Brian Moore Guitars i2.13

If it can mix acoustic piezo pickup and mag pickups, I would give it a 10. I do not like Y cable because I use a Podxt Live for acoustic & electric, so splitting signal is not necessary. Godin xtSA or LGX-SA is better on this.

I like 24 3/4" scale.

Mag pickups are a little noisy. They sound a little too bright. Otherwise it sounds awesome.

The acoustic is not bad at all. However because of the solid body, the acoustic sustain is kinda long, sounds not very natural.

I bought it used so I adjusted action by myself. Plays great now. The neck is thin which I like.

I sold my Godin xtSA because its neck was too thick and big.

It feel solid and reliable

I sent an email regarding to wiring diagram, no response... oh well.

I have been playing for 20 years now. I play classical, electric and bass.

I would recommend to my friends for this guitar. I love the short scale and thin neck. I hate it can not mix acoustic&electric.

Yes, I would buy another one if it's stolen.

All of the features are listed on the Brian Moore site and mostly top quality, I particularly liked the sperzel locking tuners since I have used a floyd rose for so many years and was all too happy to get rid of the tremolo bridge for a fixed bridge. 30 Years of string changing and bridge gymnastics--floyd intonation can change after each restringing--will do that to you.

I have owned and played this guitar for quite some time--hundreds of hours playing time-- so I'll start with the best and worst first. This guitar has an amazing professional tone with the SD neck pick-ups and no distortion--its world class. Many have commented on the coolness of the pickups and that is true, but only for the bridge pickups. And I have used Fender Amps and studio direct mixers, it does not matter. I am not certain why the neck and bridge have such a disparity, and it could be the weight of the guitar itself, but being a non metal player, I do not use the bridge pickup anyway, nor have I tried to tweak them by raising or lowering the pickup itself. I have played through better sounding and cheaper metal type guitars that were equipped with Dimarzios and Bill Lawrence at the bridge and they sounded better for that genre. The guitar is amazingly light and a nice change from the heavy les pauls, however it is not the best balanced for sitting and composing. I originally purchased it for the accurate midi tracking so that I could access my Native Instruments synths and some piezo but I find that playing it straight is far better than I had imagined. The piezos are a nice feature and sound authentic as though the guitar were a thinned down Ovation, not a true acoustic.

The action, fit, and finish are all very high quality and should be on an instrument at this cost. It is a fast guitar that is easy to play but I am not fond of the laquered neck since after playing for several hours it has a tendency to accumulate 'sweat gunk' from the palms--my biggest gripe. This is an innovative instrument, and a very attractive one that I would recommend for anyone interested in breaking out of vintage sounds and walking into the digital age. It took me months to make a buying decision given the complexities of digital setups and computer interfaces. For instance, should I wait and buy Brian Moore USB? Alas, it does not matter for synth access since Roland owns the 13 pin interface. I know that I had alot of questions on the computer synth interface side and I hold advanced degrees in engineering and software. If you want to sound better than the folks did in the 50's and 60's I recommend this guitar. If you like to sound like Bill Haley and Jimmy Page, try something else.

The one complaint I have in the set-up is the fact that the neck is laquered and not palm oiled or "flat". This is not a problem for the les paul player, but I really enjoy a flat finish on the back of the neck versus the 'greasy' feel one gets from the laquer. My sweat will produce its own grease.

The craftsmanship here should hold up for at least 30 years if not abused. The frets (some) are a bit "gritty" on the string bend, thus the metal might be pitted. The electronics and potts are very quiet for my studio recordings and introduce little to no noise which is one of the reasons that I needed to upgrade my old guitars.

No need for customer support, but I might if I decide to add the USB interface.

I have been playing for 30 years now...and thats even hard for me to believe. This is a very innovative instrument from the jack placement, light weight, midi interface, and body contour for ergonomics this is one well thought out design and one that I was willing to support as I grew weary of all things vintage. Come now, there must be a better way, and Brian Moore is not the end all, but a very good start and one that I recommend.

