REVIEW
PURESALEM WOODSOUL ELECTRIC GUITAR � Bruce Adolph
Key Features Vintage style cloth wiring 3 Way Toggle Custom Wound P90 Pickups
Some guys think about starting their own guitar line and some guys go out and simply do it. Rick Sell is a former Florida police officer and a self-confessed fan of psychedelic and garage rock music from the 1960’ s. He got the idea to go to a Korean guitar manufacturer and put his spin on some classic( even quirky) guitars from that psychedelic era.
He dubbed his company PureSalem and decided to forgo the traditional“ sell your guitars at brick & mortar retail stores” formula of distribution and sell them directly to the public via his website, social media and buzz on the street. I am not quite sure what his slogan“ Bow down to the church of acid rock” really means but we did get a Woodsoul electric guitar in for review and I have been spending some good time getting to know it.
The offset mahogany body is really comfortable and the Woodsoul has a bound mahogany neck with block inlays and a rosewood fretboard. The scale length is 25.5” and the neck shape a familiar feeling modern C( you Fender guys will feel right at home with those two facts). This guitar does have some weight to it( what is the weight?)
The neck has a satin finish and a 12-inch radius and comes with Grover tuners. The rosewood fretboard feels solid and the 22 frets are medium jumbo in size and done well. The nut width is 42.75( what is this in inches?)
Rick does a set up on each PureSalem guitar that comes in just to make sure you will be a happy camper when your guitar arrives. The body of this review model is painted seafoam green( a good choice here) and sports a stop tailpiece.
For electronics you have a custom wound P90 in the neck and another one in the bridge all connected with vintage style cloth wiring. For controls you have a 3-way toggle switch with a master volume and master tone. Selecting P90’ s was the correct call for this guitar … sounds good!
The headstock is oversized with a bevel around the bottom edge but it isn’ t top heavy at all. It is reminiscent of a Gibson Firebird to me with its longer than usual look. The price on the Woodsoul is $ 915.00 and includes an oblong hardshell case that is nicer than I expected.
I liked this guitar a lot. I am a fan of Made in Korea guitars( hey, my wife Judy was made in Korea) and for under the $ 1,000.00 benchmark this guitar simply works pure and simple … I mean … it works Pure and Salem.
Price: $ 915.00 PureSalemGuitars. com
Sep � Oct 2016 CollectibleGuitar. com
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