Grosh Guitars Set Neck

i will start by saying that i try not to give 10's. with this guitar i fail.
superb in every aspect. fabulous quilt top, fralin HB's, extraordinary light mahogany body, wrap around stop tailpiece, beautiful flame maple body binding, unbound neck with MOP markers and rosewood board. full body (bigger than LP) but with a very clever heel cutaway to give superb access to upper frets. apparently a long tenon set neck joint that extends under the neck pick up

perfect for me - a perfect complement to my old LP custom, which has a much thicker, throatier sound. this is unmistakeable humbuckers, but so airy and alive. the first lp style guitar i have played that has real "Sparkle" and breathiness as well as that fantastic warmth and girth. like it all - dislike nothing

truly superb finish. i hear don grosh is renowned for his nitro finishes and i can believe it. not a single blemsih of any type. beautiful finishing on the frets.

the colour (tiger eye I think) is just a little vomitous is direct sun - it gets a bit of a greenish hue to it. It wasnt my favourite colour and the other grosh in the shop was definitely prettier. but this one just sounded and played so extraordinarily well that i had to choose it. and i have come to love the rather unique colour

no issues - sort of a silly question for a solid body?

no need yet

playing 20 yrs. i also own a LP custom and a Hamer studio (and a few others). this is very differnt to both - definitely my favourite, but each does their own thing. as above - the LP is much more focussed, darker and throatier sound. the Hamer is tighter and stronger in upper mids, and quite small physically. the neck on this is quite an unusual profile, but very nice - feels a bit narrower across the fretboard but fills the hand nicely.

spent 2 days testing this, PRS's, warriors, a mcnaught, Anderson Atom and a few hamers (artist and stdio) and one other grosh set neck. This was far and away the best for me. It is SO superior to a PRS (IMHO)and i have played at least a dozen PRS's. same gorgeous finish as a PRS (i think better but am prepared to concede bias), but just so much more musical. and i really dont like double cutaways - i think you lose comething without that extra wood on the upper side of the neck.

great for everything i like - mclaughlin, zappa, scofield, etc. truly the greatest instrument i have ever played.

if it were stolen (well in fact it was - on tonga on my way back home from buying it in the states but luckily the police caught the little bastard next day) i would get straight on a plane bak to USa and buy another. and a back up in case it got stolen too. did i say that i lurv this guitar?

2005 set neck, full hollow with spruce top, natural burst. beautiful finish.
Fralin 8 and 9k humbuckers

very sweet sounding, never harsh or biting no matter how loud you are. The neck pickup is very full while never losing clarity. Very even over the entire range of the neck(no dead spots) the whole thing is a sweet spot. The tone doesn't darken as you roll of volume, which is really a wonderfull thing. The bridge pickup isn't boxy, but it's a nice round very useable sound. I've played many styles and this guitar hasn't fallen short yet. In complex chords, all the notes come out very clearly, almost piano like. I HIGHLY recommend the hollow set neck.

Everybody knows that Don does a great setup and his fretwork is flawless. After having the guitar for five months and enduring some climate changes it's still perfectly intonated and it plays as good as the day it was born. Of course there is no buzzing or fretting out anywhere, that just doesn't happen in Don's shop. And to top it off, this is probably the most beautiful guitar that I will ever own. It's perfectly balanced and extremely resonant. I can actually feel it through my entire body.

You really can't get any higher quality than this, so it will probably last as long as physically possible.

I know some guys have given Don a 10 in this category, but I don't think they even know how great he is. I live pretty close to his shop (at least when it was in California) and it's safe to say that I've spent some time over there. Now, it's not like Don is running a big operation and has people doing everything for him. He does almost everything himself, he doesn't even have a secretary. I've seen him, many times, drop what he's working on and literally run to answer the phone. And spend a lot of time answering all questions. He really goes way beyond what he has to. He really couldn't be a better person. So if you call, cut the guy some slack. Don't keep him tied up for half an hour on the phone, he'll get it right and answer all your questions, but let him work.

Hands down, best set neck guitar money can buy. Hope to own another one day, maybe hollow with a maple top. Really can't think of anything to make this guitar better. Great job Don.

2004 model, wild flame honeyburst, Fralin humbuckers, Braz. fretboard, other standard features.