Not sure the year, I am guessing a 2004/2005 as it arrived in perfect condition with the plastic protection still on the case and electronics cover. You should all have the specs on this guitar from previous looking so I won't go into it in detail. It's got the onboard 13pin system with 2 humbuckers/ pull pot with coiltap. Mahogany neck and body with flame maple gold top on body and headstock. Rosewood fingerboard with abalone inlays. Sperzel locking tuners.

Sound is great so far. I have tested it out and it runs the gammut from light jazz sounds to blues and rock. The pickups are a bit tame and don't cater to the metal head in me, but I don't let metalhead out of the closet too often. It is a very well rounded guitar. Shredders will probably want a hotter pickup. I tested out the 13 pin system and compared it to my old guitar with the roland gk setup and it tracks much better without even adjusting the sensitivities - right out of the box. The synth electronics work flawlessly and are very intuitive if you are switching from a GK external pickup. Can't rate this a 10 because there is no such thing. I like it. A lot.

Action is fantastic. I have some minor buzz on the low E, but have not changed out the old strings yet. I suspect that will shape up and its not very noticeable. I think the truss may need a minor tweak to put a bit more curve on it. The pickups need to be adjusted but this is not a new guitar and looks like either the bridge PU was too hot for previous owner on the low strings or someone incompetent adjusted the PU height.

The fit and finish: I cannot find a flaw on this guitar after staring at it for hours. The finish is perfect, the construction is damn good. I have some other guitars, one of which is a heritage american made (old gibson shop) that had HORRENDOUS attention to detail on the finish, fret dressing, etc. This guitar was made by people who care about quality. Hate to say it, but its fit and finish is top notch regardless that it came from somewhere else. The Sperzels will need to be loosened and adjusted as a couple sit in an angle that just appears funny to me. The biggest flaw I have found is that the pickup surround for the bridge PU is mounted somewhat out of square/alignment with the guitar and the pickup. On really close observation it looks crooked to me. I haven't measured it but I know its not level. I am funny like that. The top is beatiful flamed maple, however it does not exactly bookmatch. Flamed top with a mirror image bookmatch is the stuff of very expensive custom shop work, so no problems here. The flames are consistent, just you can tell where the seam in the middle is. The pots and switches appear to be decent quality, are tight, true and no noise. The tunamatic bridge looks like it will fade or get corrosion with use. So do the Gibsons. Very well built guitar for the money.

strap buttons are dangerous. Will replace these with lockers ASAP. The finish appears durable with no spots appearing very thin. No idea how easy it is to scratch and I dont want to find out. Not enough experience to form an opinion, its solid and looks like you could drop it and pick it back up. I don't plan on doing that.

No experience

Have been playing 24 years. Have had all kinds of gear from carp to decent. Currently a Martin and Larrivee acoustic, a Parker Fly deluxe, Heritage Millenium, the Moore and a couple throwaways/beaters. I would probably replace this if stolen, or hook up with a Godin. I compared to Godin on features, price, looks, cost. The Godin was a very close second. I like the Godin LGX-SA perhaps a bit more in terms of features, but the necks on the Moore's can't be beat for playability. It just felt better. I like the looks of the Moore better as well as the set neck and quality locking tuners. The rest is pretty much comparable between them.

I've had this guitar for a couple of years. It is strikingly beautiful, which probably influenced my decision considerably. The beauty of the matched top is to die for, especially at this price. It is basically a Les Paul style guitar with very high frets, Seymour Duncan mags, and RMC split piezo pickup under the bridge suitable for driving Roland syths or VG processors. It has a stop tailpiece, Sperzel tuners, short scale, active electronics, and a coil split switch. Made in Korea.

Between the mags and the piezo, it's incredibly versatile. The basic mag tone is very warm. The split coil tap is very helpful when playing through a very muddy tube amp. I'm done with Floyd trems, so this guitar suits me fine. Best thing about the guitar is the looks, first rate.

