Bacchus BLP-FM Relic Looks Like the Rev's 'Pearly Gates' now with Dry Zs

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guitar hiro

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I have always been a fan of ZZ Top, their music, Billy Gibbons, and of course the mythical Les Paul that Billy received from Dusty & Frank decades ago, 'Pearly Gates.'

I have also been a big fan of many Japanese made guitars over the years, Bacchus being one of the many brands. I have seen a few Bacchus BLS & BLP models over the years, was digging around on the web, and I spotted something interesting.

I spotted a Bacchus Classic BLP-STD FM Relic that looks more like the Rev's 'Pearly Gates' than any other Bacchus I have seen. It's not exact but it's fairly close. It is an interesting maple top, to say the least.

Check the link below & check the fourth guitar from the bottom, H00832. What do you think; look like 'Pearly Gates' just a little? Cheers

https://www.deviser-bacchus.com/2011/09/27/blp-std-fm-fm-relic-%E9%A0%86%E6%AC%A1%E5%AE%8C%E6%88%90/
 
I noticed the link above from 2011 & several other older Bacchus links are now inaccessible :-?

It seems like they scrubbed their web site of any Gibson style product

Oh well, H00831 is now officially on US soil :) probably in US Customs

I sure would like to get my hands on H00832 :lol:
 
Hard to believe it's been a year since my Bacchus BLP-FM Relic arrived :)

What a great Les Paul & I put it right up there with my (first run) Momose MLS-STD/J & my (other) custom order MIJ LPs too. :D

The bonus is the one piece mahogany back is highly figured, with some flame too 8) and the maple top looks so authentic; best I have ever seen on any Bacchus, period.

I am one lucky ***** :lol:
 
This awesome Bacchus Classic Series BLP-FM Relic came to me nearly two years ago with Seymour Duncan pickups which I am not a fan of.
Recently I have been transitioning several LP type guitars that came to me without the original pickups, with pickups more to my preference.
So, after nearly two years of tolerating the Duncans I'm gonna throw a matched set of Greco Dry Z from 1981 in the BLP-FM. :)

Recently I changed out the Classic 57s that were in my Momose MLS with a matched set of Bacchus VH-59s from a 1998 BLS-120 BR-OIL.
These are the ones with the zebra bobbins that never had (factory) covers installed.
The VH-59s are now over 20 years old, magnets are likely degaussed a good bit, and they sound like they were made to be in the Momose.
Don't think I could be happier with the sonic results & the zebra bobbins look pretty nice to boot. 8)
The guitar is also 2 ounces lighter now; a weight savings provided by the two VH-59s without covers.

Hoping I obtain such a favorable result with the BLP & the Dry Z combination. We shall see.

EDIT: the BLP-FM Relic has early/old school SDs: a SD 'Duncan Custom' in the neck position (ceramic mag) & a SD 'The JB Model' (Alnico 5) in the bridge position. Both have the 4 conductor lead. No wonder I didn't like these crappy things. :lol:
Greco Dry Zs going in tomorrow 8)
 
Finally got the 1981 Dry Z matched set installed in the 2011 Bacchus BLP-STD FM Relic.
I forgot how clean (dry) & articulate the Dry Z is & also when you turn it up it gets mean & dirty too. :D
These are so different than the SDs; I will need to leave the Zs in for some time to evaluate how well they pair with the Bacchus.
Also need to check the pots, as they seem like they may be linear taper; I hope not.
 
I did a lot of digging on the 'interwebz' and it seems there is some consensus that the Dry Z have Alnico 3 magnets.
It would seem the Dry Z has a fairly lower output & DCR.
I suppose this could account for my perception of the pots functioning differently once I installed the Dry Z set but I am used to higher output 'buckers.
After a few days of playing the Bacchus with the Dry Z set I am very happy with the result; the Dry Zs will be staying in the BLP-FM Relic for a very long time. 8)
 
Hard to believe I have had this 2011 BLP-STD FM Relic for 5 1/2 years; my, how time flies when you're aging like a dinosaur. :whistle:

I sold the Dry Z pups well over a year and a half ago and I haven't installed any other pickups in the BLP yet.
Yep, getting older can make one lazy and also having a constant rotation of guitars showing up at your door can lend itself to somewhat forgetting the ones that have been around a while longer.


with the 1981 Dry Z set
BLP-STD FM 7-10-20 crop for Zs.jpg


will work for pickups :giggle:
BLP-STD FM waiting for pickups.jpg
 
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As per my post #6 above from April, 2018 the BLP-STD FM Relic link was taken down, at that time, along with pretty much all other Deviser related Gibson style URLs. Not sure why Deviser made the choice to do that but maybe they were feeling some pressure from the the big G? We'll never know but I would certainly rather have a Deviser build over a Gibby any day of the week. :D Before all of the Deviser Gibson style guitar web links in 2018 vanished I did a bit of searching and came up with the below info.




The original Deviser/Bacchus link to the limited run that H00831 came from is dated to September 27, 2011. H00831 is the next to last example at the bottom. The link was taken down & is no longer available as are all other Deviser URLs that have Gibson style product content.

BLP-STD FM Relic H00831 is from a small batch of 6 'relic' style guitars produced from the H008** series run. That is to say H00831 is 1 of the 6 'relic' examples they produced from the run. There were about 20 other BLP-STD FM examples produced within the H008** run that were not 'relic' examples.

There were a very few other small batch 'relic' examples of the BLP-STD; some from the H004** series, the H006** series, the H008** series, the H012** series, and the H013** series. One of the small batch runs had ONLY ONE 'relic' example.

What this information tells us is the Bacchus Classic Series BLP-STD FM examples were very limited in production and the BLP-STD FM Relic examples were extremely limited in production.




If anyone ever has the opportunity to obtain one of these relic, or otherwise, I would not hesitate to grab one. These are fantastic guitars and not just because they were produced in such small quantities.
IMO the BLP-STD FMs rival the earlier Vintage Series BLS-59 examples and even the Momose original run MLS-STD/J examples. I have owned all of these and the BLP-STD FMs are the real deal.

BLS-59 examples circa 2004/2005
BLS-59 x3.jpg


original run MLS-STD/J circa 2004/2006
MLS-STD J - no flash.jpg


BLP-STD FM Relic circa 2011
BLP-STD FM Relic AF.jpg
 
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This is one I haven't had a chance to pull apart ( or really even play much ) yet since it arrived. Is the serial in the right range I wonder ? It is a plaintop and had a Bigsby added as well as the " Momose Beano equivalent " pickups, according to the seller. Really nice fit and finish - but I can't provide an opinion on the tone yet - soon I hope !
 

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This is one I haven't had a chance to pull apart ( or really even play much ) yet since it arrived. Is the serial in the right range I wonder ? It is a plaintop and had a Bigsby added as well as the " Momose Beano equivalent " pickups, according to the seller. Really nice fit and finish - but I can't provide an opinion on the tone yet - soon I hope !

That's a really nice one; serial # is 30 digits higher than my FM Relic.
What is the weight on that one?


I'm familiar with the seller as I passed on that one but I purchased this one.
Similar shot as your picture #4 ........ nice rug to boot .......
# 1 BLP-CTM 1.jpg
 
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Racing Striped Top ! I think its safe to say that is an all mahogany custom ?

I weighed it just now and bathroom scale says 10.0 pounds - which is pretty decent for an LP with the Bigsby installed. Played it for about 15 minutes before I change strings and pull the pickups/etc. through my Orange head. Wow, those pickups are very articulate - on clean or dirt channel. Really impressed with that so far. The Bigsby is pulling it flat everytime so I'll have to look at that, but once its tuned again the intonation is perfect.

Lots of potential - just needs a good setup I think....
 
I took apart the Bigsby and the arm was definitely sticking so waiting for the penetrating oil to loosen it up. I didnt realize these were factory ordered with the Bigsby - check the photo. Is yours the same ?
 

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Okay so from this era some were ordered this way or maybe a limited run with Bigsbys ? Pretty sure the issue is solved on mine with the tuning issues, the arm moves quite freely now. Just have to decide what gauge strings to use and finish reassembling it
 
Okay so from this era some were ordered this way or maybe a limited run with Bigsbys ? Pretty sure the issue is solved on mine with the tuning issues, the arm moves quite freely now. Just have to decide what gauge strings to use and finish reassembling it

I am not aware of any examples being 'ordered' with Bigsby units but then I also assume that is a possibility.

My assumption was and is that Bacchus produced the majority of examples without the Bigsby units and a very small amount of examples with a Bigsby.

From examples I have seen I also believe the entire Classic Series lineup was fairly limited in scope of production; this for all examples/models.

It's a shame that such a fantastic line of guitars was so limited and that these were only produced for one to two years.
 

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