The Electra Forums

Well I've been tempted into buying another Electra. This one from fellow member JMM, a totally straight X810. She's got some generous play wear, that really you have to be pretty close to see, some finish missing on the back of the neck, although if you could feel this slim little neck, you'd know why others couldn't put it down either! Interesting that the Literature states that the block goes the entire length of the body, because at least on this one, it isn't the case, there is definitely a block under the bridge/tailpiece to the rear of the guitar (where the MPC route is), but where the pickups are it is *relatively* hollow. I tried (unsuccessfully) to photograph this, I guess you'll just have to see it in person sometime! I apologize that some of the photos are big, still getting the hang of resizing pictures:




My flash/camera tend to make it look Cherry Sunburst, but it has the standard "Antique" sunburst, my attempt at color correction:


Neck Pickup Removed:


Bridge Pickup Removed, showing a faint pencil mark, one of those characters that can be taken differently depending on which angle you look at it... could be a '3', a 'E' a 'M' or a 'W'. Picture also shows brass plate (or ingot) that bridge bolts to:


One of the funny things I found is how weird the knobs look at certain angles because of the curve of the top, kind of like drunken Sailors:


MPC cover:


Control Cover Removed:


Here's the whole Family now:


Thanks Jeff for being such an enthusiast and talking me into this, now somebody get me some help... Cheers, Mike.

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Electra Guitar Videos ===> http://www.youtube.com/user/mjm33mjm?feature=watch

Youk now I've really wanted a semi-hollow, but they are too big for me to just have one aorund. My Peavey is just as big, and it's solid so I figure I'll wait until I have more space.
You really have a nice collection there.

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Addicted to Matsumoku.

What an Electra lineup; you are indeed lucky to have these.

RCSBlues

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RCSBlues

A couple of new observations, the X810 body is actually a little smaller than a standard '335' body. Haven't done any measurements or anything, but I have a newer case that I was thinking about putting her in and when I tried, I noticed about an inch of space between the Electra and the padding inside. I think I have read similar observations somewhere, maybe even on this site, about the difference in body size. It's pretty hard to try to notice this just by sight, but when you start changing cases it made it pretty obvious that something was up.

Even though its larger than all my other Electras, the X810 is the lightest out of the bunch (still working on a digital scale!), and the thin neck makes it pretty darn comfortable to play, it's getting a good workout as the 'bedroom' axe dujour.

I cranked it up in the music room and the unwaxed pickups did squeal at high gain settings... oh well, I guess I'll have to find another axe to use live (wink wink). I do like the 'tone spectrum' circuit, which I was skeptical of. The rotary switch is a little weird, but thankfully the center three setting are what most guitarists are used to: Neck pickup, both, Bridge pickup.

I typically use one pickup or the other, unless I'm going for that Jimmy Page out of phase sound, then I'll use both pickups... but I must admit that the 'both pickup' sounds on this axe are pretty useable! Position 3 (standard both pickup wiring) is surprisingly pleasant sounding, and may even get some rhythm use from me! Position 5 (out of phase) gets a very respectable Jimmy Page tone. Position 1 (in series) is a little boomy, but also louder, so it may be useful for overdriving amps and such.

Overall, this is turning out to be a really great player, maybe I'll have to break down and buy a couple modules now... the madness never ends, Mike.

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Electra Guitar Videos ===> http://www.youtube.com/user/mjm33mjm?feature=watch