Reviewed By: Jac Harrison
Purchased from: Manufacturer
Street Price: $799.99 USD with Gig Bag
About:
A single cutaway 1957 LP gold-top style guitar by
Vicious Monkey.
This guitar has 22 standard frets on a rosewood
fingerboard ending in a tusq nut with inlays at the third, fifth, seventh, ninth,
12th, 15th, 17th, 19th, & 21st frets. A one piece mahogany neck
through a chambered solid mahogany body with a
maple cap and cream binding, with period style pickguard topping
it off.
Hardware:
Standard LP style Tune-O-Matic style bridge and tailpiece
in chrome. (2) volume, (2) tone controls, speed knobs, Grover 14:1 locking
machine-heads.
Electronics:
Alnico II PAF style neck and Gibson 1957 Classic
PAF bridge pickups, with Switchcraft 3-way toggle and jack with 500k
pots.
Sound
Amp used:
Bogner Alchemist 2 x12
Vox AC 30
Fender Blues JR
Cables used:
Intex
Strings:
Kerley 50's Pure Nickle
Selector position 1: Just Neck
Warm, round, well balanced tone, great for blues, jazz
and mellow rhythms.
Selector position 2: Neck & Bridge
Bright with a good amount of attack, a well balanced mix
of neck and bridge.
Selector position 3: Just Bridge
Authentic LP lead, very "Appetite for Destruction".
Action, Fit & Finish:
This guitar was clean with a few small minor cosmetic
imperfections; the action was low without any buzz.
Reliability & Durability:
The guitar seems to be well made. It is solid through and
through. There was no hum or crackle from the electronics with all
knobs and hardware installed snug and proper.
Impression:
This is the second LP-styled guitar we have reviewed
by Vicious Monkey and, just like the first the guitar, it is evenly
balanced and easy to play with its "C" shaped neck. Because
this guitar is designed after one of the most sought after guitars, I wanted to
do a side-by-side comparison with the Gibson reissue. The only store in my area
that had a 57' reissue was Guitar Center. Knowing that I could catch a case
of the "stupids" just from walking in their door, I nonetheless put
the Monkey in my car and made the trip. The first thing I noticed is
that the appearance of two guitars was spot on. The Monkey had a
little more gold in the paint mix than the Gibson -- making her have a
brighter color. Sound wise the Monkey had more sustain
with higher sensitivity to pick attack, giving her more of
a vintage feel than the Gibson.
Since I was in the "Walmart" of Guitar stores,
I decided to walk around and give the employees the chance to play a
real guitar. After about an hour of sharing the Monkey with the staff and
some shoppers, I packed it up and headed out. Everyone that played
the guitar was impressed and shocked at the low price for the quality of the
guitar.
Now some will argue that just because a guitar has the
Gibson Logo on it it is automatically superior -- so lets weigh out
the facts. The Gibson is farted out of a CNC machine in Tennessee vs the Vicious
Monkey that is hand carved by a luthier in New Jersey. The Gibson is $4,000
with the same setup as the Vicious Monkey that is $800. So
for those of us that are all about the label --
this isn't for you. For those of us that care about tone
and playability -- this is a must have for your collection; and for those
of us that want the LP sound and do not want to bring your $4,000 guitar to
your hole-in-the wall gig, this will look and sound the same (or better) on
stage.
What I would change:
Nothing - not a damn thing.
My advice
If you are an LP style player -- you should play a
Vicious Monkey before you buy your next guitar.
908-788-9800
Vicious Monkey Music
433 US HWY 202
Flemington, NJ 08822
433 US HWY 202
Flemington, NJ 08822
viciousmonkeymusic.com
Posted 09/2012
Posted 09/2012
