Briggs Saturn Deluxe

Two weeks ago I received my special order Jack Briggs Saturn Deluxe. I must say upfront that prior to purchasing this guitar, I had no experience Jack Briggs guitars. I never heard of them until I fell onto a few websites featuring reviews of Jack's Guitar. I'm now a huge fan and supporter. I purchased mine from Eddie Berman at Indoor Storm who was incredibly supportive and instrumental in my purchase.

The Saturn Deluxe is a deeply carved body with a set neck. The finish is what Jack calls "Celloburst" which is a beautiful sunburst style finish. Below are the detailed specifications;

Body Wood: 1 pc South American Mahogany
Body Style: Saturn Deluxe - double cut, deeply carved
Top/Finish: 5A Quilted Big leaf Maple, B1 Celloburst finish
Neck Wood: 1 pc South American Mahogany
Fretboard: Brazilian Rosewood w/ Paua Pyramid and side dots inlays
Neck Profile/Scale: Slim - 25??? Scale w/Medium Jumbo Stainless Steel Frets
Headstock Finish: Matching Maple
Bridge Style: Tone Pros System II, Nashville TOM/Aluminum Stop tail
Tuners: Grover ???non-locking??? Rotomatic, Chrome
Binding: Full neck and headstock ivoroid binding
Nut: Slip-stone, 1-11/16 width
Neck PUP: Lollar Minibucker
Middle PUP: Lollar Minibucker
Bridge PUP: Lollar Minibucker
Switching & Controls: 5-way Blade, 1-Volume, 1-Tone, all passive
PUP Select: Pos1-B, Pos2-B/M, Pos3-B/N, Pos4-M/N, Pos5-N

The workman ship of the instrument is unmatched. The weight and balance is perfect. The neck and fretboard (I chose the slim) is incredibly comfortable and easy to play. I play a lot of altered chords and I find chord phrasing a breeze on this neck. The guitar just resonates beautifully too.

This is not a fancy guitar with lots of switching, preamps, wammys....It is straightforward and simple. 6 Strings, 1 volume, 1 tone, 5-way switch. There is nothing more you need.

As you can see from above, I chose 3 mini humbuckers. Jack turned me on to the Lollar ???Minbuckers???. These are sweet pickups. They have a great ???roundness??? to the clean sound and in a gain drive mode, they scream and have that "creamy" gain sound we all love. They are the perfect ???microphone??? to pickup the natural wood tones of this guitar. It's wired like a standard 5-way Strat set up but the middle position engages the bridge and neck pickup for the ???Gibson-like??? tone.

I play through a Fuchs Overdrive Supreme, which is a perfect match for this guitar. I'm a rock and blues player with influences of jazz and funk. This guitar allows crunch and me to get great clean sounds with a little edge and switch to that over-the-top gain sound for rock'in leads.

The body and neck help produce a mellow-mid-range sound with a little snap to it. The 3 pickup configuration is my favorite. I use the Middle-Neck position a lot as well as the Middle-Bridge position. I can get the Strat-ish "poppy" clean sound and in a gain mode, it helps smooth out the edge. I do have to say though that I love the Neck-Bridge position for more of that Gibson Les Paul sound. It's very very cool!

This guitar arrived set up to my liking. Jack set it up with a low action so that it is very easy to play. The pickups I believe are set up to Lollar's specification. There is no audible level difference between the pickups. They are all balanced very nicely.

Regarding the finish, this is one of the best quilted tops I have ever seen and Celloburst finish is brilliant. It almost looks like boiling flames emanating off the bridge! Check out the JSpoon Photography website for pictures. http://www.jnwphotography.com/gallery/briggsbest/ My guitar is the fourth guitar featured in the series.

There is no doubt that this fine instrument will last for decades to come. It was built to perfection. When you pick it up, it just feels like a solid piece of wood! I play a lot. It is now my primary guitar. If I lost it...I would buy another just like it.

I must say that Jack is a super nice guy and always kept me in the loop throughout the build. He inquired about my tastes and specifications and sent me progress pix, which was very exciting. He blew my mind when he started adding color and when it all came together; I was literally stunned by the finished product.

We communicated mostly by email. He always answered my questions and offered helpful ideas. I would (and probably will) have another guitar made by Jack anytime.

