NGD Chapman ML3-RC (now with demo!)

Benmurray85 · Post by **Benmurray85** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 12:32 pm

now ive seen "chappers" take some stick on these pages before and i can understand why within ths sort of community he may not be embraced like he is on youtube and all that malarkey. personally hes actually really grown on me and i think they do some great work. anyways this shouldnt be a personal thing but im guessing any comments left here would address something along those lines so thought id put my two penneth in straight away. horses for courses eh

anyways the guitar. i played a les paul for years which i love but found the humbuckers didnt have the clarity that i like and recently i had completely fallen out with the humbucker tone. i now play teles pretty much exclusively in a covers band (arctics, oasis, beatles all pretty mundane standards type stuff) i need something thats versatile and the les paul was too rawk but the tele can sometimes be found lacking so my interest was peaked when the ml3-rc came about.

tl:dr chappers divides opinion. tele. vs. les paul war

the finish is flawless. i mean seriously flawless. its a beautiful guitar as well. i got the satin cheery red and initially i thought the satin finish may look "cheap." it doesnt, the exact opposite.
the neck is a nice chunk, its 24 frets which admittedly i cant get on with. im only a little guy so it may be that but i dont like the extra length it seems to add. maybe its psychological but i cant get on with it.
straight out of the gig bag it played superbly. i lowered the action slightly but other than that zero issues. its fucking heavy as well, only a positive for me!
jumbo frets took a bit of getting used to but im quite enjoying them now. the open a and d string seems to be buzzing a bit when played open. i dont know how to solve this but obviously the nut needs some sort of attention. i thought it was a bone or tusq nut on the chapmans but this is just black? anyone shed any light? i must admit it doesnt look the greatest quality but easily replaced i suppose.

the pickups are nice. good humbucker tones. for me the coil tap is nice but theres minimal difference and the volume drop is significant. still its a nice addition and theres some very useable tones to be had. i was concerned about the chappers connection that theyd be too raaaaaawk/metal but they arent at all. i love the fact that they are singlecoil sized as well. probably just a personal preference thing but teles should be singlecoil

i gigged it the day after i got it. was gonna do first half with the ml3 and second half les paul but i stuck with the ml3 coz it played so good.

+ve's - price, pups, finish, weight
-ve's - 24 frets, nut.

all in all its a nice guitar and WELL worth the money. id happily have paid more now knowing the quality of it. sorry for long review!!!!! will try and post pics later

tenderstems · Post by **tenderstems** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 4:30 pm

The buzz is coming from the nut or the fret? It's most likely fretbuzz from one of two things. It's cold, so you might need to tweak the truss rod. Or it could be from a high fret. You did say you lowered the action too, right? Did the problem occur before you did that?

The nut is most likely synthetic. Graphtec maybe?

As for Chapman, I am firmly in the "he's a twat" camp.

Benmurray85 · Post by **Benmurray85** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 5:49 pm

Hahaa each to their own!

The buzz is coming from the nut and was there before I lowered the action. Tbh I'm not gonna mess to much coz it's hardly an issue and I don't know what I'm doing! Lowering the action was a full scale operation for me!!!!

tenderstems · Post by **tenderstems** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 6:53 pm

Benmurray85 wrote:Hahaa each to their own!

The buzz is coming from the nut and was there before I lowered the action. Tbh I'm not gonna mess to much coz it's hardly an issue and I don't know what I'm doing! Lowering the action was a full scale operation for me!!!!

He's a proficient player, but as with all of those type of guys as good as their playing is, they have no taste.

If the nut is buzzing it usually means the slots were cut too wide. You have two options. 1, new nut. 2, repair nut slots with the old superglue and baking soda technique. It's by no means a permanent solution, but it could get you by if it bugged you enough.

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 8:38 pm

I like his ethos behind these guitars.. making them the best they can be within a restricted budget... they've always sounded decent in the demos I've seen.

