Mobius Megatars are now Neck-Through

[traktor]

Like any builder of instruments, as time goes on, we want to enhance the design of instruments, while still keeping the features that have made our instruments popular.

As some will recall, at the end of last year our shop was all taken apart so that we could install machinery for greater production and greater precision.

We've been producing our new instruments on this enhanced machinery since February, and now all Mobius Megatar instruments are made in this new way, which delivers more value than ever before.

Here are the new enhancements:

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* NECK-THROUGH DESIGN *

Our older bolt-on design was emulating Leo Fender's breakthrough, because bolt-on design generally provides more instrument for less money.

However, with our new machinery -- which wasn't available to Leo Fender -- we can now create the enhanced sound that neck-through design delivers, and at the same pricing as for bolt-on.

On a bolt-on instrument, any imperfection in the join of the bolt-on neck creates some loss of conductivity of the vibration in the wood, the sound changes. The frequencies most lost by reason of bolt-on construction are the lowest ones.

Therefore when you change to neck-through design what your ears hear is a smoother and slightly deeper or more mellow sound naturally coming from the instrument, as it is now delivering all of the natural lowest frequencies.

* COMPUTER-PRECISE FRETS *

We now own and operate our own computer controlled (CNC) machinery, which cuts fretslots with precision down to about 0.002". A human with a saw just can't match it, no matter how careful he is. More precise fretslots gives more precise fret placement.

More precise fret placement means the best intonation for your music.

* DARK ABALONE FRET-DOTS FOR TRUETAPPERS *

We have upgraded the dark plastic fret-dots, and we now install abalone fret-dots, on all of the maple light-wood TrueTapper models (Eclipse, Dragon, and Storm).

* NEW FINISH *

In the past, our finish was so-so. It did a good job of preventing water-vapor exchange, which is the number one job for a guitar finish. But it was not as clear and beautiful as we'd like.

So we've been experimenting, and now provide finish which is very clear and lets the grain of the wood show through. [Rosewood or Wenge fretboards on dark-wood instruments are still oil-finished, of course.]

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So -- Computer cutting for precision, and hand-finishing for beauty. New abalone dot-markers and enhanced finish. Neck-through design at the same price as bolt-on.

Our website pix are not yet updated, but as of today on our EBay Megatar Store (http://stores.ebay.com/megatarstore/), you can see a Storm and a MaxTapper. So you can see the abalone dot-markers, the new finish, and detail photos of the neck-through design.

(Of course these particular listings could easily vanish soon, as these particular instruments can be purchased at any minute on EBay. But we'll have more up on EBay, as production permits.)

EDIT: Oops! The Storm on EBay sold while I was entering this post. So I'll put the two item numbers here, so you can see them for some time after they're sold. (I *think* this will work.) --

TrueTapper Storm with new abalone dots, enhanced finish, computer fretslots, and neck-through construction is EBay EBay Item #290131836371 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290131836371)

MaxTapper Dual with enhanced finish, computer fretslots, and neck-through construction is EBay EBay Item #290135409253 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290135409253).

[PhoBucket]

You can really see the difference in finish on the ebay pics. It really enhances the mohagony grain.

Have you gotten any customer feedback yet on the new neckthrough instruments?

[traktor]

As of this morning, the neck-through EBay MaxTapper was purchased by a new Belgian tappist, and so the only Megatar on EBay is a custom ToneWeaver.

(Oh, and there's a lovely new Box Guitar listed on in our EBay Megatar Store as well.)

The custom ToneWeaver on EBay is actually one of the very last of the bolt-on ToneWeavers previously produced. It has some nice upgrades, and a nice discount on the pricing, but it isn't one of our new neck-through ToneWeavers.

By the way, if you've been wanting a ToneWeaver, and you would find it helpful to get a discounted instrument, I have exactly two of the bolt-on ToneWeavers left in stock. For our current incoming orders, we're filling the orders with our new neck-through models.

But if you would have an interest in one of the last three bolt-on ToneWeavers, one is already on EBay, and please contact me privately if you would like to claim one of the two remaining in our inventory.

They're sweet instruments. (I still have mine.)

And of course, they can still be assembled with any of the custom features (actives, piezos, midi, blackjack or golddust trim, etc.).

I am making this announcement on Tappistry.Org first, and will not mention it elsewhere for a week or so.

[thedave]

Originally posted by PhoBucket
You can really see the difference in finish on the ebay pics. It really enhances the mohagony grain.

Have you gotten any customer feedback yet on the new neckthrough instruments?

I received my ToneWeaver Banshee in August. Wanted to get past the honeymoon before posting. Here are my initial impressions:

The overall build quality is very good. The Novax slanted frets compare well to the fretboards on my several Novax guitars. The wood work is clean and nice to look at, though not flawless: there's a couple of *very slight* marks on the back of the neck where it flows into the body, like someone tapped it with a screwdriver. Not easily noticed, but again, not flawless. The hardware is solid and functions just as it should. I ordered it with the flight case, which is good because I wouldn't want this to get dinged up.

The sound is very strong and rich. Bartolini pups are a long favorite of mine, especially for jazz, and they sound great here. Mine came with the active circuitry. I don't know how the neck-through design compares to the bolt on model, but this neck through has excellent sustain and a smooth, rich tone.

I was very happy with the whole ordering process. Traktor was cordial and informative, taking all the time needed to answer my questions. The instrument arrived when he said it would, just as described.

I'll post in the "playing" forum about my initial attempts to learn this style of playing. Here I'll just say that it is both familiar and new. Trickier than I first thought it would be, but I'm seeing progress. Just have to be willing to start at the basics and proceed slowly . .. . not easy when you've played guitar for decades already. But I'm patient and serious about this.

This model is my introduction to tap-style guitar and it is proving to be a great way to get started. I'd recommend this to others.
thedave