The AP Aristocrat is here

JHJ · May 29, 2014

My initial side by side comparison with my 1957 is complete. To my ears, there is very little difference in tonal quality. The 57 resonates a bit better, but this is more an "in-the-hand" feel than amp output. The necks are quite different. The AP heck is noticeably more beefy than the original. More like a Blues 90 than even my 1977 SF-4. It arrived with flat wound strings, but the seller provided a set of round-nickle GHS substitutes. I realize this may affect the tone, but based on what II get from the high E and B...it sounds very close to the 1957.

Overall, I am quite pleased. The guys at New Hartford did a fine job on this one. And just in case it was a question for someone, this guitar is a lifelong posession and will remain off the market, forever.

i

Zelja · May 29, 2014

Congratulations!

I am surprised at the beefy neck comment as I though they were 1 5/8" necks - I guess your talking about neck depths rather than width at the nut?

JHJ · May 29, 2014

Zelja said:
Congratulations!

I am surprised at the beefy neck comment as I though they were 1 5/8" necks - I guess your talking about neck depths rather than width at the nut?

Overall feel. I took no measurements.

mbuc · May 30, 2014

Well congrats again. I totally agree, the neck is beefy. Yet it is lightweight, almost seems hollow, too. And the nut is wider than the specs say.

I'm really happy that you say it's very close to the original '57.

JHJ · May 30, 2014

Yes, in terms of tonal output from the amp (1964 Ampeg Gemini 1), it sounds very similar. Both pickups, both guitars, same or very similar tone. I'll have more time with it, tonight.

AS to the neck, I appreciate the validation. It is definitely bigger at the nut, in both dimensions, than the original 57. I consider this a plus. Further, the frets are perfect for my heavy-fingered style of play. Notes maintain pitch no matter how hard I press the string.

Zelja · May 30, 2014

Wow. So the Guild website has the wrong info on it, who would have thought...

It says 1.627" or 41.32mm for the neck width on all the AP models. Less than a hair over 1 5/8". Due to my personal preferences I'd never spend more than 2 or 3K on a guitar with a small neck but those necks look pretty much perfect for an electric!

Congratulations again guys. Glad you are both happy. Enjoy! More pics please!

JHJ · May 30, 2014

Oh...not wrong. I will not say that. I love the guitar as is...and I mourn their passing. Now that I have this guitar and realize the art/function they were providing, I "might" keep looking at other AP options, as they come to market. These boys, at New Hartford, KNOW!!!!!!! how to build a guitar. Website specs be damned!

mbuc · May 31, 2014

Go for it. As my M-75 is the only American Patriarch that I have ever played I can't be sure but I'd like to think that they are all that good. If so, the New Hartford APs will become legendary, no matter what they will build in the years to come. I just don't see them appearing on the used market all too often, so if you can find an X-500 or AA, new or used, you'll have to grab it quickly.

I'll post more Aristocrat pics in time, might take a few weeks.

Zelja · May 31, 2014

JHJ said:
These boys, at New Hartford, KNOW!!!!!!! how to build a guitar. Website specs be damned!

Never was doubting that. According to so many people these NH Guilds are the best ever. I feel sure that they will be extremely well appreciated in the years to come.

guildman63 · Jun 9, 2014

mbuc said:
Go for it. As my M-75 is the only American Patriarch that I have ever played I can't be sure but I'd like to think that they are all that good. If so, the New Hartford APs will become legendary, no matter what they will build in the years to come. I just don't see them appearing on the used market all too often, so if you can find an X-500 or AA, new or used, you'll have to grab it quickly.

I'll post more Aristocrat pics in time, might take a few weeks.

