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01:06Hi, I'm Tim Slater, and welcome to our demonstration of the vintage V6 Thomas Bloog signature.
01:14I'm sure Thomas Bloog needs no introduction, but I'll give him an introduction anyway,
01:19because he deserves it.
01:21Thomas is the renowned guitarist and amplifier designer, who a few years ago came up with
01:28a collaboration with Vintage to develop his own signature guitar, and this is the guitar
01:32we'll be talking about in this video.
01:35The Bloog signature is based on the Vintage V6, but it has a couple of special appointments
01:40that Thomas himself specified, and we'll go over those as we go through the demo.
01:45The neck is a hard rock maple neck, which features a really comfortable satin finish,
01:50really helps to enhance the guitar's overall playability.
01:54The fingerboard is a rosewood fingerboard that features a 7.25 inch radius, which is
02:00in line with the original 1961 guitar that Thomas plays alongside his own signature V6 model.
02:07This model also features 21 frets, and the frets themselves are medium.
02:14So you get a nice kind of compromise between a vintage feel with a nice extra bit of playability courtesy of the frets.
02:21The body on the Bloog signature features all the traditional body contouring that we would expect
02:26from this classic double cutaway design, and I particularly, I'm really, really impressed
02:31with the ageing effect on this model. It's really fantastic.
02:35Even down to the little subtle changes in colour across the body,
02:39and all of the markings and scrapes and scratches are exactly period correct
02:44as we would expect from a guitar that's been loved and played for many, many years.
02:48The Bloog signature features a set of Wilkinson Alnico 5 pickups.
02:53These are single coil pickups that featured chamfered pole pieces and Alnico 5 magnets.
03:00All very important elements if you really want to authentically duplicate that authentic throaty vintage single coil tone.
03:08Underneath the pickguard, there is aluminium shielding to help reduce harm and interference,
03:14and also to help to protect against those elements.
03:18The Bloog signature also includes the bucker switch.
03:22The bucker switch is on the bridge tone control, and what that does,
03:26that activates a dummy coil underneath the pickguard to reduce hum.
03:32On the purpose of this demo, I'll see if we can generate some hum to demonstrate that.
03:35So I'll put some gain on. I don't know if this will actually come across.
03:38But here we have the bucker switch disengaged on the bridge pickup.
03:44Now we want to engage the bucker switch. It's just a push-push pop, so we click it out.
03:53Now we've brought in the dummy coil.
03:55There's definitely no hum there. It's really lovely and quiet.
03:58Bucker switch disengaged.
04:14There is a slight variation in tone. I think with the bucker switch engaged, the guitar maybe sounds a little smoother.
04:20So if you're using high gain sounds, that will definitely help to kind of give you a little bit more of a mid-range punch.
04:26The Wilkinson WVC vibrato bridge resembles a classic bridge from the golden era,
04:33but this one has been enhanced with a couple of extra features to bring it in line with modern playability.
04:39We have bent steel saddles, which are a very traditional feature,
04:43and these help contribute to the breathy, zingy tone that we would expect from this style of guitar.
04:48Let's just give a little run through some chords.
05:00Yeah, really lovely. You know, it's kind of got that nice zingy quality that we would expect.
05:04However, to help bring this guitar in line with the needs of the modern player,
05:09the arm is a push-in arm whose playability can be adjusted with a small grub screw.
05:16Here, so you can set the height of the arm and also the stiffness of the arm.
05:22The tremolo block features staggered drilled holes, and this particularly helps with the g-string,
05:27because what it does, it places the g-string at a correct break angle across the bridge saddle.
05:32Therefore, when the vibrato arm is deployed, it helps to guarantee a return to accurate pitch.
05:38So, this feature tied in with the easy lock tuners and the graphite nut gives you a whole package,
05:45which really enhances the overall performance and playability of the guitar.
05:48So, let's go over some sounds.
05:50I'll start with the bridge pickup.
05:52The bucker switch is disengaged, just temporary for the time being.
