What's the deal with Blackmachines?

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: What's the deal with Blackmachines?

"I paid $10K real money for this guitar, and it's way better than the $4K LP I had, or the $4K Jackson CS I had, or the $8K PRS, or the car I sold to pay for it, BECAUSE it cost $10K, not because it's actually that good."

That's how that works, and it is fact.

 

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: What's the deal with Blackmachines?

One with EMGs in it sold for 18k apparently.

 

[B2D]

Re: What's the deal with Blackmachines?

Throwing an instrument into a fire because it's not perfect? I really hope that's not true because if it is, it's cork sniffer BS.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: What's the deal with Blackmachines?

HH minimalist slab superstrats that are composed of 3rd party hardware and electronics but cost between 3 and 15 grand? Anyone have one?

I am not a 'shredder' style player,but man, i am soooo GAS'ng for one.

In Other Words . . . i do not have one, but maybe, just maybe, one day, i might pull the trigger.

Oh, and to my untrained-metal-eyes, they are by faaaaar thee best looking super-strat style guitars i have ever seen - YMMV

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: What's the deal with Blackmachines?

The only blackmachine I care about is sitting in my jeans.

Your iPhone?

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: What's the deal with Blackmachines?

Was just a thread on this on another forum that had some info and random ranting about them...

http://www.rig-talk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=151149&hilit=blackmachine

 

[jtougas]

Re: What's the deal with Blackmachines?

I might pay $multi-k for an Alembic, where they make all their own hardware, etc.

Not for 3rd party hardware I can pull off the shelf.

 

[stealthtastic]

Re: What's the deal with Blackmachines?

I've owned guitars like:

• Suhr
• Mayones
• Ruokangas
• Tom Anderson
• Teuffel
• Strandberg
• ViK
• Ibby Jcustoms
• Jackson CS
• Caparison
• Daemoness

Im sure you get the idea.

Nothing comes close to the three Blackmachines I've owned

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: What's the deal with Blackmachines?

There are a lot of guitars out there that I can't afford. I don't have the time or energy to give a **** about all of them.

 

[Pierre]

Re: What's the deal with Blackmachines?

I don't know if it's worth posting since there are too many threads like this around but here goes:

1) it's not because you don't get it that Humanity shouldn't
2) you're not the only one not getting it
3) others do get it
4) I actually called Feline for a quote and these guitars are reasonably priced... FOR A HANDMADE CUSTOM GUITAR!! Don't compare this to a Warmoth please. They are NOT the same thing. Want to build yourself a Warmoth, go for it. Want to call a luthier to build you a bolt-on SuperStrat, you'll pay the same as for a brand new Blackmachine if you want a quality instrument (too many hack luthiers out there will give you discounted prices and not deliver)
5) some Luthiers WILL throw an instrument to the fire if it's not perfect. If it's already built, you can't recycle much of the wood in the first place, and there's a risk that if you leave it alone someone will eventually flip it. It's a reassurance against destroying your own reputation and against delivering a sub-par product
6) Blackmachines aren't 10k. If people sell them for this much, it's because people buy them for this much. It has nothing to do with what they're 'truly' worth since this is determined by the market (supply vs. demand) for them
7) some people simply want a quality instrument. They play, hear, test several of them and go with what fits them. If they don't, they run a risk. For the people who haven't played them, I don't quite see what warrants them criticizing or questioning the instrument or people's choice of it, but I guess this is the Internet

 

[Big Flannel]

Re: What's the deal with Blackmachines?

They won't make me play better. They won't make me sound better. I'm sure they're probably high quality instruments and if it works for you, that's great.

The descriptions on the website are off-putting in my opinion. Anyone who claims that the testament to their quality is being rejected by the mainstream is a bit too pontifical for my tastes.

 

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: What's the deal with Blackmachines?

