Finally in the house.

Whoa!

Still looking for its weaknesses - not finding any yet. Need more time to play before reviewing fully, but I think it's gonna be good. Never expected this much bass from an OM. Like the difference between a 6ft and a 9ft grand piano - same basic tone but with low end extension that soaks every note in an additional lower octave of bass.

Just scratching the surface here. More to come...

Alright -- about time.

Fresh pictures coming too, eh?


(Oh yeah, and congratulations!!)

Congratulations on your new arrival, and welcome to the Borges Owners Group - maybe we should start a forum ;-). I had my Borges PLEK'd as well, and I highly recommend the service. Every time I play mine it reveals its superb nuances. I think you'll find yours to be an incredibly interactive instrument. Enjoy it!

Alright, I give. I like to think I know stuff about stuff but I guess I don't.

What the heck does "plek'd" mean?
-sk

PLEK is a German-designed, computer-based machine that levels and dresses a guitar's frets while the strings are actually on the guitar and tuned to pitch. Supposedly this method results in the best possible action. My memory may be a little hazy, but I'm thinking that I paid somewhere between $150 and $200 for it. I'd have to say that it was worth it - the Borges is the only guitar I've ever bought whose action I didn't have to tinker with after I received it.

As I understand it, the machine is incredibly expensive, so it's not particularly easy to find someone who offers the service. There is one in Nashville, and I believe Kim Sherman told me recently that she was having this service applied to all the new Borges guitars that come through her shop (Cotten Music). If you Google 'PLEK' I believe it will direct you to the website of the company that manufactures the machine. I think they may have links to dealers who offer the service.

I have 4 electrics and now 1 acoustic PLEK'd and they are the easiest to play of all my guitars. I believe it's just as jsboswell said - each fret is shaped individually and while the guitar is tuned to give the most consistent action possible. I don't like the action too low, but if desired you can set the action VERY close to the frets without any buzzing. I believe Suhr is PLEK'ing all of his guitars, certainly the pro models.

Clip:

Borges OM-18

I was in session working on a track for a commercial when the box arrived from Cotten. I hadn't yet recorded guitar on this track so I thought... why not try the Borges straight away. So here it is. The acoustic lead and two rhythmic parts are the Borges. The electric counter melody in the end is an I-35. I don't know when I'll be able to record a solo track but this shows how well this guitar sits in a full mix. I didn't have to add any kind of eq at all and I had no idea how to mic this guitar. I just threw up a mic and we started recording. I have a feeling that once I find the sweet spot this will sound even better.

Wow. I just found this thread and read it front to end (with a long side excursion listening to sound samples at Dream). So it's a thrill that A) you bought a Borges and B) you just posted a clip today, so I could hear it. I fell in love with the look of Borges from Gryphon's Website a year or two ago, so I always look at each one they get in. The Golden Grain at Cotten got a lot of virtual visits from me too, and I wondered why it hadn't found a home. I'm just tickled that you got it, can't wait to hear more about it. If I make it to Gryphon next week when I'm up there, maybe they'll let me touch one of theirs (not that I'm worthy as a player).

Thanks! This thread was a great use of the forum, for me, and it didn't relate to Collings at all. I could have posed the question at any number of forums but I had a feeling that there'd be several knowledgeable people here who might have enough experience with some of these guitars so that they could advise me. But I never really expected quite so much information and first-hand knowledge. Unfortunately, I just couldn't travel to these stores to play these guitars in person, so I had to put trust in my fellow forumites and their recommendations. As should now be obvious, I was well advised. I'm sure there were 5 or 6 different guitars mentioned that I'd have been perfectly happy with, but my instincts pointed me in this direction, and Kim Sherman certainly helped offer assurance (and a money-back offer if I wanted to try something else, which didn't hurt).

And I'm certainly not a worthy player myself, probably looking for the guitar to cover some ground that my chops can't. I did have the chance to hear a couple very good pro players noodle around on the Borges this past week, which was a treat. Hearing it under their fingers and from an out-front perspective gave me a new appreciation for its tone. It was also gratifying to see them pick their jaws up off the floor after having played it.

Don't sell yourself short---seems to me that anyone recording jingles for a living has something on the ball!

Here's a link to a thread w/video of the PLEK machine: PLEK video thread

I think this forum is great. I actually sold my Collings a good while ago, but Ed encouraged me not to retire my "handle", and I'm glad he did.

The non-Collings guitars people here talk most about are precisely the ones that intrigue me the most.

I guess Collings players, current or ex, just have refined ears and all-around good taste!

Congrats Elambo,

Nice to see you bought a guitar, particularly a Borges.

Can't get your sound file to work for some reason, but I'll try again.

I'm sure you're having great fun with it.

Stuart