Action too high, needs adjustment. Frets are too high also, harder to deal with unless you get them filed down. Mine had a buzz I had to work to get rid of. The top is stunningly beautiful. There were no finish flaws on my guitar, though I took a chance and bought it mail order.

I've gigged this guitar quite a bit. The stock strap buttons are useless, even though the rear button is on the back. A strap lock is mandatory. I mostly use the 13 pin Roland connection, but recently I switched to a tube amp using the mags. Unfortunately, the quality of the 1/4" jack and volume pot are crap, having rarely been used but defective nonetheless. The pot is very noisy and did not recover with exercise, the 1/4 jack intermittent. These parts aren't standard stuff, nor easy to get to to replace. The factory didn't want to send me the parts, they wanted me to send the whole guitar back. No thanks. The electronics suck anyway, so it's time to rip it all out and replace with some quality parts. While I'm at it, I'll wire it up so I can blend in the piezo, which is not currently an option. Instead, you're expected to use a stereo cord which branches into two cords. You ever see a guitarist with two cords hanging from his guitar? Me neither. I won't be the first. I'll remove the factory wiring and preamp and hook it all up passive. The Sperzel tuner on the G string is worthless, I couldn't figure why my g string kept going out of tune until I finally just wound it on the peg in the time proven way.

They seem nice enough, but I would have liked them to send me replacements for the defective parts. They wanted the guitar back, which would put me out of business for a while.

I've been playing guitar for 40 years. I own a commercial recording studio. If this were stolen, I would not buy another. I would spring the extra bucks for a McNaught guitar with better quality parts. I love how it looks, am OK with how it sounds, and hate the quality of the electronics. At this point I'd trade it for a decent USA strat, if someone would be so foolish. You can see the guitar at www.tellingstoriesmusic.com

MIDI, Seymour Duncans and RMC Piezo pickup, beautiful work. You have to look at a few of these before you buy. some of these might have slight finish flaws, but then again so do some PRS, Gibsons and Fenders. Hard case and stereo cable, amazing. better than Godin, and Fender Strat with GK input. I like how the curved top eliminates the need for a pickguard, smart!!

All styles, you just have to know how to have it setup. If you have a good guitar tech, this thing will sing. Mike C below must have bought a dud, or didn't have it setup poperly, but it looks like most here can see the versatility and value of this guitar. Try a few before you buy if you like the sounds you can pulll from this , then buy it and have a professional guitar tech sset it up . Never been happier.

These are made in Korea, so take a look at a few of these if you can. My moore is flawless.

synth works great, RMC piezo is so much better than my Fishman pickup installed on my Sadowsky Strat, the pickups are brighter than my PRS, great for lead guitar.

Patrick Cummings is awesome! Really nice guy.

Never been happier, versatility is key here.

Korean made, u woudl think it was garbage, FAR FROM THE TRUTH. I tried 2 of them, one was not setup as beautiflly as this one. Actually the other one was buzzing all over the place. But most guitar makers screw up every once in a while, so that did not deter me.
Love the MIDI pickup, much better than my SHadow pickup. And piezo is warm, which is usually how RMC piezo sound anyway. no brainer

I play ska/funk, I absolutley love it, clean crystal sounds

Had to set it up perfectly by a great guitar tech 35 miles from my house. There are 3 techs only minutes from my house. But realy good techs are hard to find. After it was setup the way I wanted it, it was amazing.

Feels solid but one pot was a bit scratchy, my tech called Brian Moore and they sent him FREE OF CHARGE a new pot and another stereo cable FOR FREEE!!!!

see above.

I would buy this again, its lighter than my PRS and it has WAY more versatility than my Ibanez Prestige. Great feel and sound.

I wont list the features, that is what webpages are for and many of the previous reviews have covered them. I will say that for the price, this is a versatile guitar that can produce a plethora of great sounds in one package. If there is any category it cannot be knocked on, the i2.13 is flawless feature wise.

