Apr 29, 2013

Sonic Wind guitar





Instrument designer and builder Hector Trevino has created a radical open chamber guitar that he claims offers more resonance and natural sustain than traditional solid-body electric guitar designs.
 Trevino says that his first limited production run of 20 will be priced at US$3,000 a piece, including a custom hard case and limited lifetime warranty

More info at Sonic wind

Apr 23, 2013

Branch guitars






Gordon Branch started playing guitar in 1983 with a used $50.00 import acoustic guitar. Desiring a nicer guitar but not able to afford one, he found a guitar-building class taught by master luthier, Ervin Somogyi, and built his first guitar ... a steel string, cutaway acoustic. Combining a background in woodworking and precision machining, Gordon began to develop his own electric guitar designs, blending traditional tonewoods with modern materials to create instruments that push the envelope of conventional thinking.
In 2001 Gordon relocated to the hills of the California Mother Lode, settling in Sheep Ranch. The town center has a population of about 32 people and more than 30 free-range sheep. It also has a rich gold mining history. He planted a small vineyard that now produces about six cases of a respectable merlot each year.
Gordon fulfilled his dream of building a home and workshop in 2003 and began building guitars full time. He built his first aluminum body guitars and then refined the design through several different versions. It finally emerged as a radical design reduced to the essential components.

In 2010 Gordon unveiled his first aluminum tubing-based guitar, a definite sonic success with a stunning look.
"It has been my experience that setting eyes on a Branch Guitar for the first time can cause a person’s jaws to drop. Playing a Branch Guitar for the first time can be memorable. Watching a player caress the flowing curves of the body, play the first chord and respond to the feel of the guitar jumping to life is very rewarding to this builder."
The tone of the Branch Guitars is clear and dynamic, with rich harmonics and incredible sustain. Nearly every part of each of Gordon's instruments are made by hand. This includes the bridge, the control knobs and the truss rod. He also shape the necks by hand so special neck shape requests can be easily accommodated. He personally selects all of the wood. The various woods he has in stock have been air-drying for 10 to 25 plus years.
"It is my belief that building a great guitar starts with carefully selecting the finest materials and giving meticulous attention to detail throughout the construction process. No effort is spared in the crafting of your instrument. I take pride in every instrument I build." -- Gordon Branch

Taken from Branch guitars

real bones guitar


Luthier Bobby Ingals went all the way to the metal extreme with this creation. Features an Seymour Duncan Invader in the bridge and he tells the bones are real.What do you think?

Apr 21, 2013

gary moore chandler/schecter



Builder: 
Chandler/Schecter
Model: 
Stratocaster style guitar
Year: 
1986
Pickups: 
EMG Pick-ups 
 
 
 About the Guitar:
This guitar 80's superstrat guitar was made by Charley Chandler in London and was owned and used by Gary Moore during his "Wild Frontier" era. It was painted to match the set design of his 1986 tour (this can be seen on the footage shot at the BELGAFEST, Ostende, Belgium 1986) and was used in the photo-shooting for the covers of some of the singles issued from his "Wild Frontier" album. The guitar can also be found on a picture disc issued at the same time. 
This instrument sports a Schecter body, EMG Pick-ups, Floyd Rose bridge and is a great sounding guitar.
Eric Ernest personally dealt with Gary Moore's management and tech to acquire this guitar for a collector in 1994.

Apr 16, 2013

Gary Kramer Turbulence






Turbulence 729-R
The next generation of our cutting edge Turbulence model captures our thoughts on extending conventional instrument’s limited range. Built around 7 strings and 29 frets platform, the 729-R sports tonal qualities of a warm sounding mahogany body and stability of a 5pc laminated maple/walnut set neck construction. Bound ebony fingerboard is decorated with a true Mother of Pearl 12th fret “North Star” inlay and it features scalloped 19-29 section. Two GKG wound 7 string humbuckers are wired through independent VCS controls (variable coil splitting) offering unique combinations of fine tuned pickup values. Recessed Floyd Rose 7 and ergonomic shape of the Turbulence body provide for shredding experience of a lifetime. If detuned to an F#, the 729-R will cover a full range of a regular 8-string 24-fret instrument.

The 729-R concept may not be for everyone but if you believe that your chops are ready to be ported to a different dimension, the 729-R was created for you.



