The first ever Baker B3 in Manila!!! - LOCKED

[tolits]

An update...

Just came home from a Soul Benders gig.  I wanna say that Arie really makes waves with his Tele; its suits him better.  The B3 for I and my friend, was just less aggressive or less matapang from our spot.  However, Arie felt that it was perfect from balance, to neck profile, to shape, to response, to playability except that he gets confused because he is not used to a two volume guitar.  So, go figure... 

What we did notice is that the Baker is flexible with so many sounds by just turning the volume knob...  This guitar is really sensitive from settings 1-10 on the volume knob.  It changes character and timbre with each setting.  In addition the baker with just minimal boosting has enough drive to even beat a guitar with two overdrives on.  The guitar just sustain and sings.  We thought that it must be because of the high output pickups --- but the pickups are NOT high output because its clean is that of a low output pickup and Lollar is not really known to have super high output pickups.   Miks also felt that this #55 was more hot than his Les Pauls but upon further examination, it really is the wood.  To a very popular thread entitled WHATS THE BEST OVERDRIVE/DISTORTION PEDAL?  I have to definitely say your guitar's wood. 

By the way, subtle flame seems to be more appropriate with stage lights because aside from having a 3d effect, it softens the looks of the guitar.  It is not as dry as a solid colored guitar nor is it as flashy and eye straining as pinstripe flame or highly dense flame tops.

More and more I am convinced that Gene Baker and Cliff Cultreri know what they are doing...

alex 

[Phil]

Miks short review of alex's B3. I LOVE THIS F@CKING GUITAR! Its really killer! At first i was like.... mm.. build quality is ok... tone is a bit harsh. But its a good guitar. After using it at rehersal fro 4 plus hours and playing it by myself for the rest of the night... all i can say is this guitar rocks and i definately want one. Just a bit tied up with cash right now so I dont know.. plus cliff says 59 is reserved.

Anyway.. the guitar is different from a les paul. Its got more body.. in a good way. More bass and mids but retains the clarity. The highs sparkle and shimmer. I think its really all about the buzz feitin system. Its the first time I;ve been able to play a BF guitar with a strobe tuner and its flat out amazing. The sweetened tunings are just a beautiful thing. Im not sure if it will cut like a les paul ala slash in the illusion albums ... but it does sing. Its pretty heavy too when i was doing the dropped D stuff and it was in tune throughout the fretboard. I love the BF system. I wanna have it done to my Les Pauls.

Will I leave my les pauls for a B3? No ... but it would be a great guitar to have in the stable.


PRSman = bogner ! check out the duende for low gain tones.. i have one comin in sept.. and the shiva for everything else. Youll love it I GUARANTEE! haahhaha

Okay ba ang Bogner XTC 101b?  I've never tried one.  Someone is offering it as a straight up trade for one of my guitars.

if you play with high gain stuff a lot.... thats what Vai used before the Carvin Legacy. But it you play clean and are into Blues and the likes....it's not the amp for you. try it out first.

[PRSMan]

if you play with high gain stuff a lot.... thats what Vai used before the Carvin Legacy. But it you play clean and are into Blues and the likes....it's not the amp for you. try it out first.

Phil -- Thanks.  PM kita with questions on the Fuchs.

Tolits / Alex -- Sorry, naha-hijack ko yung thread with my questions.  Keep the reviews on #59 as well as "action shots" coming please. 

[Bart]

MIJ Baker = Bakero

Ahahahaha! Ayos!

Actually, it's Baka yaro. Kaya parang 'bakero' pag mabilis at guttural yung pagkakasabi.
Baka=stupid
yaro=earth person (farm hand). Or roughly the equivalent of a bastard.

Now back to Bakers.

[abyssinianson]

if you play with high gain stuff a lot.... thats what Vai used before the Carvin Legacy. But it you play clean and are into Blues and the likes....it's not the amp for you. try it out first.

Phil -- Thanks.  PM kita with questions on the Fuchs.

Tolits / Alex -- Sorry, naha-hijack ko yung thread with my questions.  Keep the reviews on #59 as well as "action shots" coming please. 

