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CHERRY COLA First Act Limited Edition Series Lola

By Chris Gill are located on the lower bout, where high-gain Mesa/Boogie, the guitar they’re easy to reach but out of the way retains the percussive “chunk” of the ou may have noticed First Act gui- when you bash out power chords with pick hitting the strings. The tone is tars stacked near the 10-pound cans Pete Townshend-style windmills. bright and lively like a good SG but with Y of baked beans or among the econo- Lola’s bound rosewood fretboard and more midrange girth. If you want the packs of Charmin and Remington ammo at mirror-polished frets deliver better sparkle and crunch of Angus Young’s Wal-Mart. First Act may be best known for action than the latest Jerry Bruckheimer rhythm tone but a little more fatness for its diverse line of high-quality budget musi- blockbuster. As chunky as Cajun gumbo, leads, the Lola will satisfy your needs. cal instruments aimed at the mass market, these frets feature a smooth, rounded but it also operates a custom shop, KA-CHING! profile, medium width and a The Bottom Line called Studio for Artists, that high crown, and feel as luxuri- First Act has done an excellent job LIST PRICE: makes one-of-a-kind guitars, bass- $1,500.00 ous as freshly minted addressing the needs of entry-level es and violins for professionals or MANUFACTURER: gold under your fin- musicians and pro players, First Act, 745 anyone who wants to play like one. Boylston St., gertips. The set but with its Limited Edition Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick), Brad Boston, MA 02116; mahogany neck Series, the company is (888) 551-1115; Whitford (Aerosmith), Perry firstact.com plays and feels finally making guitars for Bamonte (the Cure) and Nick Zin- like a vintage Gib- the rest of us. The Lola’s ner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) are a few of the satis- son. My only beef is the features and construction fied customers for whom First Act has made rather hefty neck heel that are like the greatest hits of the ax of their dreams. blocks access to the upper- classic electric guitar design The company’s new Limited Edition most frets like your first combined to make a new Series guitars are made by its Studio for girlfriend trying to pro- ax that will prove to be Artists luthiers and offer the same sound, tect her goodies in the a legend as well. playability and craftsmanship as its stellar backseat of your Unlike the closet custom instruments. I checked out the Lola, bitchin’ Camaro. queen immortal- a sweet single-cutaway solidbody with two ized in its name- humbuckers. Perhaps named after the cross- Sound sake Kinks song, dressing character immortalized in the And, like your this Lola is a con- Kinks classic “Lola,” this guitar will seduce first girlfriend, it’s tender, not a pre- you with its feminine curves. But look out— pure bliss once you tender. If this is the it’s got balls! finally plug into this company’s first act, we beauty. The Armstrong can’t wait to see what it Construction humbuckers crank out bold, does for an encore. I Several of Lola’s features are reminiscent well-defined tone with a high-end bite of those found on classic axes. The body, often lacking from beefy humbuckers. PRO: Great combination of classic constructed of a two-piece sandwich of Thanks to the resonant mahogany body, features and tones high-quality Honduran mahogany, is like a bass notes are punchy and lively, giving CON: Large neck heel impedes upper-fret hybrid of a Gibson Les Paul, SG and L-6S. power chords extra oomph through a blaz- access The open-faced chrome-covered Kent Arm- ing Marshall or Hiwatt. Even through a strong humbuckers are reminiscent of Gretsch Filtertrons, and the headstock has CREAM OF THE CROP First Act chief luthier an asymmetric Gumby-head shape similar to Kelly Butler on the Lola’s hidden assets. a Fifties Supro. It’s as if First Act’s luthiers combined the coolest features of several vin- First Act is known for its budget that the heel is part of the body style solidbody electric. line of guitars. Why create a pro- rather than the neck. Plus, the How many more new guitar models tage guitars to come up with their own mod- fessional, custom series of neck features a three-piece con- will you be introducing? ern classic. instruments? struction for added strength and Right now, we have three differ- We’ve been making custom one- rigidity. We achieved this by utiliz- ent models scheduled for release in The Lola’s SG-like beveled body makes of-a-kind guitars, basses and violins ing equal-and-opposite grain ori- the Limited Edition Series, the first the guitar very comfortable to play. Thanks to for professionals for a few years entation. Also, our custom pickup of which is the Lola. the added thickness of the second layer of now. The response has been so design lends an aesthetic to the What are the company’s future favorable that we wanted to make guitar’s overall look that can’t be plans? mahogany, the guitar delivers a fat, punchy our custom studio guitars available found anywhere else, while it main- We plan to release more Limited tone with ample sustain. The combination of to guitar aficionados everywhere. tains vintage tone styling. Edition models soon, including hol- Many guitars are based on exist- What kind of player would want to lowbodies and electric basses, while a Tune-O-Matic bridge with a string-through- ing designs. What makes the Lola play your guitars? still building for professional musi- body design enhances the Lola’s sustain and special? We consider the Lola to appeal cians. And of course, they will all be A couple of things. For example, to a very broad base: essentially, handcrafted by our expert team of liveliness as well. Master volume and tone the neck joint is constructed so any guitarist who plays any classic- master luthiers. —C.G. knobs and a three-way pickup-selector switch

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