- SN: 9004 (The '9' in this serial number indicates that Jack began building #004 in 2009. Date of Completion is July 24th, 2011)
- Weight: 9.2 Pounds (3.2 Ounces)
As with all of Jack's guitars, Apollo #9004 was built entirely by hand, by Jack personally, in his one-man shop using no CNC machinery while still achieving flawless, laser-accurate fit and finish. The build time for this instrument was well over a year. Jack puts every possible ounce of heart and soul into his guitars resulting in instruments that show a true love of the process, an obsession with tonal perfection and the finely honed skills of a truly gifted, master luthier.
Fat Sound's Take
I picked up Apollo #9004 at Jack's shop on my way home from work yesterday which not only afforded me the luxury of spending some time hanging out with Mr. Briggs, but also the opportunity to take this stunning guitar home with me for an overnight get-to-know-you session.
I love swinging by Jack's shop which, as fate would have it, happens to be right on my way home from Fat Sound. The Briggs' 'factory' is a converted garage behind Jack's house in Garner, NC. It's modest by most industry standards, but well equipped, clean and nicely laid out. Jack's vintage VW Scirocco which is both a daily driver and resto work in progress, sits prominently just inside and to the right of the pedestrian door. Jack's shop possesses a heady olfactory overload of freshly cut wood, nitrocellulose lacquer and polish wheel rouge. It just has this fantastic vibe that reminds me of hanging out in my father's wood shop as a kid while he perfected his hobby of crafting furniture from reclaimed wood.
Really, there's no better way for me to form the basis of an instrument review than to spend some real one-on-one quality time playing it through my rig, in my home studio environment, after my kids are asleep and without the distractions that are unavoidable during business hours. There.....the cat's out of the bag....many of the guitars we sell have actually had a sleep over at my place before being posted for sale! Don't expect a discount!
After playing guitar from the age of 5 and owning a guitar retail shop for the vast majority of my adult life you could say I'm about as jaded as it gets. But occasionally I have the opportunity to play an instrument or amplifier that completely renews my enthusiasm as a guitarist and that I find exceptionally inspirational. Every once in a while I have to remember to repeat the phrase "you can't keep all the great ones and stay in business" over and over again to myself until I eventually come back down to Earth.
I started writing this review at about 3am after spending nearly four hours playing Jack's latest Apollo. Not only did those hours fly by, but I was so jacked up (pun intended) that even when I knew it was way past time to call it a night I felt the urge to start getting my thoughts about this guitar down on "paper".
As with every Briggs I've had the pleasure of playing I was unable to find a single flaw in the fit-and-finish or overall build quality. The woods that Jack chose for this piece are simply stunning and his fantastic nitro work gleams with a wetness that is hard to take your eyes off of.
From the one-piece, 5A Bigleaf Maple top....a testament to beauty as well as occasional perfection in nature....to the Madagascar fingerboard that has just the right amount of color variation and figuring to the Black Limba back (also one-piece) which has the most striking, dark streak right down its center, I just could not stop turning this guitar over and over in my hands while admiring its unabashed gorgeousness!
One of the things that my eyes kept returning to was Jack's impeccable fretwork. Each of the guitar's 22 frets gleam like fine pieces of jewelry with the refined fret end treatment of a true master. Understandably this is an area where many, otherwise competent, luthiers fall short due to the fact that their limited production means they may only do 12 or so fret jobs a year. I frequently see far superior fretwork done by successful guitar repairman than by some of the more highly-regarded luthiers. Not the case with Jack's fretwork which reveals a luthier at the absolute top of his game in every respect.
Moving on to the next stage of assessing the guitar, actually grabbing the neck and starting to familiarize myself with the instrument while unplugged, I found the neck, Jack's 'Standard' carve, to be right up there with the most comfortable I've ever played. Large enough to open up my hand for a relaxed playing grip, but so shapely that I never struggled for thumb-over-top chord work even with my relatively small hands. Gibson Historic should take notes!
The acoustic qualities of the guitar are such that rather than sit on top of the wood the vibrations of both chords and single notes appeared to emerge from within the instrument with amazing bloom and harmonic complexity. Apollo #9004 was squirmy and alive in my arms......begging me to just get on with it!
