The controls are intuitive, like the H-S-H, and immediately offer a wide range of tones. The unusual blue burst finish added to its strangeness.ĭesigner Tom Presley is reported to have said he liked this configuration best of all, and upon playing it, it’s easy to see why. When it seemed that just about every other pickup configuration had been released, its S-H-S configuration left everyone guessing (and still does). The X195 is arguably the oddest model in an already remarkably varied lineup of guitars. Whatever Tom and his buddies had done in the latest generation of pickups, it was good mojo, and all the flagship models got them, including also the Dimension IV and Monark when they appeared.īolt neck double cutaway with maple body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, black hardware, graphite nut and Bendmaster two-post bridge, one humbucker, two single-coil pickups with three pull-switch knobs (V-T-T) for coil tap, fat (center on) and phase and 3-way selector switch. Beyond saying they sound better, they have more dynamic range, more headroom, and a richer tone in-between. The X199 also had a new generation of MMK45’s that are a noticeable difference from the already excellent MMK45’s.
Every X199 feels like it’s had personal attention- today we’d call it ‘custom shop’ treatment and the intention was clear- show a premium model to attract attention and build reputation for quality, and then sell them the cheaper model which is still good quality but oh such a value. The X199 was all of that, and not only was its set neck smoothly integrated into its body, its Phoenix lines had been massaged and smoothed. Alice Cooper had told us we were all clones, and laminated wood tones and brass hardtail mellowness had to go in favor of candy apple red and black hardware.
In 1984 the X199 appeared as the new flagship of the line, replacing the X149 and X150. Set neck double cutaway with maple body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, black hardware, graphite nut and Bendmaster two-post bridge, two humbuckers, one single-coil pickup with three pull-switch knobs (V-T-T) for coil tap, fat (center on) and phase and 3-way selector switch. In 1986, the neck joints changed and the colors switched- black and white on in the US with the new joints and red and gold the same way abroad. The new joint was deeply countoured, allowed unprecedented access to upper frets, and it was in most respects the same neck joint offered as a new feature in Matsumoku’s own Westones in 1983 in the UK and abroad.Īs far as I have seen, all fours colors are listed as though all were available, but it appears that red and bronze (Silverstone) were available in the US with the old neck joint in 85, and white and black with the same neck joint were available at the same time only in the UK and abroad. In 1986 a new neck joint was used, lacking the step of the previous joint, which resembled similar neck joints of other Electras. Years later the original paint looks really good, both intact and with moderate wear, as the flat black is an ideal surface for the beautiful patina of handling even without serious abuse. An unfortunate styling note, perhaps, but not a reason to scratch off the black paint as some owners did. Although it looked sleek, it also resembled a neck-through guitar, which it is not, and upon looking more closely some people respond as though it were a phony, rather than the good guitar that it is. Ironically, the FX was the only model to carry a flat black stripe along the center of the body. They truly are the best of a great line of guitars, and deserve to be preserved and enjoyed. Beyond this, they play wonderfully and sound fantastic. This system is indeed bulletproof, I’ve shipped tuned locked FX’s across the country and stored them for months in varying humidity and they’ve stayed dead in tune.ĭive-bombed with abandon, they return effortlessly in tune, and if that’s what you need, they do it. Still set neck, it carried like the LX an updated Bendmaster FT bridge that added fine tuners to a slim cast body plate, and a matching locking nut. The Spectrum FX carried on as flagship model under the new naming system.
Set neck double cutaway with maple body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, black hardware, graphite nut and Bendmaster FT two-post bridge, locking nut, two humbuckers, one single-coil pickup with three pull-switch knobs (V-T-T) for coil tap, fat (center on) and phase and 3-way selector switch.
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