Paul Unkert - Unk Guitars - XMark and Lirola Custom Review

Paul Unkert is best known for his work with the Kramer Guitar company and the famous artists that passed through there in the 1980's. Many people probably do not realize the famous guitars Paul has made through the years, most notably, the guitars made for Edward Van Halen. His work for Eddie includes the famous yellow and black double neck, the guitar featured in the Hot for Teacher video, and additionally, the parts found on the uber famous, 5150 guitar. In fact, if you do the timeline of events in VH guitar history, Paul's back shape work on the 5150 neck made its way to the Ernie Ball Axis and EVH signature line of guitars. Since Ernie Ball modeled Eddie's 5150 for the neck shape and radius, it can be said that Paul has effected more in the guitar business than is known.

Paul worked for Kramer in the early years of the wood neck era, in addition to a portion of the aluminum era also. During that time, he was the main "luthier" in the shop who did the detail work, contributed on designs, and functioned as an artist relations guy as well by making guitars for many artists. Paul stayed out of the guitar business limelight for years by doing luthier work in Toms River, New Jersey and worked for Vacarro until about 4 years ago when he decided to go full force back into the business with Unk Guitars.

What has transpired is a throwback to some of the old Kramer body shapes, head stock designs, with a new spin on the necks - this time, instead of aluminum, they are all wood, but feature the tuning fork head stock. That being said, he has also incorporated new features into these instruments including the daisy wheel truss rod adjustment, a kill switch on the Lirola model, and exotic wood selections on certain models. The review below covers two instruments - the XMark Classic Series and the Lirola Signature Model (custom) made and customized by Paul himself.

Design and Cosmetics

For the first round of the review, lets take a quick look at the XMark. The finish is incredible - the review model features a flame top with tobacco burst finish. The quality of the overall construction is excellent too, in fact, far beyond what I would expect from an overseas made, assembled, and setup instrument. It also features the daisy wheel truss rod adjustment, which I cannot state enough as being a #1 selling point. There is no easier or faster way to adjust a neck if you have temperature or humidity changes. The neck is nicely notched for the daisy wheel, it doesn't look hacked. The guitar itself is very well balanced on the XMark, its not too heavy and not too light. Its also one of my favorite body woods, poplar. However, we'll get into tone later in the review. The Lirola is another beast. While the XMark is more of a one size fits all for most guitarists, the Lirola is made for shredding. The cosmetics are a throw back to the old EVH finishes, featuring Krylon and stickers, adding to that mojo factor. The neck is also more custom dressed, and the head stock definitely looks more "custom" than the overseas XMark. The reflectors on the Lirola also give you that Frankenstrat kind of feel to the guitar, and the Rescue sticker is just plain awesome. This guitar is the kind of axe you would build in your garage on a Saturday and take to the gig on Saturday night - fresh for VH riffs. One more mention are the original strap pins, the same type used on early Kramer wood neck models!

The neck on the XMark is, for lack of a better description, good. There's standard features on the XMark neck that most guitars in the same price range have, however, the fret dress, the setup, and the playability are very nice. The above and beyond part of this neck is its setup, the action is low and there's no fret rattle. It features a satin finish, and is smooth for playability - again, very similar to other guitars of the same variety in its price class. The fret edges are not sharp at all, which is nice considering where this model falls in price. It plays effortlessly, there's nothing on the neck that slows down movement, and it feels comfortable in your playing hand. My only complaint about the neck would be small frets, but then again this is a player preference over a true design or playability issue. The Lirola neck is definitely more custom. The back shape matches that of an old Kramer beak (sans finish) and the radius certainly feels more round than the XMark, but that could just be the ease of use of the ebony board over the rosewood. The necks are VERY similar overall in design and playability. I prefer the Lirola neck over the neck on the XMark, mainly because of the ebony. Both necks feature a 1 11/16ths nut. Both necks feature a tilt back head stock design with a scarf joint around the 3rd or 4th fret. One suggestion I'd have for both models is to mold the neck heel into the body of the guitar, thereby making more of a smooth transition between body/neck. One thing nice on that transition area currently are the screw ferrules as opposed to a neck plate.

