April 19, 2007
Wank Punter inks endorsement
deal with Dot On Shaft
Guitars!
Amazing news! Wank Punter
had approached a company based out of Barrie Ontario on
a tip from a friend and fellow artist in the hope of securing
an endorsement deal. I was so impressed with how the instruments
looked on line, I had to get a peek at the real deal up
close and personal.
When they got back to me,
informing me that they were interested in exploring the
potential, I damn near fell off my chair. So off I went
to Barrie with my trusted wing mate, Discombobulator. Once
there, we soon realized that the pictures didn't lie. The
instruments were exquisite.
We were quickly introduced
to the prorietor. Mike is his name and if ya wanna get
yourself an awesome deal, ask for him. He'll treat you
like gold! Alas, NO man is an island though and he's no
exception. Standing shotgun by his side is his stunning
wife Natalie. The two make this operation tick and they've
done a marvelous job!
Following is my review of the guitars I received:
Carparelli Sig series
Awesome instrument. Full
stop. I can't believe the craftwork that went into this
guitar. From the selection of wood to the final finish,
the detail is awe inspiring for an instrument priced at
$1300 US.
Mike was incredibly honest
and had mentioned to me that I might want to look into
after-market pick up's but I think they are just fine.
They may not be as bright as say, SD's (Seymour Duncan)
or Dimarzio's but for me, I'm not into that shredder tone
even though I do play through a Messa Boogie Triple Rectifier.
I'm old school blues as far as tone goes and this suits
me fine!
The problem I was having
with my Fender Franken-Strat was the brightness. It was
why I began playing a Les Paul Studio model for live gigs.
This guitar effectively replaces my Paul and the Gibson
will now be retired and/or possibly sold.
The color I chose was the
Cherry finish. Damn. What a thing of beauty! As the guitar
I chose came right out of the box, it does require a set-up.
The intonation needs to be set as well as the action. I'm
a tad jealous in that the guitar that my wing mate chose
(same model, Blue Pearl finish) is perfectly intonated
and does not require action adjustment. RIGHT OUT OF THE
SHIPPING BOX!!!
I've worked at Tartini Musical
Instruments (distributor of Fender, Leslie, Gemienhart,
Rhodes, Slingerland) in my youth (mid 80's) and when I
was employed in the warehouse, I'd never seen a Fender
come in that DIDN'T require a set up. If we wanted to jam
on some of the axes in the factory, we had to do the set
up ourselves at the tech bench. Further, we never did any
set up's on products shipped to the stores. They went 'as
is'.
The Dragon:
Now this one fine, sexy biatch! From the mother of pearl
inlay of a dragon
going across the body and a smaller scale inlay on the
headstock, the
detail is amazing when you consider what this instrument
sells for. I've
checked out similar styled axes (sans inlay art of course)
by Kramer, ESP,
Dean, EMG, et al, and none have come close to this beauty.
Typically, an axe at this price point usually lacks in
certain areas that
might not be noticed at first glance by a novice or intermediate
player.
It comes down to tone and quality of the electronics within.
The various companies listed above all came short in that
department.
Whether it was cheap asian electronics and/or workmanship
(pots, wiring,
toggle switches, caps, jacks, and plain old poor soldering
that amounts to
cold joints), or simply being way over-priced for the goods
delivered.
They all left me wanting.
Not so for the Dragon. Time will tell how well the toggle
will hold up.
But it sounds great. Much fuller bodied in tone than my
Franken-Strat and
that thing (my Strat) has an SD stacked Humbucker in the
bridge! Don't
know if it's just the particular axe I chose (I didn't
test drive several
of the same model) but compared to my Fender, it's MUCH
quieter in the
noise dept.
This
particular axe will replace the strat and become my defacto
signature guitar for live performances. The Carparelli
sig will be played whenever my wing mate plays his. That
way we can be Bopsy Twin bookends! lol
To say that I am impressed
with Dot On Shaft is a huge understatement. Their dedication
to selling great instruments at fabulous prices holds true
and sincere. It harkens back to the days of yore when proprietors
actually cared about your business and went to great lengths
to ensure that you were satisfied.
Mike, you rock with major
balls! It's an honor to be a part of your extended family
and we look forward with great anticipation to a long relationship
with your company.
Here's to hoping that we can reciprocate in kind and do
you proud in return!
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