This is my special order Jack Briggs Saturn Deluxe. I must say upfront that prior to purchasing this guitar, I had no experience with Jack Briggs guitars. I never heard of them until I stumbled onto Jason Barker's site (www.steelbender.com). Jason has a very cool site with many reviews of different equipment including one for Briggs Guitars.
My Saturn Deluxe is a deeply carved body with a set neck. The finish is what Jack calls "Celloburst" which is a beautiful sunburst style finish. Below are the detailed specifications:
Model: Saturn Deluxe
Completion: October, 2006
S/N: 05022
Features:
Body Wood: 1 pc South American Mahogany
Body Style: Saturn Deluxe – double cut, deeply carved
Top/Finish: 5A Quilted Big-leaf Maple, B1 Celloburst finish
Neck Wood: 1 pc South American Mahogany
Fretboard: Brazilian Rosewood w/ Paua Pyramid and side dots inlays
Neck Profile/Scale: Slim - 25” Scale w/Medium Jumbo Stainless Steel Frets
Headstock Finish: Matching Maple
Bridge Style: Tone Pros System II, Nashville TOM/Aluminum Stoptail
Tuners: Grover “non-locking” Rotomatic, Chrome
Binding: Full neck and headstock ivoroid binding
Nut: Slip-stone, 1-11/16 width
Neck PUP: Lollar Minibucker
Middle PUP: Lollar Minibucker
Bridge PUP: Lollar Minibucker
Switching & Controls: 5-way Blade, 1-Volume, 1-Tone, all passive
PUP Select: Pos1-B, Pos2-B/M, Pos3-B/N, Pos4-M/N, Pos5-N
The workmanship of this instrument is unmatched. The weight and balance is perfect. The neck and fretboard (I chose the slim neck) is incredibly comfortable and easy to play. I play a lot of altered chords and I find chord phrasing to be a breeze on this neck. I string this guitar with Everly 10awg strings and even unplugged, it resonates just beautifully!
This is not a complex guitar with lots of switching, preamps or even a tremolo bar. It is simple and straightforward with 1 volume, 1 tone, and a 5-way switch.
Gear Review
In Search for a new Guitar
In 2004, I decided it was time for a new guitar. My playing style was evolving and I wanted something completely different from my current line of guitars. I’m a traditional Stratocaster style kind of guy with a preference towards active electronics. I have several guitars including an American Strat fitted with John Suhr pickups; a Music Man LUKE model and a couple other custom-built super-Strat guitars all fitted with EMG pickups. These guitars have served me well for many years. However, it was time for a change. Ordering a Jack Briggs Saturn Deluxe was completely out of the box for me.
I spent a year looking for a new guitar and eventually I was introduced to Briggs Guitars. To me, guitar building is an art form beyond my comprehension. Jack Briggs is one of these talented artisans who produces some of the finest instruments made today. After extensive research on his guitar building process, I flew to Raleigh, North Carolina to meet Jack and Eddie Berman at Indoor Storm who carries Briggs Guitars as part of their boutique line up.
I literally spent the entire day at Indoor Storm conversing with Eddie, trying out different guitars, pickups and other toys. Eddie was a gentleman and a great host for the day. His vast knowledge about the instrument and in particular, about Jack Briggs guitars sold me. We configured and specified my new guitar that day.
To the left is the Jack Briggs guitar that totally grabbed my attention; an Avitar Deluxe. This is one of the most unique book-matched maple tops I have ever seen. The finish is what Jack calls Celloburst which is what I chose for my instrument.
Conclusion
Although it was a long wait before I received my guitar (about 12 months), the whole experience was an enjoyable journey and well worth the wait. Simply stated….my Briggs Saturn Deluxe is the finest guitar I have ever played and owned! There are some wonderful instruments being made today. However, I believe Jack Briggs is at the top of the game. You will not encounter an instrument better balanced, better made or better playing than a Briggs Guitar. This is a worthwhile investment and I plan to get years of enjoyment of this guitar.
Click HERE to see a collection of photos that I gathered over the past year. This will give you a good idea of Jack’s wonderful work over the last 5 or 6 years.
Included in the price of the guitar is a beautiful case, truss rod adjustment tool and an official specification and letter that is certified and autographed by Jack himself. I have to say, I would rather invest my hard-earned money into these small boutique builders than to buy an off-the-shelf instrument. There is something to be said about the workmanship and dedication these builders put into each instrument. I felt the same way about buying my Fuchs amp. Buying an instrument from these builders is so much more meaningful and I truly believe I get a lot more for my money.
Finally, please visit the JSpoon Photography Website for a stunning slide show of Jack’s latest work. My Saturn Deluxe is the 4th guitar featured!
Additional Websites where you can review Briggs Guitars
Steelbender.com- Here is the personal site of Jason Barker. He is a talented guitar player and this site is not only a fantastic resource for all things guitar but he has an extensive review page. Check out his site and enjoy the pictures, videos and song samples. Jason includes a wonderful review of Jack Briggs Guitars HERE.
Indoor Storm - Eddie Berman at Indoor Storm is a wealth of knowledge on many boutique builders. Indoor Storm carries a select group of boutique guitars including Briggs Guitars. Check out my review on this site HERE. I purchased my Jack Briggs Guitar from Indoor Storm.
Gillans Guitars - Here is a UK based guitar store that specializes in boutique guitars and amps. They are currently building the Briggs Guitar portion of the website.
