Two months ago the seller listed it for about $500 less than new and also included a hardshell case. That put it in the ballpark, but I still made an offer a few hundred lower, where I thought it would be a very good deal. He countered, I countered, but he declined my better offer, calling it a lowball. So I waited, and he lowered his asking price a bit, and it still stayed out there (like older listings tend to do). I shot him the same offer he had declined previously, with a note that "the market tends to agree Little Sisters are too expensive for what they are, and that new buyers tend to take a hit for that". This time he accepted my offer, so there is some hope in this market yet!
Being winter, I let it acclimate in its case for a few hours, then brought it out. That was a bit torturous waiting. This thing is light! 6 lbs, 6.8 oz to be precise. It's semi-hollow, not fully hollow, it has a center block that appears to be part of the mahogany body. The top is thicker than I expected, maybe 3/8". The body size seems to account for most of its lighter weight. It's kinda like a parlor sized LP special.
The guitar is just visually stunning. The original owner ordered it with an upgraded top and it's hard to not stare. I inspected it visually longer than I do for most, and only found one tiny ding in the fretboard that won't amount to anything at all - you have to really be looking for something to even find it. So the craftsmanship on this guitar is exceptional. I thought I found a finish flaw, but it was dried on polish that rubbed right off. This guitar is like new, so waiting for a used one may have paid off.
I tuned it and played unplugged to see how resonant it is. By the way, these tuners are pretty nice. The semi-hollow design lets it not sound wrong unplugged, but it wasn't anything to write home about either. It would work sitting in a hotel room, but I doubt I'd ever take this one on a trip.
Finally, I plugged in and dimed it. The pickups exhibit a bit more 60 cycle hum than I get from most of my other P90 guitars, but I realized they are also quite loud. Without any boost, they were easily getting into breakup territory, so I dialed it back just a bit, and the P90 hum was pretty reasonable then too.
I played a few pieces to get used to the neck because it's described as a soft-v shape. I can tell it is, but it's barely V. I have an old 1910-1920 guitar with a V that's really obvious, and the Little Sister V is maybe just a subtle nod to those times, not something that bothers my modern sensibilities. The neck feels good, but hard to describe. It's not thin, not baseball bat thick, just nice. The action is perfect. I have no idea whether that was B&G or the first owner, but it is perfect, with no buzzing anywhere.
I am really impressed by the touch-sensitiveness, messing with dynamics at clean to moderate breakup. You can control that all with just your intensity, and to my ears, it sounds great without effects. The neck pickup on its own is a bit dark, but that will work for a few things. In the other 2 positions, you don't miss any details at all. I can hear every tiny mistake I make.
So I dimed it and played some more aggressive stuff through a Klon clone and EQ, and it was easy to get just what I wanted there. I am floored, super happy with this thing until the high E string broke. Ok, here was a chance to try a string change, and it's not awesome on this slot-head. With the other 2 high strings in the way, this was a pretty clumsy operation, but it worked out. I guess when I do change a whole set, I will work from the outside strings in, to avoid complications. The string broke right at the ball end, and that's unusual to me. I'll have to wait and see whether there's anything I have to file down at the tailpiece.
Bottom line, I love this guitar and now feel like I underpaid. If you're listening Wade, that doesn't mean I'll add more money. I love a lot of my asian import guitars, so it surprises me that I still have a line above which I think prices for them are too high. Maybe that will have to change over time. Still, my wallet is very glad I waited, and I lucked out getting a seller who really took care of the guitar before I got it. I expected to get a bit more "woodiness" sound out of it, but there is some. It strikes me right between a solid body and a 335. I was hoping it was just closer to 335, but there is nothing in its sound I don't like. I will have to play pretty loud to see how much potential there is to play with feedback vs breakup, but I'd apparently need ear protection to take it there.
