So, you’ve spent some
time learning how to play
guitar, maybe even made the
investment and gone to Berklee
College of Music or GTI. You’ve
done the club thing.
Maybe you’ve had
a couple of opening
slots for some big
name bands, maybe
even toured as a support
act. But there’s something
holding you back, and it isn’t your
lack of skill or dedication. It’s your
guitar. You love it, but it looks as if it’s
been hauled behind a semi rig. Yes,
there are plenty of high quality guitars
out there, but you need something to
set you apart. Perhaps the Gigliotti GT
Custom can put you in the spotlight you
deserve. One thing’s for sure, the Gigliotti
GT Custom makes a bold visual impact.
The
GT Custom sports a vibrant June bug green
and gold, brass burst top with matching headstock,
gold hardware and humbucker, and gold
machine heads. Tops are also available in stainless
steel or machined aluminum. And if that’s
not enough, the rest of the body and neck are
stained an amazing deep jade green. When
you walk on stage, the GT Custom will steal
the show. But all of this doesn’t mean anything
if the Gigliotti GT Custom isn’t well made, or
doesn’t sound good.
The guitar is powered by
a Jason Lollar Imperial Humbucker in the neck
and a Lollar Special Tele in the bridge. While
the “fatback” neck does lean towards the
He-man end of the spectrum, this chunky fifties
Tele-style neck is surprisingly comfortable.
Tacoma based builder Patrick Gigliotti claims
that his guitars can remain in tune longer than
conventional guitars; with a neck this substantial,
it’s easy to see why. For those who may
have different tastes in neck profiles, Gigliotti
offers a wide range of neck designs upon
request.
Test...test...test...
A couple of months ago I had the opportunity
to run the metal-topped Zemaitis Tribal
Tattoo through its paces with a Fender, so I
was really excited to see what the GT Custom
had to offer. I’ve also played a couple of other
metal guitars in the past, but they’ve lacked
a certain organic timbre to their sound. This
time I wasn’t disappointed. Metal topped
guitars have their own thing going, and while
the GT Custom did exhibit a certain metallic
“zing,” it was well-tempered by the chambered
mahogany body.
Playing with just the bridge
pickup, the brass top lends to an interesting
effect, almost as if someone were tracing your
playing with a resonator mixed deeply into the
background. That’s not to say the GT Custom
won’t twang. It’ll twang all right, but it can also
easily produce Roy Buchanan “Nancy” and
crunchy “Keef” Tele tones. The Jason Lollar
Imperial Humbucker neck pickup was particularly
lush and blended well with the bridge even
in higher gain situations. By itself, the Imperial
Humbucker is a beautiful pickup that has a very
even tonal response with less pick tones than
your garden variety PAF clone. It was also nice
to see that someone spent the time to radius
the pole pieces to match the neck radius too.
Next, I ran the GT Custom through a Fuchs
Blackjack 21 in full crunch mode. Wow! And
I mean, wow! The GT Custom was fat and
punchy, with each pickup retaining its own
distinctive character. As with the Zemaitis Tribal
Tattoo, the Gigliotti GT Custom was remarkably
resistant to feedback, even when I kicked on an
Xotic AC Booster for some added smack down.
It was also nice to know that when the neck
pickup began to sound just a tad woolly, I could
kick in the bridge pickup for just a little more
cutting tone—a real plus for live situations.
The Final Mojo
The Gigliotti GT Custom is a pro-level guitar
with a unique look and tremendous build quality,
even if you don’t dig on the Dale Chihuly-like
finishes. Historically, Kluson tuners haven’t been
exactly celebrated for their tuning reliability,
and given Patrick Gigliotti’s claim of increased
tuning stability some were suspicious. I yanked
on the strings, bent them without mercy, and
mangled them in all directions for nearly two
weeks, and I only needed to tune the guitar
three times: the first was when I received it from
shipping; the second was when tuning the low
E string to D, and the third was retuning the G
string one time. Mission accomplished Patrick;
well done.
Overall, the GT Custom isn’t my
personal favorite. The finish is a little showy and
the neck makes the neck on my 1957 Gibson
ES-125T feel like a toy. But, if you want a great
sounding, well made, Thinline-style guitar that
will give you plenty of stage presence, and will
adapt well to both the studio and live situations,
you should seriously consider the GT Custom
as your next Thinline option. My only concern is
the guitar’s painted brass top, but with a guitar
this nice you can’t help but want to take good
care of it.
Buy if...
you want a great new take on the
classic Thinline design.
Skip if...
you have a wad of Scotch Tape
holding together your horn-rimmed
glasses.
Rating...
