What a fantastic video! Thank you so much for all the kind praise of the Orca '59. It's amazing in particular to hear that it allows you to be yourself creatively and has been inspiring you all these years - that's what it's all about and what drives us to make the best guitars we can. Really beautiful playing that showed off the guitar so well but was also just a pleasure to listen to. You've definitely made our day here in the workshop!
Thanks for the kind words! It brings me great joy to know you enjoyed the video at the shop with the team. It was my pleasure to share my experience and passion for this incredible instrument!
Fabulous episode, with an extraordinary guitar played at your usual amazing level. Yes, would enjoy a shootout with a Les Paul. But even more, a comparison with Nik’s mentor, Paul Reed Smith. You might even need two - single cut 594 as closest, and also a more modern PRS.
Thanks for the kind words and vote of confidence! That would be a nice cherry on top of the great joy I get from making the videos and interacting with folks about a mutual passion for guitars.
One of the interesting specs I heard Paul Reed Smith speak of is the 25" Scale Length. There is a video of Paul demonstrating how the shorter Gibson scale length, when strummed very hard will cause the open wound "E" String to ring sharp due to overlapping harmonics as well as the string's physical length. Stretching the scale length just a bit longer (25') mostly eliminates the this phenomena. Early on in PRS's career much of his focus was designing his guitars for heavy metal playing. Huber instruments are indeed functional artworks, this is a very beautiful example (as are most Huber instruments), thank you for the review, well done Sir.
Thank you and my pleasure. Very interesting info that I did not know - thanks for sharing! I had a Krautster I and it was also superb. I'd like to try an Orca made out of Spanish Cedar someday.
You picked the exact same setting I preferred; the brighter bridge with a little neck to smooth it out. Not that ANYTHING about this guitar needs “smoothing out”. What a beauty. Love your playing, too. The production quality of your videos is really top notch, as well. Nice job!
Thanks for teaching the differences between good to great to holy grail level guitars. Always a pleasure to listen and learn. Amazing guitar, but the riffs are what makes it sound next level and the differentiator to other guitars. A thousand yes’s for a direct comparison to a Les Paul. Thanks and keep on riffing!
Beautiful guitar, incredible tone, and the usual spectacular playing. Love your channel Johnny Z, more people should be watching you. The tone oozing out of that guitar is just music to my ears. Ish guitars in Syracuse here has a brand new Orca 59 in the event anyone is interested. Keep rocking brother!
An excellent guitar and i had chosen the same pickup settings as my favourite before you stated your preference.. The neck pickup is so sweet! I believe the reason they are no longer shipping to the USA may have to do with the Brazilian rosewood used on the fingerboard. That particular model is very rare even here in Europe. You are extremely talented and have a guitar collection of dreams. Looking forward to the head to head with the Les Paul. Wishing you all the best and continued success for 2024 from Scotland!
Thank you for the kind words! Hard to pick a favorite sound, but seems we both liked that middle portion with neck rolled back - it's killer! Stay tuned for the LP vs. Orca video. Take care!
Great playing and tone as usual. I love your compositions! Particularly liked your analysis and taking it through the various pickup combination, volume and split settings. It took me many years to learn to use a LP and get different sounds out of it, you captured many of these beautifully. Something of interest is that the guitar looked very different in different lighting, always better in your dark video recording setting. I notice this with several of my 1959 60th anniversary custom shop LP’s. Thanks for your channel!
My pleasure and thanks for the kinds words and interactions, Anthony! I'm glad you appreciated the pickup comparisons. I gave that one a lot of thought because there is an almost an infinite ranges of tones and I wanted convey the essence of them without it getting to drawn our or cumbersome to follow. It definitely takes on different personalities depending on lighting. The dark lighting happens to be my favorite too.
Beautiful instrument. I had never heard of HUBER ORCA before. Looks like it nails the vibe. While it looks and plays and sounds awesome, I got that area covered with my McCarty's. Cheers, and thanks for posting as always. Rock On!
