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I bought a new Forshage-designed Raines Tele 7 as a "working guitar" almost a year ago, planning to use it for 95+% of my gigs. It was descibed as having top quality hardware and having been set up to my spec with 10-70s by Chris Forshage before delivery to me from Matt Raines. It played fine on arrival, and my initial impression was that it sounded decent. But over the first few weeks and gigs, it had some issues too big to ignore. Even so, the design, wood, finish, and construction workmanship are all excellent - so I decided it was worth whatever it took to make it as good as it could be before throwing in the towel.
Hardware was one problem. I broke an E1 string within an hour or two of starting each show (we play Thursdays and Sundays at a local club). And it broke at the bridge plate! After the second one, I stripped it and discovered that the bridge was a cheap, rough piece with tiny burrs and roughness at the top front edge of the holes through which the strings passed. And there was a big burr under the E1 that was obviously the cause of the breakage. I shaped, chamfered and smoothed the holes for all 7 strings, which immediately stopped the breakage. It also evened out the volume and character of the strings. But the metal seemed too soft to stay as I'd shaped it for long, so I got a Hipshot. And that seems to have added a bit of sustain and even some fullness to the tone.
As I played it more, I started to notice a slight nasal honk in the tone and some oddball random harmonics. So I started down that golden path to corrective modification. The pickups were very close to the strings, and they're hard mounted to the body so I couldn't lower them without routing. They were described as being a Benedetto Duncan neck and a Bare Knuckles bridge. But when I removed them, they were cheap Artec HBC117s with serious magnetic pull. So after a little thought and investigation, I ordered a pair of Lace Alumitone 'buckers. Gabriel at Lace suggested that I'd probably like the same spec they use for Benson's 6 string versions (which I didn't even know he used), and a few sound clips convinced me. I was able to shim them for the perfect location below the strings, and they're fantastic.
While I was at it, I added a Tusq nut, went to TI JS112s, and set it up for a 0.076" Pearse RW nickel 7th string. And here's the final product:
I absolutely love the way it plays and sounds now. It's fantastic for pretty much anything I need to play - but it's truly wonderful for comping and general jazz work. Here are two tunes in which you can hear how well it does archtoppy stuff in comping and solos. These were recorded at the club with my trio and two guest vocalists the week before last. Credit where credit is due - that's George Livanos on bass and Bill Marconi on drums. I'm playing through a SF Vibrolux.
Last edited by nevershouldhavesoldit; 02-05-2022 at 10:48 PM.
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02-05-2022 07:02 PM
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sounds good !
is the A bass is usefull with a band ?
(I don't play the 7 strings guitar but I can imagine using it a lot as a solo player.
But with a band, I think I will get trouble with the bassman !)
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You got that right! I have to be verrrrrry careful not to tread on the bass player's toes. But comping with a good bass player rarely requires or justifies playing more than 2 or 3 notes in a chord - if you're working together, bass and guitar become one instrument. And the 5th and 6th strings are best left unplucked in most band settings.
Originally Posted by itsmyname
OTOH, a 7 takes solo guitar and solo backing for vocals or other instruments to a different level. Here's a short example -
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agree ! Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
(your tele is a beauty according to me)
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Thanks so much! It took me almost a year to get it where I want it - but it's now my "default" guitar for almost any gig. Soon after I got it, I was sorely tempted to sell it and buy the same guitar made entirely by Chris Forshage, but I figured I'd give this one every chance I could before abandoning it. Chris's version costs more than twice as much as this cost me, but I'm sure it's a fantastic guitar and I may yet order one. Originally Posted by itsmyname
This version is made to his design in a CNC mill in China. The design is wonderful, and the wood appears to be quite fine. The craftsmanship is excellent on the body - the neck is set beautifully and everything feels as good as it looks. Unfortunately, the hardware was not quite as fine as I was led to believe. But these Lace humbuckers are really great, and I love the Hipshot bridge. I could only get it in gold finish because the black ones were out of stock everywhere. But the gold one was on sale for the price of a black one, so I grabbed it and am very glad I did.
I also got Sperzel locking tuners on it, and I'm somewhat suspicious that they're knock-offs. The E1 stripped within a few days, and the A7 did the same about 6 weeks later. I ordered new ones from Sperzel, and they look a little different - the string posts are a slightly different shape and shinier. But the new ones feel like Sperzels should feel and the ones that came on it felt a bit loose and rough to me. I also had the replacement 7th post made with an 0.085" hole so I can use "proper" 7th strings.
I'm about to add push-push pots to split the pickups. Beyond this, it needs nothing. It's dead quiet and very responsive. So I finally got what I wanted from it - it just took an extra year and cost me an extra $400
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interesting !
I have some sperzel on a strato and they do a good job for many years.
how much did this tele cost you after all what you did ?
