Robben Ford Discussion

[frank0936]

I'm playing my Esprit every week. So far, the only problem I've had - is not enough gigs to play it on. If the jack socket starts to unscrew, I'll either put a drop of Loctite on it or take a small punch and give it a tap to lock it in place.

[Blue Room]

I just recently purchased a Squier Master Series Esprit in Antique Burst from Musician's Friend. I know that several RF Forum members have the new Esprit and was wondering if all these guitars have 3-piece Mahogany tops, because that's what mine has. The finish is fine, but you can see where the wings are joined to the center section on the top. This is not a big deal, particularly in this price range. I bought this guitar without having seen one in person. I'm looking forward to getting it set-up.

I'm having serious problems with the output jack staying tightened on the Esprit. It doesn't take any effort for it to loosen. How are all of you dealing with this? Are you using Loctite or some other method?

Does anyone have a recommendation for a case for the Esprit? It doesn't seem to fit any of the commonly available cases. I don't want to use just a gig bag. Thanks.
Russ

[frank0936]

So far the jack has not loosened on mine. If it does, I'll try the Loctite approach first. I also have the Antique Burst, and I can see the joints in mine, too. I gig with it regularly, and I haven't had any problems yet.
Frank

[Bluelobster]

Hi there , Blue Room i have the tobacco one and if you get a close look you see the 3 pieces of wood . And my output jack started to loose after one day. I've not fixed it yet 'coz it doesnt affect the sound (no parasite!!!)
I'll change it .

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[gman]

I am awaiting an Antique Sunburst to arrive at my Guitar Center for my purchasing.I tried one out at another music store in Dallas and knew it was for me. Fits my budget and my style. Can hardly wait. I am glad to read so much talk from owners. Will share my experiences as soon as I get mine.

[Lawson]

One thing that is noticable is the missing switch that's on the Custom Shop model (the one behind the tone controls I believe). Other than that it looks pretty much the same ... sweet! I'll have to check one out ASAP, and hope that the neck isn't too thick for my little fingers
Damn my parents genes!
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Lawson
“Sure you can play a lot of notes, and the audience will probably enjoy the performance, then they’ll go home and forget about you; or you can play fewer notes, with feeling, and you’ll touch their souls forever” ~ Dave Moon

[RnB]

Congratulations on the "New" RF guitar.....You can't argue w/ $400 guitar. Sounds like a lot of guitar for the money. I paid a premium for mine, a Japanese made one....but it's a killer! Alder w/ Spruce top. I also changed out the Schaller TP & Bridge for the Gibson type.

[Marc Greeson]

The Squire RF model just got an editors pick award in the latest Guitar Player magazine.Got mine appx a month ago and I love it. !st gig with it will be in 2 weeks. Can't wait

[Aeolian]

[chalky]

Great input on this thread! Thanks, helped me make a decision. Got mine a couple of weeks ago. I had opted for the transparent red before I visited the shop as it looked cool to me in the web photos. As it happens the shop had been waiting for 'burst models for weeks as there seems to be a big demand for them(!) They had a red one, so I jumped for it.
Straight out of the box it was comfortable and seemed to hold tuning pretty well. But it was strung with 009's and I got some 010's thrown in with the guitar. So, straight home to do some meddling. Once the strings were fitted, I had an initial problem with a buzz on the B string that was pretty irritating. After adjusting action and truss-rod, I still had the buzz. Couldn't isolate any particulary high frets (fret job is pretty slick actually). When I started checking out the intonation, buzz dissapeared when I adjusted the B string saddle. Looks like this saddle is a little loose. With some tension in the thread the problem cleared up. I just need to run some loctite or nail varnish (borrowed from wife!) under the saddle to hold it.
Now this guitar looks good, plays great, holds tune and sounds good (Fender Hot Rod Deluxe). No doubt it's somewhat darker than the real RF model, but at this price, you can't expect the same woods and construction. Neck is chunky, but comfortable to me (and I don't have huge hands). Neck joint is a dream. Balance is really nice too!

[Funkifized]

It looks like the Esprit is missing the coil tap switch. Robben was using that heavily when he played the House Of Blues here in Boston, back in the Signature Model days. This was the tour for Tiger Walk.

[chalky]

I'm now tending to feel that the sound (especially bridge and mid) is a little dark for my taste, especially as soon as you start to roll back the volume with slightly distorted sounds. Not so much muddy, but a little dark. Had a look in the control cavity, not treble bleed capacitors on the volume pots, so that is one mod that's going to happen quite soon. There is definitely room for a coil tap switch in the cavity, also a mod I will probably make as the pick-ups are tap-able. I am also starting to think about replacing the bridge pick-up with a slightly brighter model. Think these Duncan designed units may be based on a pair of 59's. There is some great information on the Semour Duncan website, including info on the Duncan Designed range. I need to lift the pick-ups next time I change the strings to see what models are installed. Anyway, I might just change to JB model in the bridge as this is a brighter pickup than the 59.

[lancheese]

I love this thread! It sounds like many of us are happy with our Squire Esprit.

Wanted to mention, that I went from 9s to 11s on mine, and ending up needing a neck adjustment, fret leveling and crowning. But it plays great now! I'll be trying a Duncan JB in the bridge soon, too.

My guitar tech says he could do a "pull-push" coil tap. I guess that means I would use my volume knob as the switch. Any advantages/disadvantages versus installing an acutual switch?
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[JohnnyZ]

[stratoskier]

Did anyone determine for sure which Duncan-designed pickups are used in the Esprit? From the Duncan website, it appears that the most common are the HB-101 (modeled after the SH-1 '59 model) and the HB-102 set (modeled after the JB/Jazz combo).
Bert