Taken from Gary Kramer Guitars

Apr 15, 2013

Warmoth custom guitars





Create your own custom guitar at WARMOTH

Paul unkert guitars

A Personal Overview From Paul Unkert on his New Guitars
With 39 years experience in the guitar industry, I hope this guitar that I have thought about for years and always wanted to build, will be a favorite to many people of all playing styles. I didn’t simply set out to build “just another“ guitar to try and sell to the market, but rather I wanted to make a guitar that truly sold itself. I wanted guitarists to pick up the guitar and play it – and I mean play jazz, thrash metal, rock and roll, r&b, etc.. – and say, "who makes this guitar? I need one for my collection!" I think we have accomplished this at UNK Guitars. In all my years in this industry, I have built, repaired and played every conceivable guitar known to man, and this is by far my favorite. Plus, it has my name on it!
This first aspect of the guitar that I concerned myself with, was the body design. I wanted to make a guitar that was light and well contoured for comfort. At the same time however, not eliminating too much wood so that it would not lose the sound characteristics of the wood chosen for each model. This body design is what allows this guitar to sound like the wood when played and not simply the electronics that are put onto it. I believe this is the true way to drive tone out of a guitar! This body design was taken from my early years at Kramer Guitars and BC Rich when we constructed similar guitars, but never really nailed it. I had to redesign it for better balance, form, cosmetics and playability, while keeping some of the historical aspects the same. This has allowed me to introduce these UNK models as “brand new vintage“ guitars. Because of this, we like to say "you can buy history!" The result of this body design? A guitar that is well balanced when on a strap, an extremely comfortable “belly cut“ that makes playing it while sitting down just as comfortable, and a design concept that has allowed me to drive the tone I wanted out of a guitar! Now you can too!
Another aspect of the guitar that I put a lot of thought into, was the tone woods I wanted to use. There are so many options, and I have worked with them all, but I settled on three types to use for my guitars. First, I chose POPLAR because of availability, paintability, and certainly for tone...as it was the choice of material for most of the Kramer "Frankenstein Strats" that I had made for Eddie Van Halen. Second, I went for MAHOGANY. Another favorite of mine that is also used for tone. Certainly for some of the outstanding finishes we can create with this material. And finally, KORINA. Again used for tone, workability, and that it dries faster than other species in our kiln, allowing us to buy this expensive and exotic lumber at a better price in its raw cut form
The second step to the equation of building the perfect guitar, was the design of the neck and the “neck pocket’. The first question to answer here was the never-ending saga of bolt-on versus neck through. I have built and played them both, and going with the bolt-on was a no brainier. The Bolt-on gave us more versatility in neck styles and materials that could be used. Additionally, I find that the relationship between a bolt-on and the body it is joined to, is much more symbiotic. What I mean in simple terms, is that it allows for the neck’s material and design to add to the guitar's sound and tone, along with the characteristics that come from the body naturally. Outside of just the design, one of the most important things I had to deal with was the neck and neck pocket fit. It was extremely important to me to make sure that the neck and its pocket were as tight as possible. I wanted wood to wood contact all around the pocket. To accomplish this, we use computer-aided machines to get the precise cut which gives us a perfect fit. In turn, this gives us as good a sounding guitar as possible. Even when compared to glue joint or neck through styles! Some of the other characteristics of the neck include
  • 1 - 11/16" wide nut which is a standard in the industry.
  • 14" radius that is comfortable to most people of all playing styles
  • 25" scale length. This has been a favorite of mine since 1978. I think we got it just right.
Once I had completed the design for the body and neck, I took my first big leap forward versus other guitars. I moved the bridge pick up closer to the neck to give the guitar a darker, boxier sound without losing the separation of having a two pick up guitar. This radical design change, also produces the same qualities regardless if it is a double pick-up or single pick-up configuration. Additionally, when the guitar is set-up as a double humbucker or double P90, it still drives that tone I was trying to achieve. In retrospect, I don’t why I didn’t do this a long time ago. To compliment the pick-up design I wanted to find the perfect stop tail bridge (Yes we do other tremolo systems, including a Floyd Rose) for my guitar. I chose the Wilkinson bridge. The main reason was of course having a high quality product on the instrument. Most importantly though, I wanted to give the player total control over action, intonation, tone, and ease of use. Even in the event of string breakage during performance.
Finally, the “Oh my!“ factor. The “Tuning Fork Headstock“. Someone had to have the bravado to manufacture the tuning fork headstock out of material different from aluminum. Something I had proven to myself not to work. Not once, but twice in my thirty-seven years of guitar making. However, the new the design would add something special to the sound of the guitar in addition to just a recognizable headstock. I agree that it looks cool, but it sounds even better! So with my understanding and faith in wood products, plus utilizing the strength of a 1" 1/16th phenolic plastic veneer, a graph tech nut, and no mechanical devices under the nut area, the neck will give the player the same volume, tone, and sustain out of every note from the lowest to highest notes on the register. It actually makes the guitar sing!
Paul Unkert


