cobrahead1030
Well-known member
This is a bit of a long post, so I'll start with a photo of the main goods...
I scored the American Professional II Strat locally on FB marketplace a few days ago. I got it home Thursday evening, broke a string as soon as I got it home, opted to put a whole new set on it, and during the twenty minutes of initial play time I was extremely underwhelmed. Actually, I spent the next few days considering trying to sell or trade it immediately. After a few days of being bogged down at work, I finally had yesterday afternoon to spend some time with it. I made a truss rod adjustment (it had entirely too much relief) and raised the action just a hair, which brought it to life pretty much instantly!! It's definitely going in for a professional setup job in the near future, but I was able to get it close enough to enjoy it for the time being.
I think part of my initial disappointment was comparing it to the Nash Strat, which I've been playing a lot since I got it. That's a really special guitar in its own right, but I also bought this because I wanted something different; more modern. Neck isn't chunky like my Nash, but is a little thicker than my Charvel, and the tall/narrow frets are clean & smooth all the way up the neck. I like the neck heel shape a lot, it's not something I really look at when buying a guitar, but I was surprised how easy the 20-22 fret area access is compared to a standard Fender style heel. I really love the finish; not only on the body, but the satin finish on the back of the neck & gloss finish on the headstock is a nice touch. The previous owner put the locking fender tuners on it. I'm not sure if those will stay, I have the originals with it.
I'm still not sure how I feel about the pickups. I flat out hated them when I initially plugged it in, but after spending some time with them (and making some height adjustments) they're starting to grow on me a little. I played it for a few hours yesterday through channel 1 on my mark V:25 with a Browne Carbon (blues breaker style pedal) in front and it really came alive with the OD, running the gain & output pretty low. The humbucker is definitely the pickup I'm most apprehensive about, & I'm not a fan of the pick guard having the 3 hole layout in that position. I'm thinking I can make those single coils work, but probably swap out the bridge pickup in the future. I'm going to give it some time through a few other amps etc. before deciding on that.
I ordered the Griffin Analog Superdrive right around the 1st of the year. A few weeks later it was ready, and then due to a shipping mixup, it wound up at the wrong address and I'd considered it lost forever. Wayne was an absolute class act when it came to handling the situation on his end, but I was bummed to say the last. After nearly a week, I got a message from a very nice lady on Facebook who'd found me by my last name, saying she had a package that she was trying to return to the rightful owner. Her address is nearly identical to mine and in the same zip code. Once I explained to her where I lived & verified the contents of the package, she was happy to drop it off at my house later that afternoon. I couldn't thank her enough to making the effort to to return it to me. The pedal is exactly what I wanted, a boss SD1 style circuit with upgraded parts. It'll be a few days before I can try it out in a loud band mix setting & really get a feel for it, but I'm happy with what I got and would buy another stomp box from him in a heartbeat.
The first week of Jan. I called Mesa Boogie to ask them about getting a head shell for my mark III combo, and sending it in to Mike B for service. They told me that they wouldn't be taking orders for new head shells until Feb, there would be a 6-10 week wait once I ordered it, and the cost would be $495 + shipping. The next made a WTB post in the classified forum here, in the off chance that someone was selling a mark III shell. Scott (Metalone72) responded that he could build me one, and a few other folks her vouched for his work. After exchanging a few messages, I decided to place my order with him. He was able to build exactly what I wanted when it came to every detail, down to the color of the screws & washers.
There were a few slight delays due to parts he had to order, and he always emailed me immediately to keep me in the loop. All told, the head shell was still finished up within a week or so of what I initially expected, and it arrived at my door step in about 4 weeks, which I was extremely pleased with. I can't say enough, how thrilled I am with the finished product! The workmanship is absolutely top notch, and everything was a dead perfect fit into the new head shell. After years and years of having that amp in the combo cab, which I never used, I'm super excited to have it in a proper head shell finally. It was professionally packaged and I got exactly what I wanted for less than the cost of a standard black shell from Mesa. I'm going to enjoy it here for a few more weeks, before it's time to pack it back up and ship it across the country.
