Bacchus Handmade G-Studio QM Brown Stain 2004
Bacchus Handmade Series G-Studio, made in Japan 2004, tasty brown stain over quilted maple finish. This thing plays itself. Handmade Series guitars from this era were built totally by hand without the aid of CNC machines, which necessitates very picky wood selection and means they sold for a lot of ¥ in their day. If it gives you an idea, this ¥231000 in 2004, around four times the cost of a standard Fender Japan reissue model like an ST62-58 from the same period. The feel is amazing: super fast satin finish neck, lightly scalloped fretboard edges for extra comfort, excellent tuners and bridge and natural resonance to burn. It looks good too: that quilt maple top has an alluring depth to the figure, and the colour is warm and caramel-esque and the maple binding really sets it off nicely. The pickups are made in house, and they're very good. The single coils are thick and crisp with heaps of sparkly clarity, and the humbucker is warm and meaty. The on-deck mid boost is a handy addition, it means you can get your amp singing nicely. If you're after a classy F-adjacent high performance number that will scare guitars at thrice the price, this is a slice of nice.
Model: Bacchus Handmade Series G-Studio QM
Made: Aska Japan, Deviser workshop, 2004 (serial 127676)
Finish: brown stain over quilt maple top, dark back/sides, gloss poly
Body: alder, quilt maple top
Neck: maple, pao ferro board, edges rolled/scalloped edges, 25.5" scale, 12" radius, slim C profile
Weight: 3.535kg
Mods: none
Pickup: Bacchus HMC Vintage humbucker, HMC Alnico 50 single coil x2, passive mid boost via third knob
Case: Bacchus gig bag, no trem arm
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has minor dimples on the end and edges and some light scuffs on the front near the end. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples and rub wear on the back only. The back has a decent dent between the neck plate and cavity cover, as well as widespread scuffs and dimples around the whole body, most notably on the top horn and back edge. The sides have scuffs on both horns and some dimples in the elbow area, back edge and near the jack. The front has scuffs in the elbow area and around the bridge, dimples around the knobs and some play wear around the strings. Overall: very good condition (7.5/10)
Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electrics tested and working properly. The frets have some normal wear, but they're fairly even with no major buzz issues, 6/10 for fret life left. Wearing fresh 10/46 Moonshiners strings.