The Brian Moore mohagany guitars have a very unique sound. They use Kalantas mohagany, and a slim piece at that. Don't expect your typical thick, heavy, harmonic tones you'd get from a Les Paul. The truth is, this guitar has a lot of bite and cut, while retaining a rather full sound. On it's own, I aliken it to a JCM900-- has everything it needs in the highs and mids but somewhat lacks the balls. This is ok for many styles of music and allows the guitar to be more affective in multiple settings I think, however. I disagree with one of the previous assessments that the neck is muddy, because although it is the more rounded lower sound expected from a neck, in my experience, through a Marshall DSL100, Carvin MTS3200, and various Fender tube amps, that the Alnico II is a rich, creamy, and throaty pick up. I actually far prefer it to the JB in the bridge, which only adds to the already almost excessive mids and highs on this guitar. Like I said, a ton of bite, rather high output, but very good sounding guitar. I'd like to hear it with other pickups, but as it is, it remains a very good sounding instrument.

The piezo is not nearly perfect, however a nice passable sound. I would suggest running at least an EQ between a piezo and the board so that there can be some girth added to the sound since it lacks low end.

At all of the dealers near me who sell Brian Moores (three I can think of), I have had the reverse experience compared to the other posters. I have felt the action is set up far too low on the neck from the factory. The neck is thin and fast while still being comfortable for playing rhythm. It's not as flat as an Ibanez but not as round as some Strat and LPs can be. The neck is what attracted me to this guitar initially and what keeps me playing it. The finish and top on my guitar is particularly gorgeous, and the finish on both sides is flawless. From the factory and on the showroom floor this thing was great.

The bridge and saddle, however, have absolutely horrendous finishes and the gold has worn almost completely down. I own the guitar for two years now, but it took less than six months to remove the gold from the bridge and saddle as well as from the tone/volume knobs. The tuners, however, remain as good looking as they were the first day I purchased the instrument. I would certainly use this guitar without a backup, and the only issue I have had with it reliabilty wise has been the horrid finish on the components aforementioned, and that is a minor cosmetic issue that is often encountered with gold hardware.

N/A

I love this guitar, I think it plays great and is a rather unique instrument for total control over three incredibly different sounds. I chose this guitar for its neck and flexibilty in a live situation. However, I do find that the guitar is somewhat sterile playing, and lacks that "mojo" often associated with Strats and Les Pauls. It is a great addition to my collection, I routinely play out with it and do not regret purchasing it for a second. A great guitar for someone who needs a lot on tap, from his/her feet and his/her guitar while playing a comfortable and fine looking guitar.

What good are all these features if the setup is off. These guitars are made in Korea. They are nothing like the American Made ones.
They are pretty though, they just sound ugly.

Maybe if the intonation was set the sound wouldn't be so muddled and loose. Maybe if the neck was set the strings wouldn't buzz.

The paint job is beautiful. Action is super high with buzzing strings and intonation so off that it's a nightmare to tune.

I'm shipping this POS back in the morning. I've had it for 3 days.

No customer service at all. These people will not even reply to an email. Don't buy Brian Moore stuff unless it's American, and if you do, don't expect any kind of customer service.
As far as Brian Moore guitars are concerned, once it's out the door, you're on your own.
And don't let the door hit you on the way out!

People need to know that Brian Moore's Korean made products
play like Fender Squires and cost more than signature series Strats.

This guitar is like a swiss army knife. Piezo, humbuckers, split coils, 13 pin access. Mine has a beautiful quilted top, gold hardware. It is the best looking guitar I have ever owned. It has a unique output jack location for the mag outputs, which I thought I wouldn't like but have found it to be pretty intelligent. I don't particularly like where the bottom strap button is, but it works with the output location well. I bought mine with a fitted case. Given that the body and neck are made in Korea, for the price, I would have expected a ebony fretboard but the rosewood is OK.

I play in a Worship Team at church and I need a broad range of tones. I have the Brian Moore hooked to a Boss GT-6 and GR-33, that go directly to the house system. At home I also go directly to a mixer and play through studio monitors. The pickups are good. Not sure why a previous review said it is not good for metal. It sounds good distorted or clean. This guitar covers alot of ground, before even hooking up a synth or VG-88.

