Langcaster Dark Kauri Strat

Strat-type guitar with two S-S very unique low impedence (hot and noiseless) pick-ups built by Langcaster. Body is a solid hunk of rare 35,000 year or older kauri wood from a New Zealand swamp... these are not lightweight guitars... mine weighs in at just over 10 lbs... Neck is maple with beautiful dark ebony fretboard. These necks are a smidge wider than the average Strat neck which ends up suiting me just fine -- I pluck/ finger pick/ chicken scratch a lot with my strumming (right) hand and this neck is perfect. I have medium sized hands and my left hand likes this neck - I can grab each string cleanly without stretching... truth is, I normally like chunkier necks and this neck is not chunky at all -- sort of a flat C Carvin-type neck... I was a little nervous about getting it but it's worked out GREAT.

Built-in overdrive (tube screamer-style sound). Three-position blade, pull-pot for overdrive (level of overdrive) and an extra switch that drops -10db (this is a new Langcaster feature: these pick-ups are very hot and this switch allows you to switch guitars mid-show without having to turn your amp up considerably for your non-Langcaster guitar). Volume and tone pots/ knobs as well. Paua inlays for Langcaster logo, tops of knobs, and on three of the tuners -- the inlays are tasteful and beautiful, really nice attention to detail.

Included hard case (not the nicest case in the world but functions) and great case candy - strap locks (a nice gift), polishing cloth, a certificate verifying dating of 35,000+-yr-old wood, even a guitar book concocted by Langcaster endorsing players, and more...

These pick-ups are unique. I've had guitars with HOT pick-ups before but these Langcaster pick-ups are unique in that they give you HUGE detail and clarity. Combined with the ebony fretboard, this guitar reproduces every nuance of your playing. Within hours of getting it, I found myself playing more precisely than ever before. And, wonderfully, this guitar enabled me to hear each string in such detail that it actually inspired me to play differently -- suddenly I was hearing every string in such high definition that I started playing around with notes inside of chords I never paid much attention to before -- if that makes sense. It's really a fantastic thing to pick up a guitar and have it force you to 1) play at your best, and 2) it inspires you to try new things.

I mainly play clean. My Langcaster is hugely robust and full sounding. When at home I play through a lil blackface '64 Princeton. The clarity is fantastic. My lil blackface Princeton can't reproduce all the lows the Langcaster is putting out though -- because these pick-ups are so sharp, there's too much hi-mids coming from my amp and I end up rolling off the highs... I played it through a bigger, hotter amp with larger speakers and oh yes, there were the lows... You might find yourself adjusting your amp in new ways with this guitar to deal with just how much frequency response it puts out! I read some review where I think someone recommended matching a Bassman amp/ cab to a Langcaster -- that sounds like a great idea.

These are single coils but fat and wide sounding. I prefer the sound to the many 70s Strats I've had and to the 60s Strats I've played... more variety and depth to them...

Like I said, I mainly play clean - jazz, etc. But I've found myself rocking out a bit since I got the Langcaster simply because these pick-ups sound fantastic overdriven and with effects - effects that normally darken a guitar too much can't keep these pick-ups down...

Guitar was set up by Joh before he shipped it to me. Came out of the case playing GREAT! The bridge has adjustable string spacers (apart from adjustable height/depth of course) which is great for me to give me more or less space between individual strings for my chicken-pickin. Pick-ups adjusted great. It is obvious that a lot of care went into making and tweaking this guitar. The craftsmanship is superb and attention to detail is impressive. My guitar does not look like it came off the Fender assembly line... It has character and it's obviously been attended to millimeter by millimeter... To me, this makes for super character and mojo.

Well-built. I will gig with it without a back-up.

I don't see myself shipping this guy back to Joh in New Zealand for anything(!). Luckily, I have fantastic guitar techs here in Los Angeles and it turns out my favorite one is actually an authorized installer of Langcaster pick-ups...