You probably need a truss rod tweak or action raise, before looking at the nut.

brainfur · Post by **brainfur** » Thu Oct 31, 2013 2:03 pm

are his dreadlocks real? why does he have dreadlocks?

tenderstems · Post by **tenderstems** » Thu Oct 31, 2013 4:12 pm

brainfur wrote:why does he have dreadlocks?

Because he has no taste?

brainfur · Post by **brainfur** » Thu Oct 31, 2013 4:17 pm

tenderstems wrote:
brainfur wrote:why does he have dreadlocks?
Because he has no taste?

lol ok fair enough i thought it might be some kind of English culture thing....

Benmurray85 · Post by **Benmurray85** » Fri Nov 01, 2013 10:19 am

everyone wrote:dreadlocks?

yeah i must admit this grates on me immensley but each to their own eh??? i think hes a genuine enough guy and he makes a fucking tasty tele. thats all that matters surely?

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Nov 01, 2013 12:31 pm

Benmurray85 wrote: i think hes a genuine enough guy and he makes a fucking tasty tele. thats all that matters surely?

This!

Ben started this thread saying he didn't want it to turn into a Chappers bashing thread fer christs sake!

I used to hate on him and now I like him and what he does. Same with Phil X.

Really interested to hear your thoughts so far on this guitar! Also: pics!

Post by **Mike** » Fri Nov 01, 2013 12:41 pm

Haters are gonna hate but you have to admire what he's built on basically his energy and enthusiasm alone. He's a good guitar player but there are hundreds like him out there if you like that sort of thing, what sets him apart is what makes people love or hate him.

Personally I admire the guy, I might not be down with the slightly misogynistic LADS LADS LADS stuff they get up to in some of those videos but I can appreciate what he's about.

Anyway, on the guitar side of things I also think what he's doing is great - dispelling all that bullshit and getting people decent instruments for a reasonable price.

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Fri Nov 01, 2013 1:00 pm

Pics definitely if not demo. I took a look at the preview demo & I liked the look & sounds.

[youtube][/youtube]

He may not play music I would play but I like his demos and how he's carved a career out of his passion for guitars.

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Fri Nov 01, 2013 5:45 pm

This does seem like a pretty decent instrument; I like the design... the ode to the classic Tele style with some slight that kinda work. I like the reverse head stock, and it's got a decent shape too. The carved top is interesting, and the tummy cut is a must

Mike wrote:Haters are gonna hate but you have to admire what he's built on basically his energy and enthusiasm alone. He's a good guitar player but there are hundreds like him out there if you like that sort of thing, what sets him apart is what makes people love or hate him.

Personally I admire the guy, I might not be down with the slightly misogynistic LADS LADS LADS stuff they get up to in some of those videos but I can appreciate what he's about.

Anyway, on the guitar side of things I also think what he's doing is great - dispelling all that bullshit and getting people decent instruments for a reasonable price.

Yeah, I'm a bit torn on the guy. Occasionally I enjoy their (he and "the Captain's") demos, but, more often than not, they drive me insane. The worst is when they're completely talking out their asses and do NO research into the guitar and its features. I've sat watching demos of several models where I'm listening and thinking "that's wrong... nope, that's wrong too... oh, that's incorrect..."
Their passion and sense of fun are admirable (even if I don't share their ideas of fun), and are kind of their hallmarks.

If he took a little more time to actually research the instruments and gear demoed, they'd be a LOT better. How hard is it to reference a freakin' spec sheet, rather than offering bad information?? I did rather enjoy their CV/Standard/Custom Shop blind test videos...

jcyphe · Post by **jcyphe** » Sun Nov 03, 2013 3:25 pm

They look like they're having fun, that's what it's all about.

Benmurray85 · Post by **Benmurray85** » Mon Nov 04, 2013 7:50 pm

I apologise IMMENSLEY for the absolutely shite review you are about to bear witness to. As people asked I thought I'd oblige so sorry. Please don't click if you're not a fan of out of tune guitars, poor annunciation and bad playing.

Sorry if I've fucked the link as well, posting from phone

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Mon Nov 04, 2013 8:18 pm

There are some really nice sounds in that guitar and pretty versatile with the coil tap buckler