This is truly the best guitar that I have ever played! There are some fine instruments being made today. I believe Jack Briggs is at the top of the game. You will not encounter an instrument better balanced, better made or better playing than a Jack Briggs. This is a worthwhile investment and I plan to get years of enjoyment of this guitar. You welcome to correspond with me via email. I would be happy to share my pics and other information on this beautiful guitar.

I am privileged to be the first Briggs owner to report to Harmony Central on this incredible, hand made, carved top guitar. This luthier was recommended to me by Eddie Berman at Indoor Storm in Raleigh, N.C. Eddie is the only man on the planet that always supplies me with totally accurate and honest info on all guitar related equipment. His taste and judgment are irrefutable. Eddie told me about the Briggs line of guitars and then I happened to read Dave Burrluck's review on the Briggs Saturn Deluxe in the June 2003 issue of "Guitarist Magazine". Burrluck reported that it was as fine a guitar as he had ever heard or played. Correct! I have never held an instrument in my hands that every time I looked at it I was in awe. When I hold it, I just want to turn it over and over and admire it. Did I say it? The first one I purchased was so phenomenal that I immediately ordered another. There is nothing about these guitars that is not perfect, in my opinion. The balance, the weight, (both of mine are between seven and eight pounds), the top carving, intonation, the fret work, the finish, (thirteen coats of nitrocellulose lacquer), the Paua shell inlays, the choice of fine tone woods, everything is amazing. Jack Briggs' skill at neck carving is uncanny. The neck on each of my guitars is quarter sawn mahogany with a 12 degree back angled headstock with almost straight string pull over the bone nut. Briggs guitars have set necks with oversized dovetail joints. He uses two carbon fiber rods that run from the 11th fret to the 22nd fret to combat a tendency in guitars for the neck to develop a hump in the area where the trussrod has no effect, and because he feels that the stiffness of the neck is one of the most important factors in tone. One of mine has a slim neck and the other has a standard neck. The slim neck has the width but not the thickness and I use that one for fast articulate playing. The standard neck is my blues favorite because it is a handful that I can squeeze and strangle to extract the blues sounds that I want. Three other neck sizes are available. Chunky, then what Briggs calls the "small boat" with a subtle soft "v" shape, and finally the full boat,(a hefty "v" shaped motha'). The Briggs Saturn Deluxe is a double cut away that joins the body at the nineteenth fret with easy access everywhere. The frets are of medium jumbo wire and lay over the edge binding. The binding is a striking, grained ivoroid which gives the fretboard a rich look. The Saturn Deluxe is equipped with Grover tuners and I can practice daily on this axe for a week or so before I retune. Each guitar is equipped with a Seymour Duncan Custom Custom at the bridge and an Alnico Pro II at the neck with a five way selection switch and a Tone Pros bridge. The rear cavity control panel is recessed and fully shielded and there is an anti-shock protection circuit. The pots are CTS with a Switchcraft barrel output socket. My personal favorite sound is the neck pickup in position one (series). It has a rich, thick, full tone that I use for soaring blues with my Fuchs amp or JCM 800 on full gain. The second position, (neck pickup in parallel), has a reduced output and a more articulate and focused sound. The middle selection, (neck and bridge, each series wired then combined in parallel) has a nice high fidelity output where I can hear both the bridge and the neck pickups clearly and distinctly but they combine for a Les Paul-like sound with high output. Position four is the neck slug coil and bridge adjustable coil wired in parallel. This position is much less humbucker-like. In fact, it has a very strat-like sound. Position five is the bridge humbucker in series and this is the screamer. It has a ton aggressive snarl and bite.

The twenty five inch scale allows for a lot af snap to the strings when you really hit 'em hard. Even without the amp they really snarl and fight back when you

I like the Briggs guitars with all my amps, however I use them mainly for soaring, high gain solos.

As I stated earlier, I have never seen a guitar with the finish, setup, and workmanship that approachs my Briggs.

I would never, ever have the slightest doubt about the reliability of my Briggs.

Jack Briggs is a one man show. However, the few times I have called him he either answers or returns the call immediately. I have not had any problems with either of my guitars but with his personality and demeanor I would guess that any problem would be handled with a smile.

I have played guitar since 1962. If I lost either of my Briggs I would order a replacement immediately. I have other guitars that I enjoy. Some strats, (a '57 amoung them), Les Pauls, PRS and Martins. I love all my guitars, but the Briggs are by far the finest instruments I have ever owned.