Destroy All Guitars - This is Cliff Cultreri’s website. He represents some of the finest boutique guitar, amplifier and pedal manufactures today. Check out his site for some extraordinary instruments.
Seymour Duncan Pickups - This site has a couple of Briggs Guitars on it.
Harmony Central - Here are a couple of reviews of Briggs guitars (including mine!).
Alfonso Hermida - Here are some pictures taken at NAMM 2006
Electronics & Hardware
As you can see, I chose 3 Mini Humbucker pickups for this guitar. Jack turned me on to the Lollar “Minibuckers”. Jason Lollar is widely considered the Moses of pickup winding. His book Basic Pickup Winding and Complete Guide to Making Your Own Pickup Winder, set off the industry's after-market pilgrimage to achieving better tone through better pickups.
I followed Jack’s advice when it came to pickup selection and wiring and I’m glad I did. The Lollar Humbuckers capture an airy top end with tight lows, a balanced midrange and a complex overtone reminiscent of the original PAF classic. Lollar’s Mini Humbucker sound are brighter and tighter than a full size Humbucker. I am so impressed with these pickups. They have that wonderful articulation and “creaminess” to them. Also take note at the fantastic wiring job Jack did in the electronics cavity. It is very clean!
I believe that the Lollar pickups are the perfect “microphone” to pull out the natural wood tones of this guitar. The guitar is wired like a standard Strat using a 5-way switch. However, the middle position engages the bridge and neck pickup in parallel (instead of the middle pickup alone) for the “Gibson-like” tone. As mentioned above, the controls are very simple incorporating a single volume and a single tone knob.
The stop-tail bridge is a Tone Pros System II. I really believe that this type of tail bridge makes a huge difference in the tone of the guitar. Not only does Tone Pros System II prevent your bridge from falling off the guitar when changing your strings, it truly helps keep the guitar in tune as well as improve sustain.
Building the Beast!
Jack Briggs is a solo builder working from his home studio in Raleigh, North Carolina. His guitars are inspired by the more traditional classics but he offers supreme craftsmanship and build quality and a clever twist on a few details. Briggs guitars are hand built with the best tone woods Jack can find. He seems to take extreme measures to insure only the best construction, finish and set up.
When specifying my Briggs guitar, there were a number of options to choose from. Aside from body style, I had a choice of bridge configurations, hardware finish, neck profiles and finish colors in hand-rubbed nitrocellulose lacquer. All Briggs Guitars are a set-neck styles which was new for me considering all my other guitars are bolt on necks. I can feel and hear the difference in a set-neck guitar.
I am a guitarist who truly appreciates the artistry of guitar building. As stated by Jason Barker in his Briggs Guitar Profile, “it is an expression of personal interpretation”. I know that Jack Briggs is a kind of builder who takes his guitar building seriously and he appreciates that every owner of a Briggs Guitar will get years of enjoyment from these finely made instruments.
As I mentioned above, my Saturn Deluxe took about 12 months to arrive from the order date. I think Jack started production on my guitar in summer of 2006 and I received it in October of the same year. I believe Jack invests over a 100 hours to make each guitar. This is certainly a labor of love...
Along the way, Jack would tease me with progress pictures. Notice the unfinished body and neck just prior to color. The texture of the quilted top is just starting to reveal itself. However, once he started applying color, it exposed the unbelievable quilted top he chose for my guitar. It almost looked as if flames were emanating from the bridge pick up slot.
The back of the guitar (body and neck) highlight a beautiful Mahogany wood which is stained perfectly to show off the grain.
The Celloburst finish shown below is a classic finish and is absolutely stunning on this quilted top. I’m not sure how many layers of color jack applies but it is evident that care is taken on every coat. I love the way he darkens the upper tips of the guitar and then transitions into a fiery glow at the center of the guitar. Incidentally, if I had not chosen the Celloburst finish, I would have asked for the Chestnut finish which is my next favorite finish offered by Briggs Guitars. See other example of Jacks Guitars HERE.
The neck on my guitar is a 25” scale length with 22 frets. Gibson guitars are 24-5/8” while most Fenders are 25-1/2”. The fret wire is medium jumbo stainless-steel. The inlays are a beautiful Paua Pyramid design as well as side dots. The binding pattern on the body is hand-scraped while the neck and headstock include ivoroid binding.
I must say that Jack is a super nice guy and always kept me in the loop throughout the build process. He inquired about my tastes and specifications. He really took an interest in what I wanted from this new guitar.
Also, take note at the meticulous matching technique Jack includes on his guitars. The head stock shape is the signature shape for Briggs Guitars but look at the truss rod cover plate. It is beautifully matched with the quilt head stock which complements the body.
Sounds
I play through a Fuchs Overdrive Supreme, which is a perfect match for this guitar. I'm a rock and blues player with influences of jazz and funk. This guitar enables me to achieve a couple of cool clean sounds (both super clean and with a little edge), switch to a crunchy rhythm and then cross over to that over-the-top gain sound for singing leads.
My favorite rhythm positions are 2 and 4. I can achieve that Strat-like “poppy” sound only with a little more mid-range depth to the sound. It is perfect for blending with the band. For leads, my favorite position is position 1 (the neck pickup) which gives me a wonderful creamy but articulate lead tone.
Below are a few sound samples.
CLEAN Demonstrating the five sounds from this guitar.
DIRTY Demonstrating the smooth gain sound with the mid-bridge pickup selection.