By Terry Seiden
I recently bought a Saint Guitar Company Benchmark model. Saint is a new company in Fresno, California and this was one of the guitars they built for The Winter NAMM in 2008. It is all walnut with a rosewood fretboard and Koa head plate. The electronics are standard Les Paul layout with one volume and one tone per pickup and a 3-way switch mounted BEHIND the bridge - ergonomically perfect placement for me. It has a 25 1/4" scale length, a nice compromise between the Strat and Les Paul - it won't feel completely foreign to players of either of those instruments.
I bought the guitar based on pictures on the internet and Adam Hernandez's description of it. I don't do that often, but I've bought a lot of guitars and frankly, based on the looks alone I was sure I could sell the guitar on an auction site if it was not all it was purported. (Don't stop reading to see if it's on Ebay -I'm keeping this and buying another).
When the guitar arrived, I first noted the finish was really well done. Oil finished natural walnut. I'm a wood lover, the way it looks, smells and feels. Oil finishes retain all those qualities of the wood, while protecting it. However, this type of finish is notorious for showing every spot that was not sanded well, every hint of glue run-out or swirl. There is none of that on this guitar. Someone spent some time on this prep finish - The grain shows up nicely, edges, corners and hard to reach areas are equally fine.
The guitar has a nice balance on your lap or with a strap. It has a Les Paul feel to it and the shape is similar, but with some different, very elegant curves and contours; they don't appear contrived or overdone just to be different, but the result of a classical aesthetic. This is reflected as well in the headstock shape which could have been copied from a finial on a gothic cathedral.
The joint of the set-in neck is super tight according to Saint Guitars. It incorporates a blind dovetail joint which is so tight in fact, the guitar could be constructed without glue. On my natural finish guitar, this is confirmed by a visual inspection.
A joint this tight requires that the geometry of the guitar to be perfect before it is assembled, because that joint cannot be moved later to correct an error. No problem there. This guitar has been engineered, not just assembled then adjusted to fit.
Not only is the joint tight, but it is elegant as well, with the heel of the neck following exactly, the curve of the body of the guitar. The neck flows seamlessly into the cutaway for easy access to the higher frets.
The fret work on the Saint is excellent indeed! Every fret is seated fully, every fret solt having been gauged and not over-cut in depth. The ends are smooth to the touch and to the eye with no burrs, file marks or sharp edges. The frets are highly polished and perfectly crowned. Good fret work is the mark of a fine luthier - it can make a good guitar great and an otherwise great guitar unremarkable or even unusable. If you buy the Saint guitar just for the feel of the neck alone, you will not be disappointed.
Speaking of the neck, although Adam will make your neck any width or shape you like, I have his D/C shape with a 1 3/4" width at the nut. It feels like a flattened D shape with enough girth to help those of us with carpal tunnel syndrome get a little help on down-pressure, but not so fat that it impedes those occasional 6 fret stretches.
There is a single stylized diamond neck inlay at the 12th fret in abalone, which contains the only anomaly I saw on the instrument. The inlay cut is done by hand and there's always a gap to be filled once the inlay is glued in. The gaps are filled with material that matches the fretboard color. Inexplicably, mine was filled with material about 3 shades darker than the fretboard which leaves something of an "outline" effect. It's not unpleasant or ugly, but I'm sure it was an oversight. The other Saints I've seen do not have this issue.
The Gotoh 510 tuners and bridge are all installed perfectly; no scratches, dings or scrapes and overall it has the look and feel you expect of a custom instrument, hand built to a high production standard. The setup was great right out of the case - even though I'll change strings and reset it to my liking, it is just fine as-is.
The guitar is quite resonant. The meticulous neck joint certainly contributes to that. The sustain is good as well, but what most impresses me is the "thickness" of notes - as if the guitar encourages the string to vibrate rather than allow it. Sweet.
Nowadays we all drop our favorite pickups in guitars, but I must say that the Seymour Duncan '59 and Custom Custom compliment the Benchmark very well. For now, I'll keep them in. The soldering is clean and the control cavity entirely shielded.
I would (and will) buy another Saint in the near future. I suggest you do the same while they are a bargain and Adam thinks you are doing him a favor by buying one. Don't let him know, but it is he that will doing you the favor.
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