NGD Chapman ML3-RC (now with demo!)
Posted: 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
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
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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