I have owned this guitar for a year and a half now and have had a lot of time to play it through different amps, gig extensively with it, compare it to other guitars, etc. This is the best-sounding electric I have ever owned. Its tone is amazingly fat, clear, rich, complex and musical. The Fralin pickups are just gorgeous, especially for clean sounds. The bridge pickup is extremely smooth, thick and complex -- the sound has so much beauty and detail to it. The neck pickup is very rich, fat and clear. It has a richer, thicker sound for jazz than my PRS Hollowbody 2 (which I sold for that reason). I love my '05 Les Paul R8 (with Voodoo humbuckers). I picked that guitar out over a bunch of other R8 and R9 Historics, so it's a good one. But the Set Neck is a very clear cut above it in terms of sound and playability. Players who appreciate really fine clean sounds will love this guitar and the Fralin pickups. Through my Bogner Shiva and Victoria 35310, this guitar sounds absolutely HUGE and bigger-than-life, both clean and cranked. In terms of sound and playability this guitar takes the Les Paul concept to a new level.

Fit and finish are perfect. The woods and workmanship are just beautiful -- totally first class. On arrival, the set up was not to my liking. The action was very buzzy. I've been tweaking the action and truss rod a bit on my own, but the action has to be pretty high to avoid buzzing (which I won't tolerate at all). It's not like I need ultra-low action wither -- I like it medium to medium-low. But I have to keep the action very high on this guitar at present for it to ring cleanly and clearly. I'll probably send this guitar in to be plek'ed. Not happy that I have to do that but this guitar is worth the trouble.

Can't imagine having any undue problems with this guitar.

The company responded quickly and helpfully to a couple of email questions I sent them.

I have been playing and teaching guitar for almost 30 years. Have a BA in music and have done a lot of gigging and recording over the years in bands and as a solo acoustic instrumental player. I've owned many boutique, hand-made and factory-made guitars (both acoustic and electric) and have a pretty good sense of what makes a great guitar. IMO the Grosh Set Neck is truly a great guitar. It is essentially a Super Les Paul. In terms of looks I tend to prefer more classic-looking instruments (like my Les Paul). However, the ways in which the Set Neck departs from a Les Paul's classic lines all result from a quest for greater functionality. The Set Neck is better balanced and has MUCH easier access to the upper freboard than my LP. It is not light (mine is 9 lbs 4 oz.), but the guitar's tone is HUGE, with amazing power and chunk. As I said above, the Set Neck essential takes the Les Paul concept to a new level. It is substantially better than the best Les Paul I've ever played. I'm lucky enough to have a number of great boutique guitars and other gear, and there are a few pieces that stand head and shoulders above the other stuff and define the difference between "just great" and truly SUPERLATIVE. The Grosh Set Neck falls into the latter category.

Mine is a 2004 Don Grosh Set Neck that I ordered from Fat Sound Guitars. It has a 24 3/4 scale length neck, mahogany body with an extreme quilt maple top and nitro cellulose lacquer finish. The finish is a deep 6120 orange burst, which I thought would be cool and when I opened the case I could not believe how beautiful this finish looks. Don did a great job on a finish that is not a standard finish but rather one that was described by me to Don over the phone. The rest of the guitar is stunning, brazilian rosewood fretboard, ebony headstock and matching tuners, Tone Pros bridge, and a beautiful matching back. The guitar is very balanced and feels fairly light, although Don thinks it is about 9 pounds. It feels much lighter than most Les Pauls probably due the excellent balance. I had Don put in Fralin humbuckers which I have on most of my guitars. If you want to see my guitar look on the website under May 21, 2004 weekly spotlight. It has all the features that I requested. I did not want a coil tap since I use Strats and Teles for the clean twangy tones.

I use Bad Cat amps, a Wildcat and a Hot Cat, and a Germino Lead 55 and an original 1965 Twin Reverb. I have been through many Les pauls, 335's, SG', PRS's, etc. I am willing to spend money on a guitar but it must sound great no matter what the appearance. This is the best humbucking tone of any guitar I have ever owned and it looks great. It is fat with a nice sparkle to the high end. The neck position is very clear without the typical mud It has a lot of articulation and a nice mid. I typically do not like the "woman" tone but a more clear mid and less low mids, and the Set Neck does this very well.The bridge position is fat and the treble is very smooth. I can actually play brighter and the bridge tone is still fat. In fact at extreme bright settings it never sounds harsh. The middle position is very clear and varying the volumes can produce subtle tonal differences. My other humbucking guitars, a '72 SG and a 2004 Gibson Johnny A. do not have this much variation when varying the volumes. I think this is due to the incredible taper of the pots and Don's cool volume kit which retains the tone even when turning down the volume knobs. On a recent gig it sounded very, very full and cut through the band extremely well but still retained the fatness.