I got to play one of the Bernie Marsden limited edition Orcas recently and it was absolutely incredible. I never enjoy playing a Les Paul, they just don't feel right, but the moment I picked the Huber up it just felt like I could fly, it was honestly hard to believe! I really appreciate the choice to use wood for binding, it really elevates the feel and appearance, and its my main gripe with production Gibsons, they feel too cheap to charge what they do! I would definitely choose one a Orca '59 over any custom shop Gibson. P.S. Love that Danelectro you used in the intro!
Nice! The Huber's really are next level in terms of feel and playability. Appreciate the Dano mention - it's the Jimmy Page spec and is so much fun to play.
Thanks! I'll get working on it! I had a Collings City Limits and it had such a beautiful voice. I ended up moving it on as it was earlier in my pursuit to try every '59 style build under the sun. I'd love to revisit one.
@@sergeyv4908 I have played a few and owned a Doug Rappaport model for a period. I found them to be resonate guitar that play well with great ergonomics.
Amazing playing as always! I would be interested to hear your take on the comparison of the Orca 59 with the PRS DGT which you also featured in this channel Keep on making these amazing videos! You are true inspiration
Thanks for the kind words, Simon! Great suggestion - I'll plan some comparisons vs. PRS after I complete the LP comparison. I could compare to both a DGT and my Private Stock 594. Thanks for the interest!
First, as always great playing. Second, you have exceptional taste in guitars. Lastly, I would like a shootout with a LP. It has its own thing going on and is a really present guitar which I personally like. One of the most beautiful guitars ever to BTW.
Favorite Tone, Split, Middle Position, Neck Vol. 10, Bridge Vol. 5. Minus the Split Coils this Orca sounds like a really exceptional Les Paul. Comparison between a Les Paul and the Orca would seem appropriate, however, you would need to select a better than average CS Les Paul for the task. 👍
Another superb video Johnny. Always look forward to watching your stuff, I love that you aren’t shy about showcasing these high end high price instruments and putting them through their paces and giving us a look at what’s available if you want throw your wallet at it! Got to be honest the biggest itch I need to scratch now is to see you target the Tele - what alternatives can you get your hands on to chase that holy grail? 🤩
Thank you for the kind words! I live the suggestion! Any high end tele’s you’d recommend? I have a Whitfill T, but nothing else to compare it to at the moment.
@@RatherBeRiffing an obvious one to try would be the PRS NF53 sticking with the theme of your PRS/Les Paul showdown. I haven’t been able to get my hands on one yet and I’d like to see if PRS delivered like they did with the 594! I’ve played a couple of Xotic XTCs which were fantastic guitars. I want to hear more of your Whitfill too 💪🏻
I like both Bridge & Neck but how you mentioned the settings that you like really makes sense. Another great Video! Thank you for taking the time doing this. 👍🙏🎚🎧George
dang! That guitar is ridiculous! What a great sound, and gorgeous guitar. Great playing as always, sir! Random question: did you ever get into Phil Keaggy? Sometimes you play phrases that remind me of his playing. He has a different style, and is mostly an (incredible) acoustic player, but I like his electric playing too.
@@RatherBeRiffing one of my favorites is Beyond Nature. It's almost all acoustic, but one of his best. Most of his albums are mostly acoustic, but he has some albums that have more electric guitar, like Hymnsongs, In The Quiet Hours, and the 100% electric album Jammed. He's a seriously slept on guitar player.
A very nice guitar to be sure but it would have been good to post the specs on it, and especially -- the price. It's close to $9K USD. For that much, it better be the Holy Grail! 🙂
To me the Huber sounds very similar to my PRS Joe Walsh signature McCarty 594 singlecut. Even the split tones are similar. I know the scale length is a little different, but still. That JW McCarty I find very close to replacing my R9. But still there’s just something about my R9 (Murphy Lab) that keeps me coming back. I think there’s a slight heft to the tone combined with a brittle woodiness that the PRS doesn’t have. But the R9 can’t could split, so.. Both are incredible, if slightly different, instruments. Much like your Huber, I think. And I was wondering if you’d lose a little of the “snappiness” by over wrapping and having a thinner string gauge? Just a thought. Great video as always!!
Thanks, Adam! I think your hunch is probably right about losing some snappiness based on my setup. That said, I think it is still a bit snappier on average vs. a typical single cut. I've always been intrigued by the JW 594 - great specs on those! Like you, I find something in a LP that is not 100% replaceable so I'll always keep one in the stable. I love the sound of mine but honestly wish it had the Murphy Lab lacquer. I've considered sending it to Historic Makeovers, but I'll keep my eye on the used Murphy Lab market for now. How do you like the Murphy Lab vs. a typical R9?
@@RatherBeRiffing I totally agree that there’s something to the Murphy Lab lacquer that just makes the guitar sound better. A buddy of mine has a R9 that is only a few months younger than my ML ‘59 Les Paul. Apart from the lacquer and slight relicing, they are the same guitar. Both he and I agree that mine sounds easily more clear and articulate despite having a slightly hotter output from the pickups. BTW I set both of them up pretty much exactly the same in terms of pickup height and action, etc. I would just ascribe this to random variance if I hadn’t also played a bunch of other ML LP’s and non-ML R9’s. Pretty much every ML sounds fantastic. On the other hand I have heard several R9 or R0’s that I was unimpressed by mixed with others that sounded excellent. Does the ML pick the better custom shop LP’s for the ML? They say they don’t but maybe they do. In addition my ML SG ‘64 reissue also is without a doubt the best sounding SG I’ve ever played. Not even close. So yeah, I think there might be something to it, as much as it honestly doesn’t make a whole lot of sense as to why it would. BTW I *really* want a ML Watermelon 335, haha. And BTW the JW Signature McCarty is really fantastic. The specs and craftsmanship are Private Stock level without the PS price tag. Man, what a resonant guitar. You should track one down!!
I have an 80s Burny Super Grade that is of the highest of quality and screams with them VH1 humbuckers, it's a lemondrop burst and parallels any custom Gibson or others in my humble opinion. And $850!
Hey Jonathan, I love your work but maybe in the notes you can include what you use for effects, mic, amps, and recording equip. Do you use an ox or real cabs? Love your work.
@@RatherBeRiffing I think those instances really showcase the characteristics of guitars. I always appreciate your ability to demonstrate a guitars personality.
What is you opinion on a Knaggs kenai as compared to a prs 594 or a Gibson les Paul, it’s up to these 3 on my next purchase, the Huber is a taddd out of my price range, excellent soulful playing by the way, enjoy it as always
Thank you! Knaggs are great. I had a Doug Rappaport model that was awesome! I especially enjoyed it live as it was much more balanced and comfortable when standing. They all make great guitars with their own tweaks on the same basic formula. I think it just comes down to personal preference and a matter of which you bond with.
Cant speak to the 594 but I have a Knaggs SSC and it's a lot more neutral sounding than my CC15 Les Paul. Clear clear clear, beautiful sounding guitar. But not the sound on the records. JMO. The peach demos capture the differences pretty well IMO. 594 Ive only played at a store. Seems nice though.
But why they are so expensive?. I owner an 2008 Orca and was ok, 25' scale. I compared with my 3 PRS with scale of 24.50', 24.594' and the 25' . The feeling and connection with guitars are way different than the Orca. NH has beautiful looking tops, but in this market they other competitors for better price.
I'm torn between this and the PRS Mcarty 594 Single cut 10 top. I have prs core models in my list but not a single cut one. Any opinion on this vs the prs?
@@RatherBeRiffingBtw your video tipped the scale for me and I bought a used Orca 59 Fatback. Most mindblowing guitar I have owned. Mine has sterling silver trapezoid inlays.
@@RatherBeRiffing Yeah it has happened a few times the last week, I know they have poor connection issues due to the volume of people using it at once There is a notice that comes up saying "experiencing issues" click to find out why.
Nik Huber Orca 59. They are still made but no longer ship to US. Some dealers still have inventory from before this change. There are also typically a few on the used market on Reverb in the US. Good luck!
@@RatherBeRiffing Yeah, those guitars are going from around $6k to $12k in the states. Too pricey for me. Don’t sell yours, sounds really good. Where are these made? When did they stop importing to U.S.? Cheers!!
Two Rock Bloomfield drive and Blankenship Twinplex run in stereo. I have to stay quiet when I record so I use a Suhr reactive load on each amp and run an Impulse response of a Friedman 4x12 in Cubase.
