Product: Gordon Smith Graduate Standard
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted
03/19/2005
at
02:41am
by
Jem Smith
Email: rjemsmith<at>aol dot com
Features
:
9
Serial No 9961, this is a Graduate with a difference.
This one has a Gotoh tuna-matic bridge instead of the GS self adjusting bridge and Seymour Duncan Antiquity humbuckers instead of the GS'buckers. The body shape is Les Paul, but with the usual GS improvements. Colour is an unusual pale cherry with matching headstock colour.The top is probably a maple veneer [ lightly flamed ]. I don't know what the body wood is, though the back is only lightly lacquered and has its own flame ! I've noticed that the headstock is narrower than my older Graduate. Not coil taps on this guitar.
Sound
:
9
The sound is best described in one word - "woody". This must be a combination of the unpotted Duncans, brass nut, tuna-matic and body timbers. It is not keen on major distortion due to the Duncans,and thrives best with a lightly overdriven tube amp.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
8
Typical GS. Beautiful to play straight from the box. Dead easy to tweak if you change string guage/action. Aways sound melodious and in tune with itself [ No Feiten tuning needed here! ]. GS guitars always feel and look hand made - not in a PRS way, but in a "lets plug in and rock out" way. The rosewood fingerboards for example always seem to look open grained and rustic, but feel great.
Reliability/Durability
:
9
I always fit Schaller straploks. These a pro standard guitars designed, and begging to be gigged regularly. I always take a back up though just incase a string goes.
Customer Support
:
9
Great customer support. Down to earth advice. They are in Manchester , so you are dealing with the people that made the guitar.
Overall Rating
:
9
Got loads of GS's, Strats etc. Always seem to revert to GSs
