Tyler guitar opinions

[wodka]

I recently came across a Tyler at a guitar show. The seller wasn't letting anyone play it (very odd) but there were several people drooling over it. And it was very expensive for what appeared to be a average strat clone with a nice paint job. Just curious if these are really worth the money. I know, worth is subjective. But unlike TA, it had standard Dimarzio pups and no stainless frets.

[dpeterson]

to me all that stuff is like boutique amps, people go gaga over things that are 1 hard to get, 2 not a huge supply of, and 3 costs a lot. I'm sure it plays nice, it's only one guy making it, if my memory serves me correctly. Probably explains the cost as well. And i cant see laying out that kind of money for what is essentially a nice playing strat. man o' man is that headstock ugly too :)

not letting people play it is retarded. Much like a friend of mine who wanted to buy a mitsubishi evo, and the dealer would not let him test drive it, because it's in high demand.

but thats just me...

Dave

[John C]

I have one that I'm in the process of letting go. The best way to describe the Tyler is the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

I have the Studio Elite Psychedelic Vomit, which was their first Landau signature Tyler. Mine has something called a "mamywo" body (stands for "Malaysian Mystery Wood" which is supposedly some species of Basswood) with Duncan Stacks and a JB Jr. I would never pick out this combo of wood and pickups, but it all works here.

The guitar is very resonant; but I've played others that don't come close to this one - Tylers appear to vary more than Andersons or Suhrs. The neck is odd – it’s narrow like a vintage Fender (1.625” nut width), but is about as deep as a ‘59RI Les Paul. The shape feels asymmetric to me, and fuller on the treble side (the opposite of an EBMM Axis or a Wolfgang neck). The hardware is all off-the-shelf, but it comes together for me in this guitar. However, the other one or two other Tylers I've played just didn't do anything at all for me; Indoor Storm had a sound clip up of this one that was just something beyond Eddie Berman's usual riffs; this seemed to be a better than usual example so I bought it and ignored the cosmetics. I certainly wouldn't consider one that I couldn't play first.

In the end, although this guitar made me approach playing in a different and challenging manner, I found the neck to be too large for my hand, aggravating a tendonitis problem in the area where my thumb is attached to the palm. Had I not aggravated this problem, I wouldn't part with it. If this guitar didn't feel, sound and play so special I would just shave the neck down, but I would rather send it on to someone else than screw it up. The guitar is currently involved in a trade/consignment deal, and I'm moving on.

John C.

[guitararmy]

I used to own two Tylers--sold one on consignment with Indoor
Storm. I still have a Studio Elite that I never play because it
doesn't feel as good as my Andersons. I think the Japanese
have driven up the Tyler prices-- they're Landau fanatics over
there! If I had the same bucks as I spent on the Tyler, I
would buy a Melancon or a Thorn.