The St. Blues history stretches back to the days when its founders customized guitars for the likes of Jimmy Page, Billy Gibbons, and Duane Allman as their tours passed through Memphis. Today the company has a storefront just a few yards from the legendary Sun Studio, and builds their top-of-the-line Workshop Series, which includes the Bluesmaster and Blindsider models.
The Blindsider plays beautifully. It’s shaped more like a Strat but without the rounded edges, save a rear contour cut on the upper bout for comfort. The maple neck has a Pau Ferro fretboard, and the alder body is finished in Tobaccoburst. A distinctive design choice on the Blindsider is that the five-way switch and the knobs for volume and tone are housed in a Tele-style control panel rather than in the pickguard, which lends a nice hybrid touch. This model has a traditional Strat pickup arrangement with Porter 'Modern Strat' pickups.
We could hardly take our hands off the Blindsider’s neck, which was flawless from the nut to the 22nd fret and had an accessible higher end that allowed unobstructed chording on inside strings even way up at 18th position. The uniform resonance of all six strings, evident when playing unplugged, contributed to the Blindsider’s complex overtones and impressive sustain when amped. Between the pristine neck and the Lollars, the guitar was uniquely responsive to nuances from both hands. The trem system is tightly sprung and feels very smooth.
These Workshop Series guitars feature a 25.5″ scale, six-on-a-side Sperzel tuners (locking tuners on the Blindsider), genuine bone nut, Jescar medium-jumbo frets, Dunlop strap buttons, Bourns pots, ABM bridge (strings-through), oil-filled caps from Mojotone, nickel-plated hardware, and an electrosocket jack mount. Each guitar comes with a form fitted, custom 'chocolate alligator' case from G&G. Also includes a Limited Lifetime Warranty.
See this and many other boutique & vintage guitars, amps, & pedals at Shoals Guitar Boutique, your authorized St. Blues Dealer!!
