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Topic: New EXCEL on the way..ARRIVED |
K Maul
From:
Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL
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Posted 26 Jan 2019 4:01 am |
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I contacted Mitsuo and told him what I wanted. He was very helpful. Also, very fast! It was completed much sooner than I expected. I think his design is very clean and beautiful. It should be at my door in about 2 weeks.
4+5, 11 strings in “semi-Universal E9â€: no D note, no low B. It’s a simple setup that suits my style. I like those low notes but am not a heavy jazz chord guy. I’m playing lots of Americana, singer-songwiter stuff, rock and funk/r+b. Also, I prefer to not lift heavy things, except when I take out my ‘59 Permanent for the real classic Honky Tonk and Swing material.
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Kevin Maul: Airline, Beard, Clinesmith, Decophonic, Evans, Excel, Fender, Fluger, Gibson, Hilton, Ibanez, Justice, K+K, Live Strings, MOYO, National, Oahu, Peterson, Quilter, Rickenbacher, Sho~Bud, Supro, TC, Ultimate, VHT, Williams, X-otic, Yamaha, ZKing.
Last edited by K Maul on 6 Feb 2019 11:11 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Craig Stock
From:
Westfield, NJ USA
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Posted 26 Jan 2019 5:49 am
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Beautiful guitar Kevin, love the fret markers!
_________________
Regards, Craig
I cried because I had no shoes, then I met a man who had no feet.
Today is tomorrow's Good ol' days |
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Greg Cutshaw
From:
Corry, PA, USA
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Posted 26 Jan 2019 6:48 am
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| EXCELlent choice of guitar. The Excel mechanics, weight and compactness are unbeatable. |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 26 Jan 2019 7:58 am
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That's almost identical to mine except mine is a full uni with more pedals. I've had it about a year and I love it. Light but rock solid tuning. You won't be disappointed 
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 26 Jan 2019 8:56 am
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Nice.
A few months ago Excel was on my short list for a new guitar. Like yours, it was going to require some communication to get my not-quite-standard needs right and I felt intimidated by the thought of this process with Mitsuo and I went with a different steel. Stupid of me. I admire his workmanship.
Just curious--what was the time frame from the beginning of the process to the anticipated delivery in two weeks? |
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K Maul
From:
Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL
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Posted 26 Jan 2019 9:38 am
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I contacted him first at the very end of October or early November. Then we had a little bit of back and forth about what my setup was going to be and what options I was going to decide on or not do.He had to come over to the states to go to a steel convention so that took two weeks out of his time frame. He recently told me that he was halfway done with it. Then like a week later told me it was all done so it was really fast, I think.
_________________
Kevin Maul: Airline, Beard, Clinesmith, Decophonic, Evans, Excel, Fender, Fluger, Gibson, Hilton, Ibanez, Justice, K+K, Live Strings, MOYO, National, Oahu, Peterson, Quilter, Rickenbacher, Sho~Bud, Supro, TC, Ultimate, VHT, Williams, X-otic, Yamaha, ZKing. |
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Johnie King
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 26 Jan 2019 10:30 am
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| K Maul I’m so jealous congratulations on the New Excel Greg got it right cleaver. |
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Jim Pitman
From:
Waterbury Ctr. VT 05677 USA
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Posted 26 Jan 2019 4:26 pm
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| I'm jealous Kevin. I druel over an Excell every time I attend the tesax steel guitar show. BTW we play in the same band, The Starline Rythm Boys, on and off, perhaps not now that you are in Florida. |
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K Maul
From:
Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL
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Posted 27 Jan 2019 6:10 pm
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Yes, Jim. We’ve met a few times. When I would play with the boys I used my really old time instruments like my Fender 400. Now all I got left in the old school is a Sho~bud Perm. I would not be using the XL with them most likely. It’s just too modern looking !
_________________
Kevin Maul: Airline, Beard, Clinesmith, Decophonic, Evans, Excel, Fender, Fluger, Gibson, Hilton, Ibanez, Justice, K+K, Live Strings, MOYO, National, Oahu, Peterson, Quilter, Rickenbacher, Sho~Bud, Supro, TC, Ultimate, VHT, Williams, X-otic, Yamaha, ZKing. |
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K Maul
From:
Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL
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Posted 6 Feb 2019 10:58 am
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It arrived, and about a week ahead of schedule!. So I guess the government shut down hasn’t really affected Customs too much. I am completely blown away! The machining, the polishing and all the mechanical aspects are unbelievable. The case was so small and light that I couldn’t believe there was a guitar in there. It’s about 37 pounds which means I’ll be able to fly up to a gig I have in LA coming up in April and not worry about being over the weight limit. That’s without even separating the bar and legs from the main part of the case!