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The guitar cost me $750 new. I think the pickups were $239 for the pair, and the Hipshot bridge was $100. A set of 7 Sperzels was about $110 and a Tusq nut was about $10. Originally Posted by itsmyname
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It sounds fantastic, as you always do! Are you playing this one now primarily, and not the AF207 then? And only partly related, is the Sunday Brunch blues gig on Super Bowl Sunday a buffet?
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Hi and thanks, Jim! I use the Tele 7 almost all the time now that it sounds as good as it feels. Originally Posted by jim777
It sounds fantastic, as you always do! Are you playing this one now primarily, and not the AF207 then? And only partly related, is the Sunday Brunch blues gig on Super Bowl Sunday a buffet?
I don’t think Jamey’s is set up for a general buffet. I don’t remember ever seeing one except for a small spread for private parties in the back dining room. I’ll check today - we’re practicing some new tunes this afternoon.
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that's a good invest I think.The guitar cost me $750 new. I think the pickups were $239 for the pair, and the Hipshot bridge was $100. A set of 7 Sperzels was about $110 and a Tusq nut was about $10.
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Sorry - no buffet Originally Posted by jim777
is the Sunday Brunch blues gig on Super Bowl Sunday a buffet?
We’re still very Covid conscious.
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Sounded great yesterday Dave
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Thanks so much! If you’re there, why don’t you come up & let me know, Jim?? I can’t see the audience clearly because of the stage lighting, and I didn’t leave the stage for the whole 3 hours except to find spray cleaner - more below. But even more importantly, why not bring your guitar and sit in with us? Originally Posted by jim777
Sounded great yesterday Dave
I was also distracted by a serious problem yesterday. One of the touring acts Friday or Saturday spilled either coffee or dark beer on the upper end of the Hammond. I discovered it when I couldn’t peel my fingers from a key. And it took out the 5 keys from F# to A# at the top of the upper manual. There are 3 overlapping rings on the top of the Nord that sits over the Hammond, where the cup or glass must have been placed. As there was no keyboard player in those groups and only the guitarists were on that side of the stage, the culprit had to be one of them.
I hope that no one on JGO ever ever puts any liquid of any kind, in any container open or closed, on any instrument, amplifier, case, etc - ever, ever, ever! This is a new $15,000 organ, and apart from the fact that it may be out of use for a week or more and require transportation to a repair facility, repair will set the club owner back at least a few hundred dollars and could run over a grand, depending on how far into it the spill went.
So yesterday was not a happy day for us. But I thought Maci (Maci Miller - our vocalist, for those who don’t know the crew) was really on, a major feat since she was using new IEMs for the first time and the feed to her transmitter was grossly unbalanced with no guitar and much too much keyboard. The jack for my wired IEMs wasn’t working, so I played with plugs in both ears because my belt pack didn’t arrive from B&H yet.
[EDIT] I just got an email that someone in the house captured bits and pieces of our last few Sunday blues sets. For those who've never played or played with a real Hammond through a real Leslie, the feeling of all that sound swirling around you is absolutely amazing. Here's a bit of Stormy Monday. As much as I love playing the guitar (keys have always been my "double" and almost never what I play for a whole gig), I love the organ almost as much! The fool who drowned our baby deserves to be drawn and quartered!
Last edited by nevershouldhavesoldit; 02-21-2022 at 04:03 PM.
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great voice, and your hammond comp is so cool !
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They do sound great, and the ease with which they sound great is also very impressive Originally Posted by itsmyname
Dave, I wild definitely come up and say Hi next time, we got there a bit after you all started and needed to leave right as Maci was coming back on at the end of the jam. But I'll definitely come up and say hello to you and the band and I'll think about bringing a guitar. Possibly on a Sunday, still a year or two away from bringing one on a Thursday!
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Sure is - Maci’s a true joy. We’ve had a few world class singers in PBK, including the fabulous Gwen Jackson (who’s been in Riverdance on Broadway, Cirque du Soleil, and is Whitney Houston in So Amazing, among her many other notable gigs). And Maci’s right there with the best of ‘em! Being able to work with this kind of talent is just fabulous and I truly love it. It’s gotten better and better over the 15 years that we’ve been together as a band. Originally Posted by itsmyname
Here are two more brief videos taken by the same guy of Maci with us in the last few weeks. One of the things I love about her is her desire, willingness and ability to do the same tune different ways and with different feelings. Here are clips from No Beginner at the Blues done a week apart. The guitar is my first 7 string, an ESP from the mid ‘90s that I’d just taken out and refreshed after being a wall hanging for years (fret level & dress, setup with Stringjoy nickel RWs) - first through the Vibrolux and then in a slower, slightly funky version through the Leslie:
Last edited by nevershouldhavesoldit; 02-23-2022 at 11:12 AM.
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Very nice. Great sound. Just got my first 7 and can’t put it down - can’t play it either.?
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Vintage guitar shops in Paris/France?
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