Taken from Unk guitars

XOX audio tools


Specs

Body and neck................single piece mono chassis carbon fiber composite
Finish..............................pure carbon fiber semi gloss finish
Tones and sound.............rich,warm and resonant
Fret board......................high tech pressure formed thermoset laminate
Neck shape....................tapered,and slim for all 24 frets
Scale..............................25.5"/64.8 cm
Number of frets..............24 frets
Fretboard shape.............12" radius,30.5cm radius
Weight............................4.85 lb,2,2 kg

Electronic

Pickups..........................dimarzio paf pro
Config............................number-2  config-hh
Pickup select..................3-way with blend pot
Other controls................1 volume,1 tone

Hardware

Bridge............................hipshot baby grand
Frets..............................highest quality 18% nickel-silver fretwire
Nut................................graphtech
Nut width.......................1.69"/4.3 cm
Truss rod........................Two way truss rod,ultra rigid carbon fiber
Tuners............................planet waves auto trim
Knobs............................anodized aluminium
Pick guard......................Brushed stainless steel

Taken from XOX audio tools

Apr 13, 2013

Strandberg Guitarworks



Welcome to Strandberg Guitarworks!

Strandberg Guitarworks is committed to innovation. We continuously strive towards new solutions that address the needs of guitarists today. The global musician community is engaged in the design process. The process is public and documented on-line. The results are licensed under Creative Commons Share-And-Share-Alike 3.0 Licensing.
What started as a hobby in 1982 has grown into a business centered around the Ergonomic Guitar System. Please see the other pages on this site for information. Follow the Category links to see details. We hand craft our instruments in Uppsala, Sweden. EGS bridges are also manufactured and assembled in Uppsala, Sweden from the highest quality materials.

About Ola Strandberg

Ola built about a dozen instruments (guitars and basses) between 1984 and 1993 and worked at Uppsala Musikverkstad and HBL (the Swedish Charvel/Jackson distributor) as a guitar technician for several years. He also played in a number of local bands. He originally trained to become a mechanical engineer and worked as such for several years, acquiring CAD/CAM skills as well as extensive experience of product development and prototype machining of components, but has since moved on to the software industry. Development of the Ergonomic Guitar System started in 2007.
Follow us on Facebook!
Contact us at:
guitarworks@thestrandbergs.com
Kadettgatan 4
SE-753 37 Uppsala
Sweden
Taken from Strandberg Guitarworks

TT fretting system

Taken from True Temperament

Ran Crusher FF8



 Taken from Ran guitars
Basic specification:
body shape »Crusher
construction »AANJ construction with neck thru body style heel and metal inserts/countersunk hex bolts system
scale length »25.5"-28"
body material »2-piece carved top mahogany
finish »hand-rubbed oil finish
headstock shape »Crusher
neck material »choice of 3P mahogany, 3P maple, 5P mahogany/maple, 5P maple/mahogany
fingerboard material »choice of flamed maple, indian rosewood, ebony, macassar ebony
number of frets »24
fret size »Dunlop 6100
inlays »none
side inlays »choice of plastic dots or Luminlay dots
nut »GraphTech black or white TUSQ
hardware color »black
bridge system »ABM single saddles
tuning machines »Schaller M6 locking
straps »Schaller Security Locks
pickups »Merlin FF8 set with mahogany covers
controls »2 x volume or volume and tone pots
pickup selector »3-way toggle
logo »MOP
truss rod cover »wood (mahogany)
truss rod »dual action
input »Switchcraft with metal plate
other »wood control cavity cover with Ran Guitars logo
Neck specification:
width at nut »55mm
thickness at 1st/12th fret »20mm/22mm
fingerboard radius »20"
back shape »RAN-shape 

Apr 12, 2013

Ibanez RG550XN











SPEC
neck typeWizard III-XH 3pc Maple neck
bodyBasswood body
fretboardRosewood fretboard w/White dot inlay
fretJumbo frets
number of frets30 frets
bridgeEdge-Zero II bridge w/ZPS3Fe
middle puINFS (S) mid pu
bridge puINF (H) bridge pu
hardware colorCosmo black
Neck Dimensions
Scale648mm/25.5"
a : Width at Nut43mm
b : Width at Last Fret58mm
c: Thickness at 1st19mm
d : Thickness at 12th21mm
Radius400mmR      

