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This is a cool looking guitar. I am not crazy about the leaf tuners either, but it isn't my guitar so I don't have to be. I have built guitars for people with parts and options that I would not use for my own guitar because the customer is always right. Sometimes. Anyway, I checked out that Argentariis website. Cool stuff. I bet Eddie Van Halen would have these tuners on his guitar is he knew about them:


A must have for any smoker who plays so as to not burn their precious guitar!

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

Some people probably like the character of cigarette burns!

Hoping to have my baby in the next 2-3 weeks... here is the finished knob (there are two of them); hand engraved and detailed!

The electronics are being hooked up... the engraved truss rod and trem plate covers are being delivered this week; Argentariis is finishing off the second knob engraving this week; and below is the signed peghead in black lacquer.

I can see why you posted here, and enjoy seeing this project in progress. Cool design. Please keep the photos coming.

I had www.ScottOuderkirk.com create a custom case for the JEM (you send him any case and he does the priming, sketch, and sealing). He did a Hendrix case for me when I had a Hendrix Tribute guitar done. Below you will see some sketched out ideas, along with the final image:

Here are more case designs by Scott, featuring Cash, Atkins and Nelson:

The assembly begins:

I have an idea for a Black Strat (David Gilmour) concept guitar and may get Argentariis to develop little pig tuner keys. The leaf knobs and tuner pegs are shipping this Wednesday:

The neck is set, Locking nut installed - ready to solder in the pickguard and install the bridge spring's and claw.

Report so far from the luthier:

"Plays like my guitars." This is to be expected and I can't wait, since this is all I play. "Tone is bright but full; very articulate; easy to control feedback." This is exactly what Sublime Pickups set out to do (and this is a mahogany body, which many claim will produce 'dark' tones). "I have fret leveling to do on a few frets; normal setup stuff, another few days and it's playing like I meant it to." Engraved plates on truss rodd and trem yet to be installed.

Here is the link to the "Ghost Ground" technique that Stephen Casper did on the JEM guitar:

http://wp.me/p2IaxD-2I

The mostly-finished product; I'll post higher quality images once I received the guitar and attached the silver peg heads and knobs:

The JEM Sublime is shipping in about a week or so... Casper Guitar Technologies is on the finishes touches. The Sublime Pickups are of an interesting construction. Turned up full, they have very similar tones with great 'punch,' but as you roll off the volume each have unique characteristics. The neck pickup should be incredible for some soaring leads... it was constructed so that there are bell-like overtones that ring out, making for a quality that is not typically in most pickups. Stephen Casper confirmed this as he did a trial run yesterday. Hoping for a bit of a YouTube in the next few days from the luthier.

Still a bit of setting up to do (and I have to attach the silver hardware once I receive the guitar)... here is a video of the luthier testing things out (notice the blonde JEM off to the side... a project for himself).

http://youtu.be/GUnJIFOpfOU

Final setting up before shipping... awaiting some photos of the headstock and back trem plate:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?f ... =1&theater

Silver hardware shipping today. Update from the luthier:

"Well, it's that time. This thing in amazing. It plays so well it's crazy. Definitely one of my top builds for sure. Over the last several days, I've done some photographing the guitar for my website, adjusting action, pickup height, polishing spots, adjusting the neck, touching up frets general setup stuff and final adjustments. Tonight, I'll be adding the RFID chip as well as the truss rod and trem plates."

A blog update from my luthier (with photos and some specs). Should be shipping any day:

http://caspersguitarshop.wordpress.com/ ... te-guitar/

The knobs are to be replaced (standard ones right now)... a custom whammy bar to be inserted... and the selector switch will be chrome (not white).

Glow in the dark Sublime logo on middle pickup:

Is this just the coolest photo. I was doing some last min work on the peghead and I decided to try to capture the logo effect. Worked great, and with my phone camera too-

A picture of the back plate... hand engraved and chromed (the jack plate also will be chromed).

Guitar received today. I must say that pictures don't do it justice, and particularly the quality of the metal flake paint. The feel of the fingerboard is the best I have experienced... perhaps that has to do with the ebony, but Steve Casper also makes the best necks I have played. Over the next few weeks I plan on recording some music and writing a detailed review, with photos.

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FEATURES

Introduction

I think most of us have some degree of captivation with an era, whether it’s the 50s, 60s, 70s, or deeper into history with the art and ‘age of enlightenment’ of the Renaissance (or Ritchie Blackmore’s obsession with the Medieval and Dark Ages). This sense of belonging or interest likely has much to do with the uniqueness of a time and its apparent identity or characteristics with art and culture.

