Wolf in sheep’s clothing, this one.
From the RICK TOONE™ tremolo, to the advanced electronics, to the body wood, nothing screams tradition. Except that it does. Nitro butterscotch relic finish. (In)famous black pick guard.
“It is the greatest leap in Strat trems since the Floyd…but it is easier and is way more fun to play.” (Steve Sjuggerud)
My first time working with Paulownia species. An invasive, put to good use in surfboard construction. Delightfully light, with the entire guitar coming in at 5 lbs. Astonishing because it seems to weigh almost nothing.
The tone, however, says otherwise. Ingeniously designed Steve Blucher DiMarzio™ pickups — combined with 6-way switching plus the wood combination — will give vintage original guitars a run for their money.
“Dude I used the ’67 guitar for a Hendrix show. Fucking thing absolutely decimated. 14 and a half minutes that song was. Wailing on the trem. By the end it was still in tune. Crazy!” (Joe Cirotti)
Tim Mills (founder of Bare Knuckle Pickups) was kind enough to invite me to display at their booth again this year. Two of my builds will be at the show. Gabriel Levi earned his return spot as well, and will be delighted to give you a test flight on these awesome guitars.
Tim’s personal RICK TOONE ’67 is wired with Bare Knuckle ’63 Veneer Board set with ‘RWRP’ mid coils and zinc plated steel baseplate on the bridge coil. Custom BKP 280K pots -‘A’ taper for vol and ‘J’ taper and Vitamin Q 0.022ufd PIO cap. Tim’s guitar features the patented RICK TOONE ’67™ tremolo which brings revolutionary pitch bend performance (and is a direct retrofit) to the classic standard Stratocaster™ body routes.
Gunslinger Pisces™ is wired with Bare Knuckle PolyMath pickups designed by Tim Mills and Nolly Getgood. Freeway 10-way switching brings out all the delicious coil splits plus humbucking tones. Gunslinger features the leading edge patented RICK TOONE PISCES™ multi-scale capable tremolo.