Product: Malden Ocean
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted
12/04/2006
at
04:46pm
by
Willfulmurder
Features
:
9
WOW. Solid mahogany archtop with quilted turquoise finish. This guitar "The Ocean" was Malden's prototype Les Paul Double Cutaway style. Only seven were made, so says the manufacturer, and I purchased one off of Ebay for $395. For the price, this thing is a monster. Bridge is Tune-O-Matic. Hardware is gold. Humbuckers are stock Malden, and are actually quite good. One volume, one tone knob, and a three way switch.
Sound
:
10
My style is all over. Mostly rock, alternative, funk, raggae, etc... This guitar is played into a Morley Wah - Fulltone 69' - Fulltone Soulbender - Fulltone Fulldrive II - MXR dynacomp - Line 6 MM4 - Line 6 DL4 - Laney VC30 2X12.
The sound on this guitar is nothing short of stellar. The pickups are not quite the quality of Gibsons humbuckers, but this thing compares very favorably to Les Paul DC customs that I've played. Its brilliant in just about any format.
Gets great dirty sounds from my fuzz/overdrive pedals, and can really clean up for southern rock, or brit pop/alternative.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
This guitar was purchased used, but the previous owner took care of it. It still had the plastic pickup covers on. Action was extremely usable, and the finish is nothing short of stellar. I'm sure Gibson threatened Malden with a lawsuit if they were to produce these.
Reliability/Durability
:
9
This guitar has never been gigged with, but it stands up nicely to freestyle, extendo jam abuse. Its very solid, and weighs in slightly less than my Gibson LP studio. Everything on it is solid.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
N/A
Overall Rating
:
10
I've been playing 18 years.
I always thought the holy grail of guitars was a gibson or a PRS, and that these korean/japanses manufacturers were crap. The professional reviews of these instruments were stellar, and I have replaced my Gibson with Maldens. At under $400 (used) this thing is a massive steal. Its a shame there are only seven of them. If anyone else has one, please contact me. I would love to purchase.