Even before I plugged it in I played it and the sound of the vibrating cabinet sounded fabulous. I’ve plugged it in so that assessment is not only confirmed but upgraded. A beautiful clear bell-like sound.
Below is a picture of the case as it compares to a GFI keyless S 12. That weighs about 55 pounds in the case. And then a couple random shots ...it was hard to get a good angle because of the mirror like finish on the back reflecting light and the rest of the room, not to mention my face.
_________________
Kevin Maul: Airline, Beard, Clinesmith, Decophonic, Evans, Excel, Fender, Fluger, Gibson, Hilton, Ibanez, Justice, K+K, Live Strings, MOYO, National, Oahu, Peterson, Quilter, Rickenbacher, Sho~Bud, Supro, TC, Ultimate, VHT, Williams, X-otic, Yamaha, ZKing. |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 6 Feb 2019 11:09 am
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Fantastic.
For me, the money shot on Excels is changer-end view. They look like the front end of a Kenworth coming at you. (hint hint...photo please).
That's beautiful. And weight & size. Man. |
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K Maul
From:
Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL
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Posted 6 Feb 2019 1:06 pm
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Jon,
How's THIS work for ya?
_________________
Kevin Maul: Airline, Beard, Clinesmith, Decophonic, Evans, Excel, Fender, Fluger, Gibson, Hilton, Ibanez, Justice, K+K, Live Strings, MOYO, National, Oahu, Peterson, Quilter, Rickenbacher, Sho~Bud, Supro, TC, Ultimate, VHT, Williams, X-otic, Yamaha, ZKing. |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 6 Feb 2019 1:13 pm
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| AAAhhhhhh. That's the stuff.... |
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Chris Reesor
From:
British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 6 Feb 2019 2:32 pm
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That is just killer, Kevin. Envious is my middle name right now. I think you are gonna really dig this one.
Some questions for you.
Do the string ball ends go to the tuning block at the head end?
How are you getting your low D?
Could you post your copedent for us, please?
Mitsuo is an amazing designer/builder and for sure he doesn't rest on his laurels. I've been a fan since Chuck Campbell invited me to check out his guitar at a concert 7 or 8 years ago. I quickly ditched my Carter for a Superb and haven't looked back. Now I want another one.
_________________
Excel Superb U12, MIJ Squier tele, modified Deluxe Reverb RI, Cube 80XL, self built acoustics & mandolins |
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K Maul
From:
Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL
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Posted 7 Feb 2019 6:16 am
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Yes.....I ALREADY want another one!!
The ball ends go in the left side tuning head. See pic.
I get low D with two different knee levers. E down to D or B up to D. That may change because I never used B -D before and wanted to try it. There are other changes I may use more and dont want to add any more levers....for now. The half stops are amazing! I never cared for them before but these are perfect.
My current setup:
_________________
Kevin Maul: Airline, Beard, Clinesmith, Decophonic, Evans, Excel, Fender, Fluger, Gibson, Hilton, Ibanez, Justice, K+K, Live Strings, MOYO, National, Oahu, Peterson, Quilter, Rickenbacher, Sho~Bud, Supro, TC, Ultimate, VHT, Williams, X-otic, Yamaha, ZKing. |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 7 Feb 2019 6:31 am
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| My own experience with B > D raise (as a second D option after E > D 8th string lower) was that due to an 'error' in my setup design it shared a lever with my 2nd string raise D > D# (I tune 2nd string to D). This is such a frequently used lever that I was getting premature 9th string failure. So I ditched it. I miss some of the voicings available with the B>D raise but I can & do live without it. |
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K Maul
From:
Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL
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Posted 7 Feb 2019 8:59 am
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I left out one change. The A pedal also gives me low E-F#,so I have a straight old school A6 on strings 4-11. What I gave up by not having B-Bb or F#-F I can mostly make up for using Eb lever with AB engaged. In E9 mode the two frets back B Bb move I go with pedal 4 or three back with F lever and B pedal. It makes for a nice Dom7 voicing.
