Fender So-Cal custom design Stratocaster from 2005

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This is the first time I'd seen this Korean made So-Cal Fender Stratocaster.

It's not really something I'm into, but it is a unique piece worthy of mention here on Guitarz. I've not had the time yet to look it up, I wonder if they only did a Strat this way. Perhaps there's an offset or a Tele that could change my mind on the design.

R.W. Haller

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Taras Guitars VP-1 - Could this be the next big guitar innovation?

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The first time I saw a photo of a VP-1 prototype from Taras Guitars I was quite perplexed. Surely the guitar was missing a bunch of strings seeing as it had such a wide fingerboard but just the six strings running down the centre. However, that first photo I saw was a close-up, and I didn't appreciate how the curvature of the fingerboard towards the nut.

A quick view of the Taras Guitars website explained the concept. The wide, surfboard-shaped fretboard means that "'New' notes and sounds can be found when the frets are extended and strings are bent AWAY". Indeed it's all to facilitate extreme string bending. For more information, check out the video.

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Rob O Reilly Guitars - innovative electric and MIDI guitar from Ireland

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No-one could accuse Ireland's Rob O Reilly Guitars of pointlessly churning out the same old tried and tested guitar designs that we've all seen before. Instead they've gone for cutting edge innovation and originality with their guitar designs, the ROR BE and MIDI guitars.

Their latest model is a variant of their BE guitar and is is equipped with built-in Fishman TriplePlay wireless MIDI controller.

The standard guitar features a high grade maple fingerboard with ultra-tough white lacquer and non-chip binding and black edge fingerboard position dots; Maple bolt-on neck with smooth easy-slide matt black finish; 6 rear locking die-cast tuners for quick string change and stable tuning.  Most notably, the middle section of each guitar where the pickups and bridge are mounted is made from see-through perspex. A second perspex plate on rear of the guitar allows the owner to customise the guitar by inserting their own artwork. Upgrade options include an Apple iOS interface to allows the guitar to be played through an iPhone or iPad, and an "Infinity Mirror" which is essentially a cool lighting effect with LEDs inside the perspex sandwich of the body.

Other features include an integrated pick holder and a balance bar to ensure the guitar hangs nicely on a strap and doesn't neck dive.

It does look very cool even if it is reminiscent of half a pair of spectacles. I am also reminded of the Swinger Tennis Racket Guitars which also featured wooden bodies with a perspex centre section.

Furthermore these innovative guitars are affordable with the basic BE model priced at €399 and the Roland GK-3-equipped MIDI guitar at €599.

A bass model is also in the works!

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Red Rock M1 - Like the guitar? Then get on-board with Kickstarter

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Here's an email I received from a (quite rightfully) frustrated guitar designer:

Hi Gavin

My name is Sean Mara, from North Vancouver BC. I love the blog, have looked over the past while and seen some weird stuff. But I have to be careful because… I am a guitar designer/builder. I love weird but as a designer I have to be careful what influences me. I hate copies. If I see yet another "new" guitar that looks like a Strat or Les Paul, I'm going to get a chainsaw and do a few mercy headstock decapitations.

Just spent a frustrating time trying to get major manufacturers to accept some of my creations. They are sssooo conservative, selling the same 2 designs for 60+ years. So I decided to take them on and have just launch a Kickstarter page to launch my designs.

The reason I am contacting you is to show you a few designs. Here's one I just finished. It is a one piece solid cedar 2 1/2" thick body with a 3 piece set neck and a fresh headstock for the others to copy. I'd really appreciate knowing what you think and if you would want other pics to mention it to your follower.

Cheers from Canada,

Sean Mara
RedRock Guitars
www.redrockguitars.com

Be sure to check out this Kickstarter project to see Sean's other designs. You've got to admit, he's succeeded nicely in avoiding all the the usual design clichés! I particularly love the sculptured contours of the golden M1 pictured above. It has a very organic look to it. The headstock layout also looks particularly novel.

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Retro-V - it's gotta be such hard work thinking up new guitar designs...

