|
Producing an affordable, well-made set-neck guitar requires a high
level of manufacturing attention, and Malden comes out swinging with
the Bulldozer—an instrument that deceptively whispers SG when it
first sidles up, but which reveals deeper and deeper layers of
originality the more you probe it. For instance, there’s the
accentuated asymmetrical nature of the double-cutaway body, the
notched tail, the neck that’s set further into the body than an SG’s
(which, arguably, offers improved stability at this historically
fragile joint). Then there’s the through-body string
anchoring—rather than the SG’s traditional stop-bar tailpiece—which
allows for a lower setting of the Tune-o-matic bridge, and a
shallower neck pitch than on most Gibson SGs.
Added together, these elements also position the bridge further back
into the lower bout of the solid mahogany body—rather than
mid-waist, where an SG’s bridge appears—which affects the
Bulldozer’s resonant characteristics, as well as making it more
compact. The three-piece mahogany neck has the very slim, early-’60s
style profile that makes for a slick lead instrument, and the fret
finishing job here is as tidy as that on the Liquid. Overall,
though, this is a honey of a job—from the sweet, translucent-cherry
finish applied over some light and lovely cuts of mahogany to the
mother-of-pearl blocks inlaid with an absolute minimum of filler
into the even-hued rosewood fretboard.
The Bulldozer’s dual humbuckers carry alnico V magnets, and they are
wound on the hot side of the PAF template, with the bridge and neck
units at 11.5k ohms and 8.5k ohms, respectively. It’s also worth
noting that the bridge pickup is set nearly tad further from the
bridge than on most guitars of this type.
The Bulldozer is a little neck-heavy when played seated, but not
off-puttingly so. Even more sweetly setup than the Liquid, it plays
effortlessly, and it sustains like a son of a gun even before you
plug it in. Given the strength of the over-wound pickups, the
Bulldozer clearly isn’t intended for fans of ultra-clean tones. It
was tricky to find any substantial clarity through the test amps in
full humbucking mode, and winding down the Volume control slightly
dulled and muddied the voice, rather than cleaning it up. Flipping
to split-coil mode offered more sparkle and definition, and yielded
the Bulldozer’s best clean offerings, but it was the slightly plunky
clean of a split humbucker, rather than the bold clarity of a Strat
pickup.
Given that this baby was born to roar, it’s no surprise that
high-gain settings tickle its fancy more thoroughly. The Bulldozer
really enjoyed the dimed Marshall, revealing a throaty, round neck
voicing, and a barking, slightly edgy bridge-pickup sound that would
complement any rock soloist’s arsenal. Injected through a Roger
Mayer Spitfire Fuzz, the Bulldozer also delivered a flutey, singing
beast of a performance. The bridge pickup’s placement accentuates
the lower mids—although, given the pickup’s power, that tonal color
wasn’t entirely desirable for my tastes. All told, the Bulldozer
works really great for rock, but it won’t cough up a lot of twang or
chime.
Guitar Player |