I scored the American Professional II Strat locally on FB marketplace a few days ago. I got it home Thursday evening, broke a string as soon as I got it home, opted to put a whole new set on it, and during the twenty minutes of initial play time I was extremely underwhelmed. Actually, I spent the next few days considering trying to sell or trade it immediately. After a few days of being bogged down at work, I finally had yesterday afternoon to spend some time with it. I made a truss rod adjustment (it had entirely too much relief) and raised the action just a hair, which brought it to life pretty much instantly!! It's definitely going in for a professional setup job in the near future, but I was able to get it close enough to enjoy it for the time being.
I think part of my initial disappointment was comparing it to the Nash Strat, which I've been playing a lot since I got it. That's a really special guitar in its own right, but I also bought this because I wanted something different; more modern. Neck isn't chunky like my Nash, but is a little thicker than my Charvel, and the tall/narrow frets are clean & smooth all the way up the neck. I like the neck heel shape a lot, it's not something I really look at when buying a guitar, but I was surprised how easy the 20-22 fret area access is compared to a standard Fender style heel. I really love the finish; not only on the body, but the satin finish on the back of the neck & gloss finish on the headstock is a nice touch. The previous owner put the locking fender tuners on it. I'm not sure if those will stay, I have the originals with it.
I'm still not sure how I feel about the pickups. I flat out hated them when I initially plugged it in, but after spending some time with them (and making some height adjustments) they're starting to grow on me a little. I played it for a few hours yesterday through channel 1 on my mark V:25 with a Browne Carbon (blues breaker style pedal) in front and it really came alive with the OD, running the gain & output pretty low. The humbucker is definitely the pickup I'm most apprehensive about, & I'm not a fan of the pick guard having the 3 hole layout in that position. I'm thinking I can make those single coils work, but probably swap out the bridge pickup in the future. I'm going to give it some time through a few other amps etc. before deciding on that.
I ordered the Griffin Analog Superdrive right around the 1st of the year. A few weeks later it was ready, and then due to a shipping mixup, it wound up at the wrong address and I'd considered it lost forever. Wayne was an absolute class act when it came to handling the situation on his end, but I was bummed to say the last. After nearly a week, I got a message from a very nice lady on Facebook who'd found me by my last name, saying she had a package that she was trying to return to the rightful owner. Her address is nearly identical to mine and in the same zip code. Once I explained to her where I lived & verified the contents of the package, she was happy to drop it off at my house later that afternoon. I couldn't thank her enough to making the effort to to return it to me. The pedal is exactly what I wanted, a boss SD1 style circuit with upgraded parts. It'll be a few days before I can try it out in a loud band mix setting & really get a feel for it, but I'm happy with what I got and would buy another stomp box from him in a heartbeat.
The first week of Jan. I called Mesa Boogie to ask them about getting a head shell for my mark III combo, and sending it in to Mike B for service. They told me that they wouldn't be taking orders for new head shells until Feb, there would be a 6-10 week wait once I ordered it, and the cost would be $495 + shipping. The next made a WTB post in the classified forum here, in the off chance that someone was selling a mark III shell. Scott (Metalone72) responded that he could build me one, and a few other folks her vouched for his work. After exchanging a few messages, I decided to place my order with him. He was able to build exactly what I wanted when it came to every detail, down to the color of the screws & washers.
There were a few slight delays due to parts he had to order, and he always emailed me immediately to keep me in the loop. All told, the head shell was still finished up within a week or so of what I initially expected, and it arrived at my door step in about 4 weeks, which I was extremely pleased with. I can't say enough, how thrilled I am with the finished product! The workmanship is absolutely top notch, and everything was a dead perfect fit into the new head shell. After years and years of having that amp in the combo cab, which I never used, I'm super excited to have it in a proper head shell finally. It was professionally packaged and I got exactly what I wanted for less than the cost of a standard black shell from Mesa. I'm going to enjoy it here for a few more weeks, before it's time to pack it back up and ship it across the country.
Will give it another spin 
