Zelja
Senior Member
So I picked up a 72 S-100 in Walnut & a '76 Carved Nature Boy to Go with the '77 in Black I got from Kent (Los Angeles) back in January.
My triumphant triumvirate: :lol:
Picked up the 72 a few months ago from the US (remember this thread? - viewtopic.php?f=4&t=30996&hilit=mother+of+pearl+wildlife) & got the carved locally (well about a thousand miles away) just a few weeks ago.
The 72 has a plastic (?) cover on it, covering up what maybe a route from a previous whammy bar install.
I was thinking when I bought it of maybe getting this guitar refinished (in white) but it's way too expensive over here & I've grown to like the walnut as it's a good piece of mahogany. Hopefully I can get it patched up without the need for a full refinish. If I was fully made aware of the issues this guitar had (more on that later) I would of shipped it to Fixit first, instead of directly to here. Oh well...
Also anyone know if the tuners are original? No additional holes anywhere.
It's interesting the differences between them although they are more or less the same model:
The 77 is the heaviest & has the chunkiest & widest neck - 1 11'16".
The 72 has the narrowest neck (1 5/8") but is fuller/deeper than the 76 which is in between the two in width but feels the smallest in the hands. The 76 is also the lightest of the three.
The different neck geometry & tailpiece position between the post & pre 75 models is pretty well known I guess but I also noticed that the control cavity shape is different:
The real surprise is just how different the three guitars sound, although the basic ingredients of wood, construction & pickups are the same.
The 77 is the brightest. It has a really percussive attack & great string definition. It's almost Fender like - actually reminds me of a Telecaster Deluxe I had, the ones with the Fender Wide Range HBs, which incidentally was also a black model from 1977. It really rings & resonates too. This one sounds really great for cleans & semi dirty dirty tones & works well with fuzz as well. It seems to stay cleaner when going into the amp than the others which I find kind of hard to explain as volume is pretty similar.
The 72 is on the opposite end of the spectrum in a way as it has a low mid growl & just drives an amp wonderfully. It just flat out rocks!! The overdrive is gutsy but sweet. Don't get me wrong, the cleans are really nice as well but you just want to crank the amp when you play this. :evil:
The 76 is sort of in between the two - not as much growl as the 72, nor nearly as percussive as the 77. The cleans are really sweet & it drives nicely, thank you very much. Surprisingly, I think overall it's closer in tone to the 72 than the 77. I'l probably be able to judge better when I get a setup & new strings on this one as I think the strings on this are lighter ( & older) than on the other two.
The above are mostly with regard to the bridge PU but sort of pertain to all positions as well. Clean on all other positions are really good & useful as well, not to mention the out of phase combinations. Really happy with all of them! 8)
Hagmeat has seen & heard them all as well, so maybe he can chime in with his thoughts.
Although they are not the most pristine examples of the form I really dig them all! Not sure if all three will end up being "keepers" but I'm sure I can convince myself as they do all offer something individual and have their strengths. I'm also looking to pick up a reissue for the wider & chunkier neck & may look to add a bigsby & get it resprayed in white, so I will probably hold off making a decision until then.
The '72 was an impulse buy as the seller said it had a "wide & chunky neck", "accurately measured at 1 11/16" wide" which I really prefer. As a result I was willing to overlook the obvious cosmetic issue of the patch & went after it hard in the ebay auction (I was also under the influence of pain killers and trying some retail therapy after an operation :lol: ). In reality? Ummm, no not quite - 1 5/8" neck actually & not the chunkiest. It's not posing me the problems I feared though. It has a few other issues as well which weren't described fully & the seller must have used old pics in the listing. Main problem is that it needs a refret although the frets were described as "medium jumbo" & "frets are in good condition. Signs of wear but far from damaged." It has a smaller roller saddle on the high E string, causing it to sit lower than the other strings. The bridge pickup treble side adjustment screw was missing & there was a piece of foam under that side of the pickup to hold it up (although strangely the screw was on the pictures in the listing, hmmm :roll: ). A few other cosmetic issues as well etc. I was mad at first & but it's not the guitar's fault & it just sounds so good!
Here's the roller bridge - can you see the smaller diameter roller saddle on the high E? Anyone know where I can get one?
I'll also probably look to get a new pickguard to replace the cracked one on the carved & that also needs an original strap pin (got some plastic thing on there now).