All of the controls are exactly where they should be for fast pickup changes or volume tweaks....which stands to reason since Jack has essentially and wisely aped the classic LP configuration for the 3-way pickup selector and quad grouping of dual volume and dual tone pots. This is an area where I firmly believe that trying to reinvent the wheel invariably leads to ergonomic nightmares that try and force a guitarist to relearn the basic, ingrained techniques we use to form the most fundamental yet massively important connection with an instrument. Ever try driving a car in a foreign country with the gas and brake pedals reversed and the stick shift on the wrong side? You can do it, but it feels very awkward and requires entirely too much concentration!
So, Apollo #9004 exhibits the absolute perfection in build quality and beauty that folks who know Jack's guitars expect. The playability and comfort levels are very, very high, but is it a Tone-Of-The-Gods guitar or did it build me up only to leave me flat when the critical moment of actually plugging in to one of my favorite amps arose?
I'm happy to say, though far from surprised, that from an amplified tone standpoint this guitar actually exceeded my expectations in every way.
Jack's ability to assess the resonant and tonal qualities of each piece of wood he chooses to combine to make one of his instruments really revealed itself from the first few minutes of amplified play. As soon as I realized that all three pickup positions yielded my idea of perfection in setneck, dual humbucker tones and that the volume and tone controls worked with me rather than against me to create a multitude of impressive and useable variations on the guitar's fundamental goodness I was able to stop thinking about the guitar and simply play.
For three solid hours this guitar inspired me and allowed me to effortlessly create the classic, vintage-type Blues and Rock tones I thrive on. Yes it will seemingly do flawless Jazz tones as well, but I don't exist for Jazz the way I do for the more brutal, big sting bending, neck wrenching, guttural stuff.
I set my amps to their tried and true settings and never once felt the need to resort to the bane of guitarists everywhere....knob fidgeting.
This guitar is simply phenomenal. I can not recommend it highly enough and have no doubt that whoever is fortunate enough to ultimately own Apollo #9004 will consider it an heirloom piece and will immensely enjoy the bond they'll form with this guitar as it and they only get better and better over time; the owner via Briggs provided inspiration, the guitar via that intangible quality that comes from years of constant play.
Great job Jack!
-Stu Carter, owner Fat Sound Guitars
Features and Specifications
Body
- One-Piece, Black Limba Back - No Weight Relief - 1.75" Thick
- One-Piece, Carved, 5A Bigleaf Flame Maple Top - .625" Thick
Finish
- Teaburst
- Hand-Rubbed Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Neck and Fingerboard
- Back - Black Limba
- Fingerboard - AAA Madagascar Rosewood
- Headstock Overlay - Ebony
- Carve - Briggs Standard (medium C - .860/.930)
- Fingerboard Radius - 12"
- Scale Length - 25"
- Nut Width - 1 11/16"
- Nut Material - Unbleached, Select Bone
- Fretwire - Jescar 47104S (medium jumbo, stainless steel - .104" x .047")
- Number of Frets - 22
- Binding - Cream (neck and headstock)
- Fingerboard Inlays - Mother of Pearl Trapezoid
- Side Position Markers - Black Dot
- Carbon Fiber Reinforced for Incredible Stability
Electronics
- Dual Wolfetone Legend Humbuckers
- Traditional LP style control layout - Vol/Vol/Tone/Tone. 3-Way Toggle
Hardware
- Tuners - TonePros Kluson with butterscotch buttons
- Bridge and Tailpiece - TonePros AVRII Tune-O-Matic and lightweight Stopbar
- Pickguard - Cream with chrome standoff (Included, but not installed)
Ameritage Gold Series Humidity Control Hardshell Case
(Bear with us...this case deserves its own spec' and features listing)
- Custom, Form-Fit
- Internal Humidification System
- Internal Hygrometer and Thermometer (50% +/- 5% Humidity and 68ºF +/- 5ºF Recommended)
- Large Center Pocket with Dual Neck Braces
- 6 Heavy Duty, Chrome Plated Latches
- Breathable, 6-Ply, Poly-Ply Hardwood Shell
- Extruded Binding - Machine Stitched into Wood Shell
- Dupont® Taupe Cordura Plus Exterior Covering - UV and Tear Resistant
- Royal Blue, Plush Velour Interior
- Ameritage Internal, Compression Fit, Shock Absorption Suspension System
- Steel Reinforced, Palm-form™ Handle
- Unique Serial Number / Lifetime Warranty
|
What is it about North Carolina that gives rise to so many incredibly talented guitar and amplifier builders? Our area has truly become a Mecca for artisans working in our industry. Jack Briggs is a perfect example of the kind of incredible talent located in our neck of the woods.
Email Fat Sound Guitars