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Design-wise this Retro-V RV-II (a handmade guitar so it's the only one in existence) is a real melting pot with Stratocaster, Flying V, Randy Rhoads Roswell and violin bass all being thrown into the mix for good measure. It actually looks to be very nicely constructed and features a five-piece mahogany and maple neck.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of US $600.

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Beautiful minimalist steel and glass guitars from Hungary

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Never mind if you can't speak Hungarian, this video is still well worth checking out. I like that these steel and glass guitars push the boundaries of guitar design to its limits. The irony is, of course, that most of these sophisticated pieces of engineering are actually descendants of that most primitive type of guitar, namely those made from cigar boxes and other recycled parts and played with a slide.

Thanks to Guitarz reader Arpad for bringing these highly individual instruments to my attention.

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

1990s Alvarez Successor - a lesser-known guitar from the company who like taking unexpected chunks out of their bodies

guitarz.blogspot.com:

You may remember the Alvarez Scoop guitars which had an extended lower cutaway which actually passed beneath the strings as if threatening to bisect the guitar body in two. Here we see a lesser known model from the same company, the Alvarez Successor. Once again, it has a big chunk taken out of the body - this time the wood has been banished from behind the bridge/locking trem. Whether this is in any way beneficial to the performance of the guitar, I really couldn't say. But then it is a hangover from the pointy guitar excesses of the later 1980s when image seemed far more important than practicality.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of US $499.

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

1980s Ned Steinberger-designed Gibson 20/20 Bass

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Ned Steinberger's later guitars and basses whilst still being full of innovation never quite had the same impact as his now legendary minimalist headless L-series bass guitars, originally produced in 1979 in Brooklyn, New York. Here is one of his later 1980s' bass designs for Gibson, a model that has sunk almost without trace into obscurity. I remember a more youthful version of me seeing some of these instruments at a Music Show in Kensington, London, back in the day and am ashamed to say that I said rather loudly something along the lines of, "Oh look, Steinberger have invented the headstock!" I also remember all too well the dirty look I received from the guy on the booth. He'd probably heard the same thing 100 times already that day.

Currently being auctioned on eBay, with bidding at $510 at the time of writing. (Item located in Waterloo, Illinois).

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Bo-Diddley inspired plank-like electric guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here's a custom-made electric guitar that, according to the eBay listing, is a Bo Diddley influenced design. Which is all very commendable; it appears to be a very nicely made instrument.

But... I do find the design of rear of the instrument rather perplexing with its externally-mounted tone chamber and electronics cavity plus the reinforcing blocks of timber in the centre of the back. For myself I'd have preferred these to have been integral to the body, but maybe the construction method dictated the design.

It also reminds me of Bertram's plank guitars.

Currently listed on eBay with a starting bid of $335 or a Buy It Now price of $436.

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Washburn PR200 Prairie State acoustic guitar inspired by the Larson Brothers

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I love the exaggerated hour glass shape of this Washburn PR200 Prairie State acoustic guitar which is based on a 1920s Larson Brothers design. Despite the retro design, it is a modern instrument with a low action and featuring the Buzz Feiten Tuning System. The upper bout of that hour glass design is 13" and the lower bout is 17" with the waist being 9¼". I like the design of the open headstock too which has echoes of the old slotted headstocks, although, of course, with just the single slot.

Currently listed on eBay with a starting price of $400 and a Buy It Now price of $525.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Rare Augustino LoPrinzi Custom Nova guitar with Thurman multi-dimensional sound ports

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here's an intriguing classical guitar design that recently turned up for sale on Craigslist with an asking price of $1650. It's an Augustino LoPrinzi Custom Nova, a model that I had written about fleetingly in the very early days of this blog, but which I can no longer find mentioned on the Augusto LoPrinzi website. (Maybe the website is out of date, or perhaps this guitar is a discontinued model).

Most strikingly the guitar features "Thurman multi-dimnensional sound ports" which allegedly are extremely beneficial to the sound of the guitar and also function as cutaways allowing easier access to the top of the neck. Indeed, from the front, the guitar has a double cutaway appearance, but it actually has a full non-cutaway (in the traditional sense) body. The same soundports were also used on Clearport guitars, but their website is no longer available, so I assume the same applies to their guitars.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.