Guitar Grip Guitar Hangers

I think most of us can truly say that we do not put a lot of thought into guitar hangers. One important thing to remember is to avoid hangers that can damage your guitar's finish such as hangers made with silicone. Silicone will eat the nitro right off your vintage Martin!

Well, now it's time to think of (and save for) really kick ass hangers for your guitars. The good guys at Guitar Grip game up with these injection molded guitar hangers that look just like a hand coming from your wall. The GS1 series starts off at $39.99 and provides you with a high quality metallic painted hand.

My favorite is the hand painted "Undead Fred Guitar Grip." Although pricy at $89.99, it could easily be the special hanger to take that special guitar to the level of "Deadly Axe."

Guitar Grip also offers female hands for the lady Shredders out there and they even offer left hand models for all you folks that got it wrong somewhere along the way.

Win promotional "Tree of Life" inlaid pickguard from VanWhy Inlay& Design

Aaron VanWhy, long time Martin Custom Shop inlay artist recently launched an inlay business and as a friend and co-worker of his, I thought I'd pass on this awesome opportunity to win a Dreadnaught sized "Tree of Life" inlaid pickguard. You can choose between one inlaid with maple and abalone or one inlaid with koa and abalone. Both are finished and ready for shipment. Won't cost you a dime to enter either. Just check out his Facebook and sign up for the promotional give away. To enter click here!

Arron does traditional inlay with hand tools as well as intricate cnc inlay designs using a shop bot CNC. Both methods offer excellent quality and craftsmanship! 

Reverend "Ron Asheton"

You may not know who Ron Asheton was (Stooges) but that doesn't matter if you want  a killer guitar with classic looks and unique tones. As most guitarists, I've always loved the Flying V shape originated by Gibson. Just like most Gibson shapes, the Flying V has been replicated with just about every spin possible. However, one constant has typically been the overly powerful humbucker pickups. This means you will likely experience predictable tone

The Reverend Ron Asheton signature series guitar strays away from the humbucker doldrums and offers you three...YES THREE p90 pickups! If that isn't enough for you, the body is made of Korina. This harkens back to the early days of the Flying V. Korina has a similar tone to mahogany. Paired with the p90 pickups, the Ron Asheton will scream!

Throw in locking tuners and a graphite nut and you can't go wrong with this signature guitar...even if you are a hater of signature guitars!

LTD Graphic Series

If you have been a fan of Kirk Hammett's Boris Karloff Mummy graphic ESP guitar or even his Ouija graphic ESP guitar you will likely fall in love with ESP's new LTD series graphic guitars. My personal favorite from this new series is the Vincent Price guitar complete with the pendulum fretboard inlay.

Unfortunately for Kirk addicts, LTD is not offering any of his custom graphics within this series. Also disappointing is the fact that you cannot purchase a Kirk graphic guitar within the signature series either. If you must have an authentic graphic, you might have to hit your local stores to find a trade-in. If you aren't that picky and you simply want a killer guitar, such as this Bella Dracula graphic, ESP LTD has what you want!

Tomahawk "Odd Fellows"

If you were a fan of the Mike Patton era Faith No More but you couldn't quite grasp Mr. Bungle or if you were the exact opposite, you should like Tomahawk. Tomahawk has been Mike Patton's "All-star" lineup band where he has consistently mixed the best of FNM and Bungle.

This has never been more evident than on their new release titled, "Odd Fellows." If you enjoyed Bungle's "California" album or Faith No More's "King For a Day" you will absolutely love this airy Mike Patton offering. This is clearly a return for Mike from the pop rock or Spanish albums he has released over the last few years. I for one as a life long Patton fan and seriously happy about this! Thank you Mike and the rest of the gang for a great album.

Martin Custom Shop D14 Koa Acoustic Guitar

I'm pleased to announce my new C.F. Martin & Co. Custom Shop D14 exceptionally flamed Koa acoustic guitar. This guitar was 6 months and 1 day in the making and easily lives up to the long wait! When I ordered this guitar I focused on woods that will be very limited, if not impossible to obtain around 10 to 20 years from now. When you spend this much on a guitar, you should be thinking about the investment possibilities as well as the tonal possibilities.

I also wanted a Martin that no other person has. For a fact, I now have that Martin. This is the first Martin with a 9 piece neck. Yes, the neck is 9 pieces. Maple, Koa, Walnut, Koa, Maple, Koa, Walnut, Koa Maple. The Claro walnut rosette is the same size as the rosette that you find on the Martin OMC Cherry (Which I also own.)

Now onto the specifications:

Top and Sides: Exceptionally Flamed Koa

Back: Exceptionally Flamed Koa with a highly flamed European Maple wedge

Mahogany Dovetail front block and mahogany rear block

Sitka unscalloped braces

Grade 4 Ebony Fretboard (25.4" Scale)

Grade 4 Ebony belly bridge with black pins (white dots)

Claro Walnut binding and purfling with maple fiber (dyed black) inlay on the binding and purfling

Abalone C.F. Martin Inlay on the Performing Artist style squared off headstock. Complete with exceptionally flamed Koa headplate

Gotoh Chrome tuners with ebony tuner knobs

Bone nut and bridge saddle

Now, onto some pictures. This level of flame is very hard to capture in pictures. I have not been able to obtain pictures that live up to the quality of this finely crafted instrument. However, I'm looking into professional pictures. If I go that route, I'll be sure to update this post. 

You might notice that there is a complete lack of inlay on the fretboard. I have contacted Aaron VanWhy to complete some inlay on the fretboard for me. Aaron was recently promoted from the Martin Custom shop to a management position so I was not sure that he would complete the inlay on my custom guitar. Aaron does custom inlays for guitars and just about any other thing you could possibly inlay. Since he's the best inlay artist that Martin has, I'm taking the guitar directly to him for my inlay work.

LTD Elite From ESP

I've had the fortune to own a couple ESP guitars in the past and I've always thought that they represent the best quality Japan has to offer in the mid-priced to high end guitar market. For many, justifying a couple grand for a guitar from Japan is hard to do. I've also owned several LTD guitars built by ESP. Although lesser quality, often these guitars compete well against larger manufacturers such as Fender and Gibson guitars that list higher in price. I'm happy to see that ESP has come up with a solution for the customer that wants a litter more for less price. The LTD Elite guitar line is manufactured at the same plant as the ESP branded equipment by the same builders. This seems like a great solution. I hope it bodes well for both ESP and their customer base! Read more at the ESP website.