I promised another NGD this week, since I had sold a guitar.
It was an adventurous week! I had my eye on a Private Stock Custom 22 that was spec'ed with a Pattern Thin Neck. But it turned out it had an 11.5 Radius. I didn't want a different radius, my whole point was to have the necks the same. So I passed.
Also I got in a Wood Library Custom 24 that was very cool. It had a Maple Neck, which I wanted to try in a Custom 24. It was a great guitar, it was visually quite stunning and played great, it had a Satin finish. But the tone with the Maple Neck was not for me, I was reminded yet again that when I stray from the traditional wood formula, 95 times out of 100 I am not satisfied. So I returned that one.
Fire Red Burst has been one of my favorite finishes over the years, and somehow I have never owned one, except a Fire Red Glow Private Stock DC 594 that I owned in 2017. That one looked quite different to the standard Core Fire Red Burst, so I won't count that. I had been looking at Fire Red Burst and Fire Smokeburst Custom 24's, and I pulled the trigger on one.
It is quite stunning! Killer Top. I prefer my flames to have a slight "V" in them like this one, versus a Chevron or straight across. I always have.
This one is a little on the heavy side for a Custom 24, just a hair over 8 pounds. I forgot to ask the weight when I ordered it, LOL! I don't mind though, I think it contributes to the great tone it has. My Faded Whale Blue Custom 24 has been the #1 daily driver, I think this one will give it a run for the money for that title. I will probably just leave the FWB in Drop D and have this be the Standard Tuning Custom 24, I do the same with the two Tremonti's.
I won't waste my time with a silly comment like "this will be my last one for a while" - as I also sold my Custom 24 Private Stock, and have another Core guitar coming in.
That Private Stock was amazing! It is the guitar that led me down the path of Custom 24's, Pattern Thin Necks and Trem-equipped guitars, and I will always remember it fondly for that. The tone on it was quite amazing and unique, but right now I am sort of obsessed with dark or Black Backs and Necks and sort of a matching collection in that regard, and also that guitar was so precious and special that I wasn't playing it day to day, I didn't want to put any wear on it. (Which is an issue I have run into with the Private Stocks previously, for me that is a conundrum of Private Stocks in my collection.)
The Back and Neck on this one is Cherry, as seems to be standard with "Fire Red Burst". There is another color that is similar but different called "Fire Smokeburst" that has a more prominent Black Burst and a a Black Back and Neck, and most often the Faux Binding is stained Red. I like both finishes. The Fire Red Burst is more prominent out there in dealer inventories. The Fire Smokeburst is a standard color for the Custom 24 (and the Tremonti) in the 2024 Model Lineup - so who knows, maybe I will eventually end up with one of those too! I seem to be centered around Blue, Purple and Red for my colors for my collection these days.
