Brian Moore Guitars i91

I'ts only a guess, but I believe the guitar was made in 2004- just a guess judging from the serial # where it starts with i***-o4****. Made in China. What I learned about foreign made Brian Moores, is that Brian Moore sends a tech to Asia and oversees production. True or not, can't say for sure. Anyway, this model is still listed on the Brian Moore site listing for $695. I got this guitar new from ebay- winning bid of $285+$30 s/h. Mint condition. Can't say this is a "feature rich" guitar" with a 5 way switch, p/ups in a H-S-H setup. Still, I can hear the slight differencs with each setting. Biggest difference in sound is when I switch from neck p/up to bridge p/up and vice versa. I rarely use the middle p/up only. The color was listed as purple, but it's really a deep plum/dark reddish color.

I think this is a pretty versatile guitar- I'm mainly a classic rock/blues player, but have been messing around with metal/shredding. Playing through a Crate Cube amp, sometimes with a Digitech Death Metal distortion, Digitech compressor/sustain pedal & a Korg Toneworks multi-effects pedal board, I can get pretty much any sound I want- from screching metal, to warm jazz. Not shabby for stock pickups. Not familiar with "alnico" pickups, never was that knowledgable about hardware anyway; either I like it, or I don't. I'd say the pickups are fairly responsive, and get very good sustain w/out any help from pedals. Get nice harmonics when playing lead, using the bridge pickup, or a warm rich sound with the neck; if I crank up the gain and volume, I can get harmonics no matter what p/ups I'm using. Setup was PERFECT out of the box. Was a little bit leery, getting this from ebay, and the guitar made in China of all places; but all my fears were layed to rest as soon as I tuned up and played it. Being that I can get the sounds I want with my effects pedals, I see no point in replacing the pickups, so I have no criticisms on the sound.

Action was perfect out of the box. Intonation perfect also. Didn't need to adjust pickups' height either. The single coil middle p/up was set lower than the humbuckers, allowing me just enough room to pick w/out hitting it. Had to adapt to it a bit, as I've been playing an Ibanez RG 320 lately with no middle p/up mostly, but any experienced player shouldn't have any problems with the middle p/up if they're not used to having a middle p/up.

Body is mahogony, kinda surprised at how light it felt; mebbe cuz my Strat feels alot heavier. The finish is absolutely gorgeous, and is nice to just look at. The slight arch-top is pretty cool. Neck is slightly curved also; I used to think the Wizard neck on my Ibanez was the fastest neck I'd ever played, but I think the Brian Moore is more playable. This guitar seems to have been designed with ergonics in mind, cuz it feels great whether you're sitting, or standin with a strap on. Feels real comfortable against your body. Overall, a very sold feeling guitar, no buzzes on the neck. Has a Wilkinson bridge like on my Strat, but I'm not a whammier, so no big difference to me. Holds tuning very well after hard playing. Oh, has rosewood fretboard, which is fine with me. So does my Ibanez. Transition from Ibanez to Brian Moore was easy. My Fenders have mahogony necks, formerly my preference.

I've only had this guitar for less than a month, but I believe it will last for a very long time. Hardware seems solid and lasting. About the nicest finish on any guitar I've seen, so I think it's a long-lasting finish. Strap buttons solid. I believe this is a dependable guitar, but I believe you should always have a backup guitar(s) if you're gigging. I haven't had this guitar long enough to truly rate it, but I think it'll prove to be a definite 8. I've been playing 35 yrs. and think this guitar is a long-lasting keeper.

n/a. I haven't even registered the guitar yet- duh. I'm not even sure I can at this point, given they only give you 14 days, but if anything goes wrong with any of my guitars, I'd probably bring it to a local tech.

