There are good guitars and there are great guitars. Much of the time the difference is subtle. Chris Swope of Swope guitars has certainly gotten building an exceptionally great guitar down to a science.
From an ergonomic standpoint this guitar balances effortlessly, seated or standing. The fretwork and feel of the beautifully Flamed Maple neck w/ a Rosewood board is hard to beat. The actual neck profile is an extremely comfortable medium-thick C with graceful shoulders, making it feel almost like a soft V. (Dimensions: (.85”-.95”)
This MG’s body is built out of 2-piece center-seam cut Ash, for resonance and consistent results each time. There are some specialSwope MG firsts on this fine instrument, like the beautiful 1-ply tort guard and the all new Swope Descendant Vibrato. The Descendant is the first “Offset Style”Vibrato, that truly addresses the flaws of Leo Fender’s original design; first seen on the Fender Jazzmaster model. What Chris Swope has to say about his design is more than we could ever explain; so again, using quotes here are the words of Chris Swope.
“The Descendant Vibrato is designed to provide a steeperbreak angle of the strings behind the bridge. Unlike the past solution of the addition of an aftermarket roller bar, the Descendant doesn’t add an extra friction point and it increases the downward pressure at the bridge in a manner that maintains the integrity of Leo’s original design, so you still get the full pantheon of overtones that a trapeze bridge provides. As each guitaris different and each player’s needs are different, the Descendant allows the player to determine the depth that the vibrato is set beneath the top plate. Some players want increased sustain. Others just want the strings to stay in the saddles. Strings are front loaded through a keyhole design. This allows for easy string installation as the ball ends now rest at or below the plane of the body. Also new to the Descendant design is a top adjusting tension screw for the vibrato arm. Accessed through the arm hole in the top plate, you can take your arm out after every gig, adjust it to be free swinging or set to stay where you put it. No problem.”
The Bridge used on this guitar is a Staytrem with a 9.5” radius to match the radius of the fingerboard. Never have we felt so much control over a floating Vibrato unit such as this. The feel of the arm is so smooth and perfect for all styles of music where a Vibrato is needed. It can adda subtle swaying nuance to your playing style or you can go all out with dive bombs and Trumpet or Horn-like “flutter”. It’s all there at your disposal.
Besides for this being one of the nicest looking and feeling guitars we’ve come across yet, which is a bold statement as we’ve been fortunate enough to have played nearly everything; from the holy grail of vintage guitar collections to instruments built by the highest-end European and American Guitar builders/Luthiers. This Swope MG Custom just sings and sounds unbelievable. Its tone certainly matches its looks and feel. Before even plugging this MG in, the guitar just vibrates in your hands for days, it's almost like a living breathing organism. Just wild!
We chose to use Swopes GTO pickups, which are like a Lap-Steel,Tele and P-90 pickup all mashed together to create some of the most pleasing electric guitar tones one could ever hope for. They certainly lean more towards the Fullerton CA (AKA Fender) type of tonality, yet still have an aggressive attack,with just the right amount of mid-range to them while always sounding crystalline to the ear, with great (but never overbearing) twang and a fullness found usually only in PAF style Humbucker equipped guitars. However, if you do want a full Humbucker type sound just pull the nifty push/pull tone knob up and your two pickups are now in series with each other rather than your standard parallel middle position tone. It’s all up to how you want the guitar to behave and sound.
Specs:
Body: Ash
Neck: Flame MapleÂ
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Radius: 9.5”
Nut Width: 1.656"
Neck Dimensions: .85"-.95" 1st & 12th Fret
Neck Profile: Medium-thick C
Finish Blonde Nitro Lacquer
Descendant Vibrato
Staytrem Bridge (9.5” radius)
25 1/2" Scale
Swope GTO Single Coil Pickups
Bone Nut
Push/Pull Tone Pot (Series/Parallel)
Swope "Knock Around" Relic Finish (This is Swopes version of a light relic finish with slight checking and light wear on the body)Â
HSC included
Weight 7lbs 4oz
