Huber... the hype is real

danny_777

I've been gassing for a LP recently, with all the R8 hype and excitement, but was a little nervous about Gibson given past experiences with the brand. So when I was travelling recently and spotted a lovely mid-2000s Orca by Nik Huber at a pretty reasonable price, I thought I'd give it a go.

Now I've not really had an opinion on Hubers, having never tried one before, other than observing that they are very expensive guitars indeed. But reviews are absolutely rave, and TFB in particular seems to hold them in very high regard. So I was excited to try one, and happy enough that I could probably get my money back if I didn't bond with it. 

I picked it up a few weeks back and... my god. I've been though 130 or so guitars in my years of playing and have tried many more, and this one's really something special. It'd difficult to describe but it really feels 'alive' when you play it - I haven't even plugged it in much as the unplugged sound is something to behold!! It's wonderfully resonant, and notes really 'jump' out at you. Seriously, this guitar is such a good player!!

FYI, the model I've got is a 'standard' (i.e. not a '59) and has a korina body and neck, which is a gorgeous wood and also makes it a little lighter than your average mahogany singlecut. I believe it's a 25" (aka PRS) scale-length, which feels perfect to me when strung with 9.5s.

So in conclusion... the hype is real. In my (limited) experience, everything you hear about these guitars is true! Now I'm keen to try a Krautster II with that lovely maple neck...

mikeyrob73

oh no come on, wheres the porn ? 

axisus

Indeed. A thread like this needs pix!!!! we demand pix!!!!

danny_777

Sorry, will try my best! Don't have an internet connection at home at the moment so a little difficult

west

2 large pics and 2 pints of pics, ice in the pics .....

dangriffiths

I have a Redwood which I love - all the best bits of a PRS but not horrific to look at. 

mgaw

@dangriffiths has  better and probably more top end stock than GAK

allen

This is why I bought one. Tried loads of les pauls...meh. Tried an orca - boom! It’s hard to know why, but you can tell the difference. 

blueskunk

Shit taxi service. 

Dominic

Don't know about Orca but the Krautster 2 is a fantastic guitar .........also has that very alive feel to it and brutal in a nice way

duotone

Saw a couple LP style models in GuitarGuitar Camden last weekend.  Looked lovely but were £6,999.

I didn’t play any.

CloudNine

I had a standard Orca, very nicely made guitar, did not satisfy the LP requirement at all for me. Reminded me of some PRS' mostly in tone. Have played the thicker 59 version, definitely a bit better, but still not quite there imo. Beautiful things to behold though.

p90fool

I have no idea what a Huber is, and this thread has done nothing to change that.

RandallFlagg

I had a Krautster II and while it sounded good and the neck was terrific there were a couple of things that I didn't like. The finish on the body was unusual, a kind of waxy satin poly finish that collected fingerprints better than Scotland Yard, plus, the tone and volume knobs felt cheap and the coil spilt pot sat further out from the body that the tone pot and was very loose with a sloppy turn.

As above, didn't tick the box but the R8 that replaced it did. 

armitaan

Great guitars, proper craftesmanship, a long way from the Gibson high volume production line 

Philly_Q

RandallFlagg said:

I had a Krautster II and while it sounded good and the neck was terrific there were a couple of things that I didn't like. The finish on the body was unusual, a kind of waxy satin poly finish that collected fingerprints better than Scotland Yard, plus, the tone and volume knobs felt cheap and the coil spilt pot sat further out from the body that the tone pot and was very loose with a sloppy turn.

I had a Krautster for a while and I'd agree with your comments about the pots and finish.

Still a very nice guitar though, and I kind of regret selling it although in retrospect the Krautster II, with the second pickup, might have been a better choice.

I frequently admire the Huber guitars on the World Guitars website and they do look awesome, but they fall into that category of "too pretty for comfort" - in that respect they're about the same as Patrick James Eggle but definitely not as unconscionably blingy as Knaggs or some PRS models.  Not even thinking about the price...

dangriffiths

My one - not my picture or rug though




Semi hollow...yeah I know it's the wrong way round - burn me as a witch etc.

meltedbuzzbox

dangriffiths said:

My one - not my picture or rug though




Semi hollow...yeah I know it's the wrong way round - burn me as a witch etc.

no need, someone has already burnt that with a heat gun :-D

mikeyrob73

its the wrong way round :-p 

Universal8

west said:

2 large pics and 2 pints of pics, ice in the pics .....

A Withnail and I quote ??

TTBZ

dangriffiths said:

I have a Redwood which I love - all the best bits of a PRS but not horrific to look at. 

Not horrific but instead absolutely bloody hideous! Like a tacky Les Paul that sat out in the sun and melted a bit.