I must say, I asked Joh a MILLION questions before I pulled the trigger on buying this guitar. I was a real pain. I asked to see the bodies he had coming down the line... I asked some really dumb questions about customizing a guitar (over and over)... Joh responded to each email with surprising swiftness and patience! And good advice. He's a really cool, nice nice guy. His customer support before my purchase was impeccable. I'm gonna keep emailing him just to say hello time to time...

Arright I might sound gushing in this review. I've never felt like writing a review before this guitar... Thing is:

I will admit that the first thing that drew my attention to Langcaster guitars (many many many months ago - probably a year or two - when I first found em online) was the coolness of playing a piece of wood that grew 10,000 years before man walked the planet. Now that's vintage. And the look of them -- I cannot tell you how many afternoons I stared at the online pictures and listened to the sound clips of these gorgeous guitars. Each one is so unique, it was hard to choose which one struck me as MINE. I've gone through about 70 guitars in my life... I collected em for a while (hi my name's scott and i'm a recovering guitar collector)... I have always preferred vintage guitars. Old wood. I've bought exactly 3 guitars new in my life (sold off one quickly, have kept the other out of nostalgia, and the Langcaster is my 3rd). My Langcaster was a big investment for me -- I don't have that kinda money lying around. It was a big risk. Buying a $3000 guitar without playing it? It was the many questions Joh patiently answered for me -- and listening to sound clips -- that helped me decide... so, yes, these guitars are works of art and unique and unlike anything you'll find on this planet but -- the truth is, thank God, they play and sound like a dream!

I've had it about a week (didn't want to write the review the first day) and this guitar is the best musical purchase I've made in my 35 years of playing.

This guitar inspires me in three ways: the way it sounds, feels, and looks.

If anyone in Los Angeles wants to play mine before buying one from Joh, contact Joh and ask him to give you my email address. You're welcome to come try it.

Modified solid Strat body, very smooth epoxy finish on very rare and very beautiful 35.000 year old Kauri wood, very appealing to the eye even sometimes with fossils in them. Schaller hardware with tromolo and paua shell inlays. Three singlecoil low impedance pickups (100 ohm) and preamp with which you have the full soundspectrum (very wide!) of the guitar brought to life. Built-in overdrivepossibility. Overdriveswitch, overdrivelevelknob, volumepot, treblepot. Locking tuners. Tolex guitarcase and certificate for the woods. Carbon reinforced rockmaple neck and rosewood fretboard, beautifully carved tilted headstock for better sustain. Made in New Zealand. 22 frets.

This Langcaster Strat is the best Strat I ever played on, and those were a lot! Very nice full crisp bright sound, great for every style, from jazz/fusion till blues/funk. I play this guitar on a Holland Bassman (Gibb Droll) 40 Watts. This configuration gives me every sound for every style! Very powerfull and very dynamic unheard guitarsound!

The guitar was set up nicely neutral. As with any guitar I had to set it up for my playingstyle. Every detail on this guitar has been professionally worked on. No flaws! The bodywood is really astonishing! I've never seen such beauties before! Fretjob superb! A real eyecatcher.

This guitar will blow every (!) Fenderguiatr from stage! No exception! The sound is just as the Fendersound should be. Beautifull custom gold hardware. The guitar looks as a rock! It's right on stage and will hold it's ground, qua looks AND sound! Gold straplockers. No backup guitar needed, however I also play a Langcaster Cobra Tele for its particular sound and drop-D tunings. Because of the built-in preamp and beautiful overdrive you can put it directly into the PA.

No experience with this. Very helpfull manufacturer who knows what you need/want! No bla bla...

I've been playing for over 35 years now. I tried many guitars and amps but sold the whole bunch. I only play custom built guitars now, the Langcaster Kauri Strat, the Langcaster Cobra Tele and a Theo Scharpach Vienna Archtop and in some time a Galama Les Paul. For all these guitars I use a Holland Bassman tube amp. to rock, jazz or blues. For the archtop I also use an Acoustic Image FET amp. My effects are mostly 2 very vintage sounding overdrives, 1 Siegmund Double Drive preamp/overdrive pedal, the Silvermachine wah and the TC Electronic G-system for the other effects like chorus and delay. If my Langcaster would be stolen I'd immediately order some new Langcasters. I love every aspect of these guitars. They really stand out in the crowd!