I have a certain fondness for British Victorian times, both in terms of craft and intellectual stimulation, as well as the decorative Baroque era (I couldn’t get enough Vivaldi and Bach in my teen years). However, I mostly appreciated those dark rich dens of wood desks and leather armchairs of the Victorian times and how they co-existed with the naturalist attitude of collecting and studying specimens of nature as Britain expanded its empire and expeditions afar, stimulated greatly by Darwin’s voyage to the Galapagos. And it was around that time that Britain was evolving through the industrial age of sweat and steel.

Stephen Casper (of Casper Guitar Technologies out of Florida) created two incredible guitars for me in the not so distant past, and it was time for a third go-around with an axe that offered more ‘edge’ in appearance and tone than the first EVH-style guitar he built me originally. I also wanted to combine certain Victorian elements (nature and modernistic machinery) into one lavish guitar that also would have a sense of Baroque ornamentation – it would require rich colors, but with an aura of both decorative nature and modern sculptured materials.
The basic design concept was an easy decision. For the past few years I’ve been longing for a Vai JEM; the overall shape and monkey grip appeared slick and sleek. But rather than buy stock, I decided to go with this custom project since I wanted to take the JEM concept to new heights; also, I wanted more of a personal and customized guitar, including metallic paint, a smaller neck size, custom pickups, and a ‘vine of life’ inlay that would be stunning and highly decorative. This was to be no ordinary guitar, but a masterpiece that would hold its own against any JEM or other guitar on the market in terms of quality of detail and craftsmanship.

The Details

The ebony fingerboard – a wood that out-wears rosewood, holds frets better, and inlays invisibly – showcases beautifully the exquisite detail of the vine of life inlay, courtesy of Luthier Supply. This inlay is made of select shells from around the world, with each piece and each inlay component hand-made by a company in Korea (products sold both in Korea and the Oregon, USA). The founder, Andy DePaule, has been building guitars since 1969 and created this family-run business with his sons.



Having searched the Internet for a vine/tree of life inlay, most were basic and typical of Ibanez origin… however, the quality and detail of DePaule’s work is second-to-none, and the cost almost ridiculously low! In fact, more cost is in the luthier having to scroll cut the design out of the fingerboard and to inlay the work, but as Buddy Lee DePaule (Andy’s son) stated, “all a person needs is little patience and anyone can do it.” As well, the selection of fretboard, headstock and pickguard inlays by the DePaule’s is enormous, and so I encourage the reader to check out the www.luthiersupply.com website.

Not to be outdone, the autographed/inscribed headstock (Stephen Casper’s signature in silver paint) is a beautiful creation itself. The black lacquer paint contrasts beautifully with the metal truss rod cover, with Vai’s logo hand engraved by www.eddyshandengraving.com. Stephen Casper fabricated the truss rod cover plate from scratch, from a piece of 16-guage steel, which then was engraved and chromed accordingly.



I had Eddy do one other piece – a chrome trem plate cover on the back of the guitar. Typically these are plastic covers, but this plate is its own work of art with the luthier’s name hand-engraved and surrounded by vines (the jack plate cover also is chromed metal).

The machine heads come from the Gotoh SG510 series, precision fitting gears with the world’s first 1:21 gear ratio. But the upper pegs were removed and replaced with the headstocks most eye-catching feature: solid silver ‘leaf’ tuner pegs developed by guitarists and metalsmiths Bo Svendson (who trained for seven years working for Georg Jensen / Royal Copenhagen) and Daniel Doucette of www.Argentariis.com. I was so impressed with the uniqueness (the leaf pegs were an obvious match with the vine of life inlay, as though the vine continued up the headstock and sprouted life) and quality of their work that I commissioned Bo Svendson to develop two knobs for the volume and tone controls to further emulate the ‘leaf’ concept.






Originally I wanted knobs that appeared paisley in shape, but Bo quickly saw how this looked like a leaf, and having it look more leaf-like would complement many aspects of the guitar, including the inlay and tuner pegs. We couldn’t stop there – Bo added a diamond inlay on the top and hand-engraved the knobs with a decorative, Victorian style vine inlay, both of which took customization to a new level.

There are various metals that can be used for both pegs and knobs, but the richness and feel of silver is in a league of its own. Anyone looking for unique hardware has to visit the Argentariis website above or www.boshandengraving.com for currently available guitar hardware or to have pieces custom-made.