Why the Levinson Blade RH-4 is better than a Fender Stratocaster

Рет қаралды 12,425

Күн бұрын

Ben unboxes a beautiful 1989 Levinson Blade RH-4 and explains what that is, and why it's better than a Strat.
This is the full length version of the video with all the typical Ben waffle that you may or may not find entertaining or interesting.
If you just want a quick overview of the blade, you can watch the two minute overview vid elsewhere in this playlist.
Or just skip forward to about the 5 minute mark for the moment I lift the lid.

Пікірлер: 82

@joshuajouet 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching, please consider subscribing for more content like this!

@ANACRUZZO Жыл бұрын

Hi there, would you be interested in saling this guitar? please let me know I´m interested in buying it from you, Cheers.

@joshuajouet Жыл бұрын

Hi, no I’m afraid not - it’s a keeper

@andykenny5674 3 жыл бұрын

I’ve got a later RH4 in misty violet. This is easily the best guitar I’ve ever owned, and I’ve had a few. Absolutely top drawer workmanship, fabulous sound, and very very versatile. I love these guitars.

@raymondvaughan6262 3 жыл бұрын

Great guitars I also blade guitars fantastic instruments so underated many more people should try them out lot better than most fenders 👍

@jensk4140 Жыл бұрын

Beautiful condition! Most of them you see for sale nowadays are all modded and dinged all over the f*ckn place.

@rudolphvanthoff1391 Ай бұрын

I worked in a shop in the late 80s that sold these… I owned a Daion Power MkXX at the time and wanted one of these so badly…. I wasn’t really into strats, and still am not… but I managed to buy an RH-4 in trans blue just a few days ago….. pickguard is showing signs of decay behind the mirror coating and the writing on the pickups has worn a little. But it’s not been mucked with at all. In all the ones I saw while I have been looking, they either have pickups swapped, EQ unit removed or tuners replaced… this one doesn’t suffer those fates….. you seem to have scored too, albeit a few years ago now….

@mediastarguest 5 ай бұрын

One point to "point out" about Fender guitars from the 70s and 80s is the inconsistency and variability of quality that rolled off Fender's production line, which was arguably the raison d'être for the advent of companies like Blade and PRS and G&L. The point being that these decades were "hit or miss" and although many Stars and Teles produced by Fender in these decades were very run- of-the-mill instruments, one out of every ten or so were of the highest quality. I got through two mediocre Strats before I came across a top quality one. I found a 1970s Telecaster which the previous owner had slightly "modified" that was the best guitar I have ever played let alone owned, far better than any Fender, PRS, Gibson Les Paul or Patrick Eggle that I have tried or owned since. Another point to take into account is guitar "snobbery" which strangely enough is identical to the pretentiousness surrounding fine wine - the older and more expensive the wine then the better it should be ! Not necessarily true. Unless they are acquired solely for investment purposes, no way are most pre-CBS or early sixties Fenders worth the asking price.

@nigelseymour4850 2 жыл бұрын

Anyone shed some light on my R4 Left Handed Blade with Falcon Tremolo honey finish circa 1989 NOT RH4 it's R4... Ta

@davidwilcox5655 3 жыл бұрын

Got an 80s purple one with all single coils.pisses all over a 74 strat I had .

@joshuajouet 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I think the gap between a typical mid 70s Strat and an R4 Blade is pretty huge. The purple finish is fantastic too.

@alecfraser1928 7 ай бұрын

I have has a pre-lawsuit R4 since 1992. It made the Fender product of the time look like a cheap copy - which arguably it has been since 1964 😉. It would be nice if the neck were a fraction wider at the nut and if it were a little lighter, but nothing really to complain about. It makes a very good gigging guitar with simple control layout and the boost circuit provides enough drive to plug right in.

