# New guitar day... Blade texas Standard Pro Trem King



## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

Blade "Smitty" Texas Stand Pro Lake Placid Blue Trem King. I had an excellent experience ordering this guitar through the Calgary Rock Shop and Wes-Can. The turn around time was outstanding considering the custom work... the price was excellent aswell.

Got her Thursday Evening.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Looks interesting, haven't seen that trem style before. Is it a straight up wobble bar or something more than that?


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2009)

That looks pretty darn cool. I too would like to know more about that funky looking trem. And the switch -- what's the switch for?


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## blink (Jul 29, 2008)

wow, that looks sweet! Nice picture quality. Congrats!

Yeah, that trem is very interesting indeed.


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## Archer (Aug 29, 2006)




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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

Its a Trem King... it has a different feel in that it has a pronounced ZERO position, it is very smooth like a kahler, stays in tune like a Floyd without the locking nut, this is not the stock trem I had it custom installed by Blade.
The TK does not reacj=h down as far as a Floyd but reaches higher. The Bridge is fixed so the bridge plate & saddles do not move. The point the strings rest on are Graphite, the Blade bone nut is "Pickled" and is self lubricating... it stays in tune as good as a Floyd nd has the tone of a fixed bridge... brilliant.

The design and build quality on the Blade is better than anything I've seen for the $$$. Tonally it's a Vintage strat... the michro switch has three positions. Up enguages the Mid boost or cut trim pot, middle is bypass, and down enguages two trim pots... one for treb cut/boost and one for bass cut/boost. The internal active electronics can be boosted to the point of slight dirt but i find it's better to have them laying back just befpre that point so you get a very nice smooth clean boost. Once set up you have 15 basic tones.

As this is a vintage style set up the single coils can get noisy depending on the dirt in the signal. Sunce they are wired out of phase when you select two pups at once you get the classic strat humbucker tone.

Now that I've tried this trem system I'm looking into having it installed on two other guitars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB6yVCDupag

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuhlbkUkvGs&feature=related


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## Brennan (Apr 9, 2008)

Very cool! My Blade has Levinson's double action/fixed bridge trem; it looks quite a bit different from the tremking, but functions the same way. It's really the most stable non-locking trem I've played. 

The VSC (connected to the 3 way switch) is the coolest part of these guitars though. They'll really do almost any tone you can think of. 

Grats, enjoy it!


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

A local store in town that normally carried pretty crappy stock, somehow ended up stocking these. They are really nice guitars. Great value as well. They only carried Strat models, but I was always curious to try some of their other models. That being said, I felt the Strats were far superior to anything Fender is currently putting out. Great feature set, and great build quality.

Congrats on the new guitar.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

That is a very cool trem. I checked the company out online. They make a variety for guitars (like mine) that don't have a stock trem route, so that is pretty interesting! I've tried the Blade guitars too. They're quite good. Enjoy!


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

Thanks guys... seems that anyone trying a Blade can see the obvious quality for the Buck... some may not like the 12.5" Radius or maybe even the headstock design... I like both... I'm very happy that I was able to try a Blade out and eventually get one... I was looking at the ESP Vintage Plus and though I really do like ESP... I own a Kami IV... the Blade outshines the ESP V+ and any other "strat" I've played... I've played the Blade texas Standard Pro stock and it's one fine guitar... like Brennan said the Blade trem is very similar to the Trem King but as I understand it does not have the same range. Either way both systems have to be experienced to truly enjoy the tuning and tonal advantages.

Cheers
Craig


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

KHINGPYNN said:


> Thanks guys... seems that anyone trying a Blade can see the obvious quality for the Buck... some may not like the 12.5" Radius or maybe even the headstock design... I like both... I'm very happy that I was able to try a Blade out and eventually get one... I was looking at the ESP Vintage Plus and though I really do like ESP... I own a Kami IV... the Blade outshines the ESP V+ and any other "strat" I've played... I've played the Blade texas Standard Pro stock and it's one fine guitar... like Brennan said the Blade trem is very similar to the Trem King but as I understand it does not have the same range. Either way both systems have to be experienced to truly enjoy the tuning and tonal advantages.
> 
> Cheers
> Craig


My SX has a 13" radius and I love it. I have found the overall profile of the neck makes a huge difference. Both my Reverend and SX have fairly flat fretboards, but bigger frets and a really chunky c-shape. The thickness of the neck really makes a difference. I tend to just go neck by neck now, and not look at just the radius specs after owning these 2 guitars.


