The New Batch Is Up!
May 1st, 2011
Hi Everybody!
I’ve posted the photos of the new batch in our Gallery.
Both Chuck and I are really excited that this batch marks the debut of the new Legend Special model.
We’ll be putting up a page for this model as soon as we can.
Rich
May 3rd, 2011 at 6:35 pm
Beautiful guitars in this group. I like the LS instruments a lot, they look really deep and rich with that beautiful wood.
I am curious as to the tone difference between a Alder HTL and a Swamp Ash HTL. What subtle distinctions are there between the two tone woods? Looks like the Swamp ash is heavier, but that doesn’t always mean more resonant.
Ya’ll know I’m a sucker for the honey burst color also so a twin to my Classic would be cool.
Another excellent herd of CpT’s on the loose. Congrats guys.
May 5th, 2011 at 9:48 am
I got two of those Legend specials & I’m so happy Chuck did a all mahogany glued in neck with a wraparound guitar. These specials are vere different sounding, felling & playing then my other two Legends. They all complement each other, in a way that a 1959 Les Paul Special would complement a 1959 Les Paul Standard.
Below is what I wrote on the gear page this morning. I’ll find some time to describe the differnces in detail.
I had a chance to play them late last night & early this morning & were really enjoying both for the same & also differnt reasons.
Both are so much fun to hold & play regardless of the sound. To me the 24 & 5/8 scale, the wraparound, the 7.4lb weight, just make them effortless to play, kinda like the days when I played those double cut Gibson Jrs. & Specials.
The Legend Special with Zhangbucker P09 sounded 50′s LP Special all the way. With more girth / testosterone / liveliness to it. Blusy and hollow (in a great way) on the neck pickup to a full out woman moaning leads with the volume turned up. The bridge pickup sounding in the Leslie West ball park with great sounding pull off chords & the harmonics were so easy go get. Can you make out how the top of the Fabor wraparound is milled to compansate for the intonation? Wow! Both guitars have dead on intonation.
Up till now I’ve never been a big mini humbucker fan, but I have to say the mini hum Legend Special blew me away. Very creamy, thick, fat, brown on & on & on. Try to put this guitar back in it’s case, I challange you! No harshness or agressiveness at all. it does so well with a overdrive pedel also. Just the right amount of all of it.
I also own two of Chucks Legends with maple tops / 25″ scales & abr bridge / tailpiece (one p90 / one HB) & these to Specials are very much different & have there own voices.
May 5th, 2011 at 9:48 am
Wow, another brilliant model has been introduced into the CpT wing of The World Class Guitars Museum.
I was merely visiting this site as part of my daily GAS Management/Guitar Sanity plan. And there in front of me was an image of this megadrool inducer – a new kid on the block which was being called a Legend Special. My first reaction was disbelief. As owner of 2 Legends (which I am completely nuts about), my first thoughts were, “Has Chuck finally lost it? Why mess with the Legend, the player’s dream guitar that has just received one of the finest reviews in one of the world’s most respected magazines, The Tonequest Report?” This prompted a fast call to Chuck.
That was a very enlightening call. I learned that the distinctions between the Legend & the Legend Special were far more than just cosmetics & price. Major sonic distinctions were achieved with the less aggressive/more vintage sounding minibuckers, the wraparound tailpiece, & the all-mahogany body. It truly is a different animal and I’m very pleased that it has been conceived, designed, & brought into this world-class product line. And, of course, my order has now been placed for one. Get in line, LP Junior lovers – here’s another winner.
A big tip of the hat to CpT Fan Clubber Dan G, who made the calls, planted the seed, asked the right questions, & paved the way for the Legend Special concept. And my sincere congratulations to Chuck for his new masterpiece.
As if any further proof were needed, the pure genius of Chuck Thornton is once again on display on this site for all the world to see. I expect new members will be joining the CpThornton Fan Club as a result of the Legend and the Legend Special. OMG!!
May 6th, 2011 at 9:18 am
I think there is a challenge to building a guitar that have that old sounding when the trees are being cut today are smaller & younger. Add to the fact that the comparison are not apples to apples, as those old guitars have been guitars for 50 years. Same with pickups, electronics, the glue & finish.
Hell some of those old collectible guitars never sounded or played good to begin with & never will, in my opinion.
I have been lucky enough to have been around guitars, luthiers and musicians, from my pre teen years. I’m just now realizing how lucky I was for that.
I am also fortunate to know Chuck Thornton & to own some of his guitars. Chuck has come a million miles in a quest for capturing that old magical sound, with some vintage vibe, plus maintaining the integrity of his innovative ideas on making a better built guitar. This new Legend Special has that magical old sound & feel to it. It’s so percussive & woody sounding & all of it’s components marry together so well. You know, the wood, glue, pickups, tuners, etc.
Playing the Legend Special, is like it’s 1976 again & I’m 16 playing my 57 Les Paul TV Model in front of my Marshall Plexi in the basement of my house I grew up in in Bohemia, Long Island.
What is that worth? Better then that, the Legend sounds / plays better & is built better / stronger.
These two guitars make me want to play in bands again!
May 7th, 2011 at 8:37 am
I have to agree with these comments. I have two guitars in this batch, 271 Legend Special and a swamp ash Classic, not pictured. The Legend Special has everything I love about my 64 Firebird, only better. The Classic tone is buttery. His guitars are already old when they come out of the case and just get better. My one year old alder Classic (226) literally looks and feels 30 years old. The flat finish is buffed where it meets my body. The great neck when new, looks and feels old now. I mean all this in the sense of a personalized feel, like a premium Italian leather glove on the hand. And Chuck’s guitars have that incredible grand piano sound with sustain pedal on when you strum a chord. It gives me goose bumps. Perfect balance and a resonance beyond what you could hope for. I can’t find the words that capture this and would welcome help in doing so. I feel so lucky years ago reading about a Maine guitar builder in the ToneQuest Report. Every one of my Chuck guitars is unique, and yet they share so much in common. The thread of Chuck is there weaving them together in a tapestry of beauty and delight!
May 7th, 2011 at 9:54 am
Dan G’s post immediately above this one tells the whole story. Beautifully written, Dan. You nailed this whole thing by saying that you are fortunate to know Chuck, own some of his guitars, & that he has come a million miles in a quest for capturing that old magical sound with vintage vibe & maintaining integrity of his innovatios in a better built guitar. It was the craftsmanship & playability of his guitars that hooked me on the semihollows in the beginning, but it has been his innovations in tone & build quality that are behind my Legends, HTL, Fusion, Classic, & my order for this new Legend Special model. It also explains why I am selling off guitars I’ve owned for years in other brands. In all my 40+ years of guitarlust, I really never imagined guitars of this quality & beauty, much less ever owning one.
I have friends around the world ask me often if CpT guitars are SO good that they justify their price or giving up 2 or 3 keepers in other brands. I give an unhesitating “yes” every time. True story: I have a friend who recently bought a new guitar he’s wanted for years & had to return it to the factory for a new neck – after trips for setups to correct the problem. It cost as much as a Legend Special, Classic, Fusion, or HTL to begn with & it is still costing – & he hasn’t even been able to enjoy it. With a CpT, there is the whole factor about confidence & peace of mind that goes with one of his guitars & knowing it is “Right” when he releases it & HE stands behind it.
And Dan’s last line it also dead on: they DO inspire to play in a band, perform, write songs, create, etc. A guitar (or person) that connects deeply with your soul will inspire to a better level.
Jay