@joshuajouet 7 ай бұрын

I totally concur re: neck width

@misterghee1 Жыл бұрын

Ben you could be a bit louder mmm Blade very nice🎶👍

@Snoopdave2000 3 жыл бұрын

Got a 1991 rh4 in purple made in Japan. Great instrument

@joshuajouet 3 жыл бұрын

The purple and blue were always my favourite back in the day when dreaming about being able to own one of these amazing guitars

@fongy200 3 жыл бұрын

It's a gorgeous Guitar Ben, no doubt about that.

@mahindrajairam3635 3 жыл бұрын

I own the Oceanbleu RH4. I sold my Fender and Prs.

@joshuajouet 3 жыл бұрын

That blue was so gorgeous, they always had one in the colour ads in the guitar magazines back in the day.

@Gentle50113 3 жыл бұрын

I own a 1991 midnight brown RH4 .It's an absolut fantastic guitar. Hope we can hear some tones from you also.

@joshuajouet 2 жыл бұрын

I’m trying to improve my tech for doing playing demos, so yup I’ll do that ASAP - thanks for watching 👍😎

@fongy200 2 жыл бұрын

I read that Gary Levinson experimented with set Necks and then went on to say the ethos of the modular Guitar would have been lost. He had massive admirations for Leo

@vanealvarez132 3 жыл бұрын

I have a blade made in ... England! Is it good enough?Thanks! - RAUL. V

@premwah Жыл бұрын

I have got 3 blade Guitars one with the Fender headstock and one that came after that both Rh4 and i got a Blade texas special they play great but i was wondering if you have the original pickups in your guitar

@joshuajouet Жыл бұрын

Hi, yes I believe it’s all factory stock

@p.s8950 3 жыл бұрын

Oh come on... who's got time for this ?

@joshuajouet 3 жыл бұрын

Apologies the video is a bit flabby

@fongy200 3 жыл бұрын

My late father left me a substantial Guitar collextion, amongst them there are 3 Blades in there. He knew Gary Levinson from Namm shows at the time. Although he liked the Blades i think he would disagree with you about being better than a Fender. After all the Blade is a strat. Ok it may have some fancy wiring and they have nice appointments and from what i've seen pretty good finishes and great cases. My dad loved great Guitars but as he told me and i tend to agree a pre CBS Strat is better than anything. Thanks for sharing Ben.

@joshuajouet 3 жыл бұрын

I’m sorry for your loss, lost my dad two years ago. He obviously had very good taste in guitars. Which models were they? Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

@fongy200 2 жыл бұрын

@@joshuajouet Sorry Ben, I'm sorry about your loss to mate, they were 2 x RH2's and a 4. The 4 would have been one of the last Guitars he bought before he passed in 1993. Sorry for taking so long to reply Ben, it's rude, my apologises.

@juricakovac5667 Жыл бұрын

I played one of these a decade ago, my guitar teacher had it but it was a purple one, I don't recall much about it, he offered it to me for about 1k euros, given the price they go for on reverb I am kind a sad my parents didn't have the money for one

@joshuajouet Жыл бұрын

I used to see the ads for beautiful purple and blue Blade S and T type guitars in the early 90s but they were so beyond pie in the sky I never even tried to actually get one. Decades later I used one on a bunch of sessions that belonged to the producer and that just fired me up to get one for my 50th!

@donarmando916 Жыл бұрын

You do not even compare the two which each other when it comes to tone. My first electric guitar was a Blade and yes it was a nice instrument. Nothing to complain about when it comes to quality. Looking back i had plenty of guitars to compare it with. What i have to admit is that the fretboard of the Levinson was impecable and very comfordable to play. However, i never got warm with it's sound. It could have been both the swamp ash body and neck and the active pickups. I'm not sure, but i assume the pickups were just not my cup of tea. Yes, they were powerful, especially in active mode but, i just missed attitude in them. As a young guy that is just learning how to play guitar, you might tend to listen to your guitar teacher and that could be a mistake. I have purchased the Levinson and another guitar just because of listening to people who could play very well. Today i own a number of electric guitars, but none of the two are in my collection anymore. Even the guitar teacher finally turned back to the Fender Strat after having checked out everything else.

@fongy200 3 жыл бұрын

Didn't Marlin use a Bullet Truss and i've seen them with the access at the bottom of the neck, not on them all but some. It wasn't the Sidewinder it was a different named model. I prefer lower Truss rod access, it's just more classy lol. Marlin were a Strat killer of the 80's and caused Fender to loose a few quid in the UK in the 80's.

@elbib2446 3 жыл бұрын

thats a beauty,i have a early 90s blade texas standard,a more traditional take on the strat by blade,but with the boost circuit,allways wanted a blade as a youth,local guitar store had a few in the 80s in scotland,but they were too expensive for me then,but i picked mine up for a bargain few years back,have a few fenders,charvel,g and l usa and the blade is definitely one of my fave guitars,as good as the usa g and l legacy i have,and i paid considerably more for the g and l.interesting points about fender,the g and legacy is kind of a improved strat,more stable trem,more tone spectrum etc and mine has a 3 bolt neck,before g and l went to 4,though i cant agree that the cbs era strats were innovative,i used to have a 78 usa,weighed a ton,and was a problematic guitar,the usa standard of the 90s were more innovative with the 2 point trem etc though g and l had 2 point trem for years,yes fender just keep releasing the same thing every few years,new name,maybe different pick ups,couple of tweaks,lol cant knock em though,as i own about 9 fenders,i think part of fenders popularity is down to familiarity,if they change it,people moan.i,e it took me a little while to get used to the flatter neck on the blade and the g and l,but both are more versatile than the fenders kzbin.info/www/bejne/p6vQqmOVf7ilotk

@joshuajouet 2 жыл бұрын

I think we tend to think of the CBS era as all bad decisions and mismanagement. I think models like the Thinline, Deluxe and Custom Telecasters, the wide range humbucker, Lead series and bullet truss rods were really good things. Heavy ass bodies were not 😂. Thanks for stopping by 😎👍

@elbib2446 Ай бұрын

@@joshuajouet cool i recently did a guitar swap for a usa 1980 fender lead 11 for a friend,he hasnt collected it yet,its a pretty good guitar,bit like a tele/strat hybrid,chunky neck ,not too heavy,and a better cbs example.back to blade,the blades up to mid/late 90s made in japan had the fender style headstock,bar those for usa,which had suhr beak style headstock,the last of the japanese blades had a headstock similar to bacchus guitars,which would make sense,as bacchus are made in the deviser factory,and many mij blades have momose craft written in the neck pocket,meaning yasuo momose,head guy at deviser,who handcrafted their top end momose line.the current headstock came into being late 90s when production moved to korea.i simply think late 90s the japan economy was too strong,and it was too expensive for blade,a swiss company to build there anymore.so to me theres 2 types of blade,the late 80s to late 90s mij,handcrafted ones,and the later korean/chinese ones,which arent bad,but more production line,along the lines of fender mexico.the mij ones also command much higher prices on the used market,ran by a dude called christian/job factory now in switzerland,who took over from gary levinson,who spends most of his time making acoustic guitars under the levinson name,and just pops in occasionally to consult these days,the japanese blades are the ones i look out for

@Johnrack 2 жыл бұрын

I had one. Sorry I sold it.

@joshuajouet 2 жыл бұрын

Ah yes, guitar regret - I’ve been there too

@mikefoster2976 3 жыл бұрын

Fantastic instruments. Have an '87 R2 since 1990 and had a R4 same finish sadly sold to finance a move abroad.

@raymondvaughan6262 2 жыл бұрын

Sad loss great guitars early ones was great

@nigelseymour4850 2 жыл бұрын

Anyone shed some light on my R4 Left Handed Blade with Falcon Tremolo honey finish circa 1989 NOT RH4 it's R4...serial number 93620 Ta

@mikewilliams7519 3 жыл бұрын

Great find - great guitar! I have a 1992 (i think, memory may be a bit out) R2 purchased from Andertons! Same colour as your RH 4. I went in for a Strat and came out with a Blade :) It's beautiful and sounds amazing I just love it

@joshuajouet 3 жыл бұрын

Ah fantastic! Yes, I think if the aesthetic of the Blades appeals, then a contemporary Fender wouldn’t stand a chance. I love Fenders, and own several, but the Blades just have a certain extra something 🎸

@nigelseymour4850 2 жыл бұрын

Anyone shed some light on my R4 Left Handed Blade with Falcon Tremolo honey finish circa 1989 NOT RH4 it's R4... Ta

@phenixreturns 3 жыл бұрын

you can add a Corona mask lol

@francisgarganera8418 Жыл бұрын

Love guitars.

@joshuajouet Жыл бұрын

Me too 😂

@raymondvaughan6262 3 жыл бұрын

Beautiful guitars had one for years more people should be using them alot better than a,lot of fenders and very versatile play great 👍

@joshuajouet 2 жыл бұрын

Yes, it’s a shame the Levinson profile in terms of public awareness seems to have diminished since the 80s and early 90s as for me at least they are up there with the Suhrs etc.

@raymondvaughan6262 2 жыл бұрын

@@joshuajouet correct great guitars more guitar shops should sell them the pulic would see how good they are

@chriswebb8252 3 жыл бұрын

How much did you pay for this? It's stunning.

@joshuajouet 3 жыл бұрын

I bought it in May of 2020, and I think with shipping it was just over £900

@chriswebb8252 3 жыл бұрын

@@joshuajouet Let me know if you want to sell it! :D

@raymondvaughan6262 2 жыл бұрын

@@joshuajouet nice buy great guitars used them for years

@nickcebalo2709 2 жыл бұрын

Would have been better if you’d actually played it😂

@joshuajouet 2 жыл бұрын

Yes, I’m not well set up sound wise to do a playing demo, but should definitely sort that side of things out. Thanks for stopping by 😎

@elbib2446 3 жыл бұрын

blade moved to korea around 2007and changed the headstock,the japanese blades are far higher quality,and were made in the aska factory,japan,same place as they make bacchus,momose guitars,and distributed by tune guitar technology.made in japan blades have a serial 12 and below,anything 13 and over korea

@TheAtkinson118 3 жыл бұрын

I have a RH4 30th anniversary model,it’s got handmade in Europe on its headstock!..where is it made then?…Switzerland?…I mean japan and Korea is not Europe..How do you go about identifying where they are made?…any help will be much appreciated. For what it’s worth it plays fantastic, and I’m over the moon with it,but your comment has got me very curious. Cheers

@elbib2446 3 жыл бұрын

@@TheAtkinson118 only about 12 prototypes made in switzerland exist,the early blades were made in japan,they came with a mij sticker on neck,that either got lost or fell off,made in japan blades have the fender style headstock,apart from a few models with a suhr type headstock ,korean/chinese blades have different headstock. this is the same as my blade notomguitars.com/products/1996-levinson-blade

@elbib2446 3 жыл бұрын

@@TheAtkinson118 my mij blade kzbin.info/www/bejne/p6vQqmOVf7ilotk

@elbib2446 3 жыл бұрын

@@TheAtkinson118 info here,but will probably tell you the same as i have facebook.com/groups/BladeLevinsonGuitars/?notif_id=1621264277043688&notif_t=group_r2j_approved&ref=notif

@TheAtkinson118 3 жыл бұрын

@@elbib2446 ,Wow thanks for all the information el bib,I haven’t had chance to look at the Facebook link yet but I will in the next few hours..without looking though I don’t get why they are putting made in Europe on the headstock,surely this is open to a lawsuit in itself?(if they are made in Korea)..I understand why a lot of people won’t buy them now as most people will want made in USA at that price and second,if you read threads ..you hear people rant about transparency were things are built and produce..what’s on the back of the headstock..I believe Duesenberg falls into that rant!...it’s a lot of money for a Korean guitar if that’s the case..but I must say mine is built perfectly and got no complaints..and I’ve played everything..PRS,Gibson and fender and there’s been some problems with all of them..all built in the USA..so just goes to show it’s just a stamp on the back of a headstock! I’ll look into that link,thanks again.