Testimonials

First Impressions

PHOTO: Aidan gets acquainted with his new Birdseye Blonde ’67 guitar. Multi-year student of Chris Buono, it was a great learning experience to listen in on their lesson and jam here in the studio.

“Having the chance to sit down with Rick and play this guitar was a tremendous experience. The craftsmanship speaks for itself: it’s wonderful to play, comfortable, beautiful to look at, and most importantly sounds excellent. The tremolo is incredibly smooth, and it’s amazing to pitch shift chords in tune. The tuning stability is also the best I’ve experienced on any tremolo. Being able to drop the low E and stay in tune is wild!

Thank you again for hosting us this past Saturday. Reflecting with Chris during my lesson tonight, it really was a joy to be surrounded by music in its rawest form, and getting to share in that experimentation was as eye opening as it was inspiring.

My biggest takeaway from playing and conversing between the three of us was the importance of respecting the music and composition versus “taking a solo”. Improvisation has form, and establishing lead sections (beginning, middle, end) is as exciting and engaging as supporting with rhythmic and/or ambient variations.”

Black Wolf ’67

PHOTO: Black Wolf ’67 guitar. Relic nitro over Alder. Rosewood w/maple. Aircraft aluminum, black fiberglass.

I wanted to explore in a different direction with this build.

Black Wolf ’67 is the mirror of Birdseye Blonde ’67 — taking the same platform but radically flipping the electronics plus some subtle construction details. Lithe dark magic emerges from this forest, all glowing eyes and bright fangs in the gloaming.

Bare Knuckle alnico Nailbombs coil-split with superorganic woodiness into singles with punch and depth. Perfect gleam and ruthless clarity, there is no outrunning in this fairy tale. Slip between the trees…but full-on humbucking brings every soft creature in the valley to standstill.

“Rick, Thanks so much for bringing such a great instrument into the universe. The tremolo is an engineering and sonic marvel. I never imagined after 40 years playing and owning upwards of 50 guitars over the years that I would be so blown away. I feel like it almost plays itself. Truly the best guitar I have ever played.” (Erik Cohen)

PHOTOS: Bare Knuckle alnico Nailbomb calibrated set with 6-way switching. Simplified one volume + one tone. RICK TOONE™ patented tremolo system.

Sjuggs Jam

PHOTO: Something magical happened in the 1950’s. Gretsch drums, Fender Tweed, paired with (my ’67 version) Leo’s iconic guitar…they play together so well recording is effortless.
PHOTO: Sporting team colors, Sjuggs points out the Plexi/Tweed switch on this awesome Dumblesque “Tweedle” 5E3 build from Denver Amp Works. Fluxtone speaker tech is probably the greatest invention since radio — imagine your tone is perfect no matter what the volume in the room.

My good bud Steve Sjuggerud flew up from Florida this week to hang out in the studio and catch up. Our plan was to record a jam session, but we got distracted by amplifiers. More specifically, amplifier mods. Turns out, this might be the deepest rabbit hole of all time. We forgot to play and just talked for two days.

Choose your tubes. Pot values. Caps. Resistors. Rectifier? Schematic. Point to point. Switches. Wire gauge. Speaker. Magnet material. Cabinet material. Open back or closed? Pine. Birch ply. Finger joint. Tolex. Tweed.

Change out any of those variables and the amp becomes an entirely different beast.

Steve, so awesome to catch up in person. Thank you for our time together — and also this amazing amp.

PHOTO: Black anodize Rick Toone™ tremolo on the ’67. In the background the 5E3, patiently waiting to jam.

Wingspan Fretless Multiscale

“I. AM. SPEECHLESS. Lost for words. Thank you!” (Steve Sjuggerud)

PHOTOS: Seemingly simple, yet infinitely deep.

7-String Single Cut | Eclipse

PHOTO: Inviting contours. Light weight, balanced, minimalist.

I fell completely in love with this guitar. Something about the simplicity feels familiar. Sleight-of-hand simplicity, however. Unusual multi-scale plus the Advantage™ neck profile plus the ingredients adds up to a delightful playing experience.

Plus, that tone. Warmth, piano clarity, sweetness.

Deeply grateful to Andrew for allowing me a blank canvas and his patience as I thought through how to manifest this machine.

“Have you considered designing a 7-string single cut? I have always been drawn to single cuts (mainly Teles), and I have been looking for a seven string. I can’t, however, find one that I like. Please let me know if that is something you would be interested in working on. I just love single cuts, but most people don’t push the limits of what they are capable of. I was thinking a headless multiscale, humbuckers (probably Bare Knuckle), 6-way switch, tone and volume. Simple finish, probably a nice black stain with a nice wood grain.” (Andrew)

“I am still a bit speechless…I have been playing almost non-stop, and I am completely blown away. Even when I am not playing it, I am still thinking about it. The design and aesthetic are incredible. It is so much fun to play, and I have barely scratched the surface. It is so comfortable, and you were right…a complete tone machine. The fun starts now, as I am already finding new ways to approach my playing. I can’t wait to see where she leads. Thank you so much, and it was definitely worth the wait.” (Andrew)

PHOTO: “Eclipse” 7-string guitar. Torrefied swamp ash, quartersawn torrefied flame maple, ebony. Carbon fiber, aircraft aluminum. Patented Intonation Cantilever™ component system. Custom Bare Knuckle™ PolyMath pickups with 6-way switching.