My AP X-500 is a phenomenal guitar! I wish I had a guitar like this when I was 20 so I could play it for 50+ years and see/hear it really age and open up. Based on how it sounds now it's scary to think what it will be like in 50 years. And soon I will have the AP AA as well, so my guitar world is nearly perfect now. All I need is an AP Aristocrat to get the entire line, then I can safely tell my wife that I will never need to buy any more guitars. Well, no promises are being made. :laughing: Unfortunately, I no longer have any guitars to trade except for my F47M, which would be sacrificed in a heart beat should the last AP piece present itself. Of course that would only cover 35-40% of the cost, so I would need to come up with some real cash to make it happen. :chargrined:

SFIV1967 · Jun 9, 2014

JHJ said:
I "might" keep looking at other AP options, as they come to market.

Carl still had a super deal on the last AP X-500 in Antique Burst available a few days ago! You might never ever be able to get one so cheap. The AP Aristocrats were all sold.
Ralf

guildman63 · Jun 9, 2014

SFIV1967 said:
Carl still had a super deal on the last AP X-500 in Antique Burst available a few days ago! You might never ever be able to get one so cheap. The AP Aristocrats were all sold.
Ralf

Musicstorelive has an AP X-500 ($4400 obo), and Fullers Guitars has an AP Aristocrat (5k). If anyone has $4200 for the X-500 I think they will accept that, and you will get an absolute monster of a guitar! For the Aristocrat I would offer $4200, as that is the best new quote I got a while back, and a very good price in my book.

mbuc · Jun 9, 2014

An AP X-500 in Antique Burst? Wow! So the claret one is not the only one with a Custom colour...

Anyone who gets one of the last APs is a lucky person. The price paid will be forgotten one day, the guitar will always be a source of joy.

SFIV1967 · Jun 10, 2014

mbuc said:
An AP X-500 in Antique Burst? Wow! So the claret one is not the only one with a Custom colour...

ATB was the new standard color for 2014, not a custom color! However due to the stop of production only very few ever were made, maybe that is the only one? We saw for instance that one blonde AP Aristocrat from NAMM 2014 that was on the clear-out lists Carl had. I don't know who bought the blonde Aristocrat, maybe nobody from LTG.
Look in the 2014 pricelist that Toni posted, you see that all AP models were now available in both blonde or ATB.
Ralf

guildman63 · Jun 10, 2014

A blonde Aristocrat would be awesome!

SFIV1967 · Jun 10, 2014

guildman63 said:
A blonde Aristocrat would be awesome!

Blonde AP M-75 Aristocrat in top row and sunburst AP X-500 Stuart in top row at the back:

Ralf

guildman63 · Jun 10, 2014

I have that pic on my computer screen. What I meant by a blonde Aristocrat would be awesome is that I would love to get one...and I would! :greedy_dollars: I just need more of the green stuff.

SFIV1967 · Jun 10, 2014

guildman63 said:
I have that pic on my computer screen. What I meant by a blonde Aristocrat would be awesome is that I would love to get one...and I would! :greedy_dollars: I just need more of the green stuff.

O.k., got it. The question is if more than that one was actually made and that one from NAMM was for sale a few days ago (in Scottsdale) but disappeared from the stock list, so I assume somebody bought it (but not a LTG member I guess).
Ralf

mbuc · Jun 10, 2014

I didn't know that all three AP models were offered in blonde and Antique Burst in 2014. Very nice! I've seen the picture with the blonde Aristocrat before and I love it! It looks like it has an engraved harp tailpiece like the other two AP models, which looks exceptionally good on this guitar. And there's another difference to the Antique Burst Aristocrat: The pickguard has a bracket. I think it looks nicer without the bracket on the Antique Burst model. But all that is pure cosmetics and all forgotten as soon as you play the first note.

SFIV1967 · Jun 11, 2014

mbuc said:
And there's another difference to the Antique Burst Aristocrat: The pickguard has a bracket. I think it looks nicer without the bracket on the Antique Burst model.

Right, I didn't notice. Yes, looks better without. Maybe that was just the prototype for NAMM, who knows how a follow on model would have looked like.
Ralf

The AP Aristocrat is here

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