NGD and family pics
NGD and family pics
I picked up a new Mirage Deluxe '87 a few weeks ago and figured it was time for some family pics!
The Mirage:
LTD RL-600 (picked this up a few months ago. Came with an X2N wish I swapped with a Dimarzio D-Activator. Wish I had the original EMG HZ H2)
ESP M-1 NTB (I've had this one since 2012. The guy I bought it from did the "refinish" on the front of the guitar):
Carvin DC127, metallic (lake placid?) blue (bought this in 2013. It's a mid 90s model. I swapped in a vintage '70s Dimarzio Super Distortion):
Charvel USA So-Cal Candy Tangerine (I bought this brand new in 2008. Various mods since then, such as pickguard and EMG-81. Some of y'all from the old forum probably remember this one):
Jackson Strat, 1987, gunmetal metallic (I bought this a few years ago. It was 30 years old but in excellent condition):
Jackson USA JJ bass (medium scale, 32"):
Fender American Original '50s Stratocaster (I put Tomastik Infeld flatwound strings on this. Sounds incredible)
Larrivee D-40R:
Mini-review of the new LTD Mirage Deluxe '87.
I've had this for several weeks now so I think I've got a good sense of it. When they announced it it was basically an insta-buy for me because of the combination of bolt-on neck, ebony board, 22 frets, H-S pickup arrangement, and old-skool color. Honestly the only thing that would make it better for me would be a Kahler instead of a Floyd, but 1) that's not historical, and 2) I'm probably in the minority as someone who prefers Kahlers 
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The thing was set-up beautifully when I pulled it out of the box. Ultra-low action. I actually raised it by about one millimeter since I'm more used to that height. The neck profile is the best by far of any LTD I've played. It's the closest I've found to the old Jackson/Charvel bolt-on profiles (thin but round, and not too wide). Out of the box, the back of the neck was also much smoother than other "clear satin" neck-backs I've seen. I wouldn't be surprised if there's some amount of hand burnishing of the neck going on at the end of the production line. The one thing I wish is that they would polish the ebony a bit more. The board on my M-1 is almost glasslike.
Pearl colors are notoriously hard to photograph. In diffuse light, they appear almost solid, but under spot lights they really come alive. Hopefully from these pictures you can get a good sense of the beautiful finish.
Here I used my phone's flash to try and get a different take on the finish and also the fingerboard grain:
Thanks guys 
Gfunk wrote:Awesome geetahs, congas!
I really like the 87 as well. Have thought about the old Eclipse style.
How are the frets on the 50s Strat, medium jumbo or low mediums? Just curious. Have fun!
they're what fender calls "vintage tall" which I believe are the same width as the small frets but quite a bit taller. maybe almost as tall as jumbos. definitely taller than medium jumbos. very comfortable but still somewhat old skool feeling due to the narrow width.
Gfunk wrote:Yo homo, what is your preferred passive humbucker bridge pup in a fairly bright super strat? Just curious.
I am looking to broaden me "Horizons"
I have a hard time picking a favorite passive pickup, since my favorite is always gonna be the ee em gee 81, but I'll try to give an overview of some that I've used
super distortion - if you can get ye olde one, they're real sweet. big round bass, crunchy sweet top end, and an upper midrange that's just obnoxious enough to cut thru while not hurting your ears. a definite fave
d-activator - sorta sounds like an 81. i think this does well in bright guitars as even though it's crunchy like an 81, it's not harsh at all. i recommend tweaking the pole peices
tom anderson h3 - big sound with those cool harmonics like you might find in a dimarzio, but not as crunchy. maybe kinda like a tone zone but not as lame sounding. i kinda want to take the old one I have laying and use it something new now
I also dig this jackson j-50bc I have, but that guitar's not bright at all, and I think the same pickup plus a bright guitar would be too much. however, it's made me want to try out the emg-hz h2 as I have reason to believe the latter was built off the former.
super distortion - if you can get ye olde one, they're real sweet. big round bass, crunchy sweet top end, and an upper midrange that's just obnoxious enough to cut thru while not hurting your ears. a definite fave
Do you think age makes a difference, as if they were wound differently? I have only tried an X2N in regards to DiMarzio bridge pups, and meh............
I will have to brush up on my Pyromania licks, with my shirt off of course.
mines a square tabbed one, so oldest of the old. I've never done a back-to-back comparison of old vs new, and the old ones are probably inconsistent enough to make my point moot, but the one I have definitely sounds different than the off-the-shelf super distortion sound. by the 80s, probably the sound would be the same. I didn't like the x2n, either. the super d sounds way different.
it's not magnet weakening/output reduction as you'd find with an old paf, since ceramic magnets don't do that as much, and this pickup is still the hottest I've owned. one factor is probably that it's not wax potted, which also means that it whines and squeals. 
anyway, the prices of the 70s super ds seems to have ballooned recently so I don't necessarily recommend that route anymore. I got mine for $35 in 2013.
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I haven't forgotten about your flank shots, gfunk!