Guitar Of The Week
Guitar Of The Week

(02/24/15) This is a Strandberg Boden 8. This is one of the first production models that was made by Strictly 7. All my other Strandbergs are of the Washburn custom shop verity. I can definitely see why the switch was made. But with that this is still an amazing guitar. The body is a Flame Maple top over a Swamp Ash back. The neck and fretboard are Rosewood. The guitar was originally owned by the guitar player in Modern Day Babylon. He switched the pickups to Bare Knuckle Juggernauts. I added a set of Rosewood knobs. I wanted a higher end 8 string and this definitely fit the bill.

(02/10/15) This is a Strandberg Masvidalien, I love this guitar. It has a very cool body design. The back is Mahogany, the middle is Alder and the top is Flamed Maple. It has a Birdseye Maple neck and fretboard with stainless steel frets. The neck has the EndurNeck profile. It also has Ola Strandberg's Trem which I added a Tremol-No to. The pickups are EMG 57/66. As with the 7 string Boden I have, This is truly an amazing instrument.

(06/10/14) This will be the last post for a little as I have posted all my guitars that I have right now. This was a great way to get a little better at photography. This last guitar was my first acoustic. It is a Washburn D10BK. It has a solid Spruce top and Mahogany back and Neck with a Rosewood fretboard. It was a great starter guitar and almost 18 years later it still plays nice.

(06/03/14) This is a Strandberg Boden 7 String. I am very excited about this guitar and this company and have been following them for some time. I have only had this guitar for about 2 weeks but I have not been able to put it down. I ordered it about 7 months ago. This is part of the production line, the neck and body are made by the Washburn Custom Shop in Chicago and then Allan Marcus does the final build, Allan is part of Astral EXR Systems along with Paul De Maio, Both of them have been noting but a pleasure to deal with, truly great guys and I wish other companies would follow there lead. I am also on the wait list for a custom one made by Ola Strandberg in Sweden. Where to start on this guitar is the hard part. I am a such a fan of Parker because I feel like Ken Parker really took all we have learned and tried to make a better guitar for the real player. I have not seen anything like it since until I saw what Strandberg was doing. The body is chambered Swamp Ash with a Carlo Walnut top. The neck is Maple with a Birds Eye Maple fretboard with glow in the dark inlays. It has 24XL Stainless Steel frets. The pickups are EMG 707X and I got to say EMG really did a great job on these. Now on to what makes this truly a special design. The neck is a mixed scale length or fanned fret. It keeps the lower strings feeling tight while keeping the higher strings easy to bend but it always helps keep the natural movement of your hand and makes any two handed tapping stuff so much easier. The back of the neck is a EndurNeck, which has a flat spot to keep your thumb on. I love this neck, it makes moving with the 7 string effortless. The body is cut in such a way that you can hold and play the guitar in many different positions. It is great for practicing on a couch or recording in an office chair and has been great for teaching and writing while holding the guitar. And the best part is the guitar is super light, under 5lbs. This is a great step forward in guitar design and this will not be the last Strandberg I buy. I am super excited to see what they do next. Oh and this guitar sounds amazing, I never thought I would have a 7 string that sounds so amazing even clean.

(05/27/14) This is a Washburn C104SCE Classical Acoustic-Electric I have had this guitar for a long time and this was also my first nylon string I ever owned. It has Rosewood back and sides with a solid Spruce top and a Rosewood fretboard. Just a solid nylon string.

(05/20/14) This is a Carvin DC200 Stereo from 1988. I bought this guitar used when I was about 13 (Around 1997). It was the 1st real nice guitar I owned. It has a Koa body and a Maple neck thru body with an Ebony Fretboard with block mother of pearl inlays. It has a Floyd Rose Original bridge. Both the neck and bridge pickups are Carvin M22s, It has a 3 way selector with 2 coil taps and a phase switch and dual volume and tone knobs. A very cool feature on this guitar is its stereo output jacks. You can split the pickups and send the bridge to one amp setup and the neck to another. I played countless hours on this guitar and learned so many riffs and licks and songs from my favorite bands and players. I can even remember the first time I learned and could play Crazy Train on this guitar. I still love this guitar to this day and it still sounds amazing.