I've been hunting for a clean sounding blues amp in the vein of the Fuchs lately and the OD50 is the front runner for my amp of choice with the Komet Concorde and the Dr. Z Carmen Ghia as a close third. Ima sit on the fence with these for a while. Someone recommended a Victoria as well but they are hard to come by since not very many places carry the line around my area. Any feedback on the Victoria amps so I know what to expect?

[deltaslim]

An update...

Just came home from a Soul Benders gig.  I wanna say that Arie really makes waves with his Tele; its suits him better.  The B3 for I and my friend, was just less aggressive or less matapang from our spot.  However, Arie felt that it was perfect from balance, to neck profile, to shape, to response, to playability except that he gets confused because he is not used to a two volume guitar.  So, go figure... 

What we did notice is that the Baker is flexible with so many sounds by just turning the volume knob...  This guitar is really sensitive from settings 1-10 on the volume knob.  It changes character and timbre with each setting.  In addition the baker with just minimal boosting has enough drive to even beat a guitar with two overdrives on.  The guitar just sustain and sings.  We thought that it must be because of the high output pickups --- but the pickups are NOT high output because its clean is that of a low output pickup and Lollar is not really known to have super high output pickups.   Miks also felt that this #55 was more hot than his Les Pauls but upon further examination, it really is the wood.  To a very popular thread entitled WHATS THE BEST OVERDRIVE/DISTORTION PEDAL?  I have to definitely say your guitar's wood. 

By the way, subtle flame seems to be more appropriate with stage lights because aside from having a 3d effect, it softens the looks of the guitar.  It is not as dry as a solid colored guitar nor is it as flashy and eye straining as pinstripe flame or highly dense flame tops.

More and more I am convinced that Gene Baker and Cliff Cultreri know what they are doing...

alex 

Alex - Care to compare how I/my Nighthawk sounded compared to the B3 in either Steve and Arie's hands and setup?  I have my own opinion and heard of others' but I wanted to hear yours too. 

Initial impression was that Steve sounded good but could have cranked the amp a bit para mas rinig siya with the Baker.  Arie got the volume to rise above the din but I noticed he gave up the Baker in favor of his Tele in the middle of the set so, yeah, naninibago nga siya.  Gtr players are creatures of habit, after all, and that was a paying gig w/ a lot of people in the audience so...

[tolits]

Deltaslim,

From where I was sitting you sounded the most prominent.  I never missed hearing whatever you did from rhythm to lead lines and fills.  Mas midrange ang tunog mo na in your face which I guess you wanted to be able to cut.  However, hindi marinig si Steve and hindi ko rin marinig ang rhythm ni Arie.  Though parang mas dynamic yata si arie who was using different volume levels.  Still everything was ok together.   Of course, on stage, it might be a different story na mas balanced kayo. 

Prior to the start of your 2nd set, Arie had instructed me to give him his Tele for "Crazy Little Thing.." while he tried out the baker for the first 8 songs of the 2nd set.  Amazingly, most of the tweaking was done with only the volume knobs of the Baker according to him.  Wala pa siya sa pagtimpla ng tone controls, mixing in between positions and coil tap.  He loved the part where he unexpectedly generated controlled feedback from the Baker without a huge amount of volume.  Solid state amp lang ang gamit niya pero kaya ng Baker sumabay sa mga tube amp na halos minimal gain setting lang sa TS9.  Hindi pa nga raw cranked ang amp niya.

--alex

[deltaslim]

Deltaslim,

From where I was sitting you sounded the most prominent.  I never missed hearing whatever you did from rhythm to lead lines and fills.  Mas midrange ang tunog mo na in your face which I guess you wanted to be able to cut.  However, hindi marinig si Steve and hindi ko rin marinig ang rhythm ni Arie.  Though parang mas dynamic yata si arie who was using different volume levels.  Still everything was ok together.   Of course, on stage, it might be a different story na mas balanced kayo. 

Prior to the start of your 2nd set, Arie had instructed me to give him his Tele for "Crazy Little Thing.." while he tried out the baker for the first 8 songs of the 2nd set.  Amazingly, most of the tweaking was done with only the volume knobs of the Baker according to him.  Wala pa siya sa pagtimpla ng tone controls, mixing in between positions and coil tap.  He loved the part where he unexpectedly generated controlled feedback from the Baker without a huge amount of volume.  Solid state amp lang ang gamit niya pero kaya ng Baker sumabay sa mga tube amp na halos minimal gain setting lang sa TS9.  Hindi pa nga raw cranked ang amp niya.

