ROAD TEST
Frank Brothers Blue Mist Korina Arcade Guitar
By Omar Shabbar
If you ’ ve been keeping an eye on the guitar world recently , you ’ ve probably heard of Frank Brothers Guitar Co . Personally , I ’ m seeing them everywhere ; they ’ re popping up on show posters , in music videos , and even on TTC posters . The unconventional shape is instantly recognizable and the artists pictured with the guitars are endorsements in their own right . An interesting , new guitar company , a wicked roster of musicians backing them , and they ’ re based out of my hometown of Toronto ? I knew I had to get my hands on one for a review .
I drove across town to the east end to visit the shop and pick up the guitar . That ’ s where I met two of the three brothers that make up Frank Brothers . One of the brothers , Tim , was kind enough to give me a tour of the shop , show me the guitars that they were working on , and chat about general nerdy guitar stuff – the kind of stuff I love . The guitar they lent me is part of their flagship Arcade series of solid-body guitars . This particular model is called “ Blue Mist Korina Arcade ,” referring to the candy blue finish on the Korina wood body and neck . As Tim explained to me , this wood isn ’ t particularly common in guitars and it often adds a bit of brightness to the tone .
The eye-catching finish covers the guitar and has a light relic . Personally , I don ’ t like factory relicing on a guitar ; however , I didn ’ t find this relic over the top like you see on a lot of custom shop guitars . The relic resembles more of a cracked-paint look than a sanded down , completely exposed wood relic . One thing that I really liked was that the cavities in the back were covered with plexiglass so you can see the wiring on the inside . As well as reviewing guitar gear , I also have a lot of experience as a guitar tech . So many of the guitars ( not all of them inexpensive ) that I have worked on are a complete mess when you open them up ; the cables are jammed in willy-nilly , and it collects dust really fast . This is not the case with the Frank Brothers guitar . The cavities are nice and tidy and the parts themselves look really good quality . This wiring isn ’ t hiding from anyone . It ’ s as though the brothers are showing how beautiful and interesting wiring can look when done right . It ’ s on full display .
In terms of feel , the thing that stood out to me the most was the neck . It ’ s their classic medium C-shaped neck and , man , it ’ s beefy . Not so big that you struggle to play it , but big enough that you feel like you ’ re gripping a baseball bat and you ’ re swinging for the fences . The fretboard is a gorgeous Indian rosewood that , in combination with the large neck and arched top , feels like you ’ re playing a really great vintage Les Paul , just without the often-aggravating tuning issues or the backbreaking weight found in many solid-body Gibsons .
Now the most important thing is obviously how it sounds , and believe me , this guitar sounds as good as any . One word really comes to mind : balance . Personally , I lean towards single-coil pickups for their punchy , cutting sound that can sometimes be lost with the thickness of humbuckers . This guitar has the Seymour Duncan Antiquity Humbuckers , which have a certain sweetness that helps cut that muddiness , while retaining that low thickness if you want to achieve those fat sounds . I recently started rehearsing again and was luckily able to play this guitar with a full band . With just the two pickups and the volume and tone pot ( no extra boost or gain pedals , coil tapping , or coil splitting ), I was able to get those thick , lush rhythm humbucking tones to support vocals with the neck pickup , and cut through the mix for solos like I ’ m used to with my single-coiled guitars on the bridge pickup . The guitar doesn ’ t have as high of an output as many humbuckers you might be used to , but with a little tweaking of the amp , I was able to push the front
end into some warm tubey drive . One of the amps that I played through was a Supro Black Magick , which proved to be one of my favourite guitar / amp combinations that I ’ ve ever played . It has become , without exaggeration , my dream guitar rig . That ’ s not to say that you need to have a top-of-the-line amp to get good sounds out of this guitar , because it makes even the most average amps sing .
So , make no mistake , folks ; this is the cream of the crop . Frank Brothers guitars are some of the best that I ’ ve ever played , and , let ’ s not forget , it ’ s made in Canada . The best part is that the vast majority of the guitars they make are custom ordered . If you want a Frank Brothers guitar , they will work with you to customize every aspect of the guitar to make sure it is truly your guitar . From the wood , to the tools in the shop , the conversations with the brothers , and ultimately the guitars : you can tell that the craftsmanship , quality , and service is top of the line . These are built to be your best guitar .
Omar Shabbar is a gigging musician based out of Toronto . He ’ s also an onsite guitar tech at The Root Down Studio ( bit . ly / rootdownstudio ) and a self-proclaimed gear head . In the rapidly changing industry of modern guitar gear , Omar attempts to discern innovation from distraction . Check out his YouTube channel , featuring dozens of gear reviews and performance clips , at YouTube . com / OmarGearReview .
22 CANADIAN MUSICIAN