05:57And then we're going to go through some clean sounds and some overdriven sounds and work through the pickup.
06:01So, here is the neck pickup.
06:03Clean.
06:04. . . .
06:30Bit of drive on here.
06:31. . .
06:54. . .
06:55Okay, position four.
06:56. . .
07:22Put a bit of dirt on there.
07:23. . .
07:46Middle position.
07:47. . .
07:51. . .
08:12Position two.
08:20. . .
08:32Let's draw a little bit of dirt on that.
08:34. . .
08:49Position one.
08:50Put a bit of dirt on here.
09:04. . .
09:05. . .
09:06Well, all of these demonstrations were done with the bucker switch disengaged.
09:20So, what I'll do, I'll quickly go through the sounds, just with the overdrive on, with the
09:37bucker switch in and out, so we can compare them.
09:39So, this time let's start with the bridge pickup.
09:40I'll just zap through some chords here.
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10:17Bucker switch on.
10:26Position four, switch off, on.
10:44The neck position switch off, Bucker switch on.
11:07Again I have to say I'm really amazed at the ingenuity and skill of vintage and of course
11:13Thomas Bloek.
11:15This is a fantastic collaboration I think between both parties.
11:19This guitar just feels amazing.
11:22It sounds really brilliant.
11:24The Bucker switch I could see being a real boon in the studio or particularly if you're
11:29working on stage where you've got really noisy lighting which can generate a lot of problems
11:34with single coil pickups.
11:36The feel, the fit, the finish, the appearance, everything just looks and feels great.
11:44You certainly don't feel that this guitar is lacking in any department.
11:48Tone wise it's splendid.
11:50The pickups are sparkly and dynamic.
11:53The neck feels really great.
11:55It's lovely and comfortable.
11:58The overall fit and finish and performance is brilliant.
12:01Tuning stability is fantastic.
12:03All of the Wilkinson hardware is really, really brilliant stuff.
12:06It works so, so well.
12:07It's a lovely balance between the kind of vintage, pardon the pun, feel and authenticity with
12:14those little modern touches that just enhance the performance and bring it in line with what
12:18modern players expect from a guitar these days.
12:21So the vintage V6 Thomas Bloek signature in my opinion is a really, really amazing guitar
12:26and I'd recommend that you pop along to your vintage dealer or check vintage out online
12:32and try one out for yourself.
12:34I'm Tim Slater, it's been my pleasure to demonstrate the V6 Thomas Bloek to you today.
12:40Well, Thomas Bloek and vintage have also collaborated with the German artist Daniel Hahn to produce
12:49the Thomas Bloek signature Summer of Love.
12:53If you're a Hendrix aficionado, there are no prizes for guessing where the inspiration for
12:57this guitar comes from.
12:59To all intents and purposes, it's electronically and physically exactly the same as the original
13:04Thomas Bloek signature.
13:06The most notable differences being, of course, the wonderful Daniel Hahn graphics and the
13:12reverse headstock.
13:15In my opinion, the reverse headstock does contribute a little bit to the tone.
13:18I've discussed this with Trevor Wilkinson.
13:21And in my opinion, I think the longer string length on the bottom E string tends to give
13:26the guitar a slightly different resonance.
13:28It gives it a bit more kind of a throaty low end.
13:31So if you're really seeking that authentic Hendrix tone, it's subtle things like this that
13:36I believe can make a big difference.
13:39Again this guitar feels wonderful, has a great range of sounds, it just looks awesome as well.
13:45So if you really want something to make you stand out on stage, I'd recommend checking out the
13:50Thomas Bloek vintage V6.
13:52So if you really want something to make you stand out on stage, let's take a big break.
13:56It gives you a few seconds.
13:58I'll see you on stage.
13:59The first time I can make you stand out on stage.
14:03And you're looking forward to the performance.
14:06You're so looking forward to the performance.
14:08All I can make you stand out on stage.
14:11So if you're looking forward to the performance, you're looking forward to the performance.
14:15. . .
14:45. . .