(05/13/14) This bass was put together by a friend years ago when I wanted to get into more bass playing. The body and neck are from Warmoth. The body is an Alder back with an AAAA quilted Maple top. The neck is one piece Rosewood with a Ebony Fretboard. It is set up as a P-Special and has Seymour Duncan Basslines in both neck and bridge. I love this bass, it plays amazing and just sounds so good.

(05/06/14) This is a 5 string bass I put together from a Carvin Kit. The body is Swamp Ash and the neck is Maple with an Ebony fretboard. I did just an oil finish on the whole bass. It is a very resonate instrument and also surprisingly light as well. It has active electronics with a J pickup in the neck and a Humbucker in the bridge, both pickups are Carvin. I put this bass together years ago so I had a 5 string to write parts on and it has stood the test of time and is still a great bass.

(04/29/14) This is a Washburn P3 made in Washburn's Custom Shop in Chicago. The body and neck are made out of african sapele and it has a Rosewood fretboard with Buzz Feiten Tuning System. The Buzz Feiten Tuning System gives the guitar perfect intonation all the way up the neck. It has a Seymour Duncan Jazz in the neck and a Custom in the bridge. This guitar sounds to fat, This has always been my go to over a Les Paul.

(04/15/14) This is a Fender Baja Telecaster made in Mexico. It has an Ash Body and a Maple neck with Jumbo frets. The neck pickup is a stock Fender, but the bridge pickup is a Seymour Duncan Broadcaster. It has a 4-way selector which gives you all the normal Tele combinations but the 4 position is humbucking. I also upgraded the saddles to solid brass. I love this Tele and it plays and sounds amazing.

(04/08/14) This is a Fender Road Worn 50's Stratocaster. It is finished in an aged nitrocellulose lacquer which gives it the look of a real vintage guitar. Nitro will also keep aging and I feel the wood resonates better with it. The body is Alder and the neck is Maple with Jumbo Frets. This Strat may be the only Strat I have that is stock. It has Fender Tex-Mex pickups in all 3 positions with a 5-way selector. This is a great Strat with vintage vibe but for a fraction of the cost.

(04/01/14) This is a ESP LTD H-208 8 string. I just picked this up used the other day to mess around with an 8 string. It has a Basswood body and a Maple neck with a Rosewood fretboard. I currently have it tuned 1=E 2=B 3=G 4=D 5=A 6=E 7=B 8=F#. I am still not sure if I can really find a practical use for an 8 string, but this is a good way to start trying.

(03/25/14) Totally changing it up today. This is a YRG-1000 Gen-2, Made by Inspired Instruments. It is basically a Guitar Hero Controller setup to transmit MIDI. And in-fact is a pretty killer Guitar MIDI controller. It has some on board sounds which are ok, but with a MIDI out and USB out to the computer it can trigger any virtual instruments. The fretboard is rubber and every fret position is a button, then there are 6 strings for picking which will trigger the string. It also sports a tap mode which lets you just do hammer ons or 2 handed technics.

(03/18/14) This is a Godin Multiac ACS-SA Nylon string made in Quebec. The body is Maple with a Mahogany neck and Ebony fretboard. The guitar has a built-in GK pickup with 13pin output to trigger a guitar synth. This is a great nylon string guitar. It plays and feels a lot like an electric guitar but sounds like an incredible classical guitar. This has been my go to for recording for the last 12 plus years. It plays amazing and always tracks great.

(03/11/14) This is another Parker Fly Deluxe. In fact it is identical to the my other Parker Fly Deluxe I posted on 10-22-13. Even down to the color "Italian Plum". This is why I really wanted to show another side of Ken Parker's design. I love how futuristic and smooth the neck joint is on the back of the guitar. It looks like a fine sculpture. This is the first Parker I ever got, I spent countless hours with this guitar practicing and playing in bands. As with my other Parker Fly Deluxe's It has a Poplar body with a Basswood neck and Carbon Fiber fretboard. It has DiMarzio pickups in the neck and bridge and a piezo in the bridge. The frets and hardware are all stainless steel with Sperzel locking tuners. Nothing plays like these guitars, they are like the Ferrari of guitars. One of the coolest things about them is with the stainless steel frets and carbon fiber fretboard they are so snappy and responsive, you can slap and pop just like a bass.

