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Topic: G.A.S. Strikes! Rukavina custom purchased! |
Rich Hlaves
From:
Wildomar, California, USA
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Posted 25 Aug 2008 1:40 pm |
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I've never owned a "new" steel guitar until today. The custom six string lap that Ryan Rukavina posted on the Forum about a week ago caught my attention on eBay this morning and I lost all control. It should be delivered in about a weeks time.
Ain't she a beauty!
For all the trashing that ebay gets I have to tell ya that they helped me purchase this instrument and emailed me a 10% off coupon code last week. I saved $60 on the guitar from Ryan Rukavina who offers free shipping. That make it quite a good deal IMHO.
I'll let you know how it plays and sounds when she arrives. I'm jazzed!
Best,
Rich |
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Steinar Gregertsen
From:
Arendal, Norway, R.I.P.
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Posted 25 Aug 2008 3:28 pm
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Congratulations Rich! I was looking at that one on eBay last night, sure looks good. 
_________________
"Play to express, not to impress"
Website - YouTube |
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Mark Mansueto
From:
Michigan, USA
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Rich Hlaves
From:
Wildomar, California, USA
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Posted 6 Sep 2008 2:07 pm
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The Rukavina lap steel was delivered to my office yesterday well packed & in a brand new gigbag. I tuned it up to an open E after measuring the string guages and plugged it in. Wow! A very nice sounding steel and very different than anything I own. This guitar has huuuuuge output and is capable of over-driving just about any amplifier, very bluesy, a little dark and just what I wanted. The headstock seems to give it a slightly woody tone, comparing say a Gibson LP to a ES-335. This Steel has sustain for days! Even acoustically, pluck a string and you can hear the note for about 20 seconds and still feel the resonance in the body after your ears can hear no more. Sweet!
Ryan's fit and wood working skills are excellent and the guitar looks fantastic in person and up close. There are neat little details all over the place. The bridge is a work of art and although simple, the brass nut is cleanly shaped with a satin finish that matches the bridge and body. And he claims this is a simple example of his work. NOT. I love it! If I had to be critical of anything it would be the satin finish its self. The satin is great and looks super on this guitar, it could be a bit smoother however. This is not at all a slam to the builder just me being very picky. Wishing for a little more finish sanding between coats. There are no dust balls or anything like that in the finish, just a bit of wood grain.
That being said the finish actually fits the choice of woods very well and again, just my personal preference for smoothness.
I removed the control cover (a very cool aluminum sandwitch material) on the back of the body to check out the electronics. Everything is clean, neat and tidy. All the solder joints are shiney and tight. The control cavity is coated with shielding paint. Very nice attention to detail here. The only mod I would consider is to add a push-pull switch to the volume pot to switch the JB humbucker to single coil and make the guitar a little more versatile. I may do this down the road a bit. Right now I'm bluesin' out with this thing and enjoying every minute!
If I where to put a number rating on this guitar, it would get a 9.85 out of 10.
Best,
Rich |
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Tom Pettingill
From:
California, USA (deceased)
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Rich Hlaves
From:
Wildomar, California, USA
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Posted 7 Sep 2008 10:26 pm
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After reading my review and discussing it with another forum member. I wanted to refine my opinion of the finish on the Rukavina steel. The guitar looks excellent and it couldn't be better for the price paid. This little guitar was a huge value for the price it was sold to me and I didn't want anyone to think Ryan did a poor job finishing the guitar.
Thanks Ryan, she is a sweetie!
Best,
Rich |
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