OK so I couldn't afford a fancy 35000 year old Langcaster, so on boxing day 2005 Joh set out to make me up a cheaper version (The Yellow Strat). He set it up just the right way for me as I described my requirements via email and what he indicated by photo. All the way from the rosewood neck, stock shape, machine head layout, scratch pad, awesome Lo impedance pickups, over drive and body layout is of the highest quality. Joh I feel like you gave me the best Christmas present ever. The finished product beautiful and very user friendly to play. I am stoked.
Also thanks for the Alluminium case - perfect!

Rich Full sound, does not really need any other effects box accessories.
Watch out these babies are loud.
Tremelo bar included but not really needed - the sound is too clear to want to distort too much I find.

Fits me like a glove - love it!

Probably not as good as the 35000 year old swamp Kauri for endurance but I feel happy about putting it down on the stand during band breaks and Its already been baptised in Glenfiddich (just a little bit Joh No biggy)

On Ya Joh - many happy Christmases to you and your family Mate!

I have been playing acoustic guitars for 32 years and electric on and off during that time. I love my axes and the best in the quiver is a 150 year centennial D18 Martin 6 string fishman equiped - I havent played it since the Strat arrived but I will soon.
What a wonderful complement to my quiver of axes this Yellow Strat is.
Thankyou Joh and keep rockin'

This is a brand new model made by New Zealand's master luthier and inventor Joh Lang.This model is a 2 pup strat,made from 35,000 year old kauri wood,compleate with fossils embedded in the body.The pickups are the ultimate lo's,which imho are the best in the world.These pup's are noise free and have such a wide frequency range that I like to call them high definition pickup's.You make a mistake on these pup's and you hear it.But what makes this guitar so special is the FX part.This guitar has built in overdrive(standard on Langcasters),built in chorus and digital delay.Other hardware included are earvana nut,schaller locking tuners,schaller 3d bridge.It also came with a Nady wireless system.The neck is AAA rock maple with ebony fingerboard,with 2 graphite reinforcement rods and a 2 way adjustable truss rod.

The controls are 1-volume,2-overdrive gain,there is a push/push button for the overdrive next to the pickup toggle.The pup selector is a toggle like the Les Pauls,etc.
3 and 4 are push/push pots with both having a lower ring pot.3 is push/push for FX on and for mixing the wet/dry sound,the lower ring is for the length of chorus,4 is push/push for chorus/delay,with the top pot setting speed of chorus/delay,the bottom ring is for setting the amount of echo from 2 repeats to 10+.

Let me say right off the bat these effects are killer.The overdrive sounds like the best tube screamer you've ever heard,the chorus is rich with a lil slapback delay,the digital delay reminds me of my old Echoplex but way quieter.Infact with all effects on it is noisefree.Great for recording!! You can't have the chorus and delay on at the same time,but the chorus has a fast slapback echo built in so you dont miss that combo.
Without the FX on the guitar has a Strat/Tele/Paul vibe going.Remember this is a 2 pup strat so you dont get those out of phase strat sounds and with this guitar I dont miss em either.With or without the effects you can play pretty much any musical style you want.I'm mostly a blues/classic rock player with some jazz and classical thrown in,and this guitar can handle it all.With the FX on I was able to nail a Gilmour sound right off the bat!!!

Topnotch setup,I asked for .009-042 for my strings and low action and that's what I got.The guitar plays like butter,and feels almost fretless.This is the way all guitars should be made!!!The guitar finish is flawless and is a work of art.

Like another Langcaster reviewer said "Hell it lasted the ice age" I have used Langcasters live and have had no worries.I forgot to mention that all Langcasters come with Schaller strap locks so no worries there.

This is my third Langcaster and I'm expecting a fourth later this week.Joh is a pleasure to work with and will work with you to create your own dream guitar.I don't think I'll ever need a repair other than a simple setup now and then.As far as repairs I'm sure Joh will stand by his work,try getting Fender or Gibson to do that.

