Our featured reader designed this guitar with doom metal in mind, then farmed out the building of its components to various companies.
I had Warmoth make the body (rear-routed to avoid the need for a pickguard), and had them paint it as well. They did an amazing job. The neck was made by the Electrical Guitar Company. They were kind enough to put some Gotoh locking tuners on there for me as well. There are a few companies making these necks now, but I thought their headstock looked the coolest. It went in the neck pocket with minimal adjustment. Both took about three months from order to delivery.
When you only have one pickup, you kind of have to choose wisely. After a bit of agonizing, I finally decided on a Lace Matt Pike Signature “Dragonauts” pickup. I figured if it’s good enough for Matt, it should work for me. It sounds amazing and articulate enough through an ungodly amount of fuzz.
Since this is a Jazzmaster, it seemed natural to go with a Mastery bridge and tremolo. I’m not normally a big wiggle-stick guy, but it’s fun to give things a bit of warbly flavor every now and then. It’s probably not the first choice for most metal players, and it initially felt a little strange palm-muting, but it works for me. It stays in tune, and it’s way less fiddly than a Floyd. Mastery makes that awesome space-age-looking tremolo arm tip, too, which I think really sets this thing off.
Reader and guitar designer Erik Sheppard.
“I think the cool kids use even heavier strings, but these work fine, and I stopped being cool a long time ago anyway.”
I added some standard pots and knobs and Schaller strap locks, and it was done. I’ve got Ernie Ball Not Even Slinky .012–.056 strings on there (since the guitar lives in C standard), which are just fat enough to not be floppy, without feeling like telephone lines. I think the cool kids use even heavier strings, but these work fine, and I stopped being cool a long time ago anyway.
The whole thing cost about 2,300 bucks, including a few hundred for some help from the folks at Strait Music here in Austin, who are always amazing. I was a bit paranoid about drilling into the body and potentially screwing up the finish, so I enlisted the pros.
My only complaint is that this thing is an absolute beast, at about 11 pounds, which is a lot heavier than I’d prefer, but a wide Levy’s strap makes it a bit easier to shoulder. It looks, sounds, and plays exactly as I wanted it to, so I’m quite happy with how it turned out.A flexible multi-effect pedal that takes inspiration from the eccentricity of vintage recording technology and delivers it through an intuitive user interface.
Chroma Console offers 20 stereo effects, organized into 4 discrete modules: Character (dynamics and distortion), Movement (modulation), Diffusion (time-based effects) and Texture (collection of textural effects). The modules can be used independently or in combination, offering users a wide-ranging sonic palette in the studio or on stage.
With Chroma Console, users can easily re-order effect modules and experiment with different signal chains. This encourages experimentation, like processing reverb through a fuzz, running a reverse delay into a pitch shifter, or sending the evocative, gritty sound of an aging cassette recorder into a stereo double-tracker.
Other unique Chroma Console offerings include GESTURE, a hands-on modulation tool that allows you to record and loop knob movements in real-time. CAPTURE, a 30-second looper, can be used to create ephemeral loops or looped musical phrases.
Hologram Electronics Chroma Console
Features
- Designed and assembled by hand in Knoxville, TN
- Up to 80 user presets for instant recall of your favorite sounds.
- Power via 500mA 9V center-negative adapter (included with pedal)
- Configurable bypass settings: buffered, buffered with trails, true bypass switching
- TRS expression input mappable to any primary control
- Automatic input calibration for use with instrument level and line level sources
Chroma Console is available for $399 USD exclusively on Hologram’s website: www.hologramelectronics.com.
Soulfire Guitarworks introduces three new electric guitar models: SF-1, SR-1, and HB-1. Crafted with sustainable hardwood bodies and hand-wired pickups, these guitars offer a blend of familiarity and originality. Featuring 25” scale length necks, Richlite fretboards, and signature pickups, these instruments are designed to inspire players.
Featuring 100% sustainable hardwood bodies and Soulfire’s own hand-wired pickups, the guitars are crafted with the just the right balance of modern and traditional building techniques.
All three models feature 25” scale length necks with Richlite fretboards, nickel frets, and a classic D neck profile. The carved American cherry bodies are fitted with optional maple tops. In addition to the solid body SR-1, players can choose between two semi-hollow models: the SF-1 brandishes signature “Flame” f-holes, and the HB-1 sports “Broken Heart” f-holes.
In keeping with the company’s lean-and-mean ethos, the instruments are loaded with one of Soulfire’sproprietary pickups: players can choose the “Wicked Mojo” humbuckers or “Angry Dog” P90s.
Features include:
- House-made “Wicked Mojo” Humbuckers - 12 adjustable poles. DC resistance average 7.94k-8.2k. A5 magnets
- “Angry Dog” P90 pickups - DC resistance 8.25k-8.4K. A5 magnets
- Genuine silver plated and antiqued headstock emblem/truss rod cover
- Signature black machined volume knob
- Optional B7 Bigsby
Pricing for Soulfire’s semi-hollow lineup - the SF-1 and HB-1 – starts at $3400. Solid-body models are priced starting at $3000 (for true solid) and $3200 (chambered body). All models are sold exclusively through the website and come with Premium Gig Bags.
For more information, please visit soulfireguitarworks.com.