The
"ATV" was built for a lead guitar player in a Death Metal
band. I drew a full scale picture of a standard Flying V, and then
gave him a pencil and an eraser.
After two weeks of scribbling, this is what we came up with.
All of the inlays were designed in the shop, using a variety of materials,
Red, Green and Blue Abalone, Mother of Pearl for the
neck and headstock, and Mother of
Pearl, Tortoise shell, Steel, Brass, Ebony, and Silver wire for the
back of the headstock, the Flaming Skull.
The guitar itself is made from solid Mohagany. The neck is a through
neck, which started out 6 inches wide, so I could have enough room
at the body to insert the pickups, and electrics, as well as the bridge,
without having to rout through any joints. The fingerboard is Sri
Lankan Ebony, as is the face plate on the headstock.
The truss rod cover is Ebony with Alex's signature
inlaid in Mother of Pearl.
The paint job was probably the hardest part, as it had to match a
pair of camouflage trousers! I wound up using a flat acrylic paint
for all the colors, then nitrocellulose lacquer on top, so it gleams
in the light, but still looks fairly flat.
This guitar is definitely a screamer, with clearly defined harmonics
and overtones, as well as being capable of growling like a very upset
Grizzley Bear.
Overall, a Heavy Metal Dude's dream come true!