(03/04/14) This is another guitar that I will never give up. It is a Frankenstrat at its finest. I had a USA Fender Strat Plus that I never really liked the neck on and could never really get it to play how I wanted. One day I was trying to fit a Charvel neck on it and it wouldn't fit, I looked around and figured I always loved the neck on my first real guitar, a Fender Mexican Strat. The neck on the Mexican Strat was worn in from the years of playing. As soon as I put it on I knew it was meant to be. I took the badge off an old safe and and put it on the headstock and the Safeguard Strat was born. The Body is Alder and the neck is Maple with a Maple fretboard. It has Schaller locking tuners and the pickguard I purchased off a friend. For pickups It has a DiMarzio Tone Zone in the bridge and a Fender Texas Special in the middle with a Seymour Duncan 59 in the neck.

(02/25/14) This is a Washburn Millennium DM2000SCE Limited Edition Dreadnought. The Millennium Edition was made in 2000 to commemorate the new Millennium. This is 284 out of only 560 made. It has a solid Spruce top with Rosewood back and sides, a Mahogany neck with Rosewood fretboard. The body, neck and headstock are fully bound. It also has Abalone hexagon outline inlays on the neck. It has gold Grover tuners. The neck is very thin and has a electric guitar feel to it, Just a very nice playing and sounding acoustic guitar.

(02/18/14) This is a Carvin CM-130 from the late 70s. The whole guitar is Birdseye Maple. It has 24 jumbo frets, a solid Brass nut and Abalone dot inlays as well as the old school Carvin logo on the headstock. I upgraded the tuners to Sperzels locking tuners and also added Abalone knobs to match the inlays. It has Carvin M22 pickups in both neck and bridge with a 3-way selector and a coil tap for each and an overall phase reverse. This guitar still looks just as good as it did in the 70s. It plays amazing and sounds just awesome.

(02/11/14) This is an Ibanez JemVWH, Ibanez started making this model in 1993 and still makes it today. This one was made before 2003 because it still has a Ebony fretboard with the beautiful Tree of Life inlay, the body is Alder. It has DiMarzio Evolution pickups in all the positions, It has a 5-way selector. It has a Edge Tremolo bridge and groundbreaking Lion's Claw tremolo cavity, allowing pitches to be radically raised or lowered without obstruction. Just a stunning looking guitar and it plays as good as it looks.

(02/04/14) This is just a fun instrument. It is a Dean Backwoods 6 string Banjo. It is tuned and strung like a normal guitar so all the chords and scales work on it. Very cool to hear how ideas and riffs sound on a Banjo. I have yet to record it but will be using it to layer parts at some point.

(01/28/14) This is a Custom Carvin DC727 7 string. It has a Mahogany back and an AAAA Quilted maple top. A Maple oil finish neck-thru with an Ebony fretboard with Abalone inlays. Both of the pickups were changed to a set of DiMarzio Evolutions. It has a licensed Floyd Rose with Sperzels locking tuners. It has a 3 way pickup selector with a coil-tap for each pickup and an overall phase switch, it also has an active boost which is turned on and off with a push-pull pot.

(01/21/14) This is one of my Holy Grail guitars. It is a Washburn X50Prof that was a limited run for Sam Ash. It has a Mahogany body and neck and a Maple top and a Ebony fretboard with jumbo frets. It has a EMG 81 in the bridge and an 85 in the neck. I added schaller locking tuners and sanded down the back of the neck. I have never recorded with this guiar and not gotten an amazing sound. This is the guitar I used in Sweden with Beyond Shadows. I have had a lot of people offer to buy it over the years but I won't part with it. The thing about this guitar is that its not an expensive guitar but it has the mojo and I have played a few other of the same guitar and they didn't have the magic of this one. Just a joy to play and one of those guitars that is hard to put down once you pick it up.