The guitar was setup perfect for me. The finish is perfect. The neck is perfect for my hands.

I think this will be a highly reliable guitar. The electronics are quite complicated however, so time will tell.

never talked to them.

I've been playing for over 15 years total. This is my second attempt to get into the world of guitar synthesis. Previously I had a Fender US Strat with a GK-2a mounted on it and ran it into a GR-30. That setup was pretty unreliable and embarrased me a couple time with rogue notes popping up out of nowhere. Not so with the Brian Moore. You CAN get sloppy and the GR will bite you but it is reliable enough to play out with if you play with a little care. It is light years ahead of magnetic hex pickup guitars in tracking on a GR-33, plus it is great guitar in it's own rights. If you think guitar synths are a joke, you've never tried it on this guitar.

I would buy another one if this is lost. I have not seen too many quilted top ones though, so I doubt I'll find another just like it.

Comfort contoured body
Set neck construction
Kalantas Mahogany body and quilted maple top
Finished Carried onto headstock
Ivoroid binding
22 fret, Mahogany neck
Rosewood fingerboard
24.75"
Seymour Duncan JB Bridge Seymour Duncan Alnico Neck Coil Split
Sperzel Locking Tuners
RMC piezo in bridge
13pin RMC

I play a mix of blues and rock. It fits very well in there. The combination of pickups is great, and really suits my style. Enough so that I would think about doing an upgrade to these on another guitar.

They are not suited to Metal!

The coild split enhances the tone, and is well worth it.

It is currently fed through a Spider II or PODxt, both of whic react very well with the guitar. So much so it starts to show the flaws with modelling amps.

The piezo produces a very bright and rich acoustic sound. But be careful to EQ, as there is so much output there, it can get muddy quickly. Rolling off the volume helps a touch.

Blending the Piezo and Magnetics is where the guitar jumps out. It is great with a bit of delay on the pickups. And is the reaosn why this guitar was bought.

The finish is fairly flawless, although the top used isn't, and the book matching of the top is slightly off. I have the cherry sunburst, which really shows the maple off when the sun hits it right.

Iveroid binding adds a touch of class, as does the abalone inlays.

There is a touch of bubbling in the gold finish on the bridge, but seems to be well fixed in place, and not likely to come away. In honesty it could be the original metal below the gold.

Set up from the factory was good, but I don't like the choice of 9s on a scale length of 24 3/4" So it has gone up to 10s

The frets have been fnised wth a god deree of quality, and in all it plays like a dream.

But as comments abouve about the top and bridge, I will have to give an 8

It will withstand being on stage, but I don;t know how long it would last looing as pretty as it does now.

The hardware seems rock solid appart from the volume control lifts slightly. Something I will be speaking to Brian Moore about.

Just out of personal preference I wold have another guitar as a backup like, but this would certainly do the business for almost all shows

I really like the lifetime warrenty. I like the check out form from the factory too. Makes all the difference knowing someone has sat with your guitar and got it rght before sending it out.

I really like this guitar, and it quickly became my main guitar. If I have the money I'd have another, though I would spend more time in the shop really checking it over.

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.

Brain Moore i2.13 Les Paul style guitar, made in Korea. This guitar was purchased new in 2002. The neck has a 24-3/4 inch scale, made of 3 piece Kalantas Mahogany, 22 frets, 12 inch radius and a Rosewood fingerboard. The frets are tall which make for superb bending. The tall frets may not be to liking of all players. The contoured body is Kalantas Mahogany with a highly figured maple top (top is veneered). Gold hardware. The matching headstock is scuplted and includes Sperzel Tuners locking tuners. All strings exit the graphite nut straight to the tuners (no offset). The headstock has an unusual 2 by 4 arraingement. The guitar comes with Elixer strings (.009's). You can see the guitar and specs at the Brian Moore web site -> http://bmcguitars.com/iguitar/ig2.13.html