I've been playing 45 years now,I have way too many guitars and amps to list here.Langcasters are the finest guitars out there I have 3 and a Langcaster Cobra is on the way,that's how much I love these guitars.If it was lost or stolen I'd cry ,order another,then hire merc's to track the culprit down.

This one of 2 Langcasters I bought,at the same time.The other is the dark kauri tele model that I'll review seperately.First off the guitar looks stunning,it just has to be seen to be believed.The pickups are Langcaster Ultimate Lo's with overdrive.Volume and tone,and gain pot.I had Joh Lang put a blend pot so I can blend in the neck pup with the bridge and middle pup's.Earvana nut,Schaller locking tuners,Schaller steel block tremolo,strap locks.If that's not enough paua shell inlay on the headstock,string trees and truss rod cover,copper shielded cavity and ebony fingerboard.The body is made from 35,000 year dark kauri.Almost forgot there is a lot of case candy thrown in too!

These guitars are not just a pretty face,they rock!!! Without plugging in the guitar has a almost accoustic quality to it,and nice sustain.I know it sounds strange but,this guitar wants to be played,maybe theres a lil mojo going on with the wood,but I had to force myself to put the guitar down.

For my amp tests I used a Pritchard Sword Of Satori,a Dr Z Maz 38,and a Crate V15.The only external effects I used were reverb and a Fulltone tape echo.I used a new Eric Johnson Fender Strat,to do side by side tests.I also plugged into a Behringer V-Amp with just headphones,mostly to get a idea of how the Langcaster would do in a recording situation.

The EJ strat is one of the better production Fenders out there,but in high gain settings it can get noisy unless you use the neck-mid or bridge-mid settings these are hum cancelling.It's also hottest Fender Strat I own.Using the Pritchard I put the Fender thru it's paces with a nice texas blues sound.Using the same settings I plugged in the Langcaster and nearly blew out my eardrums.This guitar is way hotter than the Fender,probably hotter than any guitar I own,and that's quite a few.

The sound is unreal,clean it is rich and full,but still bright enough to cut thru anything.Using the clean setting on the Pritchard I hit the built in overdrive and wow,it's like the best overdrive you've ever heard.This overdrive IMHO is the best I've heard.I have the tube screamer and the fulltone fulldrive and a few other boutique pedals and there is no need to pack those puppys in my gig bag anymore.

As for noise,there is none with the Ultimate Lo's,theres is nothing but pure tone.Using a high gain setting on the V-15 the Langcaster sustained like no other guitar in my arsenal.With the V-amp,clean sounds were spacious and the frequency response was almost bell like.Using some of the high gain sounds the Ultimate Lo's produced no noise at all.These were the same presets I had tried to use with the EJ strat and found them to be just to noisy and not pleasing to the ear.

The Langcaster sounds like a strat should,great for blues,country,jazz,and hard rock.You just can't get a bad tone from it period!!!!

The guitar was setup exactly as I asked,low without fretting out,and strung with .009's.Infact the strat was just about in tune,not bad considering it came from New Zealand.

The guitar is a work of art there are no flaws anywhere,a lot of love went into this guitar,and it shows in the workmanship.I have custom shop Fenders,Gretsch,and a custom shop Gibson doubleneck and they pale in comparison.The pickups are handmade by Joh Lang and can be ordered as replacements.These pup's are the best single coil's I've ever heard and I highly recommend them.

Hell this wood survived the ice age,probably survive Pete Townshends antics.
The only backup I'd use is my dark kauri tele,just in case I broke a string!!!!

Joh Lang is a pleasure to work with.He answered all my questions about options,and replied to all my e-mails.I received numerous updates on both guitars and I couldn't be happier with this purchase.

I doubt anything would crap out on this guitar,but if it did,I'm sure Joh would stand behind his work.That's something I wouldn't say about the big boys of the business.

I've been playing for over 45 years now,lets just say I have too many guitars and amps to list.