Sorry for the long post but I felt it was my LTG duty. :lol:
My triumphant triumvirate: :lol:
Picked up the 72 a few months ago from the US (remember this thread? - viewtopic.php?f=4&t=30996&hilit=mother+of+pearl+wildlife) & got the carved locally (well about a thousand miles away) just a few weeks ago.
The 72 has a plastic (?) cover on it, covering up what maybe a route from a previous whammy bar install.
I was thinking when I bought it of maybe getting this guitar refinished (in white) but it's way too expensive over here & I've grown to like the walnut as it's a good piece of mahogany. Hopefully I can get it patched up without the need for a full refinish. If I was fully made aware of the issues this guitar had (more on that later) I would of shipped it to Fixit first, instead of directly to here. Oh well...
Also anyone know if the tuners are original? No additional holes anywhere.
It's interesting the differences between them although they are more or less the same model:
The 77 is the heaviest & has the chunkiest & widest neck - 1 11'16".
The 72 has the narrowest neck (1 5/8") but is fuller/deeper than the 76 which is in between the two in width but feels the smallest in the hands. The 76 is also the lightest of the three.
The different neck geometry & tailpiece position between the post & pre 75 models is pretty well known I guess but I also noticed that the control cavity shape is different:
The real surprise is just how different the three guitars sound, although the basic ingredients of wood, construction & pickups are the same.
The 77 is the brightest. It has a really percussive attack & great string definition. It's almost Fender like - actually reminds me of a Telecaster Deluxe I had, the ones with the Fender Wide Range HBs, which incidentally was also a black model from 1977. It really rings & resonates too. This one sounds really great for cleans & semi dirty dirty tones & works well with fuzz as well. It seems to stay cleaner when going into the amp than the others which I find kind of hard to explain as volume is pretty similar.
The 72 is on the opposite end of the spectrum in a way as it has a low mid growl & just drives an amp wonderfully. It just flat out rocks!! The overdrive is gutsy but sweet. Don't get me wrong, the cleans are really nice as well but you just want to crank the amp when you play this. :evil:
The 76 is sort of in between the two - not as much growl as the 72, nor nearly as percussive as the 77. The cleans are really sweet & it drives nicely, thank you very much. Surprisingly, I think overall it's closer in tone to the 72 than the 77. I'l probably be able to judge better when I get a setup & new strings on this one as I think the strings on this are lighter ( & older) than on the other two.
The above are mostly with regard to the bridge PU but sort of pertain to all positions as well. Clean on all other positions are really good & useful as well, not to mention the out of phase combinations. Really happy with all of them! 8)
Hagmeat has seen & heard them all as well, so maybe he can chime in with his thoughts.
Although they are not the most pristine examples of the form I really dig them all! Not sure if all three will end up being "keepers" but I'm sure I can convince myself as they do all offer something individual and have their strengths. I'm also looking to pick up a reissue for the wider & chunkier neck & may look to add a bigsby & get it resprayed in white, so I will probably hold off making a decision until then.
The '72 was an impulse buy as the seller said it had a "wide & chunky neck", "accurately measured at 1 11/16" wide" which I really prefer. As a result I was willing to overlook the obvious cosmetic issue of the patch & went after it hard in the ebay auction (I was also under the influence of pain killers and trying some retail therapy after an operation :lol: ). In reality? Ummm, no not quite - 1 5/8" neck actually & not the chunkiest.
It's not posing me the problems I feared though. It has a few other issues as well which weren't described fully & the seller must have used old pics in the listing. Main problem is that it needs a refret although the frets were described as "medium jumbo" & "frets are in good condition. Signs of wear but far from damaged." It has a smaller roller saddle on the high E string, causing it to sit lower than the other strings. The bridge pickup treble side adjustment screw was missing & there was a piece of foam under that side of the pickup to hold it up (although strangely the screw was on the pictures in the listing, hmmm :roll: ). A few other cosmetic issues as well etc. I was mad at first & but it's not the guitar's fault & it just sounds so good!Here's the roller bridge - can you see the smaller diameter roller saddle on the high E? Anyone know where I can get one?
I'll also probably look to get a new pickguard to replace the cracked one on the carved & that also needs an original strap pin (got some plastic thing on there now).
Sorry for the long post but I felt it was my LTG duty. :lol:
