u/Whibkins

Had read a few times about Mr Charlies in North America and dreamt of one day trying it. Recently I discovered they had actually opened one in Redfern so made trip.

It’s been a very long time since I ate Maccas but took a family member there who is a more regular consumer and she was blown away! She said she could barely taste the difference.

It’s far from being health food, but I think what they are doing is awesome, and will definitely continue to drop in when I need a nostalgic food fix!

Hopefully it continues to grow.

I managed to snag a Vetus 8 during the B-Stock flash sale, sharing my early impressions.

It took a while to figure out why it was b-stock. There is a small blemish on the top of the neck (pictured), I am assuming that must be it. To be honest if I paid full price I’d might not even have noticed at first and would have assumed I must have accidently bumped it myself or that it was just a minor imperfection in the finish. Really so minor; a credit to the quality standards at Omne brand.

Out of the box I was surprised by how low the action was (around the 1mm mark!). Actually a tad too low on the lower end for me. The neck probably moved a little due to climate shifts between Australia and California. A minor truss rod adjustment and a slight action change and it was sorted. Other than that small tweak, the setup was flawless, and whilst I thought the string tension was a little off after playing balanced sets for so long, I was quickly converted once I adapted my playing style.

The teardrop neck profile is subtle and not all that noticeable in itself when playing, but what is noticeable is just how easy this guitar is to play!

This is just an incredibly user friendly guitar. The lightweight ergonomics, the neck profile, the low action, the smooth fretwork, the multiscale config, the higher fret access; it’s just all part of a package that feels extremely refined, like the master craftings of an extended range guitar genius!

The Abasi Fishmans kill my 808x’s for percussive pop in the attack on the low end, and the split coil voicing is so warm for the cleans and neck pickup solos, it sounds amazing.

It wasn’t all roses though, I was getting some issues with sustain on the higher strings, and I had an annoying resonance when I picked on the lower. I noticed I had to move my muting and picking position slightly, I switched from nylon to a carbon pick, and I also had to back off on my heavy handed picking on the high strings to stop them bang on then frets. Once I’d made those adjustments and adapted my hand position and muting - I was off and flying, and with the biggest grin on my face!

The guitar is really small too. (See image for comparison to my Ibanez RGIRFE28).

I’m not sure yet how I feel about my stage presence with this guitar, having played big heavy guitars for so long. But, I’ll figure it out and adapt. It will definitely make an impression! It looks badass, just petite, but that’s also what makes it so easy to play!

So, now my days are filled with ‘tasks I need to complete before I can play again’. I know the NGD buzz will wear off eventually. My last guitar purchase (pictured) kept me happy for 13 years, so I anticipate I’ll get a great innings out of the Vetus!

There really aren’t many if any compromises with this guitar.

Thanks to those here who offered advice when I was on the fence! Also thanks to Omne for this awesome product and for making it available internationally!