Late NGD: Blackmachine B2 - Koa

[F0rte]

Hi all,

This is a very belated NGD as I've had it for a little over a year now. I just haven't had a chance to do a proper NGD for it.

Pretty self-explanatory at this point I imagine, but I'm in love with this B2. It was built in 2012/14 (so I was told), specified by Lorcan (Hi Lorcan!) but ended up going to Dez (The Safety Fire/Good Tiger). I had played an Ebony Topped B2 way back around 2010/2011 which really opened up my eyes to how much I wanted one. I was originally intending to buy it when Dez first sold it, but unfortunately at that time I couldn't make it work. Luckily it popped back up for sale around a year ago and I was able to buy it from the previous owner in Germany who unsurprisingly was reluctant to sell it.

One small ding on the back of the body, but other than that it's in perfect condition. The neck on this thing is stable as hell. It didn't shift in the slightest despite moving halfway across the world to a completely different climate. It also has the best feeling fretboard I think I've ever played on.

Anyway, enough talk. Below are specs and some pictures for you.

Body: Old Growth Honduran Mahogany
Top: Flamed Koa
Neck: 5pc. Rosewood w. African Blackwood Fillets
Fretboard: African Blackwood
Scale Length: 25.5"
Frets: 24 Stainless Steel frets
Pickups: Bareknuckle Silo Pickups
Bridge: Schaller Hannes (Silver)
Tuners: Locking (Cosmo Gold)

Thanks for checking it out all!

 

[ikarus]

@Lorcan Ward what happened?

 

[Musiscience]

This is beyond awesome, happy NGD!

Don't even want to know the price on this though, must be terrifying.

 

[SeventyFour]

That is just one incredible guitar!

Can we get a headstock pic? Everyone knows that's the main reason to own a black machine

 

[budda]

Looks awesome. I vaguely remember when these broke this forum

 

[Taylord]

Excalibur! Congrats

 

[Steinmetzify]

Man even all these years later these are still one of my all time coolest looking guitars.

Glad you were able to snag one man, great pickup!

 

[wannabguitarist]

Fuck yes. Congratulations that is a gorgeous guitar.

 

[dmlinger]

Hype be damned, these are still incredible in my eyes. Congrats! It’s a stunner

 

[Shawn]

Very nice!

 

[Ben Pinkus]

Dude, I think you've got the 2 best NGD threads in 2023...and we're only a week in

 

[F0rte]

That is just one incredible guitar!

Can we get a headstock pic? Everyone knows that's the main reason to own a black machine

As requested! (Missing the Truss Cover here). These were Dez's pics way back in the day. Do it far better justice and I don't have any proper pictures I've taken of the headstock yet.

Thanks for all the love everyone!

 

[F0rte]

Dude, I think you've got the 2 best NGD threads in 2023...and we're only a week in

Hahaha, thanks! Still plenty of NGD's to come out of the rest of the year though! I have one more 7-string NGD I need to post but just haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

[jaxadam]

Absolutely gorgeous.

 

[IbanezDaemon]

That is killer. Awesome pics as well!!

 

[Lorcan Ward]

This one is a beauty!! African Blackwood is very nice fretboard wood, super smooth and holds oil better than ebony so its always slick to play on. It's a very hard wood so no surprise the neck is very stable. Gorgeous Koa top too.

@Lorcan Ward what happened?

Short version to not derail the thread. I spec'd it out. Doug didn't want to sell it to me. Doug sold it at a loss to someone who immediately flipped it. I was only annoyed at the time because people kept messaging me to buy the guitar for an insane price(there was prize to whoever helped sell it). This was the push for Doug to nearly triple his base prices so it cost a lot of people. I didn't lose any money from it so I just moved on and got a similar spec build from another builder.

 

[Emperoff]

Everytime I see these I remember the well put "Hypemachine" pun from Ormsby.

Congrats to OP, and happy to hear @Lorcan Ward didn't lose money on it at least!

 

[F0rte]

This one is a beauty!! African Blackwood is very nice fretboard wood, super smooth and holds oil better than ebony so its always slick to play on. It's a very hard wood so no surprise the neck is very stable. Gorgeous Koa top too.



Short version to not derail the thread. I spec'd it out. Doug didn't want to sell it to me. Doug sold it at a loss to someone who immediately flipped it. I was only annoyed at the time because people kept messaging me to buy the guitar for an insane price(there was prize to whoever helped sell it). This was the push for Doug to nearly triple his base prices so it cost a lot of people. I didn't lose any money from it so I just moved on and got a similar spec build from another builder.

Thanks pal, you did spec it after all! I hadn’t had any experience with it or the other proper types of Ironwood variants out there as a fretboard prior to this one. Honestly this is without a doubt my favorite fretboard out of all of the guitars I’ve played and by not a small margin either.

Again like you and I have discussed, I’m sorry that was the case when you spec’d it out. I realize it was a shitty situation and I feel a bit bad owning it knowing what your experience was with it. I’m glad you didn’t end up paying an even more outrageous price for it. I remember when it was originally being sold that Wes Hauch was all gung-ho trying to get it out of Dez’s hands (as were some others at the time). I think they were asking for around $7k more back then than what I paid for it now which is pretty nuts considering how much I did end up buying it for. If you and I ever cross paths or if you’re in my area let me know and we’ll schedule a meetup! Would love you let you have the opportunity to play it (maybe even do a video with it wink wink).

Everytime I see these I remember the well put "Hypemachine" pun from Ormsby.

Congrats to OP, and happy to hear @Lorcan Ward didn't lose money on it at least!

Haha, yeah over the years since the Blackmachine “Boom” happened and I couldn’t get ahold of one my interest largely subsided. It had been nearly 10 years since I tried the Ebony B2 and I had largely forgotten what it really felt like. This one popped back up, and once I got it I remembered what I loved about the one I tried and have been enjoying this one since. No magic or smoke and mirrors like many of the “hypemachiners” would argue, just a well built instrument that feels right when I play it like many others out there.

 

[Humbuck]

Uber cool! Love to see a video of this one at some point!

 

[jco5055]

This one is a beauty!! African Blackwood is very nice fretboard wood, super smooth and holds oil better than ebony so its always slick to play on. It's a very hard wood so no surprise the neck is very stable. Gorgeous Koa top too.



Short version to not derail the thread. I spec'd it out. Doug didn't want to sell it to me. Doug sold it at a loss to someone who immediately flipped it. I was only annoyed at the time because people kept messaging me to buy the guitar for an insane price(there was prize to whoever helped sell it). This was the push for Doug to nearly triple his base prices so it cost a lot of people. I didn't lose any money from it so I just moved on and got a similar spec build from another builder.

Why didn't he want to sell it to you? Did he not deem you "worthy" and/or you wouldn't have the exposure for the brand compared to pros like Wes Hauch or others mentioned who were interested?