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Kevin Maul: Airline, Beard, Clinesmith, Decophonic, Evans, Excel, Fender, Fluger, Gibson, Hilton, Ibanez, Justice, K+K, Live Strings, MOYO, National, Oahu, Peterson, Quilter, Rickenbacher, Sho~Bud, Supro, TC, Ultimate, VHT, Williams, X-otic, Yamaha, ZKing. |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 7 Feb 2019 9:32 am
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Jon, how can a big fat thing like string 9 fail? I tune 2 to C# and raise it in two steps; meanwhile 9 goes up from B to D. Same on all three of my guitars and never a problem. In any case the A pedal is giving it a workout already. Puzzled, that's all...
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 7 Feb 2019 10:18 am
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Oh, I used to get occasional failure of the B string just from A pedal usage until I learned to change strings more regularly. The winding lets go at the changer end. The core holds together so that there is relatively little decapitation involved.
So the B>D raise-related failures were not a surprise to me, especially considering the heavy usage of that lever (for the 2nd string).
It has been years since I've had such a failure because of better string management. |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 7 Feb 2019 11:07 am
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So glad you lived to tell the tale! 😊
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 7 Feb 2019 11:56 am
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congrats Enjoy !
_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years
CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website |
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Larry Robbins
From:
Fort Edward, New York
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Posted 7 Feb 2019 1:06 pm
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Sweeeet!
_________________
Twang to the bone! |
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Patrick Huey
From:
Nacogdoches, Texas, USA
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Posted 7 Feb 2019 1:10 pm
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| K Maul wrote: |
It arrived, and about a week ahead of schedule!. So I guess the government shut down hasn’t really affected Customs too much. I am completely blown away! The machining, the polishing and all the mechanical aspects are unbelievable. The case was so small and light that I couldn’t believe there was a guitar in there. It’s about 37 pounds which means I’ll be able to fly up to a gig I have in LA coming up in April and not worry about being over the weight limit. That’s without even separating the bar and legs from the main part of the case!
Even before I plugged it in I played it and the sound of the vibrating cabinet sounded fabulous. I’ve plugged it in so that assessment is not only confirmed but upgraded. A beautiful clear bell-like sound.
Below is a picture of the case as it compares to a GFI keyless S 12. That weighs about 55 pounds in the case. And then a couple random shots ...it was hard to get a good angle because of the mirror like finish on the back reflecting light and the rest of the room, not to mention my face.
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What was the total turnaround time start to actually delivered?
_________________
Pre RP Mullen D10 8/7, Zum 3/4, Carter S-10 3/4, previous Cougar SD-10 3/4 & GFI S-10 3/4, Fender Steel King, 2 Peavey Session 500's, Peavey Nashville 400, Boss DD-3, Profex-II, Hilton Digital Sustain, '88 Les Paul Custom,Epiphone MBIBG J-45, Fender Strat & Tele's, Takamine acoustics, Marshall amps, Boss effects, Ibanez Tube Screamer, and it all started with an old cranky worn out Kay acoustic you could slide a Mack truck between the strings and fretboard on!! |
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K Maul
From:
Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL
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Posted 7 Feb 2019 2:35 pm
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As previouslly stated....
I contacted him first at the very end of October or early November. Then we had a little bit of back and forth about what my setup was going to be and what options I was going to decide on or not do. He had to come over to the states to go to a steel convention so that took two weeks out of his time frame. He recently told me that he was halfway done with it. Then like a week later told me it was all done so it was really fast, I think.
_________________
Kevin Maul: Airline, Beard, Clinesmith, Decophonic, Evans, Excel, Fender, Fluger, Gibson, Hilton, Ibanez, Justice, K+K, Live Strings, MOYO, National, Oahu, Peterson, Quilter, Rickenbacher, Sho~Bud, Supro, TC, Ultimate, VHT, Williams, X-otic, Yamaha, ZKing. |
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Scott Truax
From:
Florida
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Posted 7 Feb 2019 3:09 pm Excel Steel Guitars..
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Patrick,
Hope Kevin doesn't mind if I jump in and give you my
build times for 2 guitars.
From initial contact with Mitsuo to receipt of my D-10
Superb was 4 and 1/2 months. (ordered in Jan '18 and received in May of '1 .
Ordered my SD-10 in October '18 and delivered in mid-Dec.'18
And, both guitars came thru just as I had discussed
BY EMAIL with him.
Last edited by Scott Truax on 17 Feb 2019 2:21 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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