They aren't "handmade". The pickups are bare knuckle, duncan and emg, the frets are dunlop nickel silver, the hardware is gotoh the woods are typical like ash and maple and they are cut in cliche and standard manner. Just by knowing this, I frankly don't care if it sustains for 30 years, weighs nothing and I can control it like it's an appendage of my body. It's mostly just assembled. He's not winding the pickups or casting the hardware or inventing new electronics or using super exotic woods or making an innovative nut or bridge in a minimalist fashion. Yeah I'll order everything from warmoth and give it to an amazing luthier I know and he will put the parts together REALLY well and there is my blackmachine, and I can make another too with the money I save. Hell even if he does put it together PERFECTLY, the neck joints aren't even that good, and the frets and bridge and neck are still typical metal and wood that will wear and warp, then that feeling when playing that is part of the extreme price is gone in probably a year of regular use and it's gonna be set up by another luthier again IF it survives the overseas shipping.

 

[Warheart]

Re: What's the deal with Blackmachines?

They aren't "handmade". The pickups are bare knuckle, duncan and emg, the frets are dunlop nickel silver, the hardware is gotoh the woods are typical like ash and maple and they are cut in cliche and standard manner. Just by knowing this, I frankly don't care if it sustains for 30 years, weighs nothing and I can control it like it's an appendage of my body. It's mostly just assembled. He's not winding the pickups or casting the hardware or inventing new electronics or using super exotic woods or making an innovative nut or bridge in a minimalist fashion...

By that account, nothing is handmade. Any guitar maker that uses brand name pickups isn't making hand made guitars. Gibson custom shop guitars aren't handmade because they are using the same old production pickups. Jackson custom shop aren't because they use EMG and Duncan's, with bridges made by Floyd Rose.

If you want to get respect because you're playing a handmade guitar, make it all yourself, since that seems to be the only way you're going to care about it.

 

[Big Flannel]

Re: What's the deal with Blackmachines?

Would the phrase "assembled by hand" suffice? I believe he was pointing out the unnecessary mark-up in price for 3rd party hardware.

 

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: What's the deal with Blackmachines?

Exactly. The point is they aren't making their own anything except the neck and body, and I haven't felt the neck but the body is nothing inspiring even if it is chambered which it supposedly is. Parts are bought elsewhere and they are just put together. The parts were not specifically made like Alembic or Teuffel does. So I'm not factoring in "handmade" because by that extent nothing is ENTIRELY. Everything is SEMI hand made and blackmachine has less of that quality that others have for less cost.

 

[VHTJay]

Re: What's the deal with Blackmachines?

The Blackmachines are to the modern metal guys what a PRS private stock with a Brazilian rosewood neck is to the more vintage oriented high end buyer. Both are insanely expensive and in both cases, you have guys lining up to throw wads of cash when one becomes available. A good friend of mine, who owns a TON of high end gear bought a Blackmachine 7 string with fan frets a couple of years ago. I think he paid a little over 5G for it at the time and I don't know what he ended up selling it for, but think it was an exorbitant amount. he wouldn't say. As for my opinion, I didn't think it played or sounded any better than other high end shred sticks of similar ilk.

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: What's the deal with Blackmachines?

I find it amazing that BM can fetch the same amount of money as gear from the 50's and 60's. Honestly I would never buy one because for 10k I want it built to my specs not what I can get off the wall or from another company. Like previously stated this is a HH minimalist super strat WITHOUT A FLOYD. Also I've yet to see a clean demo of one. I'm sure their great guitars but not 10k great at least not to me.

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: What's the deal with Blackmachines?

Oh and is Blackmachine the Dumble of the guitar world? it seems like it?

 

[CTN]

Re: What's the deal with Blackmachines?

the reason is: Djent d-bags with too much money to spend.

it's a bubble that will inevitably burst.

 

[vinta9e]

Re: What's the deal with Blackmachines?

Exactly. The point is they aren't making their own anything except the neck and body

So what? The neck and the body are the core of the guitar. So what if they don't roll their own fretwire or wind their own pickups? So what if they don't grow their own tonewood? The arguments and criteria you've just presented are ridiculous because they have absolutely nothing to do with an instrument's quality.