New Guitar Day! (not the Warmoth I am still building)

[Mincer]

Well, I saw these announced at NAMM, and waited until now for them to show up at retailers. Sweetwater would set a date when they would arrive, and the night before, it would be pushed out a week. This was since late January, and every week I'd check.

Finally 3 of them showed up at Sweetwater- I pick them for new guitars, as every guitar is photographed and weighed. This one is about 7.4lbs. The 2 others were well over 8.

Now, I always wanted a purple guitar, and this one is 'none more purple'. I sent an email to Sterling about the pickups, as no specs are listed. Haven't even tried it through my normal rig to get an opinion on them. There is a 5 way switch, already with my 'Do It All' wiring using the outer and inner coils of the pickups in positions 2 and 4. The volume pot is push/push with a 12dB boost. It works! The neck is roasted maple (no finish) and it has locking tuners.

The pics are of my exact guitar- Sweetwater emailed them to me

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[ICTGoober]

Cool finish.

 

[jeremy]

looks great, and im a big fan of an onboard boost for some guitars

 

[Artie]

Sweet. And that is some serious purple. Love it.

 

[beaubrummels]

I saw the purple and thought, "You're gonna be just like Luke..." then I saw the headstock and thought, "oh yeah. That explains it."

 

[strat dude]

Bad ass!!

 

[GuitarStv]

I like the colour.

 

[playas]

Congratulations. Fantastic looking guitar.

How is the neck?

The luke 3 (the only Luke model I have played) has an amazing feeling neck. I haven't yet found anything to beat it.

 

[ErikH]

That's a cool color. The sparkle really makes it pop.

 

[Mincer]

Congratulations. Fantastic looking guitar.

How is the neck?

The luke 3 (the only Luke model I have played) has an amazing feeling neck. I haven't yet found anything to beat it.

I like it! It is a touch chunkier than my Silhouette Special, which is the ideal size for me, but roasted maple feels great.

That's a cool color. The sparkle really makes it pop.

In the sunlight, it looks like the milky way.

 

[ehdwuld]

I remember you saying you were going to get a purple one at some point

excellent choice

I have wanted an EB for a while now

 

[Masta' C]

I 100% approve!

I'm currently trying to talk myself out of a purple sparkle guitar (different brand/model), as well, ha ha!

I don't know if their QC has improved lately, but Sterling really stepped up their offerings this year. This one, the StingRay Plus models and the upcoming Kaizen all look great!

 

[Mincer]

Sterling also has a bunch of price ranges. While a USA Luke is around $3k (and I have 2 other USA EB/MM) this was just over $800. Not 'cheap' at all.

 

[Masta' C]

My AX-40D "Axis" was the nicest Sterling I've ever played.

I recently sold an SR-30 "StingRay" and a JP-157D "Petrucci" 7-string. They were both "ok" in comparison. The JP definitely wasn't worth 3.5X the price of the SR-30, not by a longshot.

That Luke of yours does seem to strike a nice balance between the price points and features of the SR & JP models and has a killer finish to boot!

I'm kinda curious how much the stock Sterling pickups on these resemble the DiMarzio "Transition" set, which is one of my personal favorites!

 

[Mincer]

My AX-40D "Axis" was the nicest Sterling I've ever played.

I recently sold an SR-30 "StingRay" and a JP-157D "Petrucci" 7-string. They were both "ok" in comparison. The JP definitely wasn't worth 3.5X the price of the SR-30, not by a longshot.

That Luke of yours does seem to strike a nice balance between the price points and features of the SR & JP models and has a killer finish to boot!

I'm kinda curious how much the stock Sterling pickups on these resemble the DiMarzio "Transition" set, which is one of my personal favorites!

I've still only used this through my practice amp (Katana 50) and not my whole rig yet. I spent yesterday setting it up with 9s (ships with 10s), and giving it a proper going over. It really wasn't set up at all. High action, stiff trem, intonation off and too much relief. Now it plays like buttah.

I hadn't tried the Transition set, so I can't compare them. The 12dB boost on the volume pot is cool, though as the 2 & 4 positions on the switch are about 30% quieter than the other 3. I will be blasting the guitar through my Fractal rig today, though, all while trying to complete my Warmoth.

 

[Masta' C]

Interested to hear your thoughts after you've had a chance to jam on it for a bit!

Side Note: My last 2 Sterlings both required a complete setup out of the box, as well. Crazy high action, too much relief, trems not set up well, rough fret ends, etc.

Sterling used to do a proper once-over on their guitars before they left their warehouse in California, but it seems they just shove them onto trucks as soon as they leave the docks these days.

 

[Mincer]

Interested to hear your thoughts after you've had a chance to jam on it for a bit!

Side Note: My last 2 Sterlings both required a complete setup out of the box, as well. Crazy high action, too much relief, trems not set up well, rough fret ends, etc.

Sterling used to do a proper once-over on their guitars before they left their warehouse in California, but it seems they just shove them onto trucks as soon as they leave the docks these days.

Yeah, this needed a few hours of work. The fret ends aren't bad, but the neck had way too much relief, and the trem barely moved it was so tight. I used this guitar for rehearsal tonight, and it went well, but jury is still out on the pickups. They are brighter than what I am used to, for sure. I sent Sterling an email asking about the pickups and their answer was 'Well, we have no spec sheet on the pickups...what information are you looking for?" which isn't a great sign.

 

[jeremy]

yeah, that seems kinda lame. no spec sheet? i was looking for specs

 

[Mincer]

yeah, that seems kinda lame. no spec sheet? i was looking for specs

Not a great sign. If I take them out, I will post the specs online for others who might want that info.

 

[Masta' C]

That would be cool. Kinda crazy that Sterling doesn't know what they put in their own guitars, LOL!

I wonder if the pickups are still being made by Cort in Indonesia. Most of the stock Sterling pickups over the past few years have been, at least on their midrange models.

Can you measure DCR at the jack?