The Electra Forums

Every collection's gotta start somewhere, so here's guitar #1:



After eyeballin' her on the bay for a few weeks, I finally decided to pull the trigger and bought that X340. Probably spent a bit too much, but whatcha gonna do. Guitar arrived from UPS yesterday and I opened up the cardboard box pretty nervously since all I had to go on was the pictures from eBay. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised.

The OHSC looked shiny & new, with just some light tarnish on the fasteners... good start. Opening the case, I was very impressed by the satin jacaranda finish. I was worried the "satin" finish would translate to "dull" after 35 years, but the clear coat is just mint, and has a deep shine to it. There are NO light scratches above the playing area and the pickguard even shows little wear, and NO belt buckle scratches on the back, nothing. Overall the finish is as good as any that haven't been hermetically sealed. There's one ding on the front that's in the clear coat that's about 5-7mm, but doesn't distract ya. On the back of the neck, there are two blemishes also less than a cm that were touched up nicely - unnoticeable to feel, and only a minor blemish to view. My 1st strat showed more wear after I had owned it for 2 hours. This X340 is not really a "players guitar", but I ain't got nothing else to play

Hardware is virtually perfect. The bridge has some minor tarnish that makes it look vintage but not dilapidated, and all other hardware looks cherry. Especially the tuners which look new. Pickups & MPC stuff is all original and work perfectly with no buzzing or hums. Knobs are tight and adjust evenly. Can't find a single fault on this topic. Interestingly, this X340 has the supercharger upgrade. I didn't know it when I bought it, but noticed the supercharger stickers on the volume/tone knobs when it arrived and sure enough What a bonus! This MPC came with treble/bass expander and the power overdrive units. I can tell the treble/bass expander will probably never leave this guitar, it's really indispensable.

And the sound? The supercharger kit makes the volume knob go to 11 for real. I've never turned the volume down on a guitar before, but this thing at 6 sounds normal and at 10 you could breathe on the strings and it'd play a chord. So hot. I haven't had a chance to set up the guitar yet, but the action on the neck is great and the fretboard needs nothing. Intonation isn't off by much. And even with the old greasy strings, she still sings outta my Bugera V22.

All in all the best purchase I've made in a while. Anywho, glad to be on the forum and sharing with other Electra enthusiasts!

Very nice indeed. a great first Electra for certain. welcome to the forums and hope you enjoy this one for years to come.The finish on these models is very nice on the eyes for certain and the MPC is an added bonus. Great score and thanks for the pics. Watch out for egas as you play this one as these guitars are awesome and can lead to more egas purchases.

_________________
Always give thanks for everyday, It may be your last so Rock On Semper Fi!!

Congrats, and welcome aboard. Warning, hanging out here can cause EGAS resulting in reduced disposable Income and family interventions. Nice score, Mike.

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

Nice one! Congrats on that. It's always great to NOT be disappointed. That's a fantastic first Electra. Hope you enjoy it and many more.

Great first post and welcome!

Welcome to the EGAS forums. That's one of the best reviews of a recent purchase I've ever read. Glad you're so happy with your 340. It took me a couple years to find the one I have. Recently a bunch have popped up, sounds like you grabbed one of the best available. Congrats.

_________________
JD's Electras

That is one beautiful axe;

Not a player's guitar? I play mine several days a week - and have done so for many years.

I know you will enjoy it.

I installed the supercharger kit in mine as well - and it does make it go to 11.

And a new set of strings will really make it come to life.

Keep jammin' and playin'.............

RCSBlues

_________________
RCSBlues

Oh it's gettin played Just seems sacrilegious with the condition being so minty, but I've been mindful to take my belt off when I play, lol. Last night I got the amp down to the basement to finally open it up and explore; I was really impressed by the wide range of sounds available with this axe. I had a fat bluesy LP sound one minute but playing with the pickup switch, tone, and treble/bass MPC I had it sounding like a sick strat a few seconds later. Then I got into the gain and it was just screamin' and squealin' and making all kinds of wicked noise haha.

Lovin' it.

Thanks for the warm welcome, gents.

Tom Presley made a masterpiece so far as I am concerned with the 5 way switch and the MPC combination and those pickups it's a tough to beat combination. The phoenix models are also great as they have around 18 or so different combinations with the HSH SHS and push pulls. They were ahead of their time that much is certain. I have many nice models also and so long as you take precautions like the belt etc and are carefull you can enjoy them. I play all of mine and so does my son and his band members but after each playing they get a good cleaning and are good to go until the next time. I love a minty Electra as they are like works of art but I also enjoy playing these works of art. In my opinion a great guitar that I am afraid to play or scratch is usless. that would be like buying a $30,000.00 PRS doubleneck dragon and never getting to play it. It would drive me nuts to look at it each day and not play it without fear of losing value. that is what makes these Electras so great. They have gone up in value of late but are still affordable and should be enjoyed. Congrats again on a great score. Just beware of EGAS as you play it more, these will and have been known to cause a desire for more Electras. Enjoy it and thanks for the pics. Welcome to the Electra Forums. You are also invited to attend the Electrafest 2011 get together this year July 16-17-2011 and try out many different Electra models.

_________________
Always give thanks for everyday, It may be your last so Rock On Semper Fi!!

As always, thanks for the kind words! Tom