Apr 9, 2013

Rock Royalty KAGED Alligator Custom Guitar




Rock Royalty KAGED Alligator Custom Guitar
Rock Royalty customized one-of-a-kind KAGED alligator guitar with Fender Telecaster body. Features two handmade Rock Royalty custom guitar volume knobs with 11.88 carats natural fancy black diamonds set in sterling silver finished with black ruthenium, a handmade Rock Royalty custom guitar selector switch containing 2.30 carats red rubies set in sterling silver finished with black ruthenium, and six handmade Rock Royalty custom tuning keys with 15.54 carats natural fancy black diamonds set in sterling silver finished with black ruthenium. This guitar is wrapped in exquisite natural black alligator from Louisiana with Rock Royalty's patent-pending steel cage with chrome finish and red aluminum screws. Back of the guitar features red top-stitching, a custom Rock Royalty back plate with skeletonized logo in matte sterling silver and black ruthenium, and handmade sterling silver string plate with white rhodium.
Model: Custom Rock Royalty Kaged alligator wrapped Fender Telecaster
Gemstones: 28.98cts natural fancy black diamonds; 2.30cts natural gem red rubies
*black diamonds are the finest quality natural fancy color diamonds
Metal: Sterling silver finished with black ruthenium
Retail: $100,000

Watch on youtube

 Taken from Rock Royalty

TronicalTune

Hamburg, Germany (April 9, 2013) -- Tronical has announced the world's first retrofit autonomous auto tune system, the TronicalTune. Created by Chris Adams, the designer behind Gibson's Robot Guitar auto-tuning system, the TronicalTune is essentially the same concept as Gibson's Min-ETune, but available for many different guitar models without modification. Currently, TronicalTune offers nine different types of tuners for electric and acoustic guitar to fit most Gibson and Fender guitars, along with Yamaha, Charvel, Taylor, Ibanez, and Epiphone models.
Features:
  • Multi-string tuning
  • Single-string tuning
  • Custom tuning
  • Reference tuning
  • 12 factory presets
  • 6 user presets
  • String up and down mode
  • Calibration mode
  • Accuracy mode
  • Robohead delay
  • Interference level
  • Battery level
  • Firmware version
  • Reset mode
According to Tronical, the rechargeable battery lasts up to 300 tunings and at its highest accuracy level, the TronicalTune tunes within +/- 1 cent. Each system costs $349, and tronical also sells replacement battery packs, tuning heads, and mroe on their website.
For more information:
Tronical

William Jeffrey Jones Dragonwing



Specifications

Body: solidbody, 1-piece aged, air-dried walnut

Neck: Indian rosewood, angled 3x3 headstock, ebony faceplate, dual-action trussrod

Fretboard: Madagascar ebony, 24 frets, 12" radius

Nut: graphite, 1.70" width


Pickup: custom-made Searcy String Works humbucking P90, walnut cover

Switching: volume control only


Bridge: sculpted ebony floating bridge

Tuners:
black Sperzel locking

Finish: Tru-oil over all


Price 12.000 $


Taken from William Jeffrey Jones guitars

Mar 25, 2013

Saraswati Guitar


A semi-hollow body electric 21-string guitar. Imagine a seven string jazz guitar with added chikari and twelve sympathetic strings. It is designed by Wes Lambe and was conceived by guitarist Jay Manley.
There is a long lineage of sympathetic string guitars and sitar-esque guitars. This will hopefully be something fantastic and unique to add to the family. It is also a fruition of my dream to create a guitar better suited to perform Hindustani classical and light music without being strictly a slide guitar and retaining much of the standard tuning. Main strings are e b g d a e a and chikari will typically be a and e or d (Sa, Pa and Ma). It also can be tuned to all twelve keys or any  altered tunings.



Body Style: 
Custom
Body: 
Mahogany
Body Top: 
Mahogany
Neck: 
Mahogany
Fretboard: 
Ebony
Pickups: 
Lace Alumitone

More pictures of this guitar HERE

Mar 17, 2013

Lace Alumitone

The Next Generation Single Coil Guitar Pickup

The first modern guitar pickup from this century. Huge top and bottom end. Huge passive design. Cool looks. See what Jeff Lace, the Man himself, has to say about this wild departure from conventional pickup technology
 This radical departure from guitar pickup design is aluminum based, rather than copper. Result: less resistance, higher output coupled to a "current driven design" as opposed to conventional voltage based guitar pickups.

The aluminum water jet cut exoskeleton is then matted to a micro winding using 90% less fine copper wire, a low impedance/high impedance pickup is then created.


 taken from Lace pickups