Parker which are similarly equipped but I hate long scale guitars @ 25 1/2", the Brian Moore is 24 3/4", yeah. Noting ever get a "10" for sound, but I'll give it a solid 9.

Considering the cost and the features I cannot really fault this guitar as it approaches, and in many ways equals the fit and finish of a guitar costing double the price.

This guitar is built at least as well as the new Gibson Les Pauls and in the 6 month I've had it, it's been my 'daily driver' with no problems. I don't bother with backups as I have way too much stuff to carry already, everything MUST work the first and every time, without fail or I won't keep it. The Brian Moore i2.13 passes the test.

I cannot overemphasize how easy and responsive these guy are, perhaps the best I've dealt with in terms of speed and responsiveness. They answered all my questions quickly via email before I made my purchase. Albeit Yamaha and Roland have also been great, the trick is to know who to contact and how to approach them!
Being a jerk = getting a jerky response, yah dig?

It walks over the Parker and the Godin (the only other guitars with similar features) because it has a 24 3/4" short scale neck with equivalent or superior quality. The thing to remember is, in spite of a guitar's features you really live on the neck, and this is where the Brain Moore i2.13 wins. If you grew up on Gibsons, your hands will be right at home, but your ears will be treated to way more than either a Gibson or Strat can ever deliver. I don't play my other guitars much anymore - no suprise.

Here are the specs on this baby:

Roland 13-pin RMC system
Comfort contoured body
Set neck
Kalantas Mahogany body and highly figured quilted maple top in one of the most beautiful tobacco sunbursts I have ever seen - I almost want to smoke it!
Matching quilted headstock
Ivoroid binding
22 fret, 3 piece Kalantas Mahogany neck - super fast and highly playable
Rosewood fingerboard adds some real warmth
24.75" scale 12" radius
Gold covered Seymour Duncan pickups with pole taps
Gold Hardware
Sperzel Tuners
Tunomatic bridge with RMC piezo/hex MIDI pickup
Innovative output jack location - I like it. I don't have to wrap my guitar cable around my strap anymore.

I hate to give a 10 in any category, but this guitar deserves it. It gives me the highly accurate midi control and tracking I've been looking for, vast tonal variation from the pickup/pole tap/piezo combinations, and super playability.

Stylistically speaking, I play it all.

This guitar plays an excellent country twang in single coil mode, believe it or not! It also has that sweet creamy les paul sound in the humbucker mode. I raised the bass side of the pickups a hair, thinking I could use more bass, then I realized I had not really adjusted my amplifiers! I put the pickup back where it was and boosted the bass on my amp - this solved the issue completely.

I think that people on this board that say the bass is weak are missing the point - the pickups are sublimely balanced. Consistency in tone is achieved throughout the pickup's magnetic field. This tonal balance is what makes this the audiophiles studio guitar.

I found the pole taps add tremendous expressiveness. I have them on my PRS and wouldn't play without them. This guitar is also extremely quiet. More studio points!

Here are the amps I use and I tried them all with this axe:
Marshall 9000 (2x50w)& 9002 (2x100w)
Mesa/Boogie dual rectifier (Maverick)
Marshall ASR80 acoustic soloist
Fender '65 twin
ADA MP1 and Marshall JMP1 preamps
Marshall 1960V 4x12 cabinet
Randall ISO-12c cabinet

Pedals include a Replex, Soldano GTO, tc electronics chorus, real tube overdrive, valvulator, wah pedal, etc..

Combinations of the above through an AKG c3000 b into a Bellari rp503 tube preamp with analog compression into a vs-880 and cubase.

For the MIDI, I went from the 13 pin to an AXON converter, then to my Roland xv5080 rack mount synth. (Sequenced in cubase)

Once again, for pure tonal variation I'm giving this a 10.

This guitar is beautiful. The quilting is so beautiful and perfectly matched - It looks like water flowing under the finish.
Superb craftsmanship and playability.
I restrung the guitar with ghs nickel rocker 11's (it came with elixir 9's, but I don't like those strings) For the 9's it was set up perfectly. Once I restrung/restrobed, it was totally perfect for me.

You guys really have to see the beauty of one of these guitars. It is totally amazing. It looks like a museum piece. It can easily sit right next to my PRS Pro Artist IV and hold it's own.

I can't wait to scratch it all up! As Edward Van Halen once said, "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got them dings."

The rating for this category should read 10 - Glorious.

Nothing lasts forever. My rule is every time I play one of my guitars, I clean it thoroughly when I'm done. NO EXCEPTIONS.

This rule, for all practical purposes, will make my guitars last forever.

Of course the finish will wear eventually, but this guitar is solid. Gold hardware always loses it's luster, but oil from you hands left on any metal surface will GREATLY accelerate this aging process. Hand sweat is the silent killer of fine musical instruments.

Take it from me, clean up your mess!

Oh yeah, I'm not a complete fool. I always have a backup. (Amps, tubes, fuses, strings, guitars, and booze.)

As far as depending on this guitar or using it on a gig, the first time I heard it through an amp I was playing live.

I'm not sure I have the words to describe how good the support at Brian Moore Guitars is. Please read on, you will be surprised!

