Product: C Fouke Direwolf Custom
Price Paid: US $1,000
Submitted
04/29/2004
at
09:48am
by
chris e.
Email: chrvans<at>hotmail dot com
Features
:
10
A "10" due to the phrase "less is more". A beautiful minimalistic approach.
This guitar includes the following: Harmonic Design z-90 pickups (tortoise style), silver hardware, grover tuners, tune-o-matic bridge. Heavier gage aluminum face and back, w/copper&brass center trim. I purchased the neck from Greg Bailey who custom made it to immulate the classic Travis Bean neck/headstock (gibson neck style). His homepage is located at, and his work is unreal: http://hometown.aol.com/gbailey842/main.html
The body shape was an interpretation/combination of the Alembic "wolf" guitar designed for Garcia in the early 1970's & Chris' "Fright" body. W/the combination of the TBean neck I had to name this guitar, "Direwolf Custom". Includes volume, tone and 3-way toggle. Gigbag included.
Sound
:
10
This guitar has a very clean tone to it. I specifically wanted to find a more modern sound (vs. my gibson es-150) and this has it all. I chose to go w/harmonic design's z-90 pickups w/produce a warm/rich tones. Since the body and neck are both aluminum, it has a nice transparent (not woody) sound. Not bright or harsh at all. I play the guitar through 2 class-a tube amps (www.redironamps.com). I've found this guitar actually assists in "quieting" the amps, by reducing any hum or buzz. It's the best sounding electric i've played to date.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
This is a "10" because its what I wanted. This guitar has a "brushed" finish on the body, action is set to my requirements. My only issue w/the "fit" is the guitar is neck heavy, so it feels a bit unbalanced. Once i'm able to adjust my strap, this will eliminate this issue. Chris also drilled a spare strap peg hole in the case I wanted to set the strap higher up on the body. The guitar weighs 11 lbs.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
The guitar came w/a gig bag which normally I shy away from. However, this axe is so solid i'm not sure anything could really damage it. Chris did a great job keep the electronics and hardware very simple that they're should never be any issues.
Customer Support
:
10
I encourage anyone who's interested in getting a high quality custom guitar to contact Chris Fouke. I've never found someone that has bent over backwards to accomplish my desires for this guitar. He'll use any electronics (new or used) and will create ANY body style. Throughout the process we corresponded almost every other day, to include update photos of the work in progress. He's very talented and runs a great business.
Overall Rating
:
10
Overall: the best. I stumbled on Chris' site while searching for old Travis Bean guitars. He offers so many possibilities that it becomes a real journey in "building" the guitar. He's very focused on customer questions and concerns as he responds within hours of an email.