Controls include volume and tone for the two Gold covered Seymour Duncan humbucking pickups. The tone control has a pull-up feature for splitting the coils on the pickups (single coil strat type sound). The tune-o-matic style RMC bridge does triple duty. It is nicely adjustable for string height and string length. It is also a peizo pickup for acoustic sounds (with separate volume control), and it is also a divided pickup for 13 pin (GK-2) synths, amps, etc. There is also a separate volume control for synth output. This volume control is black in color to help differentiate it from the other volume controls. Two switches are also provided. One for switching patches on your synth (via the 13 pin cable) and the second for selecting the RMC (divided) pickup, magnetic pickups, or combining both. The rear mounted 1/4 inch jack is great. It is too bad that the 13 pin connector wasn't put in the back also. It is mounted on the bottom (Les Paul style).

The BMC i2.13 has more features than any other guitar in it's price range and BMC has made it very easy to navigate through them.

I play mostly classic rock and some jazz. I have been playing on and off for about 30 years. I do not play professionally. The guitar sounds great. The bridge Seymour Duncan pickup is fantastic for lead work. It really cuts through the mix. When playing power chords this pickup really shines. The neck pickup is a little bassy for my liking but when playing jazz or rhythm grooves it is very passable. Both pickups are extremely quiet. The peizo pickup is very typical of most peizo pickups, in my opinion. It works extremely well when mixed with the acoustic sounds on my Roland VGA-7 amplifier. The RMC divided pickup tracks like a dream with the VGA-7. Just about any kind of sound that you might want at a gig or for jamming can be conjoured up with this guitar and a VGA-7 (or a VG-8, VG-88, GR-33, etc). Variety of sounds is what this guitar is all about. I give a rating of 9 only because of the neck pickup... otherwise it's a 10.

The guitar came from the factory with Elixer strings (.009's I think). I swithed to .011's because that's what I like. Other than that, the factory setup was very good. The guitar stays in tune no matter how I play it. Very stable. I did adjust the tune-o-matic bridge down a little from the factory setting.

The finish on this guitar was awesome. Bookmatched maple top is gorgeous. Ivoroid binding is very nice. The overall appearance is fantastic for a guitar of this price. The sculpted body is light, but not too light, and is very comfortable. Looking at the guitar from and end view, the body has a large sweeping radius which adds to it's beauty. See picture here -> http://bmcguitars.com/

I haven't had it long enough to comment on reliability but, the guitar looks and feels like a million bucks. It appears very sturdy and the set neck joint appears to be very solid.

I have only had email questions so far and BMC responded quickly. You can also register the guitar on their web site -> https://secure.surfhawaii.com/brianmoore/add.taf

Overall I am very please with this guitar. I also own a Gibson Les Paul Custom (1972), a Gibson ES-330 (1967) and Takamine FD-360 (1999). I must say that this guitar ranks right up there with my other guitars. If it were lost or stolen I would certainly get another one. The only item I will change is the strap buttons to strap locks. As mentioned previously, the tall frets took some getting used to for me, but other than that, it's a great guitar.

Brian Moore, Tobacco Sunburst, i2p.13 guitar. Les Paul type with Seymour duncan pickups,sperzel locking tunners.piezo bridge... The neck not sure of radus but 24.75 scale(les paul) but much flatter then the Pauls I played. I did get a stereo Y cable but basically that is all that comes with it. For 1200 bucks I think it should come with at least a gig bag but I told Brian Moore that so hopefully they will listen. All major specs are true to the web page.

No noise and comming from strats it is kind of nice. Of course with the coil splitting option I can get right back to the 60 cycle hum! I play rock, bluesy type stuff with just enough funk to make it fun. I run this guitar through a Fender Twin "Evil Twin" all tube amplifer, a sansamp PSA-1 preamp, a boss Chorus Pedal, Ross Phaser and Crybaby!
Okay here comes the criticisms...sort of. I don't know how they do it but it seems that there is an up-sized portion of bass in the neck pickup! I have loswered the neck pickups bass side but with very little difference. I am running fender 10's because elixir strings suck and the high E broke on me the first night I owned the guitar. Back to my gripe...The low end is workable but when it is just too much I can split the coil and then I get a good clean sound. Single coil through an all tube amp just can't be beat. I will knock it down a point for the too bassy neck pickup.

