See Part 1

I ran the Flaxwood Laine through a Peterson Strobo Stomp 2 straight to a Kustom Double
Barrel amp. My plan was to test the guitar without any additional effects through the
clean channel and then through the overdrive channel of the amp first. The Flaxwood Laine comes
fitted with 3 Seymour Duncan Lipstick pickups, a Schaller LP Tremolo, 5 position tone
switch and a blender pot which gradually blends the neck pickup signal with that of the
bridge pickup. Settled into to playing that first G chord, I took hold of the neck and let
her rip. The third wow moment for me in the handling of this guitar and the above all
else point I will list as Flaxwood’s reason for being. The neck on this thing played like
butter, glass, a frozen pond on e beautiful winters morn, insert any other analogy here. I
have grown fond of, out of habit and history, playing thick, chunky necks, but I could not
stop playing the Flaxwood. Between the amazing feel of the neck and the superior action
and feel of the fret board, I played for about 2 hours without even realizing it. From the
factory this thing was set up to be played, and not put down.

Flaxwood in their own words describes the Laine as the most Strat-like of their models
and I would agree with this assessment having just spent the weekend with a Fender
Deluxe American Strat. The Laine gave me the sparkle and shine I was hoping for, where
it differed for me is in that when overdriven in the 5th position it gave my more growl
then I could get out of a Strat and this I appreciated because I felt it gave me a more
open tone pallet into which to play with and I did not feel as constrained as I would have
with a Strat and trying to switch between the music styles I enjoy. I am not a trem user
by nature but compared to the Bisgby on the Gretsch and the trem on the Fender used
for comparison purposes the Schaller was smoother, and held the strings in tune better,
no matter how long I droned on with Shine on Your Crazy Diamond. The Flaxwood
Laine presented me with a wide dynamic range that held sustain for days as the kids say. I
would also agree with their assessment that due to its design it comes from the box
with an open sound that usually takes some breaking in to achieve. I felt comfortable
going from John Mayer to Jimmy Page on the Laine and where as normally I would prefer
to switch out instruments based on the song choices of those guitarists; I did not feel
myself wanting with the Flaxwood Laine. Given the Flaxwood Laine and nice set of FX pedals, I                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             could easily see this being a single guitar in ones arsenal used to achieve a variety of music styles
without hesitation. I do believe based on the pickup configuration it certainly suits one
style of music better than others but it leaves enough room to get you where you need
to go with other genres of playing.

The Flaxwood Laine came strung with Elixir 10’s, a gauge that I prefer on my electrics, although I
am not typically a fan of coated strings I felt that the added to the amazing playability of
the Laine and would probably keep using them on this particular guitar.
The word Laine, translated means wave and as I packed up the Flaxwood Laine after the last
moments of enjoying playing her, I felt of wave of regret of having to say goodbye. I had
an expectation for spending the weekend with a $2k guitar and I was pleasantly
surprised that the Flaxwood delivered on those expectations and then blew some of
them out of the water. I applaud Flaxwood for their innovation and technology but most
of all I applaud them for their commitment to maintaining the art of building the guitar
with the sole purpose of providing its owner the possibility of making the very best of
that sweet joy we call music.

I am not a professional guitar reviewer, I am just a geek for all things guitar for the last 20
plus years who sometimes forgets to turn of his you have written to much filter.

The Pros:
The Neck
Finish and build quality for the price
Overall playability
Dynamic range of tone
Innovation in building materials and longevity that provides

The Cons: (I’m not a total suck up)
The Weight (I like a little beef, personal choice)
Smaller proportions took some time to adjust to

Welcome to part 1 of a 2 part review on the Flaxwood Laine. We are going to spread the review out  over 2 days as we take a look at  Flaxwood and the Flaxwood Laine and we do not want leave anything out. Think of it like a serial from the 50’s with a cliffhanger each week, will our hero rescue the girl tied to the train tracks? And more importantly what did we think of the Flaxwood Laine? Enjoy!!!!!

In the Home Studio Part 1

A Wave of Innovation:
In the Home Studio With the Flaxwood Laine

Although it did not come across in a pack of cigarettes that will self destruct in 30
seconds, the message and the mission if I chose to accept, spend a day in the home
studio with a Flaxwood Laine. Well as any good guitar geek would do, I accepted the
mission without hesitation and more importantly with anticipation.

Some back story before we get into the review. I am the first to admit that, once upon a
time, I am guilty of asking this very question, what’s a Flaxwood? Flaxwood is a maker of
fine electric guitars based in Finland. But more importantly flaxwood is at its heart a
wood-based, innovative new tone material that has been created by breaking the grain
structure of wood and injection-molding it into shape together with an acoustically
sensitive binding agent. Exceptionally consistent in its acoustic properties, uniformly
flawless in quality, and completely impervious to changes in humidity, flaxwood is a new
ecological alternative to its peers that are slowly nearing extinction. That is all well stated
and very cool sounding but what does that mean to you the player? What Flaxwood set
out to do be using a sustainable technology combined with the tools and talents of
traditional guitar building, was to build a high quality, expertly crafted instrument that
would stand up against the enemies of traditional tone wood instruments such as
temperature, humidity and environment all the while producing a tone and sound
worthy of its fit and finish. Having set out to achieve this goal, you are now wondering if
they have followed through? Well I was about to find out.

I know I am not alone in taking great pleasure in the moment that you open up a closed
guitar case and get that first reveal of what is enclosed within that lined embrace of fiber
glass. I admit that sometimes I hum a little of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy when I open a
closed case. Flaxwood provides a nicely padded, fitted and locking case for each of the
guitars in their line up. While not quite as sturdy as a flight case, it was built very well and
I would feel very comfortable using it to carry the guitar from studio to gig. Going back
to the opening sentence of this paragraph, I have had some great moments of surprise
and wonder upon the reveal of the contents of a guitar case and I have had some
moments where I swear that you have over bid riff from the Price is Right plays out loud
and with a shrug the case is closed as quickly as it was opened. The first reflex that hit
me upon opening the Flaxwood Laine was just a simple wow. Followed by a few more expletives
that I’ll save for the late night version of the Guitar Adoptions Blog. The finish on the
guitar was just impeccable. The Flaxwood Laine I was beholding came to me in their Sammal
Greenburst finish and it was upon first blush, the nicest finish I have seen on a guitar
south of $5k.

The Flaxwood Laine had me at hello and I was ready to plug her in and give her a go. The second
round of joyful expletives came when I picked her up. I own and play Martin Dread’s,
Gretsch’s, Gibson’s and Fender’s and I about tossed the Flaxwood Laine across the room when I
pulled it from the case. Because of the flaxwood material the guitar is constructed from,
it is a light as the proverbial feather but strong as an ox. What’s impressive is that it does
not project the image of being so light. I had a few other people pick it up to just make
sure I was not crazy, and they all agreed. Compared to the other guitars in the room, she
was a svelte beauty queen. A distinctive look that will not be confused with any other
maker.

I know one should not buy a guitar based on looks or weight, but none of us can say they
ever truly dated someone just because of their personality. There needs to be some
attraction and so far the Flaxwood Laine was looking very attractive to mine eyes.

STAY TUNED FOR PART 2 Coming Tomorrow!!!!!!!!! Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel!!!!!!!!!