(01/14/14) This is a California Custom USA Made Schecter. They call this Model the Tempest now but this guitar pre dates that. When I first started playing guitar and taking lessons this was hanging up in the shop where I took lessons and was the first guitar I ever looked at and wanted. A few years later my path crossed with this guitar and I never let it go. It has a Mahogany body and Maple neck with Rosewood fretboard. It has Sperzels locking tuners and Seymour Duncan pickups. The finish is almost like a gold top and has aged like one but has a more greenish tinge to it. The guitar plays amazing and sounds very warm and bell like.

(01/07/14) This is a George Lynch signature model ESP Sunburst Tiger. The body is Maple with a Maple neck and Rosewood fretboard. It has a Floyd Rose Original bridge. It has a Seymour Duncan Screamin' Demon pickup in the bridge and a ESP single-coil pickup in the neck. The guitar is signed by Lynch himself on the back of the headstock. The guitar sounds and plays great but more then anything it is a real head turner.

(12/31/13) This is a Charvel SoCal USA made in Candy Plum. The guitar has an Alder body and a raw Maple neck and fretboard with jumbo frets. It has a DiMarzio Evolution in the neck and a Tone Zone in the bridge. It has a Floyd Rose Original bridge. I modded it with a EVH D-Tuna, so the guitar goes from standard to drop D tuning at the pull of a switch. I also replaced the locking nut with a graphite one and put Sperzels locking tuners on. This guitar is just a joy to play and once you pick it up it is so hard to stop playing and put it down again.

(12/24/13) This may be one of the coolest looking guitars I have and have ever seen for that matter. It is an Ibanez Universe UV77MC Swirl. These were first made in 1990. The Ibanez Universe is the first mass-produced solid body seven-string electric guitar, developed by Steve Vai and manufactured by Ibanez. It has a Basswood body and Maple neck and Rosewood fretboard. It has the disappearing pyramid inlays. It also has DiMarzio Blaze II pickups in the bridge, middle and neck. Ibanez made a 20th anniversary reissue of this guitar, but this is the original. Just a super cool guitar to look at, oh and it plays and sounds great too.

(12/17/13) This is a Parker NiteFly M. The M stands for Mahogany, which is what the body is made out of. This is also unique from the other Parker's that I have in that it is a bolt on Mahogany neck and the body has a satin-finish. It still has a Carbon Fiber fretboard with stainless steel frets and and Sperzel locking tuners. The bridge is a little different in that is has normal trem springs in the back, but it still has a piezo in it. It has DiMarzio custom-wound humbuckers in both the neck and bridge, and a 3-way pickup selector with push-pull coil-tap.

(12/10/13) This is one of my favorite 7 strings ever. It is a Ibanez RG7621, Made In Japan. Ibanez made these from 1998 to 2002. It has a Basswood body and Maple neck with Rosewood fretborad. It has DiMarzio Blaze pickups in the neck and bridge. I upgraded the turners to locking Sperzels. I have owned and played a lot of 7 strings and there is something that Ibanez just got right with these. It has nice tight low end and plays great and with the fixed bridge stays in tune. This has always been my go to recording 7 string.

(12/03/13) This is an Ibanez Jem 777DY, the color is called Desert Sun Yellow. Ibanez started making these in 1987. I purchased this used when I was around 14 years old from a hole in the wall guitar shop. I was just started to really get into Steve Vai and this looked like nothing I had ever seen before. The body is American Basswood with a Maple neck and fretboard. It has DiMarzio PAFs in the neck and bridge and I replaced the middle pickup with a DiMarzio Virtual Vintage. It as the older style Ibanez Pro Edge tremolo. The disappearing pyramid inlays are very cool as well. And the whole guitar glows under a black light.

(11/26/13) This is a great example of a great inexpensive guitar. It is a Yamaha CG172SF Nylon-string Flamenco style guitar. It has a solid spruce top, cypress back and sides, and a nato neck with a rosewood fingerboard. Just a great playing guitar, and it has that great Flamenco attack. With solid top it will hold up better as the years go on and even sound better and better.

(11/19/13) This is a rather rare Parker Fly Deluxe S2, I have never seen another one in person. It is a normal Fly Deluxe, It has a Poplar body with a Basswood neck and Carbon Fiber fretboard. It has a DiMarzio humbucker in the bridge and what makes it rare DiMarzio single coils in the middle and neck with a 5 way selector and a piezo in the bridge. The frets and hardware are all stainless steel with Sperzel locking tuners. As with every Parker, It plays amazing.