Elixir makes some very expensive strings and for an electric guitar they are just no good. But for acoustic I love Elixir strings. I replaced mine the next day with 10's and raised the bridge to get rid of the fret buzz the guitar came with. I ordered it from Triple R Guitar in PA and they did not set it up till I got it home and played it for a few days and broek it in. But as of now it can't be beat! Still going down a point for the Elixirs and fret buzz.
Tobacco finish is just BEAUTIFUL and blemish free!!! Just darn pretty.

Nah, always take a backup you just never know but excetpt for freak accidents this guitar is plenty durable. I am worried though about the finish lasting. Though it is not their fault I tend to get into picking (SRV style) and hit the guitar above the strings. This could wear it out but so far so good. Playing live should be no problem.

I talked to them before I bought the guitar and they seemed very helpful. I am working on getting the 13 pin Midi replaced with a five PIN so when they get back to me I will let you know what I think more. I will give them a five for now but if they give me a problem with the midi conversion I will be taking them down. For 1200 bucks they should offer a 5 PIN midi as well as the 13 and since they don't they should make the customer happy! My opinion.

I would get another one for sure...might get one anyway. I might take the neck pickup out and spin it around in hopes of making it sound less bassy. Might e-mail Seymour Duncan too and see what they say. I chose this guitar after about 8 months of decision making. I own a Fender Waynes world strat,1991, and a Mexi-strat. I wanted something with humbuckers and played I think every guitar out there. And I came down to three... A les Paul Studio, a PRS cutom 22 and Brian Moore. The Les Paul just flat out lost just not enough options or ways to vary tone. The PRS almost won except that its coil splitting sounded too nazzle. The Brian Moore has midi, piezo, humbuckers, superbe finish, seymour ducnanse and coil splitting! So, for me it was just right. I can do anything with this guitar(almost) right out of the box. I am not a person who plays a lot of guitars or wish to acquire a lot of guitars but my strat and this guitar are perfect...for me anyway. Go out and play one for yourself. And compare bug the salesperson till they can't stand to see you anymore, web research, talk to friends and maybe you will agree with me or not but you have to at least play one of these babies.

This is basically a Les Paul type. Mahogany/Maple with set neck.
Pickups are H/H/Piezo. The RMC bridge system allows for both Piezo output for acoustic sound (like acoustic only different) and 13 pin Roland system connection. Enough switches are provided to select pickups and control synth, but not to select piezo to guitar output of 13 pin cable. Had to knock it down a point for not having the piezo available to the 13 pin.

I got this for the sound of the guitar. I had a Strat for my midi rig but didn't care for the sound of it in guitar mode because I'm used to my Les Paul. The sound of this is not identical but comes close enough for stage work. Seems a little darker. With coil tap in single coil mode it is very thin and weak execpt on the front pickup so I don't use that mode much.

This guitar is excellent in this department. Most players would consider it perfect, but I find the jumbo frets a little big for my personal taste.

I've had it for about a month and haven't had any problems. I plan on gigging with it.

Haven't had to deal with them other than registering warrantee via their website. The fact they are accessible via the web is a plus compared to some other major manufacturers who only use the web to advertise.

I've been playing 37 years. I would replace it right away if it got lost or stolen. It's nice to have something affordable to gig with so the irreplaceable stuff can stay home. This would be the perfect guitar for me if: It had a switch to route piezo to 13 pin and low flat frets like my Les Paul.

