(SOLD) History Heritage Wood TH-SV/R Dark Lake Placid Blue 2015
History Heritage Wood TH-SV/R Strat style, dark lake placid finish, made in Japan 2015. The History brand is a collaboration between legendary builder Fujigen Gakki and Shimamura Gakki, one of the major music stores in Japan. They enjoy a brilliant reputation for quality in Japan, but seldom venture outside the local market, so we mostly miss out on these little gems in the rest of the world. Fujigen Gakki made all those iconic Fender Japan guitars from 1982-96, most of the 'lawsuit' Grecos, all the valuable vintage Ibanez models as well as their current Prestige series... they build some of the finest production instruments going around anywhere. This was a very high end offering in it's day, it sold for three or four times the price of Fender Japan Standard Strat when it was new. That means you're getting aaaall the deluxe stuff. First up, the wood is amazing. The neck is made from Eastern curly maple from NE USA, so it's blessed with a gorgeous flame pattern all the way up and down the neck. It's carved to a slim, soft-V shape, capped with a gorgeous slab of rosewood and finished in super smooth satin. It looks and feels spectacular. The body is two-piece, centre-joined alder, painted up in a gorgeous dark lake placid blue and finished with a topcoat of thin nitro lacquer. It doesn't stop there: you get a steel-block trem bridge with pressed steel saddles, CTS pots, an orange drop cap, USA switch, Switchcraft jack, unbleached cow-bone nut and a gorgeous set of cloth-wired alnico V single coils and a handy 'fast access' angled neck joint... not to mention a spicy case. The specs are similar to what you'd get on a Suhr or Fender Custom Shop, it's pretty mental what they've managed to jam in. If you were wondering if it all adds up: yep, it sure does. The feel is outstanding, owing to the brilliant build and finish quality, you can really feel the responsiveness and precision on offer. The tone is an amazing balance of fullness and clarity. It's gooey and rich with a bit of drive, or frighteningly eloquent and sparkly played clean. This will laugh at most USA-made instruments for tone and feel, it's really quite something. It takes a certain pragmatic sort with a commitment to the 'if it feels and sounds good, it is good' approach to make this their own, as the brand name doesn't start with 'F'... but hey, you've always been a bit of a rebel, right?
Model: History Heritage Wood TH-SV/R
Made: Japan, neck date 27 Jan 2015, Fujigen plant (serial B150435)
Finish: dark lake placid blue (DLB), 3-ply cream guard
Body: alder, 2-piece centre join
Neck: 'Heritage Wood' USA Eastern Curly Maple, rosewood board, soft V shape, 250mm radius, 42mm nut, 25.5" scale
Weight: 3.455kg
Mods: none
Pickups: History RVS Original Staggered alnico V single coil x3
Case: History branded deluxe hard case
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has some minor dimples on the end and bottom edge. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor rub wear only. The back has a couple of light scuffs in the belly carve and around the cavity, as well as the start of some checking lines near the neck plate and a dimple in the bottom corner. The sides have some minor dimples in the elbow area and bottom horn and some light scuffs near the jack. The front has a couple of dimples in the elbow area and some minor scuffs behind the bridge, as well as some standard play wear on the guard and horns. Overall: very good condition (8/10).
Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electrics tested and working properly. Frets have minor wear only, 9/10 for life left. Wearing fresh 10/46 Moonshiners strings.