The Electra Forums

Received my new Electra Talon Phantom Quilt. Got to plug it in last night for a couple hours. Here's my review...



Design, Fit and Finish:
Just look at this thing. Absolutely gorgeous. A nod to the old while firmly planted in the new, it's calling forth an 80's Matsumoku made flagship model as a design cue. The main drawing card of this Talon is the Phantom Quilt maple top. Which as you can see is nothing short of stunning, it's rich, deep, and very alive. The paint, clear coat, and bindings are all very clean as well. The most clever feature of the Talon just may be those Mother of Pearl inlays... which are talons! Sharp and menacing like the raptors from Jurassic Park. The deep, dark ebony fretboard showcases the gleaming jumbo frets. Headstock is true to the "wave" we all know and love, tuners are branded with the Electra logo which is a very cool touch. Everything comes together well and the sleek set neck scooped heel appears seamless just as it should. It's immediately apparent that attention went into this design and construction, as everything makes sense and lines up just as it should with nothing misaligned. I'd really like to see it with hardtail and carved top options (imagine a carved top, wow). The contours on this thing remind me of a muscle car... mean and bad to the bone just sitting still!

Sound:
This guitar is designed for hard rock and metal. Electra markets the Talon as a "no-compromise metal machine" and they were not kidding! The new Super MagnaFlux bridge pickup is 25% hotter than Electra's original MagnaFlux humbuckers and is well suited for aggressive styles of music. Pickups are tight, dynamic, and harmonically rich. Clean sounds on the bridge pup are brooding while overdriven tones are zesty and well balanced. Neck pickup is chimey and round toned, sounds great clean retains clarity with overdrive. It has a push pull pot for coil splitting. I get some really nice cleans and bluesy sounds using the split especially on the neck pickup, so it isn't just a one trick pony, it has versatility to it. Nice low end on the bridge pickup, palm muted chugga's make you smile. Pinch harmonics roll off effortlessly. Mids and highs are sharp and cutting. This thing has personality, no sterility here. Sustain is long lasting and the genuine Floyd makes it even more of a sound factory.

Feel:
This is the biggest thing for me. Electra's CEO Gene Ymiolek told me that I'd love this thing, that it's a "real player's guitar". Well Gene, you were right! The right feel (or "vibe") is worth its weight in gold, isn't it? It's what makes a guitar a keeper or not. This Talon is a keeper. The slim D shaped neck carve is very comfy and encourages movement, this is what people mean when they refer to a fast neck. Radius is relatively flat at 16". Couple that with the jumbo frets and you have a string bending, hammer and pull off dream! Access to the upper frets is very easy indeed. Action is fantastic, it's set up very low and it came that way right out of the box. The guitar hangs very comfortably, the mahogany body and mahogany neck package is lighter than it looks. Layout is simple, a three way switch, master volume, and master tone that is a push/pull pot for coil splitting. What strikes me most is the Talon's inviting feel, it draws you in and makes you want to play the frets off. Although it's not too easy of a play (if it's too easy it's not inspiring). This thing makes you want to work for it, it has that balance of ease and effort which you don't find often enough. Excellent job Electra.

Overall:
This is not just a job well done by Electra, this is a job very well done. Attention to detail, unique design, outstanding feel, great tone, and surprising affordability come together to create one ferocious beast in the new Talon. If playing heavy music is your passion and you want a little versatility to boot, then this is your next guitar.

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"GREAT Googiley moogilie Jack...jumpin jehosephat, hot dang and all".
- jdwhealton

Very NICE!

That is by far the best picture I have seen of one, the earlier one I saw was someone playing it and I didn't get the correct sense of the finish color. It looked spotty in the picture I have seen, this looks nothing like that. Gorgeous quilt top. Love that.

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Thorny

I realized that the tone pot was a push/pull for coil splitting Can't believe I didn't realize that sooner. I edited the review to include that.

So it's not just for hard rock and metal, I split the coils and was playing some blues which worked very well. Work especially well on the neck pickup which is the regular MagnaFlux.

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"GREAT Googiley moogilie Jack...jumpin jehosephat, hot dang and all".
- jdwhealton

Yes, on the finish Thorny. The sample was like a cream/antigua quilt. Not exactly what we expected, but the production models are all like this one. We had to re-shoot the images for this model and and have updated it on the site with the new pics. http://www.electraguitar.com/pages/electra-talon