Been playing 35 yrs. as already stated. Own a Tele, Strat, Ibanez RG320, now this Brian Moore. Old Gretsch (my first electric) somewhere. I would definitely replace this guitar if it were lost or stolen- mebbe even get one of the higher end models with the piezo p/up and midi out- but I don't really find those features necessary for my needs. The higher end Brian Moores have them locking Sperzel (sp?) locking tuning heads, but never had 'em, so I'm not missing anything. The only thing I wish it had were more powerful pickups, but I'd say that probably about any guitar. I test drove a $1500 Steve Vai special edition model, and the pickups were no better than the stock p/ups on my RG320. Right now, this is my favorite guitar, and probably will remain so for quite awhile. I've put my Tele and Strat away. My overall rating is a "10" because I'm factoring in the price I paid, mint condition, and setup out of the box. I think no matter your style of playing, you'd be happy with this axe- especially for the price. I saw a similiar guitar with a natural finish on ebay that finally won at around $240. Still, I would have paid the extra $40 for the color/finish I have alone. Just *looking* at this guitar makes me want to play it. I doubt I'd pay the $695 listed price though. These days, for $695, if you look in the right places, you can get a higher end guitar. Would I pay $695 for this guitar. Absolutely. I just love this axe.

What year was it made? Where was is made?: not sure, i think brian moore guitars are made in usa. this one was new in 2004, most likely made the same year. bought from musician's friend for $349. good price for this thing.
How many frets?: 22
Solid-Top? Laminated top?: maple wood top
Which controls are given: 5 way switch, 1 volume, 1 tone
Pickup configuration? 3 pickups, (humbucker/single coil/humbucker)
Make and model of pickups?: not sure...brian moore description "Classic 'iM' Alnico Humbuckers and single coil"
Active or Passive electronics?Body and neck woods?: passive pickups, body=mahogany
Finish: advertised as a transparent charcoal gray, really black with very little transparancy. Almost impossible to see the beautiful maple top underneath the dark paint.
Body style: a modified strat style, curved body design. its hard to accurately describle. cool design, check brian moore website to see it.
Bridge style: Wilkinson tremelo
Tuners: a no-name brand of non locking tuners that go out of tune every 5 minutes, regardless of playing style. the harder the playing style, the worse this is.
Neck/Scale: thin neck, nice feel to it, 22 fret maple neck, rosewood fingerboard with pearl fret markers, 25.5" scale, 15" radius
Any included accessories?: came with nice gig bag, allen wrench for neck, and a cheapo cable that most folks will throw away.

decent sound for most musical styles, you can get lots of sounds from this. the pickups are ok, i play mostly classic rock and blues, and it's good for these styles. I would consider keeping these pickups even though i normally hate stock pickups.

factory set up was terrible. a check list is included with the guitar, supposedly proving it was set up carefully. all the boxes are checked, but looks like nothing was done. buzzes all over the neck, worst i've ever seen. the inspector clearly did nothing or is incompetent, maybe both. this thing needs to be set up to be playable. otherwise, well constructed, no apparent problems.
finish is good despite the fact that it is WAY darker than advertised...i almost sent the guitar back because of this. The advertised finish, a semi transparent charcoal gray, looked GREAT and showed off the figured maple top, this one just looks black. I was upset about this when i opened the box. But if you like the color, finish is nice.

the guitar is pretty heavy and seems like it can take abuse. I think the hardware will last, but be careful...due to the non standard setup of the tuners, if you decided to change the tuners to fix the going out of tune problem, you would have a hard time finding a set to fit this guitar. The finish will last a while, i think. I like the placement of the cable plug in and strap buttons, as well as the body design, all ideas i have never seen. well thought out, nice design, built for players. I would never gig without a backup no matter what guitar, that is a stupid idea. This guitar goes out of tune easily and has broken high e strings from normal playing ( i admit i do bend the strings quite hard, but the strings do not break on my other guitars). Bring a backup unless you want to stop the show to change strings/tune.

i have not dealt with the company. i just looked at the website, and the company offers a limited lifetime warranty...but the site says you must register your purchase with them within 14 days of purchase and retain your original receipt. since i have not done eithe of these things, i guess there is no warranty. what the hell? stupid policy. the only reason they get as high as a 6 is that it is possible to get a lifetime warranty if you do as told.

been playing 20 years. this is a decent guitar if you get it on sale like i did. I would not pay the usual 500 - 600 i normally see this advertised for. too much considering that you have to get it set up just to be playable, and the finish looks nothing like as advertised. if lost or stolen, i don't think i would replace it. i'd look at other brands first. but i have not had it long either, maybe i'll fall in love with it, i doubt it though. If you can live with all of the negatives i've mentioned, it really is a decent guitar. good neck, and nice heavy body, and a decent stock sound. overall 8, more like a 6 or 7 if you pay full price. don't pay full price, you can do better.