I ordered a guitar from a third party vendor. It arrived with a color variation, while extremely beautiful in it's own right, that I did not order. That's what I get for talking to some yahoo at xyz warehouse. I decided to talk to someone about it, and emailed the Brian Moore Guitar company. I was stunned to receive a reply from the President Himself. I was treated like I was some big-time rock star (not just in my own mind this time, either) I hope he does not mind, but here's a quote from one of his many messages to me:

"Camilo,

I trust that our customer service people have contacted you and made arrangements to take care of you.
There is no such thing as a small order, we do our best to take care of all of our customers. (We are all lone musicians: )

We will have this resolved quickly and at no cost to you.
Thanks for your patience.
Have fun.
Make music.


Best Regards,

Patrick G. Cummings
President

Brian Moore Guitars, Inc. (Billing address)
P.O. Box 540
LaGrangeville, NY 12540-0540

Brian Moore Guitars, Inc. (Shipping address)
Town of LaGrange
60 Fireman's Way
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603"

That was cool.

These people have a commitment to excellence and dedication to their customers. They do the most important thing in the world of sales and support: They put the customer's needs FIRST. Always.

I'm still amazed.

I got this guitar, pulled it out of the box, stretched the strings for about 5 minutes, and took it straight to play live. A brave move, but I was feeling confident that I was not being reckless (see customer support above.)

WOW, did I have a great time! Everyone in the band loved the tones I was getting. I thought the guitar cut easily through the mix, much better that my strat. The guitar performed 100%.

See above for my other gear. I may have to buy another one just to look at. I would definitely buy another if lost, stolen, or damaged.

If you need a superior tool (uh, uhhm, I said tool) this is it.

Features as other reviews
I have 2 silver toggle switches, some have 1 some are black (you want black to match the other hardware IMHO)

I use all the sounds. I really like mixing piezo and neck for a nice big jazz sound. The MIDI tracking is very good with only a few rogue notes popping up and very fast tracking.

The action was very nice as received, I lowered it a little, the taller frets have a different feel but that is all it is, it takes a little getting used to BUT it has to be said that it makes bending the strings a little easier. When playing with no amp I can hear that the strings are not as "dead" as other guitars i own (even with new strings) But this lively-ness is not heard through the pickups so I feel it just has a more liveley action.
There were NO floors upon receipt.

OK, here is where i dig in a bit.
The guitar will withstand live playing. In fact, it will help me withstand live playing because the thing is easily the LIGHTEST guitar I own. It is noticably lighter than either Strat I own.
The hardware is solid BUT...
The FINISH on the bridge is lousy, yep..it was wearing off within 10 hours of playing...no kidding! and I dont play hard!
Other than that it is holding up well, It is beautiful looking top, but I beleive it is a venier so one gouge and it would be toast. But it would still play very nicely, I would hate to damage it.

I have called the BMC folks and they are very helpful. The offered to replace the bridge. I have a concern with the taper of the pot for the piezo output because it is very hard to adjust in the mid values. They have offered to replace this but i have since plugged into other amps where the piezo output was perfecly smooth. So I think it is an impedence issue. Anyway, they were eager to get me to ship it directly or get it back to Huber & Breeze, their local agent, who would fix it or ship it back for free. Good deal.

I have been Playing for 30 years. I own Ibanez Concert, Artist, Yamaha SG1500, Fender strat, Fender stagemaster, Martin D1, Levin. Fender, Trace Elliot & Crate tube Amps, Roland gr33 guitar synth.
I played it before buying it, it has a different feel than other guitars (except the stagemaster). It has a nice feel once you get used to it. If I could have asked one thing it would have been if the top is solid. But look at the shape, it is in addition to being VERY comfortable IMHO. It is the only shape you could veneer, oh well, it plays great. leave the solid tops to the collectors and those who want the work out of a 15lb guitar hanging on their neck for 2-3 hours.
If it were stolen i would buy it again, I would track down a Godin again just to compare the two, but I bet I would go with a i2.13 again. GIVEN THE PRICE, I feel it is a great compromise, it is a very nicely made guitar. With great sound, great features a nice feel and a fantastic weight. I don't like the thin gold finsh on the bridge but they have offerd to replace it, they even offerd to replace it with a USA bridge but I hve been too busy playing with it to get it back to them!
If i could add one feature. It would be the ability to go under the cover and switch a jumper over to place the peizo (accoustic) sound to be the guitar output on the 13pin cable so that the synth and accoustic sounds would be blended together in the GR33 where they could go on to the flat PA type speaker. The electric quitar output is standard. But again they offered to change that (for a fee this time - but I am not SURE that that would be better which is why i wouild wish for a switch under the cover). I did not manage to compare it to the Godin SA. That guitar has its proponents as well. My comparison was to the gk2a driver which is not ideal (but i played a couple of gigs with it it worked great). Why did I choose it?...Truthfully, a saw this great looking guitar at a guitar show, played it, liked it, and it was light, it sounded good and would drive the guitar synth. The price seemed great because I was contemplating putting an RCM systems into the Ibanez Artist which would be expensive. If you have read all throught this, you are going to buy one, don't bother to try and fight it, your done.