Langcaster makes the best guitars bar none.I've played on Paul Reed Smiths,Andersons and I own a lot of guitars by different makers,nothing comes close.

If it was stolen God help the person ,because he would not want to deal with me!That said I'm already considering a third Langcaster.After all,you cant have too many guitars!!!!

An absolutely stunning high gloss finish applied to the most beautiful Kauri body. You will NOT see this ANYWHERE else, the body is in fact carved from 35,000 year old swamp Kauri (now that?s is real old!), this feature alone deserves a rating of 12 out of 10.
Then there is the hardware:
3 virtually noiseless yet unbelievably high gain Lo-Impedance pickups with overdrive, hand made by Joh Lang.
1 x push button for overdrive.
5 way Schaller selector switch.
1- volume pot, 1 x tone pot and 1 x o/drive pot, simple straightforward and effective.
Schaller 3 dimensional adjustable bridge.
Chrome metal work, string trees and switch plate also hand made by Joh.
Earvana nut for improved tuning up and across the whole fret board
Paua inlay of Langcaster logo
Schaller Locking Machine head with 1:16 gear ratio
Hard rock Maple neck
Double action truss rods and 2 Graphite reinforcement rods
Diamond ground precision Ebony fingerboard
22 Medium jumbo frets - 25 ? inch scale and 15 inch radius
Copper shielded cavity
Schaller Strap locks

Heaps of tone, plenty of adjustment and almost zero hum. Then you push a button and you think you?ve just stepped on the best sounding distortion / overdrive stomp box money can buy. You haven?t, it?s inside your guitar. As sweet sounding as a solid body guitar gets.

As already stated the guitar is visually stunning and gloss finish flawless.
The original action was a bit high for my personal taste, but that?s an individual thing and despite Joh being a genius he is not psychic (as far as I know). Anyway a small passing comment from me about lowering the action, Joh comes around picks the guitar up, takes it away, makes the required adjustment and its back home within the hour.

Solid as a rock, no problems to date and none predicted

I have been privileged over other reviewers. It happens to be that I live 5 minutes drive from Joh Lang. I didn?t know that when I bought the guitar, since then I?ve called into his place numerous times, I am always made to feel welcome and Joh is always keen to show me his projects. We talk about music, guitars and we swap DVD?s / CD?s for each other to have a listen. I now consider Joh to be a friend, but this review is independent of that fact and is about the guitar.

I was seriously considering a JEM10 before I came across my Langcaster. I would still love the JEM (and another 10 assorted quality guitars) but I know I made the right choice.
To quote a good friend of mine who makes his living in the music industry: ?when you open the case you just want to stare at it for two hours, when you pick it up and play it you just want to play it for two days?. ?No one can buy this guitar it is unique?, that?s what you get when you buy a Langcaster

Well I've made many submissions in regards to Langcaster guitars, but this is my first Third Generation Strat and I just wanted to put down some comparisons to his Current 4th Generation Strats.

This has most of the same specs as his 2nd Gen.
Incredibly looking dark Kaori body. Maple neck with his custom headstock, ebony board. Has all Schaller parts, strap locks, 3D adjustable Bridge, Locking tuners. This doesn't have the Overdrive like the 4th Generation. And it has his first generation noiseless pick ups, which features a 10 Pole pick up in the neck. This vs. his Lo Impedance pick ups in his 4th Generation.
It has 1 Volume 2 Tone. Obviously it is just like a strat not a lot of features.

The sound is probably the most important part.
He went from Kinmans (which are awesome pick ups) to these which are awesome pick ups to his Lo's (which I believe are his best pick ups to date)
These Langcaster pick ups have very good power, pretty hot in that sense similar to the Kinmans. They are noiseless and the one thing it adds is the 10 Pole neck pick up for minimal volume drop off when bending.
Langcaster guitars have incredible sustain, and these pick ups give it great tone. In general I feel Langcasters have incredible vintage Vibe to them, yet they come in a very modern package and with more power.

In general Langcasters are set with the action a little higher then "strings flat to the board" which suits me fine being an acoustic player as well. Fit and Finish just incredible.

