When I get any guitar, one of the very first things I do is to test it out clean. I know, I already did a clip of the guitar dirty, but that was just a spur of the moment thing, and I literally only spent 15 minutes with her when I recorded the first clip. But tonight, I wanted to really take some time to dig in, so to say, and run Lana through her paces.
So I hooked her up to my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe because it just has killer cleans. Came up with a simple chord progression in D, recorded it, then laid down the lead. The “rhythm” part of this clip is with the neck pickup coil-tapped. The lead is with the guitar in the middle position, no coil-tapping. Give it a listen:
One of the first things that struck me was the super-organic, acoustic quality of the rhythm track. The inherent sustain creates lots of resonance, so it acts like the resonance chamber of an acoustic guitar. That’s really amazing. The guitar is probably about an inch and a half thick where the neck meets the body (no joint as this is a neck-through guitar), then tapers out to less than an inch around the body. At first glance, you wouldn’t expect this guitar to have so much sustain and resonance, but Perry’s design somehow creates tons and tons of sustain. Excellent!
When I played the lead, the humbuckers were simply thick and juicy, but without even a hint of boominess, even through my Hot Rod Deluxe, which can get pretty fat in the bottom end. Though I ultimately recorded the lead in a single take, I recorded it after about an hour of looping through the chord progression, just playing lead lines.
To me, that’s the mark of a truly great instrument. I lose all track of time when I’ve got a great instrument in hand. I’ll play for hours on end, and not stop. That’s how good Lana is. She can absolutely sing! I’d put her up against a Les Paul any day; and that’s saying a lot! Can’t wait to hook her up to my Plexi-style amps!
As to the recording, the guitar was recorded completely raw. I didn’t add any compression or EQ or do any mastering. The guitar was plugged straight into my Hot Rod, and I just set the Reverb on 3 to give it just a little grease. But that’s it. What you hear in the recording is just that.
By the way, even before I do the formal review of Lana, she’s going to get 5 Tone Bones. I know, I’m letting the cat out of the bag, but this is such a damn great guitar that I’d be lying if I gave her anything less than a 5!
If you’re looking for a great custom guitar, Perry is the man to talk to. I don’t have his contact info in front of me, so I’m not providing it just now. Perry, if you’re reading this, please let the folks here know how to reach you.
Guitar Gear 
You can reach Perry at PerryRiggs1@gmail.com. A guitar with more sustain than a Les Paul that weights 6.5 pounds? Sounds fabulous!
Thanks guys, I was a bit aprehensive about sending my work out into the world. Much like writing and playing music, building a guitar should have a part of your soul in it, I try to do that with each instrument I make. My goal as a luthier is to make instruments that allow the musician to express his art effortlessly and without compromise. A musician should not have to “work around” a guitar to make up for its weak points. The guitar should assist the musician in his art.
I prefer to build guitars for the owner, on a commission basis. Since this is my art and my passion, I really don’t want to copy other people or companies work. For instance, I could build a LP like guitar for you, but it will not be an exact replica, either in looks or in construction technique. It would sound close to a LP but it would have its own unique voice. I avoid plastic on my guitars if at all possible. The neck will fit you, If you can tell me what fits I’ll make it, if not we’ll figure it out together. Tell me what sound you want and we’ll work together to come up with a guitar that has it.
As Guitarboy says, my email address is:
PerryRiggs1@gmail.com
The company is Slash L Guitars, no website yet.
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[…] of Richmond. Perry Riggs discovered my blog a couple of years ago, and asked if I’d like to review one of his guitars. He was a luthier whom I had never heard of, and after having a nice phone conversation, I agreed […]
Thanks for finally writing about >Perry Riggs
Slash L Guitars “Lana” Clean Test | Guitar Gear <Liked it!