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

I hear ya if it works it works... and every one will have a DIFFERENT PREFERANCE.

Mine has the medium vintage frets with a thin neck relative to the term vintage... compared to a Ibanez Wizard it's a thick neck. 

Now that I've been playing it for a week... I like the neck profile even more. I prefer jumbo frets but am OK with the medium ones. I really like the active EQ system and the pick ups are well thought out... however they come with that vintage single coil hum... not that i did not expect it...

I still feel that Blade has a very good design and build for the money... I'm sure this one wont get sold later.


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## Jaggery (Mar 12, 2006)

I would love to try and possibly buy one of their Teles.
Specs look great.

Dont know who could have some in the GTA.


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## dhutchings (Feb 16, 2007)

My FLGS sells Blade guitars. I've got my eye on one of the Texas Vintage models.


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## Jaggery (Mar 12, 2006)

dhutchings said:


> My FLGS sells Blade guitars. I've got my eye on one of the Texas Vintage models.


FLGS?

Where is this located?

Thanks


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

I've played a couple of thier teles... they are solid guitars with great tele tones... I actually like the feel of the Blade tele a lot it's the perfect weight and balance. Necks are slightly more chunky than the TSP.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

wooow. that looks interesting!


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

Whats the ballpark pricing on these guitars? I'm assuming that they're cheaper than Fender US Strats ?


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## dhutchings (Feb 16, 2007)

Jaggery said:


> FLGS?
> 
> Where is this located?
> 
> Thanks


Sorry, Friendly Local Guitar Store/Shop

But The Guitar World in Mississauga (Erin Mills Parkway just south of the 401) has some Blade guitars still in stock.


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

Here the Texas Standar Pro is going to run you close to $900.

There are other models that are less $$$ but the TSP is definetly a Pro guitar with all the features that make it a so.


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## Jaggery (Mar 12, 2006)

dhutchings said:


> Sorry, Friendly Local Guitar Store/Shop
> 
> But The Guitar World in Mississauga (Erin Mills Parkway just south of the 401) has some Blade guitars still in stock.


Thats next door to my place.


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

Well it's been a few weeks and as most of us talk about the honeymoon period I just wanted to touch bass about the Blade guitar I purcased.

I believe that after playing guitar for 25+ years that I know what I want in a guitar/amp/effect and can evaluate a design and build adequatly to suit my needs.

The Blade Texas Standard Pro guitar that I purchased from the Calgary Rock Shop has been a great guitar for me. Number one is I would never have purchased this guitar unless I felt that way after playing one. Yeah I admit I'm a bit of a gear whore and have made some purchases that were not the best compliment to my personal tastes. For example i purchased a Gibson Les Paul DC in March of 08. Nice guitar but it suffered from the worst case of heavt head of any guitar I've owned. It was a miserable guitar to play due to this. I sold the guitar and actually made a few bucks for a change instead of loosing too much... LOL. To my credit I held off on purchasing an ESP Vintage Plus because... eventhough my ESP experiences in the past have left me feeling that ESP makes a great guitar the VP just did not do it for me. In other words my gear whore ways did not get the best of me and I'm better off for it.

The Blade however has fast become one of my favorite guitars from a playing and tonal point of view. It is the only "strat" that I've played that feels and sounds right for my needs... honeymoon is over guys it's time to make this girl shake her money maker... LOL

The Lynch Box is a similar story. I've owned it for over two years and it has become my main amp... it just grew on me the more I played it. 

I'd also like to comment that there is so much gear out there these days that it's hard to decide... the only way to truly know whether something is going to work is to play it for a while and get to know it. This is what drives the gear whore to unlimited pursuit...

but as time goes on and more experience is gained it's fair to say a player gets to know what he wants/needs and can quickly asses the situation.

I also like to settle on gear and have it become a lasting part of the "fits like a glove"aspect to my collection of gear.

I know that Fender Strat do not work for me as does the traditional Les Paul design.... unfortunatly these are two of the most popular designs out there and for me I need to try new things until the right thing vomes along. For me the right thing is the Blade, PRS, Randall, and Koch... these are the tried and trued gear.

I still want a SLO and a Schon Les Paul though... yes it never ends!

Cheers
Craig


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