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Hey guys,
Brian emailed me that there was some talk about the Hallmark sweptwings
so I thought I'd join the discussion and throw in my 2 cents.
I've had one of the new ones for a couple months now. I like it. I had
to have a little work done to get it in good shape, though.
Structurally, it's really solid. The hardware's great. The finish is
beautiful. I had trouble with the bridge pickup cutting out. I took it
to a highly regarded guitar tech here in Detroit, Mike Koontz. He opened
it up and said the wiring was kinda sloppy and the pots were pretty
cheap. So he replaced the pots and rewired some of it. He also replaced
the nut because the G string kept popping out. He also adjusted the neck
and leveled the frets to eliminate some fret buzz. I got it back and the
pickup was still cutting out. I contacted Bob Shade at Hallmark and he
sent me a new pickup. That took care of the problem. I had Mike set it
up for .013s with a heavier vibrato spring that Bob sent me. Now it's
great.
I don't know if the problems I had were flukes or if this reflects the
quality level of the line. Bob was very responsive about taking care of
them.
I'v only had a chance to use it live once, so far. I played for half a
set with the Hellbenders. It performed admirably. I've been using it at
practice and it plays great. The pickups sound a little like Mosrite
pickups, not exactly, but similar. There a little hotter than what I'm
used to on my Jazzmaster. They're different from the pickups on my
original Hallmark. Considerably brighter.
So, I like it so far, but I feel I need to get it on stage more before I
can give a better judgement.
Rick Mills
--- In , Rick Mills <creepyrick@c...>
wrote:
> Hey guys,
> Brian emailed me that there was some talk about the Hallmark
sweptwings
> so I thought I'd join the discussion and throw in my 2 cents.
> I've had one of the new ones for a couple months now. I like it. I
had
> to have a little work done to get it in good shape, though.
> Structurally, it's really solid. The hardware's great. The finish
is
> beautiful. I had trouble with the bridge pickup cutting out. I
took it
> to a highly regarded guitar tech here in Detroit, Mike Koontz. He
opened
> it up and said the wiring was kinda sloppy and the pots were
pretty
> cheap. So he replaced the pots and rewired some of it. He also
replaced
> the nut because the G string kept popping out. He also adjusted
the neck
> and leveled the frets to eliminate some fret buzz. I got it back
and the
> pickup was still cutting out. I contacted Bob Shade at Hallmark
and he
> sent me a new pickup. That took care of the problem. I had Mike
set it
> up for .013s with a heavier vibrato spring that Bob sent me. Now
it's
> great.
> I don't know if the problems I had were flukes or if this reflects
the
> quality level of the line. Bob was very responsive about taking
care of
> them.
> I'v only had a chance to use it live once, so far. I played for
half a
> set with the Hellbenders. It performed admirably. I've been using
it at
> practice and it plays great. The pickups sound a little like
Mosrite
> pickups, not exactly, but similar. There a little hotter than what
I'm
> used to on my Jazzmaster. They're different from the pickups on my
> original Hallmark. Considerably brighter.
> So, I like it so far, but I feel I need to get it on stage more
before I
> can give a better judgement.
>
> Rick Mills
Thanks for the reply, Rick. I'm still on the fence between a
Sweptwing and a Mosrite, but I'm leaning more heavily towards
the 'Wing - it's just a more unique guitar. I know it's an apples-to-
oranges comparison - but how does the 'Wing compare to the
Jazzmaster aside from the pickups (neck profile, frets, scale, etc)?
Thanks,
Patrick
www.thecavefish.com
www.myspace.com/cavefish
--- In , Rick Mills <creepyrick@c...>
wrote:
> Hey guys,
> Brian emailed me that there was some talk about the Hallmark
sweptwings
> so I thought I'd join the discussion and throw in my 2 cents.
I don't have anything to add here...I just wanted to say how cool it
is to have Rick on the list! Welcome Rick! The Volcanos are one of my
favorite surf bands. I love all their material, but especially
Avalanche, Whirlpool, Finish Line Fever, Krakatoa, and especially
Kilauea, which has to be one of the greatest songs in the genre, ever!
And the Hellbenders are pretty bas-ass too. And don't forget all those
crazy side bands: The Zombie Surfers, The Kaos Killers (Get Smart
Theme anyone??), etc. Fun stuff!
It was a great thrill to hear The Surge play a cover of the Volcano's
Deora last month in Indianapolis. I think it's very cool when modern
surf bands cover each other. They sure did a lot of that in the 60's.
I loved hearing The Nebulas do The Penetrator's Redlined; The Madeira
do The Surf Coaster's Intruder as well as The Treble Spankers
Dilmohammed, and Pollo Del Mar does Slacktone's Bells of St. Kahuna.
BN
I just recently picked up The Volcano's "Surfquake"
and Eddie K's behest and have to say it's been a
regular in the player for the last couple of weeks.
Awesome tunes.
Richard
__________________________________________________
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--- In , Richard <errant_jedi@y...> wrote:
>
> I just recently picked up The Volcano's "Surfquake"
> and Eddie K's behest and have to say it's been a
> regular in the player for the last couple of weeks.
> Awesome tunes.
>
> Richard
Finish Line Fever is a must have too!
BN
These are not things you say to a man with no job,
Brian. ;)
Richard
Whose girlfriend is already mad every time a new surf
cd hits the door.
--- Brian Neal <> wrote:
> Finish Line Fever is a must have too!
>
> BN
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Either way you'll win. Mosrites are great. My bandmate Chris has a few
and gets great tones out of 'em. I find the string spacing is a little
tight. I would need to spend some time with one to get used to it.
The unique shape of the sweptwing definitely appeals to me. I love cheap
weirdo guitars.
It is hard to compare it to my Jazzmaster. They both feel good but each
is a little different. The Hallmark neck feels a little fatter and
rounder. The strings are a little higher from the body, so it feels
different on that end, too. I don't know if it's just a mental
preconception but the Fender seems like a better guitar, a "real"
guitar. It seems to be made with a better grade of materials.
But like I said before, the construction on the Hallmark seems good. It
feels real solid. For me it has a good combination of
cheapness/weirdness appeal and being made well enough to be a practical
instrument.
Rick
Patrick wrote:
>
>
> Thanks for the reply, Rick. I'm still on the fence between a
> Sweptwing and a Mosrite, but I'm leaning more heavily towards
> the 'Wing - it's just a more unique guitar. I know it's an apples-to-
> oranges comparison - but how does the 'Wing compare to the
> Jazzmaster aside from the pickups (neck profile, frets, scale, etc)?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Patrick
> www.thecavefish.com
> www.myspace.com/cavefish
>
>
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Thanks, Brian. Good to be here.
In my brief time here it seems like all the conversations actually
relate to surf music.
Hope that's normal.
Brian Neal wrote:
> I don't have anything to add here...I just wanted to say how cool it
> is to have Rick on the list! Welcome Rick!
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