These will last!

Joh's the best

Obviously I am very partial to Langcasters, but so far I have tried 2 1st Generation Langcasters, 1 2nd Generation, 1 3rd Generation and 3 4th Generation Langcasters and all of them bar none were incredible.
Joh Lang is a consumate perfectionist and makes incredible stuff.
My personal preference would be the 4th Generation guitars he's making now. But these 1st Generation pick ups are a little hotter. He also switched from a 10 pole to an 8 pole pick up in the neck in his latest generation pick ups.
My personal favorite is actually the Custom Dark Kaori Cobra he build for me ..

Langcaster Dark Kauri made by Joh Lang of Langcaster LTD. This is the second guitar I have purchased from Joh - check out my review on the Langcaster Cobra. First the specs and then the review from Heaven.

Strat style body made of 35,000 year old Swamp Kauri wood - native to New Zealand.
2- Passive pickups with 10 single coil magnets - wax vacuum-potted to stop microphonic and rattling.
Brass fine height adjustment bushes. NO HUMMMMM!!!!
Capacitor and Ferrite beads to stop those irritating radio frequencies.
5 way Schaller cold plated selector switch with a brass blender/mix tone knob.
1- brass volume knob
1- brass tone knob
Treble by-pass filter on the volume pot
Schaller 3 way adjustable bridge
The chrome rings around the pickups, the string trees and the switch plate are hand made by Joh.
Revolutionary Earvana nut - makes the guitar sound in tune across the fret board.
Hard rock Maple neck and a tilt back hand carved Moari designed headstock with Paua inlay logo, truss rod and hand made string trees.
Schaller Locking Machine head with 1:16 gear ratio
Double action truss rods and 2 Graphite reinforcement rods
Diamond ground precision Ebony fingerboard
22 Medium jumbo frets - 25 ? inch scale and 15 inch radius
Copper shielded cavity
Schaller Strap locks
Tung oil applied to neck for a smooth feel that your hands glide over.

Is there anything that Joh didn?t think about when making this one of the best guitar anyone could hope to own? I have the honor of having 1 of only 2 Dark Kauri?s that has the last of the vintage passive 10 pole pickups. This guitar is even more incredible with the Paua block inlay on the neck, truss rod, logo and string trees. Once again, I feel so pretty.

This guitar is absolutely the most impressive guitar in history. You will spend an hour looking at the body made from 35,000 year old Swamp Kauri wood. If you don?t have a spiritual moment holding an instrument made of wood that was here before man stepped foot on this earth, then you never will. There are deep crevasses in the wood that Joh has preserved by filling with clear epoxy that makes it flush with the body of the guitar. Look at these crevasse and you will see leaves and I am sure fossilized bugs that could start a Jurassic Theme Park. You will never see another guitar that will impress you more than the Langcaster Dark Kauri. The hard lacquer finish creates a hard, durable and brilliant shine. Take it out in the sun light and you will see how it changes the color intensity. Absolutely beautiful!!

This guitar has the most impressive sound I have ever heard. There is no hum or noise coming from these pickups. With the right adjustments, you can make beautiful sweet and mellow sounds and turn around and make it the Strat that it is suppose to be. My guitar does not have the overdrive but it isn?t needed. The five way switch has a blender knob to blend the neck pickup with the middle or bridge pickup. Seven different tones with just adjusting the knob. Incredible!!! All the Lancaster?s have a treble by-pass filter on the volume pot. You will never lose treble when you play with the lower volume. This guitar will make you sound better than you ever thought possible!

The guitar was absolutely perfect. The finish is flawless, The action was low and perfect for my needs. Once again, Joh always takes it a step further with the bolt on neck. Two screws beneath the plate and four on the plate makes for a very stable neck. As hard as I looked, I could not find one thing to complain about. Perfect in every way!

If the Kauri wood survived the glacier age, it will survive anything and with Joh?s patented finishing process, it is rock hard. This guitar will be around long after I am gone.

