This Angus was custom ordered with the following construction details:
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Two-tone nitro cellulose lacquer finish
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Alder body
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Tinted Maple Neck, 12" radius
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Gotoh Tuners
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Wilkinson Vibrato Bridge
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Lollar "Blackface" pickups
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5-way pickup switch
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Aged white pickguard
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Lightly aged body and hardware
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Light lacquer checking in the finish
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G&G Tweed Hardshell case
While no manufacture does everything, the Angus Surly is not a parts guitar. Angus makes their own bodies and necks, does all their own finishes, and uses high quality hardware from well respected manufacturers. The result is an instrument where all the parts lock together precisely and the guitar plays and resonates like a single piece. Angus also does not use any heavy epoxy undercoats or other fillers prior to the lacquer application. While these fillers may make for a smoother finish, they can also deaden the resonance of the wood. This means that there might be some minor sinks in the finish -- just like with a fine classical instrument -- but the result is a more lively sound with plenty of natural sustain.
We tested out the Angus surly with -- what else? -- a 1966 Fender Pro Reverb. Ironically our Pro was professionally re-covered, and it looks younger than the guitar! As one would expect, sonically the Angus Surly is a trip through the Way-Back machine. The Lollar Blackface pickups are of medium output and have a slightly fuller midrange than a 50's style vintage pickup. The neck and middle pickups have nice, percussive piano-like bass notes and highs that are clear but not shrill. The bridge pickup is bright no doubt, but with its slightly higher coil resistance reflecting off a nice thin finish it's perfectly useable by itself. Also, since it's wired to the bottom tone control (the real ones were wide open) you can roll it off a little for a nice rhythm or distorted lead tone.
Dialing the treble control down to about "4" and flipping the bright switch brought out those great round, scooped tones with tons of high and low end definition. By themselves the neck and middle pickups are a Who's Who of classic blues tones. If you don't immediately play "Little Wing" or "Pride and Joy" on this guitar, well then I just don't know. The in-between positions have plenty of cluck, especially the fourth position which channels that glassy-twangy Robert Cray tone perfectly. The tone controls are quite musical in nature and can take the edge off the sound without losing the essence of the tone. As mentioned before, with a nice stomp box and working the controls a bit, the bridge pickup throws down some highly respectable lead tones. Who knew?
The 12" radius Angus neck is of a "medium" profile and somewhat akin to the G&L #1 shape. It has expertly applied medium-jumbo frets with smoothly finished fret ends, and the overall neck feel is glassy and broken-in. The modern frets and neck dimensions certainly make the guitar easy to play, and even with the very little neck relief the guitar played great with no buzz or rattle.
The Angus Surly is a Custom Shop instrument in every sense of the word. The finish, level of workmanship and playability is something that you can only get from a specialty builder that has complete control over the process. For deliciously authentic tones with modern playing touches, the Angus Surly is an awesome guitar, and very fairly priced.
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