PHOTO: Polished stainless steel frets with quartersawn maple.PHOTOS: Patented and patent pending RICK TOONE™ tremolo precision machined from aircraft aluminum and stainless steel. Shown here in black anodize to match the neck mount plate.
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.
PHOTOS: Goshawk™ 6-string guitar. Rick Toone™ patented & patents pending tremolo system in black anodize. Custom DiMarzio™ pickups designed by Steve Blucher. 10-way switching. Torrefied premium flame maple neck with abalone. Advantage™ neck profile. Carbon fiber pickguard. Art finish in bright copper verdigris.
“Absolutely thrilled with the guitar man! It plays like a dream. Really pretty amazed there’s no retainer bar with the tuning stability it has to boast. I’ve been scavenging rare and custom tremolo systems for quite some time…amongst my collection this is the most dynamic and arguably musical. Pickups are exactly what I was hoping for! Thanks for hard work and time on this…the finish came out just how I hoped it would.” (Nicolai)
VERDIGRIS | ˈvərdəˌɡrēs, ˈvərdəˌɡrē | (noun) a bright bluish-green encrustation or patina formed on copper or brass by atmospheric oxidation, consisting of basic copper carbonate.
BLUEPRINT | ˈblo͞oˌprint | (noun) a design plan or technical drawing that acts as a model, or template.
Testing and refining the Fender-compatible tremolo design over this past year, I thought the extraordinary bridge performance could be best realized with a purpose-designed guitar.
Pairing the Rick Toone™ tremolo with the Element™ aluminum neck allows for seasonal stability, across continents and climates. Perfect, consistent, string action in changing temperature and humidity conditions. No adjustments required.
String action is also consistent — even during radical tremolo use. New musical techniques become possible.
Spearfish™ platform was chosen due to its proven design and delightful ergonomics.
The result is a reliable, light weight, balanced, comfortable guitar ready for professional touring/studio.
I picked her up Friday morning, broke it in for about an hour, and then took it straight to the bus to give it a test run at the show Saturday night.
Rick, this one is IT. I don’t think I’ve adapted to a new build so quickly before. It was just perfect. Whatever the changes made with regard to the neck are, they are exactly what I needed. It just works for me. Pickups are amazing. Add that to the now perfect weight… Blueprint is 100% manageable for a 2 hour, high energy show.
The trem is AMAZING. It’s SO musical. More so than any other bridge system I have encountered. I have a couple of good friends asking me for my thoughts. The word I kept coming back to is “delicate”. Yes you can dive bomb like a mad man, but never before did I feel like I had TOTAL control of the pitch/vibrato/etc… It’s SO stable, yet also can be manipulated with the lightest, gentlest touch. The analogy I used is it makes all other tremolo systems feel like 720p, and yours is 4K. Much like when you saw 4k for the first time and it felt like the cellophane was taken off the screen, so it is with this bridge. The increased accuracy and clarity have to be experienced first hand to be fully understood. (Matt Richard)
PHOTOS: Rick Toone™ tremolo retrofit-capable for Fender Stratocaster™ guitars. Precision machined in USA from aircraft aluminum and stainless steel. Patented, multiple patents pending.PHOTOS: Element™ 24-fret aircraft aluminum neck. Spearfish™ neck system has been fully redesigned. Precise, repeatable installation and removal for air travel. Position markers are pass-through design for tactile orientation with maximum visibility. Continuing the slender Element™ theme of 0.5″/12.7mm now with new soft C profile. Familiar 25.5″ scale length with polished stainless steel frets.PHOTO: Spearfish™ headstock with six-in-line for rapid tuning. Tilt back design with straight string path optimizes tension across the nut. Precise return to pitch.PHOTO: Spearfish™ 6-string tremolo guitar. Blueprint art finish. Swamp ash, carbon fiber, aircraft aluminum, stainless steel. 6-way switching for true single coil and humbucker tones. Intuitive controls at your fingertips. Reliable machined aluminum output jack positioned below, allowing tremolo arm to swing freely. Pickguard-mounted electronics for simple servicing, without removing neck or trem.
VIDEO: Henry Kaiser shares gorgeous ambient improv playing on SPORE 6-string guitar. There are so many things I love about this recording. Notice the massive, immersive, soundscape Henry paints with such economy of motion. His fingerstyle and subtle trem. Harmonics. Skull shirt. Our conversations behind the scenes indicates a surprising signal chain…the only reveal here is there is no looping: only delays. Grateful thank you to Henry for recording this video, and also for acquiring SPORE. When I built the guitar I knew it needed to be in the hands of someone special.
“I took the liberty of keeping it psychedelic behind your end title after I finished playing it is SPORE, after all and the guitar told me to make it like that” (HK)
PHOTOS: Spearfish Vapor™ 6-string guitar. Swamp ash, carbon fiber. Patented component set precision machined from aircraft aluminum and stainless steel. Bare Knuckle custom pickups with 10-way switching.
(begin)
screen will now go dark
not just this screen
every screen
everywhere
if (no = ipadphonecarsmarttvterminalAI)
if (can’t poke box for answer)
then (what happens next)
IF: you want to run a software self-diagnostic — abstain from all screen interactions for 24 hours. Do not allow your brain to access any electronic or media content: visual, sound, written. (24 hours)
>> Return your sensory input to: only what you can directly perceive using your own five senses.
IF: you want to run a simultaneous hardware self-diagnostic — abstain from all nutrition input for 24 hours. Including water. Do not allow your body to access any calories or fluids. Dry fasting. (24 hours)
>> Allow your body to: only breathe.
Q: What do you notice?
VAPOR | ˈvāpər | (noun) a substance diffused or suspended in the air, especially one normally liquid or solid.