In my Cobra review, I think I said it all but I will repeat myself. Joh is the most incredible person I have ever had the honor to know. They broke the mold with Joh Lang. He believes in what he does and is committed to making guitars that are not only beautiful but has the sound and power that will knock the big boys to their knees. He is not as interested in selling large numbers of guitars as he is in making sure the one?s he does produce will become a prized possession for anyone that has the pleasure to own one of these incredible guitars. No one is better than Joh Lang! He makes you feel like you are the only person in the world buying one of his guitars. You are the ?Dutch Man!?

If I could, I would give an overall rating of 20! I have a Fender Blues Junior - no bells or whistles - but with the blender/mix knob and a digital delay pedal, I have everything I need to make this guitar sing. No need to buy an expensive set up. Joh has put it all in his guitars. After getting over the shock of opening the case and seeing your new guitar, you get to pull out all the goodies he packs with the guitar. Buffing clothes, a bottle of conditioner to keep your baby looking good, a T-shirt (still wearing mine Joh), a letter of authenticity signed and numbered and page after page of information on the guitar. He has a DVD made and movies and sound samples on his website to prove what incredible guitars he makes. All were recorded with a simple setup and home computer.

If it was stolen, I would never be able to replace it because of the passive pickups but I would buy another Kauri in a heart beat with his Ultimate Lo impedance pickups. Another one of his inventions. Not only has he designed the pickups but also hand makes the chrome plates, rings and string trees. So much talent! I am so impressed with the Dark Kauri and Cobra that I will soon have his new baby called the FX. Do yourself a favor and visit his website. You can hear these incredible guitars as well as feasting your eyes on the most incredible guitars made. It doesn?t get any better than this!!!!

This is a handmade Langcaster Dark Kauri Strat by New Zealand luthier Joh Lang. I ordered it from Joh, built to my specification and delivered within a month. These guitars are not only beautiful works of art, but more importantly play and sound incredible. Made from 35,000 year old swamp Kauri, the guitar body is in a natural finish protected by a very hard clear lacquer which allows the unusual and highly detailed wood grain to show through. You have to see the pictures on the Langcaster website to fully appreciate this extraordinary finish. Mine is fitted with Joh Lang's newly developed Ultimate LO pickups which are virtually hum-free but high powered, arranged in a 3 single coil configuration. I also have the in-built overdrive which can be activated with a small switch by the selector switch. A small LED comes on when the overdrive is activated. Other controls are 5-way pick-up selector, one volume, one tone, and overdrive level knobs. Chrome hardware. Schaller tremolo bridge,locking tuners and straplocks. It has the ervana nut specially designed for consistant tuning across the whole fretboard. 22 frets with ebony fingerboard and full-size highly detailed Paua inlays. Paua also used on truss rod cover,string trees and headstock logo. The headstock is an unusual carved mauri symbol shape which won't appeal to those with conservative and traditional tastes, but fits well with the overall look of the guitar. Comes with a good quality hardshell case and loads of case candy including instructions, cleaning materials, T-shirt, and a certificate of authenticity for the 35,000 year old wood which has been carbon-dated by the University of Waikato.

I've always favoured humbucker-equipped Gibsons but I just had to have one of these Langcasters after seeing and hearing them on the web. These new LO pickups are just as Joh described. Extremely powerful and virtually noisless even at high gain/volume. They are also very bright and percussive which takes a bit of getting used to if like me you are more used to a darker sound. Every singly nuance of your playing is captured, even the mistakes, so if you are a sloppy player you will need to work on your technique to get the best out of this guitar, which isn't a bad thing! You can get a wide variety of strat and tele type sounds and clear cutting leads are no problem. Probably not the best Nu-metal axe, but good for pretty much everything else. The guitar sounds best plugged straight into a tube amp with the minimum of effects. The on-board overdrive is great for warming up the sound but for higher distortion levels you will probably need a pedal, or high-gain amp. To conclude, this guitar fitted with the Lo pick-ups gives a powerful, biting and transparent tone, which sound crystal clear at any volume, and clean or distorted. I'm giving it a ten because that is what it is designed for, it will not replicate the dark gibsonesque sound, but then it isn't meant to.

