SUSTO's Justin Osborne joins Premier Guitar editors and our reader of the month in discussing oddball guitars and current musical obsessions.
Question: What's the weirdest-shaped guitar you own and how did you acquire it?
Justin Osborne – SUSTO
Photo by Dries Vandenberg
A: The weirdest-shaped guitar I own is by far my '80s Kramer Voyager. I never play it live, but it was actually one of the first guitars I ever bought way back in my early teens. I was at an antique shop with my mom and the guitar was there for only $75. I borrowed the money from my parents to buy it and had a lot of fun with it, mostly just playing in my room. My friend has been borrowing it indefinitely, but I still count it as a part of my guitar collection and will always remember it as my first electric guitar.
Current obsession:
My current musical obsession is Strand of Oaks' new album In Heaven. I've been a fan for a while now, and just love how Tim Showalter creates such a specific sonic landscape on his albums. This new one is a banger!
Strand of Oaks - Galacticana (Official Acoustic Video)
Strand of Oaks - Galacticana (Official Acoustic Video)Stream / Purchase: https://orcd.co/inheavenFollow Strand of Oaks:Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/...Sam Crowley – Reader of the Month
A: My Telecasket, which I built. White Zombie is one of my favorite bands of all time and has been since high school. I loved Sean Yseult's coffin basses from the moment I saw them and always thought if I could have a custom guitar, it would be a coffin. Fast forward 25+ years, as I was playing in my horror-rock band, the Electric Dead, it was time to finally do it. My father, who is a cabinet maker, and I built it together over the course of a few weeks.
Telecasket
The string-through body is a big slab of pine, and the binding/center stripe are walnut. My favorite guitarist is Billy Gibbons, so I had to put a Pearly Gates in there. His style also influenced the choice of no neck pickup and just a volume knob. Super simple. This being our first guitar project, we didn't want to tackle the neck, so I ordered that from Solo Music here in Ontario. I replaced the nut on that with a TUSQ nut and gave it a satin finish. The guitar is amazingly resonant, sounds absolutely huge, and the audience loves it!
Current obsession:
Photo by Blain Clausen
Always Billy Gibbons. To me, he's just the coolest guitar player ever!
Billy Gibbons X-Rays His Hands?! | The Big 5
The ZZ Top legend on what makes his “Pearly Gates” Les Paul so special, why he recently had his hands x-rayed, and the “slithering” slide guitarist whose wor...Shawn Hammond – Chief Content Officer
A: Unfortunately, I can't find a pic of the cherry-finished Gibson '67 Flying V reissue I had to sell in a pinch a decade and a half ago, but I really miss it—it had neato-sounding, splittable Duncan Seth Lover pickups.
The weirdest profiles in my collection now would be my old Schecter Ultra III (which has a TV Jones Magna'Tron in the bridge position) or my Mosrite-inspired Eastwood Sidejack Baritone DLX (with Curtis Novak JM-WR pickups).
Current obsession:
Of late, I've really been lusting after a DynaSonic-outfitted Gretsch Jet.
Ted Drozdowski – Senior Editor
Photo by John Thomas Collins
A: If you're an old Delta blues guitarist, you might have started on a 1-string like my diddley bow (below). It's got slices of pipe for the bridge and nut, an old banjo tuner, a galvanized-pot body with a genuine plywood top, and an old tobacco barn stave for the neck.
It was a gift from my friend Mike Mitchell, an artist in East Nashville, and I put in a Mexico-made Tele pickup, so it sounds nasty. It's a big hit at shows and sounds super-gnarly through a Marshall.
Current obsession:
Maybe a new combo for my stereo amp setup, or a damn cool small head? And to keep on keepin' on.
- Weirdest Guitars: Rig Rundown Best-Ofs - Premier Guitar ›
- Weird Guitars: Vintage Freak Show - Premier Guitar ›
- Why Do So Many Posers Play “Offset” Guitars? - Premier Guitar ›
Built on powerful dual‑engine processing and world‑class UAD modeling, ANTI 1992 High Gain Amp gives guitarists the unmistakable sound of an original "block letter" Peavey 5150 amplifier* – the notorious 120‑watt tube amp monster that fueled more than three decades of modern metal music, from Thrash and Death Metal, to Grunge, Black Metal, and more.
"With UAFX Dream, Ruby, Woodrow, and Lion amp emulators, we recreated four of the most famous guitar amps ever made," says UA Sr. Product Manager Tore Mogensen. "Now with ANTI, we're giving rock and metal players an authentic emulation of this punishing high gain amp – with the exact mic/speaker pairings and boost/noise gate effects that were responsible for some of the most groundbreaking modern metal tones ever captured."
Key Features:
- A complete emulation of the early '90s 120‑watt tone monster that defined new genres of modern metal
- Powerful UAFX dual-engine delivers the most authentic emulation of the amp ever placed in a stompbox
- Complete album‑ready sounds with built‑in noise gate, TS‑style overdrive, and TC‑style preamp boost
- Groundbreaking Dynamic Room Modeling derived from UA's award-winning OX Amp Top Box
- Six classic mic/speaker pairings used on decades of iconic metal and hard rock records
- Professional presets designed by the guitarists of Tetrarch, Jeff Loomis, and The Black Dahlia Murder
- UAFX mobile app lets you access hidden amp tweaks and mods, choose overdrive/boost, tweak noise gate, recall and archive your presets, download artist presets, and more
- Timeless UA design and craftsmanship, built to last decades
For more information, please visit uaudio.com.
- YouTube
The Epiphone Jimi Hendrix “Love Drops” Flying V features a careful recreation of the psychedelic graphics that Jimi Hendrix hand-painted on his original guitar.
As part of the Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom Collection, the Epiphone Jimi Hendrix “Love Drops” Flying V is now available at Authorized Epiphone dealers and worldwide on www.epiphone.com.
“Jimi’s artistic expression was all-encompassing. It went far beyond creating magical music and expanded into another dimension of art that allowed us to see the beauty of his music,” says Janie Hendrix, Sister of Jimi and President and CEO of Experience Hendrix LLC & Authentic Hendrix LLC. “When he hand-painted his Flying V, which was an expression of his love for his instrument and his music. With the Epiphone series, Gibson has recreated Jimi’s artwork beautifully! We are excited to partner with them! Seeing Jimi’s handiwork come alive in this spectacular collection is extremely gratifying.”
The Epiphone Jimi Hendrix “Love Drops” Flying V with custom hardshell guitar case.
Originally a Sunburst, Jimi Hendrix customized his Ebony-refinished Gibson Flying V with striking psychedelic graphics that he hand-painted on the original guitar, which are carefully recreated here on the Flying V. As a fitting tribute to one of the world’s most legendary and famous lefty guitar players, the Epiphone Jimi Hendrix “Love Drops” Flying V is available in right and left-handed versions. The Jimi Hendrix “Love Drops” Flying V also features a mahogany body, a one-piece mahogany neck with a Rounded C profile, a laurel fretboard, and 22 medium jumbo frets.
An Inspired by Gibson Custom logo and reproduction of Jimi’s signature adorn the back of the 1967-style Flying V headstock. Epiphone Deluxe tuners anchor the strings at the headstock, while a short Maestro Vibrola anchors them at the other end. The electronics are first-rate, with a pair of Gibson Custombucker humbucker pickups wired to CTS potentiometers, a Mallory tone capacitor, and a Switchcraft 3-way pickup select switch and 1/4” output jack. An Epiphone hardshell guitar case with Inspired by Gibson Custom and Authentic Hendrix™ logos is also included.
Learn more: www.epiphone.com.