(11/12/13) This is one of my all time favorite Strats. It is a Fender Highway 1 Stratocaster that I have modded over time. It started with a satin nitro finish that from playing and sweating on became shiny. It has locking tuners and a black pickguard. The pickups were swapped out for a set of Joe Bardens. They have all the twang and Strat spank you could want without any noise or hum. The body is Alder with a Maple neck and Rosewood fretboard. The Frets are stainless steel jumbos. I love this guitar and will never part with it. It is everything that a Stratocaster should be.

(11/05/13) This is an earlier Paul Reed Smith Custom 24. I always wanted an emerald green PRS. This guitar has a flame maple top, which is a 10 top. Mahogany back and neck with a rosewood fretboard. The signature PRS bird inlays really make the guitar beautiful and timeless. I love the 5-way rotary pickup selector. You can get every tone with this guitar and it plays amazing. Just an all around killer guitar.

(10/29/13) I love this acoustic, it is a Larrivee L-03. When it comes to acoustic steel string guitars I have two classifications, does it sound like a Martin or a Taylor. Martins to me have always been very warm and bassy sounding where Taylor has a nice bright shimmer and attack. This Larrivee fits right in-between and is a joy to record and play. All Solid wood Construction, Single Piece Mahogany Neck, Canadian Sitka Spruce Sound Board & Bracing, African Ebony Fretboard & Bridge, Canadian Maple Body Binding, Mahogany Back & Sides.

(10/22/2013) This is the most recent Parker that I picked up, funny thing is it is an exact duplicate of my first Parker that I still own. It is was made in 1998 and is a Fly Deluxe. It has a Poplar body with a Basswood neck. It has DiMarzio pickups in the neck and bridge and a piezo in the bridge. The pickups are stock but have vinyl covers from universaljems.com. Two of the coolest features on the earlier Parkers are a switch to block and unblock the floating bridge on command and a red L.E.D. that lets you know when the battery is almost dead. I call this my Grave Digger Parker because it matches the colors found on the famous monster truck.

(10/15/2013) I always wanted one of these. It's a Music Man Axis Super Sport. It has a basswood body with a mahogany tone block in the middle and a bookmatched figured maple top. The neck is birdseye maple with a wax based finish. Two custom wound DiMarzio's with a 5-way selector. And the Music Man bridge with the locking turners is an awesome combo. The guitar also doubles as a sledgehammer because it's build is that solid.

(10/08/2013) I almost only played Parkers when I was younger and somehow over time as I played other guitars I forgot just how awesome they were. It was when I found this one and couldn't put it down that I remembered why they are one of my all time favorites. This is a Fly Classic. The body is mahogany and the neck is basswood with a coating of glass carbon fiber. It's pretty awesome because it never dries out and the neck is always perfect and this with the Sperzel locking tuners and Parker's bridge leaves the guitar always in tune, even if it's just sitting on the stand for a few weeks, months, years. It has DiMarzio pickups in the neck and bridge and a piezo in the bridge. So with the flip of a toggle switch it sounds like an acoustic. I own 5 Parkers currently and have had others, but of all of them I have played this may be the best sounding and playing one.

(10/01/2013) This is a Paul Reed Smith Swamp Ash special 25th anniversary edition. The body is swamp ash hence the name and the neck is maple with PRSs super thin finish that makes it feels like raw maple. The pickups are very cool and have a single coil and p90 sound with even more snap and no hum.

(09/24/2013) This was one of the most recent guitars I acquired. It is a 50s reissue mexican Fender Strat. I switched out the pickups to Seymour Duncans. It had APS-2s in the neck and middle and a Twanger Banger in the bridge. Just a great playing Strat that has a bit of a Tele vibe to it.

(09/17/2013) I made this guitar when I was about 13, It was a Carvin alder body and maple neck with ebony board. My friend did the finsh. It has a DiMarzio Evo in the neck and a Duncan distortion in the bridge and a Carvin AP11 in the middle. With a Wilkinson bridge and Sperzel locking tuners. It's such a versatile guitar and one of my all time favorites.