This bookmatched Quilted maple top Les Paul style guitar from Brian Moore is manufactured in Korea. The set kalantas mahogony neck is a three piece laminate, and is seated deeply into the kalantas mahogony back. The specialty acpect of this guitar is that it is loaded with an RMC bridge, and Roland 13 pin synth output. The gold Piezo Tune-O-Matic bridge, and stop tailpiece are nicely done, and solidly mounted. The controls for the synth driver include a Volume control, and mix switch that allows the selection of Synth/Mix/Magnetic, and a selector switch that chooses program options on the synth. It Also had a gold covered Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge, and Alnico Pro II in the neck positions. The controls are single volume and tone for the two of them, but there is a coil tap when the tone knob is pulled. There is also a piezo volume control that allows you to control the bridge volume. This feature however requires a stereo plug for the jack that splits into a magnetic, and piezo output. Only the magnetic sounds can be routed out via the synth jack, not the 'acoustic' natural piezo pickup. The whole thing is powered by an easily accessible 9 volt battery in the back of the guitar, with it's own compartment and door.
The neck is a small rounded shape that is somewhat wide. It's 12" radius ebony fingerboard feels really good with it's 22 medium jumbo frets, that are finished and shaped VERY well. and it's 4/2 headstock with sperzel locking tuners has a thick laminate of Quilted maple.

The i2.13 is a very good sounding guitar. I use it for Hard Rock, and some Jazz/Fusion, and it really sounds good. It sounds especially good teamed up with my new Roland VGA-7 amp (see seperate review), and it's synth driver abilities match up well with this amps capabilities. Though brighter than a Les Paul, it really is clean and quiet. Ii's coil tap allows the strat like sounds to come out with some shimmering highs. The body mass is also less than a Les Paul, so it avoids that whole muddyness on the bottom end. It REALLY becomes a versatial guitar when plugged into the VGA-7 or VG-8/VG-88. It can do Anything with respectable aplomb then. I truly like this guitar, and can't complain much, especially for the price.

The action of this guitar is excellent, and has required no tweaking from me. And in the two months I've had it, the neck has required no adjustments, even though winter has passed into spring here. The Maple top is a relatively thin veneer, and the bookmatching line isn't perfectly centered, but it IS pretty in the natural finish. The finish is clean and well done. No blemishes can be found, and the choice of a deep cherry red on the back of all the i2000 and iGuitars is an interesting choice. I am a bit unhappy with the bookmatching line, and the fact that the bridge pickup isn't perfectly square in it's mounting. The hardware, expecially the bridge could be a bit better casting. but for it's price it's really hard to be critical of this instrument.

This guitar is solidly built and seems to be well finished. The hardware is probably going to fade from play, but even the most expensive gold finish will pit and wear with age. Everything is in the right place, and well seated. I would depend on this guitar, and belive it would do well at a gig, even though I am not currently playing out. The 13 pin connection sometimes drops out, when bumped however, and I see that as a major issue when playing live. I would be sure to have a second cord (regular cable) going to the amp in case the 13 pin midi failed.
I would not however play a gig without a backup in any case. It's just plain crazy not to have something else there in case of an emergency.

I have spoken with the president's wife Suzie Cummings. When I originally registered the warranty on it, I made comment about the bookmatch line, and they actually responded to me via E-Mail letting me knwo that if I needed anything, let them know.
I called and spoke with Suzie, who explained the construction of the guitar, and why it was a recent development that there were bookmatched tops at all. She mentioned that they are not perfect, like the custom shop instruments, because they are still learning over in Korea how to build this type of guitar with a consistant level of quality. She also told me that if I want it replaced, she would be happy to do so, and would prefer to see me blown away with the purchase.
To date I have not traded it in, though I have left that door open. I would say that all in all I am extremely happy with the responsiveness of the manufacturer.
This guitar comes with a limited lifetime warranty.

I have been playing for 20 years, and really have mellowed from my days a Metalhead. I am really impressed with the quality of this guitar, especially because it's a made in Korea.
If it were stolen or lost I would replace it without question, though I might wait a little longer to get the DC/1 instead. I alsi might choose a different color.
All the flaws I mentioned are minimal, excepting the loss of connection when the 13 pin cable wiggles too much. For that I am working on a solution however.
If you want a Les Paul, buy one. This looks a bit like one, and sound in my opinion superior in many ways. I would recommend it highly to anyone. Even without the Synth access it's a great guitar!