L
lettmusic
New member
I got a chance to test some cool new gear at my local superstore. Discovered some cool things and reaffirm some I already know.
The amp I used to test this guitar was a Suhr Badger 5-watt head, into a Suhr cab 1X12. these amps are great direct, but very transparent so you can really hear the guitar. It sounds just like a really nice modded Plexi.
Luke III- my biggest surprise about this guitar was the pickups, the new Lukather signature DiMarzio Transition set. It has so much warmth and clarity, and reacts really nice with gain. The bridge pickup doesn't have any of that grating high end, I can actually do fast runs on the treble strings, almost like a neck pickup, legato and tapping sounds great on this pickup, the note really blooms. Just to confirm the validity of what i heard, I plugged in a couple Suhr guitars with Suhr pickups just to compare. The Luke pickups clearly sounded better as far as clarity and depth in tone.
Other than a roasted neck, the Luke III is very similar to older Luke models, great neck and very sensitive tremolo bar. Flutter and all the whammy tricks are a breeze on this bar. I hated the finish, very dark black green sparkle
Stainless steel frets- as mentioned, I played couple Suhr moderns to compare to the Luke. The significant difference was the stainless on the Suhr. the frets felt different right away, more smoother and sliding up and down the neck was much less effort. I always knew the difference, but never actually compare side by side like this. What do you guys think of the stainless steel frets?
Sterling JP70- I bought a JP50 when the Sterling line first debut few years ago. It was a great guitar for the money. I'm glad to see they continued that with the JP 7-string, amazing finish just like their more expensive EBMM brothers. I can stare at these finish all day. The guitar was set up amazing straight from the factory, low action without buzz. Some of the frets need dressing more properly though, there are a couple uneven spots. Pickups are ok, but i don't like ceramic, they tend to be lacking in dynamic response. Still, it's a great guitar for the price point. $629 for a 7-string with this quality? Awesome.
The amp I used to test this guitar was a Suhr Badger 5-watt head, into a Suhr cab 1X12. these amps are great direct, but very transparent so you can really hear the guitar. It sounds just like a really nice modded Plexi.
Luke III- my biggest surprise about this guitar was the pickups, the new Lukather signature DiMarzio Transition set. It has so much warmth and clarity, and reacts really nice with gain. The bridge pickup doesn't have any of that grating high end, I can actually do fast runs on the treble strings, almost like a neck pickup, legato and tapping sounds great on this pickup, the note really blooms. Just to confirm the validity of what i heard, I plugged in a couple Suhr guitars with Suhr pickups just to compare. The Luke pickups clearly sounded better as far as clarity and depth in tone.
Other than a roasted neck, the Luke III is very similar to older Luke models, great neck and very sensitive tremolo bar. Flutter and all the whammy tricks are a breeze on this bar. I hated the finish, very dark black green sparkle
Stainless steel frets- as mentioned, I played couple Suhr moderns to compare to the Luke. The significant difference was the stainless on the Suhr. the frets felt different right away, more smoother and sliding up and down the neck was much less effort. I always knew the difference, but never actually compare side by side like this. What do you guys think of the stainless steel frets?
Sterling JP70- I bought a JP50 when the Sterling line first debut few years ago. It was a great guitar for the money. I'm glad to see they continued that with the JP 7-string, amazing finish just like their more expensive EBMM brothers. I can stare at these finish all day. The guitar was set up amazing straight from the factory, low action without buzz. Some of the frets need dressing more properly though, there are a couple uneven spots. Pickups are ok, but i don't like ceramic, they tend to be lacking in dynamic response. Still, it's a great guitar for the price point. $629 for a 7-string with this quality? Awesome.
