I purchased this guitar with quite high expectations as I had previously purchased a Harley Benton sc550 with emg pickups in tobacco sunburst which I am very happy with indeed.
To be honest I am very picky when it comes to fit and finish of all my guitars and if I’m not happy I’ll either send a guitar back or move it on.
This Larry Carlson single cut is one of the most well put together instruments I have ever owned. From the binding to the beautiful deep gold top it is a complete stunner. The neck is a pleasure to have in the hands having rolled edges and flawless fretwork with not the slightest roughness at all, the rear being Matt finished enabling swift movement around the fretboard. It was obvious to me from opening up the packaging that it was a premium instrument. I love the headstock too, a lot of headstocks on these type of guitars look awkward to say the least but not here, it looks in keeping and stylishly finishes off the classy looks of this instrument. Action was a little high ( not unusual for shipped instruments of this type) but that was easily adjusted down to my liking via the bridge adjustment.
The ebony fretboard is smooth and feels nice to the touch.
Sounds are typical for this type of guitar and are of the classic rock genre going through to jazz and clean Lp tones to delight any guitar player. The design of the heel of this instrument makes for easy access to the upper frets an improvement from the original LP.
To finish I am delighted with this offering from sire. What more can I say for 500.00 gdp delivered, this guitar completes with instruments three times its price and in a lot of ways surpasses them. Weight is 7lb 11 oz which is quite lightweight which was just what I had hoped for. Just brilliant. It seems to me that Indonesia are producing instruments now that equal the quality of the Japanese manufacturers which is quite surprising. Service from Thomann was very good indeed, Thankyou Thomann.