SECTOR SPOTLIGHT ELECTRIC GUITARS
Musicman John Petrucci JPXI2 £2,800
The latest in the John Petrucci series, this stunner has an Alder body with maple top and mahogany tone block, a custom Petrucci piezo floating trem bridge, mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, Schaller M6-IND locking machines, DiMarzio Liquifire pickup on the neck and a Crunch Lab on the bridge – as well as the piezo.
Yamaha SG-1820 £2,999
Developed from the mid 1970s SG175 by Yamaha and Carlos Santana, the SG1820 includes thru-neck, custom Alnico pickups, dual push/push coil taps and under-bridge brass sustain block in order to remain true to Santana’s original sustain-optimising spec. Maple and mahogany body, with a maple top and a three piece maple and mahogany neck all add to the sweet tone of this guitar.
Vigier Mahogany Maple GV £TBC
New for the brand is this limited edition, launched at NAMM and promising sustain from its undoubtedly stylish lines. The lightweight GV incorporates the 10/90 neck system, the ‘set and forget’ bridge as well as matched pickups. The 2011 model has mahogany back and neck as well as a flamed maple top.
models are genuine treasures and the players buying them can be sure they have acquired a piece of kit unlike any other in the world. These unique models include luxury tonewoods, experimental pickup stylings and configurations, exotic metals and finishes and more. Prices are unique to each model, but start at around £1,799.
Nipping into this category and worthy of a mention, the Vintage VSA850 is available in ‘timeless orange’ (honestly) or white (with gold hardware, for £799) finishes, has a Bigsby trem, Wilkinson designed hardware and humbucking pickups, a 20-fret set maple neck and a rosewood fingerboard. As guitarist, songwriter and founder of
Five Finger Death Punch, Zoltan Bathory has taken the metal community by storm with his intense playing. In reality, of course, the band has worked hard to develop a following, spending more than two years on the road performing with
66 miPRO MARCH 2011
many of the world's biggest bands. Through it all, Bathory has relied on BC Rich guitars to deliver the aggressive tone and dependability required for both touring and studio work. Zoltan Bathory Signature ASM guitars
reflect Bathory’s technical requirements and design aesthetics. From the Floyd Rose tremolo systems to the Rockfield Mafia pickups and neck-thru construction, each model will go a long way to bring out the best in any player. The guitars are available in onyx or maple finishes with a choice of ebony or maple fingerboards.
THE MUSIC MEN Continuing the success of the JPX, Ernie Ball Musicman has introduced the latest evolution in the John Petrucci line of signature guitars. The JPXI is the newest collaborative
effort between John Petrucci and the Musicman R&D team and combines the
best of the JPX and BFR Petrucci signature instruments. Most notably, the JPXI neck has been streamlined to a symmetric, extra slim profile featuring a flatter radius, medium jumbo stainless steel frets with a finished mahogany neck and an ebony fingerboard. This, combined with the non-
chambered body, mahogany tone block and maple top, has become what the company describes as ‘the ultimate rock machine’. The controls are similar to that of the JP BFR line, with two three-way toggles, wired for the Custom Dimarzio LiquiFire and Crunch Lab humbuckers, as well as the piezo bridge pickup. The JPXI guitars will be available in six and seven- string versions, topped off with chrome hardware, mother of pearl inlays and a new onyx finish. Godin’s first Multiac nylon prototypes
were nearing completion when the company became intrigued by the possibilities presented by Roland’s GR-1
guitar synth system. Guitars had been triggering synths for many years, but they tended to be guitar-like triggering devices that often didn’t work very well – and were restrictively priced. Even then, using the GR still involved attaching a significant amount of hardware to an existing guitar.
Godin immediately began
experimenting with the idea of a guitar built completely from the ground up with synth tracking in mind. Richard McLish from the RMC pickup company had developed a hexaphonic pickup and preamp system called the RMC Polydrive and Godin asked him to work on a version of his system customised for the Multiac.
While the system worked beautifully, Godin discovered that it could impact the tracking of the system with fundamental changes to the guitar itself. Bracing, scale length, string tension and wood selection all had some effect on the response time
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