--alex

Yeah, important for me to cut through cuz many of my parts/solos need it. Lito and Arie would be the first to tell you that they like parts that like to be 'markado' and 'angat'.  Add to that the challenge of having 3 guitars and 1 harp (plus bass and drums) all potentially fighting for sonic real estate.  In that area, I live in the mids cuz Arie likes his Tele and Steve... well, you never know what gtr Steve might bring to a gig.     I was pretty much using my Nighthawks' vol control as remote as well. I would just choose which dirt box I'd use for a song leave it at that, unless the band got too loud and I'd have to kick in some boost for solos. All in all, I was very happy with my tone as well.

Actually, I'm sure Arie sounded louder at the end of the room cuz his amp was on an amp stand pointing up and out to the ceiling in the middle of the room. I sure could hear him well enough!  To my ears I was playing a little less louder than Arie cuz my amp was on the clean channel, around 12noon volume, and on the floor -- which would have been pointing directly at you, ergo the impression of loudness...  Steve's amp was sideways and he was sitting on it, making his legs like beam blockers.  Would have liked him to crank that baby.  Sayang - gusto ko pa naman marining ng cranked yung Bassman.

[vhunter]

Dunno so much about the setup (coz i wasnt there) but i did wanna share some things i noticed about the baker that might shed some light... i did play it for like 6plus hours straight .. hahahah. The Baker does not cut as much... and in that sense a les paul/ tele will definately be able to come out better than the baker because of their honkiness/quack. Its probably because the baker takes up alot of sonic real estate. Its got really sold bass and shimmering highs.. but is a little scooped in the middle. A 3 guitar band plus harp is probably not the best venue for a baker but is the perfect place for a good les paul and tele type guitar. What I really think the baker would be well suited for is a 1 guitar setup ... because it fills up the space.... Solo's will still feel empty but I had to crank my amp a bit to keep up with my bassist when i switched from LP to baker (during the time i had it). Its also really good by itself because it sounds "buo" if you know what i mean. Im sure you could EQ it to cut and maybe a tube screamer with a nice mid hump would do wonders in that situation ... but the guitars inherent characteristic is its full body ... and not cut/mid boost.  (sory kung unsolicited ha... 2cents ko lang ).

[deltaslim]

Dunno so much about the setup (coz i wasnt there) but i did wanna share some things i noticed about the baker that might shed some light... i did play it for like 6plus hours straight .. hahahah. The Baker does not cut as much... and in that sense a les paul/ tele will definately be able to come out better than the baker because of their honkiness/quack. Its probably because the baker takes up alot of sonic real estate. Its got really sold bass and shimmering highs.. but is a little scooped in the middle. A 3 guitar band plus harp is probably not the best venue for a baker but is the perfect place for a good les paul and tele type guitar. What I really think the baker would be well suited for is a 1 guitar setup ... because it fills up the space.... Solo's will still feel empty but I had to crank my amp a bit to keep up with my bassist when i switched from LP to baker (during the time i had it). Its also really good by itself because it sounds "buo" if you know what i mean. Im sure you could EQ it to cut and maybe a tube screamer with a nice mid hump would do wonders in that situation ... but the guitars inherent characteristic is its full body ... and not cut/mid boost.  (sory kung unsolicited ha... 2cents ko lang ).

That was actually great, insightful input, bro, and confirms some of my own observations/theories.  At the end of the day, if you want to use a guitar in a band context--whether inexpensive or high end, it's all about finding your place in the sonic real estate. 

It's possible the Baker has yet to match up with the right amp in a gig.  What sounds good in the bedroom or in a studio may not be the best tone for a band context/live gig.  What sounds good in a band context may sound awful in your bedroom by itself or with backing tracks.

[tolits]

I forgot to give Arie the Herbert to match with the Baker .... Heh Heh  which by the way remains to be his favorite amp to date.  Maybe I will bring it next time for Odie, the harmonica player...   