The guitar arrived flawlessly packed. It was perfectly in tune right out of the box. Intonation was perfect with the 10-46 gauge strings, verified with a Peterson strobe tuner. The finish is flawless, action perfect for me and the pickups were adjusted great, although I lowered the bridge pickup just a tad on the bass side. No doubt is is the most perfect guitar I have ever bought, I can't find any finish flaws on it. I love my Johnny A. but honestly it is not of the quality of the Grosh. I normally need to set up most guitars but this played great, in fact I played a gig with it the night I got it and it did not feel like a new guitar.

This guitar is well built and I see no reason it will not last my lifetime. I own 2 Grosh Retro Classics and a Grosh VT (tele) and they have never let me down.

I can't think of a better gentleman than Don Grosh. He is always available, even a 7:00am! He listens to his customers, offers great advice and has great integrity. Sure he is in business but it is obvious that he cares what his customers want. I have dealt with him for a few years now and I have never had a bad experience.

Stu at Fat Sound is another gentleman cut from the same cloth as Don. He and Don are a great team and you can count on them and trust them.

I have been in the business for over 30 years. I have aquired some great gear and have GAS as bad as the next guy. However, lately I noticed that everytime I have bought a guitar they always have some flaw that drives me nuts. So I end up with a Grosh version and bingo, the flaws are gone and I am left with a great guitar. The Set Neck is not a copy but a great spin on a classic. My style is along the lines of Jimmy Herring, Robben Ford and I play clean to very gained out, that's why I use multiple amps on stage. My band plays small clubs to larger outdoor gigs. On a recent gig with the Boneshakers I had nothing but compliments on my tone. I brought my Set Neck, my VT and my Retro Classic Tye Dye. They all sounded great. We are opening up for Johnny A. next month and I will bring my Johnny A. to the gig but my Set Neck will sound better. The Johnny A. has a low feedback when in the bridge postion (drives me nuts) so it is less versatile than the Set Neck since you can't play too gained out. It does have a nice flutey sound and sounds very good clean. The Set Neck has a more robust sound and does not mud out when turning down the volume knobs like the Johnny A. The neck position on the Johnny A. sounds a bit muddy in comparison to the Set Neck. Are there any flaws? Well, the strap buttons are good but I wish it had the larger PRS type. Thats it for the flaws. I really can't find any fault with this axe. The Set Neck is a gem and a keeper.

2003 don grosh set neck. 24 3/4 scale length mohagany body with 5a flame maple top and nitro cellulose lacquer finish. the top is a wonderful faded burst ( my request). magnum locking tuners, double action truss rod with reinforced headstock and a highly figured brazilian rosewood fingerboard. superbly balanced guitar simply the finest setneck i have ever owned. simply head and shoulders above any prs and les paul i have ever owned( i've been through quit a few). the finish work on this guitar is exactly what you would expect for a high quality guitar. this is a collector quality guitar!

the sound is incredible. full and thick with excellent sustain. 1959 les paul tone without dropping $75,000. great paul kossoff type tones to clean cutting blues tones. exactly what you want and dream a setneck to soundlike.

out of the box perfect. pickups were my selection voodoo vintage pickups i sent to don and he was happy to install. excellent pickup.
wood quality was 5a flame top with authentic binding. class a job!

2 weeks old , built like a tank. this is heirloom quality and should last a lifetime. exactly what you would expect from Don Grosh Guitars for such a high quality guitar.

don always returns calls within a timely manner. 100% customer service and will spend as much time as needed to insure the instrument he is building for is exactly what you want.

i have been for 15 years and have owned numerous guitars. les paul historics and murphy's. strats, relics and prs's. this is by far the finest guitar i have ever owned and has the finest ,thickest ,richest tone i have come across. this guitar is definetly a keeper. great job don !!