Our new 2023 models come equipped with a Bigsby & Les Trems tremolos, Custom Pin-locking Tuners, ToPros Hardware, German Carved Headstocks, PS logo, and our own Custom Wound Pickups.
To quote David Fair:
“The idea is to put a pick in one hand and a guitar in the other and with a tiny movement rule the world! ”Our new PureSalem La BRUJA, model (translation from Spanish to English is: Female Witch) is an original design that combines quality construction and components with striking bold looks.
Our new 2023 models come equipped with a Bigsby & Les Trems tremolos, Custom Pin-locking Tuners, ToPros Hardware, German Carved Headstocks, PS logo, and our own Custom Wound Pickups.
Tech Specs:
- Mahogany Body with binding
- Mahogany Neck with binding and Block Inlays
- Rosewood Fret Board• 24 3/4 Scale Length
- 43mm Nut Width• 2 1/16 String Spacing
- Modern Thin C-Shape Neck / Light Satin Finish
- 21mm First Fret / 23mm 12 Fret Thickness
- Custom PureSalem Pin-locking tuners
- Tonepros bridge
- Two Custom Goldfoil Pickups (medium output)
- 3-Way Toggle with Master Volume and Master Tone
- Med Jumbo Frets• Dual Truss Rod
PureSalem Guitars are road tested and artist-approved. All PureSalem Guitars are sold directly through our website and select dealers. The La BRUJA model carries a retail price of $1145.00.
For more information, please visit puresalemguitars.com
A vintage-styling mash-up—and a versatile rock ’n’ roll machine.
Sacrilegious as it may sound to some, not everyone loves the iconic, ubiquitous electric guitar designs of the 1950s. And while vintage guitars that subvert those norms look killer and cut through the visual clutter, they can also be quirky in less-desirable ways: feedback-prone pickups, neck relief like a ski jump, and non-existent tuning stability, to name a few.
PureSalem Guitars isn’t the only company mining the eccentric side of vintage guitar design these days. But the two-years-young company has consistently delivered quality alongside the quirkiness. El Gordo, a buxom semi-hollow, is a recent addition to PureSalem’s roster of misfits. It’s well built, genuinely versatile, and chock-full of tones from jangly clean to rowdy and raucous.
A Sumo of Its Parts
The Gordo is a creative bit of Franken-design that manages to be different without being simply weird. The mahogany body profile borrows from ’60s-era Kents. The classy flame- maple veneer and two-tone sunburst finish add rich visual texture without being ostentatious. A pair of sharp-looking bound eyeholes is a nod to Rickenbacker and Gretsch, while the binding evokes 335 and Les Paul Custom designs. The mahogany neck has a comfortable, modern C-shape. It’s capped by a bound rosewood fingerboard with fancy pearloid block markers and a sculpted headstock design inspired by the Fender Starcaster. The neck is reinforced with a double truss rod for stability and setup flexibility.
On paper, that sounds like an odd hodgepodge of design elements. But somehow the juxtaposition of upscale details, cross-brand homage, and quirky retro shapes works, resulting in a unique but approachable instrument.
El Gordo generally feels sturdy and substantial. It’s free of the blemishes and paint blotches often seen on guitars in this price range. And while the factory setup wasn’t exceptional, a few easy adjustments made El Gordo feel friendlier under the fingers.
Functional Kitsch
With its bend-friendly 24¾" scale length, satin neck finish, and 12" fretboard radius, El Gordo feels much more athletic and nimble than most of the vintage instruments that inspired it. The roller bridge, expertly cut graphite nut, and mini-Grover tuners maintain tuning stability, even when you cut loose on the Bigsby. (And man, it’s fun to use a Bigsby that stays in tune.)
Ratings
Pros:
Unique styling. Great, often unusual tones. Excellent playability. Vibrato stays in tune.
Cons:
Controls are a bit of a reach.
Tones:
Playability:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$1,060 direct
Pure Salem Gordo
puresalemguitars.com
El Gordo features a Gibson-style 3-way pickup selector and independent volume and tone controls for each pickup. That adds up to many tone options if you like to play with pickup balance or color songs with extreme tone shifts (which can be especially interesting given the sonic differences between the two pickups). The cloth wiring visible through the soundhole is a nice retro touch. But the knobs would be easier to manipulate if they were just a bit closer to the player—fast volume adjustment can feel like a serious reach.
Gordo Means Fat
The bridge humbucker and Telecaster-style neck single-coil (angled, unusually, toward the bridge’s bass side) provide everything from percussive rock crunch to fluty blues leads. The articulate humbucker has just a tad more power than your typical PAF, but it’s never muddy, honky, or flat-sounding. Likewise, the neck pickup seems hotter than your average T-Style pickup, but the result is excellent balance between the two pickups.
El Gordo’s semi-hollow, center-block construction lends thwacking immediacy and chunky mass to chords, but also gives clean tones resonance and a pretty, sparkling airiness. With a loud, dirty amp, El Gordo’s easily generates controllable feedback, especially if you ride the volume and tone knobs.
While El Gordo can be jangly and clean, it specializes in burly rock ’n’ roll sounds. Josh Homme fans will love the humbucker’s thick stoner heaviness at low tone settings. It’s also great at mimicking the powerful kerrang of Malcolm Young’s Gretsch, or sustained, fuzzy lead textures.
The Verdict
El Gordo is a playable, and yes, fat-sounding way to skirt the status quo. It looks vintage in a unique way without seeming silly. Best of all, it’s a genuine player’s instrument. The interestingly matched pickups, effective tone and volume controls, and stable Bigsby vibrato conspire to make this a very expressive instrument. Quirky has rarely felt this rock-solid, or been capable of so many tasty sounds.
Watch the Review Demo:
A new offset model loaded with custom-wound pickups.
Miami, FL (September 3, 2015) -- PureSalem Guitars adopts an inspired approach and attitude while honoring the electric guitars’ glorious past. It‘s simplicity in design. It’s wood, wire, and strings. It’s rock and roll, and not rocket science.
To quote David Fair (Half Japanese):
“The idea is to put a pick in one hand and a guitar in the other and with a tiny movement rule the world!”
Our PureSalem Cardinal model combines quality construction and components with off-kilter styling’s and transports us back to an era when Rock & Roll was free and memories yet to be made. Our new 2015 models come equipped with a Bigsby & Vibrola tremolos, Grover Tuners, Vintage cloth wiring, carved headstock, new PS logo and our own Custom Wound Pickups.
Features:
- Mahogany Body
- Mahogany Neck with binding and Block Inlays
- Rosewood Fret Board
- 24 3/4 Scale Length
- 42.75 Nut Width
- 2 1/16 String Spacing
- Modern C-Shape Neck / Light Satin Finish
- 12 Inch Radius
- Grover tuners
- Vibrola Tremelo
- Roller bridge
- Single coil pickup in bridge, custom wound to vintage specs
- Custom wound PureSalem “Mendiola” humbucker in neck
- Vintage style cloth wiring
- 3-Way Toggle with Master Volume and Master Tone
- Med Jumbo Frets
- Dual Truss Rod
PureSalem Guitars are already being embraced by known and established players. From Toni Braxton and Lady Gaga to The Black Angels and The Flaming Lips PureSalem Guitars is able to cover any type of sonic ground. All PureSalem Guitars are sold direct through our website and select dealers. The Cardinal model carries a retail price of $1015.00.
For more information:
PureSalem