PureSalem La Bruja solid body electric guitar | Nepean Music | RRP $1399
PureSalem guitars are in the business of producing unique, eye-catching and world-class guitars. Taking conventional offset body shapes and pushing them to their limits, PureSalem tie together 60s and 70s stylings with modern playability and technology, none more so obvious than in the La Bruja, a double-cut, solid-bodied electric. PureSalem’s range covers everything from dual cutaways in the La Flaca to no cutaways in the vaguely blob-shaped Levitation, with just about everything in between in a variety of colours, as well as guitar and bass models available in different body shapes.
PureSalem as a company have their roots deep in psychedelic and acid-rock, their range of guitars and basses designed to be pushed into fuzz, overdrive, gain and more gain, doing it all with style. Trusted by the likes of Deerhoof, Flaming Lips, Editors, Slowdive and more, PureSalem are a company building guitars on their own terms. Their body shapes are classic but fresh, the asymmetrical designs providing great comfort and balance either when sitting to standing.
Catch up on all the latest music gear reviews here.
Nestled somewhere between the P-90-equipped El Brujo and the curly Classic Creep, the La Bruja from PureSalem guitars is a sight to behold. Well-balanced, not too heavy, and with easy access to the top frets, the dual Goldfoil humbuckers and simple switching system means it’s a guitar built for the stage, harnessing a whole lot of tone that can be relied on gig after gig.
The La Bruja is comprised of a mahogany body and bolt-on mahogany neck. Mahogany’s tone is rich and weighty, giving depth and heft to simple chords and leads alike. A rosewood fingerboard supports 21 medium jumbo frets, the block inlays harkening us again back to the 60s in its aesthetic.
Goldfoil
The dual Goldfoil pickups are controlled by a three-way toggle (neck/both/bridge), a master volume and a master tone control. The scale length of 24 ¾” will feel familiar to many electric players, the Modern Thin C neck shape pushing the design forward to the modern day. The comfortable neck, coupled with La Bruja’s angular horns, allow access right up to the 21st fret, even further if you’re so inclined, without any guitar body getting in the way. The choice to make the neck finish satin helps you to flit around the neck, glossier finishes sometimes preventing your hands from moving too quickly without sticking.
The hardtailed design with a Tonepros Bridge & Stop Tailpiece holds tuning like no other, supported by the Custom PureSalem Branded Pin-Locking Grover Tuners. Eagle-eyed readers will notice the reverse-headstock, shifting the tension across the board, allowing for easier bends on high strings and rock solid rhythms on the low strings.
In the hands, the La Bruja is comfortable, the back of the guitar having a cutaway to nestle it nicely against your body, the body itself’s binding providing a nice contrast against the deep, subtle metallic black finish. “Opal Black” is the official colour of this model, the guitar being available in a variety of colours like Poly Shell Pink or the subtly cool Poly Natural Stain that has the mahogany body and headstock on show. Moreover, it’s resonant, the well built and assembled body singing into itself and providing a balanced, forward sound, even when unplugged. This model weighs about 3.5kg, not uncommon for mahogany, and feels weighty, not heavy, solid and robust.
Amplified, the Goldfoil pickups are warm and present, settling themselves nicely between a modern humbucker and a fat, vintage tone, offering detail in leads and definition between strings when strumming big chords. The neck position has a grit to it, not unlike the fatness of a P-90, without the honk and fuzziness, instead replacing it with a wider range sound and the bluesy spank that is so often the reason we turn to a neck pickup
The bridge position retains that heft and weight, adding clarity and bite, perfect for solos, or more defined rhythms for metal or punk. The La Bruja can do it all, shifting seamlessly between rock and jazz, from blues to metal without breaking a sweat. The pickups provide a swathe of tonal options, responding well to picking dynamics, all the while retaining a balanced sound overall. The combination of two pickups offers the warmth of the neck position and the clarity of the bridge in one impossibly balanced tone.
The PureSalem La Bruja is, playability aside, one of the coolest looking guitars we’ve had the pleasure of reviewing here at Mixdown. There’s hints at aesthetics of some of the most famous, tried-and-true guitar designs from history, re-packaged and assembled into an entirely new and unique design. PureSalem are pushing boundaries, re-thinking traditional desbody shapes, all the while producing supremely practical and giggable guitars and basses.
The La Bruja joins PureSalem’s ranks as profoundly comfortable double cutaway electric, slightly offset and filled to the brim with style. The look, feel and aesthetic of the guitar scratch just the surface of this instrument, its well-laid out pickups and controls offering everything you need and nothing you don’t; it’s a guitar streamlined for sonics. It’s an overtly comfortable guitar, inspiring you to play, and features comfortable contours and cutaways that stay out of your way when shooting around any of the 21 medium jumbo frets.
Stellar design and hardware additions keep it all in tune and the instrument singing, its resonant quality only being amplified by the dual Goldfoil pickups, while PureSalem branded Grover locking tuners, a Tonepros Bridge & Stop Tailpiece keep it consistent session after session. With its body carves for comfort and pickups wired for tone, the La Bruja is a rock machine.
For local PureSalem enquiries and a growing range of guitars and basses, keep reading at Nepean Music.
