Quick Hit: Wild Custom Wildmaster Gold Foil Relic Review

The sound of Ry Cooder's thick, rich slide tone has inspired many to grab a bottleneck and reconsider DeArmond’s once unsung "gold foil" pickup. The Wild Custom Guitars Wildmaster is a built-in-France six string loaded with a pair of Mojo Pickups’ version of Gold Foils. This was my first experience with a modern take on an old Teisco or DeArmond pickup and to put it simply: I was stunned. The clarity and richness with both clean and gritty tones was both inspiring and humbling. There's no place to hide with these pickups, which can either make your rig (and technique) scream loud and proud or highlight weaknesses that need attention.

The alder-bodied Wildmaster combines vintage design moves in a combination that’s unique, comfortable, and functional. I can see hints of Rickenbacker and Ibanez solidbodies, but overall, the lines have a shape of their own. With some dead-simple controls (love the "Loud" and "Fast" designations on the three-way switch), the Wildmaster felt like an old-school muscle car with a modernized and more efficient engine. At a boutique price, it might be out of reach of the average player, but for those with the means it's a worthy investment for a totally custom and killer sounding axe.

Test Gear: Fender Deluxe Reverb, T-Rex DGTM