Delivered beautifully set up with a slightly higher action than I normally like, but it was a 5 minute job to change that. All the controls functioned great and the guitar was extremely well finished. The only minor niggle was a slightly off-axis overdrive level knob but this doesn't detract from an otherwise superbly presented instrument.

Whilst this is undoubtedly a beautiful collectible instrument, it was built first and foremost as a working guitar. It is meant to be played and played hard. The construction is solid and with the high quality hardware it feels capable of standing up to prolonged use and abuse. There is nothing delicate about the way it is built or the materials used, it all feels solid and robust.

This category deserves an 11 rating! Joh Lang is one of the friendliest, most affable guys you could ever hope to deal with. All emails are answered immediately, and nothing is too much trouble for this guy. He seems to have a passion for building honest, quality guitars for guitar players not collectors, although his instruments are so unique and beatifully crafted I suspect the majority will end up as collectors pieces which is a shame because they play even better than they look.

I've been playing for 25 years and have owned most types and makes of guitars. I always have at least 9 or 10 guitars. I will keep this Langcaster which has become an instant favourite. If it were stolen I would definitely get another. I might get another one anyway with the sustainer option. My favourite feature has to be the dark Kauri body, if only because of the amazing reaction it gets when people see it. The only thing I would like is perhaps another one with a humbucker pick-up for a darker mellower sound and a sustainer.

This is Number 5 of Joh Lang's hand made beauties! It is SOLID Kauri wood right from the peat swamps in New Zealand! For those of you who do not know about this, heads up! Ages ago this area was trapped in a HUGE glacier! When the glcier began to melt, the peat swamps began to form. Some of this wood is said to be over 35,000.00 years old! The pickups in this guitar are not to be trifled with! They are Joh's "Ultimate Lo pickups". I am a guitar dealer and I have been recommending these pickups to EVERYONE!!! They are really something special! From what i understand, there are only about 200 windings on each bobbin. Your standard Humbucker has over 500+! This makes them absolutely SILENT! There is no noise whatsoever made by this instrument other than what you play! I highly suggest that you call Joh directly for info or contact me via Email. I agreed to facilitate ANY sales in the US. I am wiling to help in any way that I can! I am so impressed with this guitar that I have gone well out of my way to promote this new design. The guitar boasts three single coils like a Strat with a BIG bite! Hidden on the switch plate is a active BOOST circuit that throws this thing into massive overdrive!! I'm talking the kind of sound that makes your Mom grab her hears and run out of the house :) The neck is Hard Rock Maple and is wide and flat! It plays like butter! It has a beautiful Signature inlay made from some of the most beautiful Abalone that i have ever seen. The neck is satin finished too! The body has THICK glossy epoxy like finish that is practically indestructable, Im not kidding! Do a search under Kauri wood and check out the parasites and fungi that live in the wood! THey are all preserved, right here inside the guitar!!! Under the clear coat you can see spots of sap, bug parts, rootlets, you name it....Stunning!!!! It is a piuece of art, no coubt! Talk about case candy, too much to even talk about, from certificates, to info, to artist profiles, its all there!

this guitar will sound exactly the way you want it to sound, no surprises here! I have played it with my Johnson Millenium Stack. My Marshakk JCM 2000, my Carr Imperial, and others. It sounds great in everything! The guitar is so flexable it is like a studio musicians dream come true!

The guitar showed up in PERFECT harmonic tuning! Everything was perfect! Absolutely Flawless!

this thing is built like a tank! It was here long before I was born snd it will be here LONG after I am gone, thats for sure!

Joh was the most pleasant person to deal with! I had so much fun speaking with him over the phone that I ran up a near 100.00 phone bill!!! Hows that for Manufacturer/Customer involvement?

This guitar was made on my 40th birthday! That has to count for something. I since bought another Kauri Strat. Now I own #s 5 and 10. I am trying to get #1 as well. I will most likely own others int he future!!!