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Just to let you know where I'm coming from, I've been playing old Gibsons since the early 90's. I know how they're supposed to feel and sound. I've been in blues bands, cover bands, singer/songwriter bands, etc. My brothers both have home music studios, so I am constantly around quality music equipment. Right now I am looking for a guitar that is gig ready without having to bring out collector guitars. That's were Bumstead Guitars comes in. Here is a review of my latest test drives on the Cordoba and Imperial.
CORDOBA
At first glance at initial features, The Cordoba reminded me of the SG Special 3-pickup guitar:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Gibson-SG-Special-Faded-3-Pickup-Electric-Guitar?sku=512799
I could not have been more wrong. It has so many more features than that guitar. It has more sounds. While comparable in price, it has better cosmetics, & construction.
PROS:
The sound that comes out of the Cordoba is very full. The 6-way selector takes it from LP, to Strat, to Tele sounds in a heartbeat. Sitting in the next room with someone playing one of these would result in "what is that a beefed up Strat? Tele? PRS?"
When experimenting with different sounds, I noticed NO lack of power or volume. When coil tapping with other brand guitars, I've notice major cuts in tone and power. It would be safe to say the Cordoba is a sound chameleon - but let's just says it's a sound Godzilla!
The "gain" knob proved interesting as well, with different settings on the fly and no "click" or delays when audibles with sounds. Something of an afterthought was the 25.5" scale with F-spaced humbuckers... the strings seemed to bend very easily and neck was comfortable.
CONS:
The Cordoba also had (initially) a problem staying in tune, but it was merely minutes out of the box with brand new strings, so I had it pretty solid by the time I was done with it.
While I can't really think of any dealbreakers - I'd say it's pretty solid. The finish looks great, and it has that "new" feel - the kind of guitar that would need to get broken in, at least on the edges of the neck. Anyone used to brand new guitars would come to expect that. So the only things I would change would be the nut (change to bone or graphite).
IMPERIAL
PROS:
Jumping from the Cordoba, I instantly noticed the smaller 24.75" scale, and the "beefyness" of the singlecut body. It wasn't too heavy, but it had the feel of a more expensive brand than an Epiphone or Jay Turser. The Imperial had real sustain.... REAL SUSTAIN. The neck was super-comfortable, and features a its own colorful variety of tones.
Just looking at the back of the guitar, I noticed even the back of the guitar was sunburst. I have seen so many brands sunburst the front, only to leave the back a solid color
I was apprehensive about the pickups in this guitar because cosmetically, they were not gold covered. they were very similar to Gibson's Gold Screw Humbuckers. These pickups were super-hot and had amazing clarity... even through a Crate amp.
CONS:
Same as the Cordoba, I would likely redo the nut (easy). Everything else is good to go. Cosmetically, I would probably remove the "Rythm/Treble" indicator plastic piece from the pickup toggle switch. Although gold covered pickups would make the guitar look better, I think I'd stick with the black humbuckers with adjustable gold pole screws.
CONCLUSION
Overall, I believe Bumstead Guitars is an evolution in guitar versatility. They have a classic body, but have just a variety of sounds... more than any other guitar on the market. These guitars cover so many sounds and styles. I would say the Cordoba can SMOKE a Tele, SMOKE a Strat, and hang with the likes the the more expensive brand humbucking guitars. The same can be said for the Imperial. The German construction is a quality attribute and kept if from feeling like a cheap asian knockoff of a solidbody guitar.
These could make a great studio guitar because of all the sounds it can do, and it is also very "road-worthy" due to its solid construction and quality nitro-cellulose finish. NItro finishes seem only to be done by "custom shops" and people who build their own guitars. It's great to see the return of the Nitro finish in an affordable guitar. I'm looking forward to getting my own, and (bragging) answering all the questions from the drooling attendance at future gigs.
Sincerely,
Nic - Howell Michigan
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