The Bridge, Tuners, and Mechanics One stand out feature on the XMark compared to other guitars in the same price range is the bridge. I have never personally used or experimented with the Wilkinson Stop Tail Bridge. I can report that this bridge just makes the guitar sing when strumming dry, with no amp or anything plugged in. Additionally, it features an intonation adjustment for the G and B strings, the two biggest culprit strings that need adjustment most of the time. If I had to compare this to a traditional stop tail, I would definitely have to say I prefer this bridge over the traditional, and its extremely easy to adjust as well. The tuners are non-branded chrome, but serve their function perfectly as expected. The guitar stays in tune amazingly well when gigged too. The Lirola features a real, Original Floyd Rose made in Germany. Its setup to float, even though there is no recess routed into the body. There's plenty of pull back area though for those that want the sharp vibrato on the Floyd. The tuners are Gotoh branded. Of course I prefer the Gotoh tuners are the gear ratio seems to be better, but then again, they are behind a locking nut so a player won't have to use these very often - the guitar stays in tune just as expected with any good Floyd Rose setup.

Pickups and Electronics

The XMark features Duncan Designed pickups, along with a 3 way switch and tone knob. At first glance, there's nothing out of the ordinary in this offering of what is available on this guitar. However, the poplar body with the combination of the Duncan Designed pickups is excellent. You can switch between pickups easily and all the controls are located in comfortable positions for the player. The tone is shockingly good. Its not overly hot, but actually very well balanced with plenty of low end thunk. I would even go as far as to say, it sounds better than most equally priced Epiphones in its class in terms of how the tone reacts to the players pick attack. The Lirola has a fatter, hotter overall tone compared to the XMark. This type of guitar is more of what I am used to, more reactive to a shredder, both tonally and playability wise. It features Rio Grande pickups, this is my first experience with these also. The harmonics are definitely there too. The outstanding little feature in the electronics of the Lirola is the kill switch. For you Tom Morello fans, its pretty easy to recreate those Rage Against the Machine tricks. Both guitars sound great, both are incredible sounding instruments. I would say the XMark is more for the person playing the classics, The Lirola is a shredders dream, it just sounds excellent and has the Kramer vibe.

Synopsis

I like seeing real luthier's in the guitar business. I think its good to have a "players" guy in there, making instruments, ensuring their quality is up to par with the big companies, and offering both a custom guitar and a production instrument that's affordable for the everyday guy. The XMark is an outstanding guitar at the under $500 street price. The fit, finish, playability, and tone are really great for the price range. It is better than most guitars in that range, and does not feel like an overseas made instrument. If a project guy wanted a place to start with this guitar, to mod and tweak to their liking, this would be the guitar for them. I was very impressed by its setup, and tone considering its price. You can ever order a Floyd Rose version of this same guitar too!

The Lirola is definitely a custom shop instrument, made and setup by Paul. He put his experience with Mr Van Halen into this one, which resulted in a raw finished "beast" with mojo for days. The mojo of the guitar, fretwork, setup - it is the culmination of Paul's custom luthier work. It also has the famous "UNK" stamp on the back of the neck - and as I' am told, the same stamp Unk used on all those necks that were placed on custom instruments in the 80's, including the 5150 neck. I love the kill switch, it's worth the price of admission and is something really fun to play with whether you are practicing or wanting an extra trick at a gig. The ebony board is sweet, playing is effortless, and the Floyd is setup perfectly - I would not expect anything less from something made with Paul's hands. The Unk Standard USA model is the baseline used for this model - if you are looking for something similar that you can purchase from Unk today, without having to wait on a custom instrument.

XMark Specs:

Additional Photos