Leaderboard

Grand Rapids Symphony; Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Arrived Thursday. Gorgeous and plays beautifully. Played it for a couple of days now. Took it to my luthier to install a Benedetto B-6 (built in version of Benedetto’s S-6 floating pickup). I love this pickup and i think it will suit this guitar beautifully to bring out a little more acoustic voice. Especially since this model has only a neck pickup so it retains a little more of that woody/acoustic vibe. Deserves to be heard that way. Feedback is definitely a bigger issue with the single pickup and all solid woods, but part of the allure of this one was that it came with custom Doug’s Plugs for the F holes. A little less acoustic feeling with those in, but feedback is not an issue. Very excited to get it back from the shop this week.

That looks like an H575 Mimi Fox signature model.

I have a couple of more comments on the Eagle Classic. I do like the fret markers. My Classic did not have any. Usually they are not necessary I suppose, but they can prevent a noticeable gaffe. Unless you use a bridge pickup, this guitar has it all. It's a true beauty. The finish is a masterpiece. Around the time this guitar was built I was at Heritage with a couple of guitars, an Eagle and an Eagle Classic, with some questions. In the conversation with two of the owners, I asked whether the choice of spruce top billets (blanks) differed between the Classic and Golden Eagle. Bill and Marv said in general no. That almond burst finish looks perfect. That is not easy to do well. I don't know if this guitar is parallel or X-braced. The latter is a little trickier with a mounted pickup. Either way is good.

Sweet!!

Having grown up in Kalamazoo, I've experienced a lot of claims about what makes the difference in a good sound and have known several people who designed and built pickups on a larger scale. Many of you have heard many opinions also. Decades later these observations keep pouring in. A couple of days ago a long standing friend suggested a set of strings that made a big difference. I can only conclude that for many of us this tonequest has no end. I have been humbled several times when I was unhappy with the sound of a set up or pickup only to hand the guitar to someone very good and was amazed at the tone. My impression of Schallers is that they are decent. The tilt engineering is clever. Here's a relevant video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mURVofPTnY&t=222s I'll venture briefly into another realm- the Strat. I have one with the original pickups and a David Gilmour EMG set. There is a huge difference that to me is worth the investment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ozl28iKM0E

Let us know how much of a difference the Benedetto pickup makes vs the Schaller. It should be a pretty big change given the difference in the winding.

Very, very nice!