Stevens Classic

See my previous review. This is an update after 15 months of gigging and rehearsing with this as my main guitar.

Still using the same gear.
I have had this guitar now since September 1998 and I try to play it every day. It beckons me. The sound that emanates from this guitar is nothing short of amazing. It has a piano-like ring to it and each string responds with equal volume and clarity, whether skipping accross the frets in a solo or chording. The voicing is pure and crisp yet never harsh and you can hear the overtones developing as the guitar sustains effortlessly. I don't know exactly what the key is to its sound but I guess it comes down to the combination of the Korina body and neck, Brazilian rosewood board, Dunlop frets, Tom Holmes' brilliant pickups and the exquisite craftsmanship of Michael Stevens. For a guitar that is the best, it gets better and better every day.

Nothing has moved in 15 months. The finish is still as beautiful as the day I picked it up. The nickel parts have a patina on them that I love the look of and the frets show no signs of wear. It never goes out of tune.

The Classic is a 100% dependable guitar, but I still take a backup (which never gets used). The nitrocellulous finsh always feels good to the touch and it feels relatively thin on this guitar for which I am grateful. I hate heavy finishes that don't allow the guitar to "breathe".

I don't know of any guitar manufacturer that calls you to see if you are satisfied. Mike Stevens has, and, he recently sent me a new pearloid truss rod cover and pickguard (unsolicited and at no cost) because he thought it might look good (I had settled for black). Unbelievable!

Since playing the Stevens Classic, my band members don't want me to play anything else. Played my Historic 59 Les Paul the other night at rehearsal and the concensus was; "Put it down and play the Classic, the Les Paul just doesn't cut it". People have come in from the cold to find out what guitar it was that they were hearing. One day, my playing will catch up to this guitar, I hope.
If you are serious about tone, style and playability, you owe it to yourself to check out Michael Stevens' work. Life is too short to deprive yourself.

The Stevens Classic is slightly smaller body ES335 that is made in Alpine, Texas by Michael Stevens. The body is carved on the top (without "f" holes) and back, has tone chambers and is made of Korina with the top made of wide beautiful flame maple. The neck is made of one piece quarter-sawn Korina with Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and headstock veneer. Ivoroid binding is used on the neck and body. Schaller machines are used with pearl buttons and the 22 frets are Jim Dunlop 6100 beautifully set into the 25.5" scale length fingerboard with pearl dot markers. Michael Stevens recommends Tom Holmes humbucking pickups and they are Holmes H450 for the neck and H454 for the bridge. He prefers the use of the Nashville tune'o'matic bridge with the standard stud tailpiece in nickel. Controls are one master volume, two tones and a p/u selector... tone pots are push/pull to access strat type tones. The control cavity is fully shielded and the cover is actually carved Korina (not just your cheap plastic). This guitar comes with a Harptone 5 ply arch top case finished in cream alligator looking covering. Whoa! The whole package just takes your breath away.

I have always loved the Gibson ES range because they looked just so sexy and my vintage '59 ES345 and '64 ES335 are getting to be worth some money now so I am getting paranoid about gigging with them. Another problem is that I am running high gain amps (2 x Rivera R5512) and the Gibsons are hard to control. Without "f" holes, the Stevens will sustain a note anywhere on the fingerboard, no dead spots, notes sliding into the harmonic without taking off. The Holmes pickups are just the best... Smooth, quiet, harmonically complex and rich and in combination with the Korina, they are just killer. The coil taps give an interesting single coil type sound that is very usable, especially with a chorus effect on chords. Overall, the sound is very lively in the direction of ES335/Les Paul.... rich, complex and full.

I was with Michael Stevens when he set the guitar up and he did it to my specification... perfection..... intonation, pickup height, nut, finish, every thing was/is perfect.

This guitar is built to withstand live playing, but I certainly wouldn't lean it up against an amp when I'm not playing. This baby is going back into its case between sets. The finish is nitrocellulose and looks like it will last. I did change the strap buttons to Dunlop Strap-loks because I do it to all my guitars... better safe than sorry. No problems without a backup at gigs.

It has taken me twelve months to get my hands on this baby and during that time ,I was in constant contact with Michael Stevens as to progress, options etc. and I have no doubt that warranty repairs would not be a problem. Actually, I didn't even talk about it with him

Have been playing for 30 years and own a Fender Robben Ford, some vintage Gibsons, some Strats and Teles and a Twin Reverb as well as the Riveras. I play blues/jazz, some rock when required and some fusion as well. This guitar embodies all the good ideas that great guitars have and the shape, scale length and timber all help to make it superb. The only criticism I have is that it weighs 9 pounds which is a little heavier than I had hoped for. Guess I'll have to work out. Michael Stevens is a gentleman and a master craftsman and nothing was too much trouble for him in the creation of this great guitar.... my dream come true.