PSA: Shergold at Gear4Music

Airmiles

Shergold Masquerader Single coil at £499 - this is the one I've had since 2018 - great guitars, originally £800. They have a rosewood neck with a semi -matte finish that's a fraction fuller than a "Modern C", and compensated brass saddles 

https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Shergold-Masquerader-Classic-SM03-Thru-Dirty-Blonde/5JTE?origin=product-ads&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAw6yuBhDrARIsACf94RXoH4Kfa52aEz746yUKstWZMLNFzIF66o_koWp3iAKL2ScY2mBMUeEaAt8EEALw_wcB

This version is vintage strat -vintage strat - Tele and covers a lot of tones .

A bit of a shame to see them being flogged off as (presumably) it means they've not done well, when IMO they deserved to.

Cheers

Henrytwang

Nice looking guitar with quality prickups. Shergold  guitars never had a massive following first time round so I guess it’s a bit of an uphill struggle for them now. 

Flanging_Fred

The rosewood necks on those were really comfy when I tried one. 

roberty

Okay I accidentally bought one of these. It turned up today. It is fantastic, there's nothing about it I would change

BigPaulie

I have always fancied one of these in fandango red.

It looks like a great spec and I love that it's not your usual S/T/LP clone.

THR1LLHAU5

I've been playing one of these in the Hum/p90 configuration almost exclusively at gigs for years now. Super underrated guitars.

roberty

This neck is no joke. Rosewood edge bound. It feels like the old Gibson 50's Rounded profile

The controls are in exactly the right place too, my hand just automatically went for the selector switch. PJE is a bleddy genius

It was reviewed @ £800 when it launched in 2017, which means these have been discounted from the pre-inflation price. I'm just a little bit blown away by the quality and the design

roberty

Had a cheeky look on the cavity. Alpha pots, treble bleed. The inside of the cavity is lacquered 



And the weight is 7lbs 13oz. I was concerned it might be a chonker with the mahogany and rosewood at this price

OilCityPickups

Henrytwang said:

Nice looking guitar with quality prickups. Shergold  guitars never had a massive following first time round so I guess it’s a bit of an uphill struggle for them now. 

I would argue that if they had been fitted with say Bare Knuckles or similar ... British legend guitar with British pickups ... they would have sold better. 

GavRichList

Was going to ask about the weight - I’ve picked one up before and it felt lovely, but it weighed roughly the same as a medium sized family saloon 

sweepy

Shergold guitars have always been, let’s say challenging when it comes to design and appearance and  unfortunately they had so real USP

prowla

Presumably they're Chinese-made?

roberty

OilCityPickups said:

Henrytwang said:

Nice looking guitar with quality prickups. Shergold  guitars never had a massive following first time round so I guess it’s a bit of an uphill struggle for them now. 

I would argue that if they had been fitted with say Bare Knuckles or similar ... British legend guitar with British pickups ... they would have sold better. 

I heard that SD are much cheaper when supplied wholesale as components (Phil McKnight talking about Badlands FWIW). PJE mentioned at the time that they got a good price on them so they were able to do it. That is the extent of my knowledge though

roberty

prowla said:

Presumably they're Chinese-made?

Indonesia, so almost certainly Cortek, then sent to the UK for setup and inspection. The woods were sourced locally from sustainable sources which is why they went with mahogany vs alder

roberty

Having said that @OilCityPickups I will most likely end up installing my OCP Fortyniner in this. It has to be in my top 3 favourite bridge pickups of any kind, and easily my fave non-humbucker

Henrytwang

IOilCityPickups said:

Henrytwang said:

Nice looking guitar with quality prickups. Shergold  guitars never had a massive following first time round so I guess it’s a bit of an uphill struggle for them now. 

I would argue that if they had been fitted with say Bare Knuckles or similar ... British legend guitar with British pickups ... they would have sold better. 

I can see your point. I don’t know who made the pickups on the original Shergold instruments but wouldn’t be surprised if they were made in the UK.

OilCityPickups

Henrytwang said:

IOilCityPickups said:

Henrytwang said:

Nice looking guitar with quality prickups. Shergold  guitars never had a massive following first time round so I guess it’s a bit of an uphill struggle for them now. 

I would argue that if they had been fitted with say Bare Knuckles or similar ... British legend guitar with British pickups ... they would have sold better. 

I can see your point. I don’t know who made the pickups on the original Shergold instruments but wouldn’t be surprised if they were made in the UK.

If you look way back in the archives on here (also reproduced on 7 string. org here with better photos) you can see me restore a pair of the originals :-) UK made, quirky, but an original voice. 

roberty said:

OilCityPickups said:

Henrytwang said:

Nice looking guitar with quality prickups. Shergold  guitars never had a massive following first time round so I guess it’s a bit of an uphill struggle for them now. 

I would argue that if they had been fitted with say Bare Knuckles or similar ... British legend guitar with British pickups ... they would have sold better. 

I heard that SD are much cheaper when supplied wholesale as components (Phil McKnight talking about Badlands FWIW). PJE mentioned at the time that they got a good price on them so they were able to do it. That is the extent of my knowledge though

Well we all do that ... The luthiers who use my own pickups get 'deals' depending on quantity. 

BigPaulie

roberty said:

prowla said:

Presumably they're Chinese-made?

Indonesia, so almost certainly Cortek, then sent to the UK for setup and inspection. The woods were sourced locally from sustainable sources which is why they went with mahogany vs alder

Doesn't PJE have his own factory there where he makes Faith guitars?

If like to think these were made there as Cor-Tek is a deal breaker for me.

Rich31k

BigPaulie said:

roberty said:

prowla said:

Presumably they're Chinese-made?

Indonesia, so almost certainly Cortek, then sent to the UK for setup and inspection. The woods were sourced locally from sustainable sources which is why they went with mahogany vs alder

Doesn't PJE have his own factory there where he makes Faith guitars?

If like to think these were made there as Cor-Tek is a deal breaker for me.

Yes. Made at the same workshop as Faith. They make a point of talking about the good working conditions and sustainable wood on their website 

roberty

That's good to know @Rich31k. They are a bit candid about where it comes from. I would have considered it a selling point. Maybe things have changed in the last 7 years

earwighoney

Rich31k said:

Yes. Made at the same workshop as Faith. They make a point of talking about the good working conditions and sustainable wood on their website 

The Faith Guitars factory is in West Java, the Cortek factory is in East Java. Java is a huge island with over 150 million residents, so the two factories could be miles apart for a number of things!

I'm not entirely sure but the Pono Factory (they mainly make ukuleles but a few guitars too) is in Java too but it's definitely separate to the Cortek one.  I remember reading a thread about them about their working practises at AGF.  One of their sellers said their prices were really high for a number of things, one of those factors were all staff had 4-6 weeks paid off per year (if my memory serves me right).

BigPaulie said:

Doesn't PJE have his own factory there where he makes Faith guitars?

If like to think these were made there as Cor-Tek is a deal breaker for me.

I think my Recording King may be made be by Cor Tek in their Chinese Factory, I wouldn't buy another one of their instruments again.