[deltaslim]

I forgot to give Arie the Herbert to match with the Baker .... Heh Heh  which by the way remains to be his favorite amp to date.  Maybe I will bring it next time for Odie, the harmonica player...   

Actually, I asked Arie if he was also borrowing an amp pero ayaw niya raw.  Don't know why but I thought such a guitar deserves an amp of similar stature. 

Just my opinion...  Kung tama si miks about the scooped-mids in the Baker, baka di bagay ang Herbert since, from what I remember, medyo scooped rin ang mids nun?  Just a thought.

[tolits]

Herbert can do the mid scooped thing pretty well and the fat mid thing somewhat better than a majority of a lot of amps.  What vhunter forgot to tell you is that we tested my Baker B3 into my Herbert into his Mesa 4x12 cabinet and it just has enough power and punch to cut thru anything at any gigging situation. 


Its is actually no problem matching the Baker B3 into all my amps because it is a balanced guitar in terms of frequency empahasis.  From my perspecitve, ang mas scooped reference ni vhunter is because Class A amps in overdrive and Les Pauls tend to be accentuated in the mids.  Just the same way that you are more accented in mids in your last gig at brothers moustache.   If Arie had an orange overdrive 120 or matamp gto100, I am very sure that the Baker would out mid range everybody in the band. 

But however, I just realized why the Baker B3 sounded more tamer when it shouldn't because of Buzz Feiten.  Since there are less discordant notes, it is as if the notes sound more refined.  As vhunter has told me, the Baker B3 is a Porsche while the Les Paul is more like a muscle car. 

alex

[vhunter]

, the Baker B3 is a Porsche while the Les Paul is more like a muscle car. 

alex

Thus the brand Finely Tuned Instruments. Hahahaah... but seriously... i love that guitar. And i love that picoso .. catalinabread ... im like wtf ... exotic stuff even I havnt heard of that stuff.

[vhunter]

Hey guys, this is a long recording of our set. Hahahah. its about 20 minutes long. I used the Baker and a delay and a wah.

Its not a super recording but theres alot of elegee vs baker threads going on .. and I just wanted people to hear a slightly better recording and how the guitar reacts in a rock band setting.

Sorry you gotta register! I have no idea how to share 20mb files.


http://download.yousendit.com/CC334AA340FEC91B

[PRSMan]

Hey guys, this is a long recording of our set. Hahahah. its about 20 minutes long. I used the Baker and a delay and a wah.

Its not a super recording but theres alot of elegee vs baker threads going on .. and I just wanted people to hear a slightly better recording and how the guitar reacts in a rock band setting.

Sorry you gotta register! I have no idea how to share 20mb files.

http://download.yousendit.com/CC334AA340FEC91B

Cool music and great playing Miks.  Humaba buhok ko bigla... 

[pansit_habhab]

Wow, talaga sir? Magkano kaya halaga nitong baker?whew nakakajingle sa ganda!

...... I wouldn't be surprised. Bakers are really good guitars plus the price of those guitars don't depreciate. It would be a really good player's and collector's guitar.

[firemodel55]

PRSman,

Bakit nasa unahan ang Gustavsson sa picture? Heh heh

[schenkerhead]

congrats

[PRSMan]

PRSman,

Bakit nasa unahan ang Gustavsson sa picture? Heh heh

Kung i-force rank yung tatlo, I like the JG the best because (1) I play classic rock / blues-rock and it gives me that tone, (2) it's the lightest, and (3) I love the color.

I think the B3 is the most versatile though.  It can get that heavy rock tone more than the JG can.

The Diablo is a completely different animal.  Heavy, heavy, heavy rock tone.

[vhunter]

Ive been gassing for one. Hahaha. and i like the name! DIABLO

[blues_stringer]

lak en lol  ganda

[mrbrownstone]

...you cannot really compare guitars from other guitars unless it's the same type..like a strat and a strat copy. It's like comparing pliers to a hammer....different tools for different application. A strat will never sound like an LP or a semi hollow. A Baker is just another different guitar.

korek! and even identical guitars with close serial numbers woudnt sound the same i think

[xelalien]

sound clip!

[Taoistguitarist]

ganda ng tunog from what i gather sa vid. minsan tunog tele. ganda