McSwain guitars

McSwain guitars, functional art

Never heard of McSwain guitars? Neither did I. No wonder; McSwain guitars is a very small, private Los Angeles USA based company, founded by Stephen McSwain. No mass production; McSwain guitars are all "Custom Shop ordered" built. His guitars are a mix between art and guitar, or as McSwain himself calls it: functional art.
It's difficult to describe the guitars built by Stephen McSwain as there is no standard range or series of guitars. You have to take a look at McSwain guitar pictures to get an idea of the individuality of each McSwain guitar. To confirm the unique, "arty" character of his guitars, Stephen McSwain creates his functional artworks in his so called "laboratory" (instead of an ordinary workshop), a converted garage in the heart of Los Angeles.

mcswain guitar body

McSwain guitars, owned by the happy few

McSwain guitars are no ordinary looking guitars; they just scream for attention, and maybe that's why there are some, not so ordinary, guitar players around, who are in the possession of a McSwain guitar. Some of the names: Slash, Tak Matsumoto, Steve Vai, Steve Jones and Tommy Lee. McSwain, on his website, pictures the guitars he built for his clients and tells about the the building process.

The first guitar McSwain built. (carved faces in the wood), carries no. 001, and is owned by Steve Vai. One of McSwain's latest projects was a surprise gift from a couple of friends, for Duff McKagan. This guitar was built in collaboration with "Chrome hearts", and is loaded with Chrome Hearts sterling silver crosses and pluses.

It appears that the building process of one McSwain guitar can take up to several weeks, so production, in term of numbers is limited, which makes these McSwain guitars very rare. Original, second hand McSwain guitars can't be found. Fretted Americana , linked as "friend" on McSwains website, has a "Budweiser" McSwain 2011 on sale for 10.000 USD; it's the only McSwain guitar for sale, as far as I know. Fretted Americana has information about the number of guitars Stephen McSwain produces: less than twenty-five guitars per year.

mcswain guitar headstock

MacSwain by OLP and Cort

With prices starting at 5000 USD, and the fact that McSwain produces less than twenty-five guitars per year, his guitars are only available for a few lucky guitar players / collectors. There are other options though. McSwain collaborated with Cort Guitars and OLP Guitars, to put some models in the market with the McSwain Guitars authentic look and feel, factory made, at affordable prices.

OLP Guitars, Officially Licensed Products, produced replicas of famous models from other guitar builders. OLP guitars were built in China, with hardware and electronics (probably) made in Korea and doesn't exist any more. Fore some period, McSwain Tin Top / Machinery and Anarchy models were manufactured by OLP. These McSwain / OLP Tin Top (metal) top guitars can easily be found on the internet. They are for example listed on Ebay for prices around 300 USD (used) and 650 USD (new).

In 2011, Cort Guitars came out with the McSwain Gasoline 1 and Motor Oil 1 electric guitars, inspired on the McSwain Fuel Guitar, based on vintage gasoline and oil drums. The main difference between the McSwain Gasoline 1 and Motor Oil 1, besides the graphics on the guitars, is the way the neck is mounted to the body.

The Cort McSwain Gasoline 1 has a set-in neck, and the Cort McSwain Motor Oil 1 comes with a bolt-on neck. Both Cort McSwain guitars share the same (aged) hardware and a black satin finish.
At present, Cort Guitars only offers the McSwain Gasoline 1 with ClassicRocker pickups.
Next to the Cort McSwain electric guitar models, Cort produced the McSwain Motor Oil 2 and Gasoline 2 acoustic guitars with Cort piezo pickup. These acoustic electric McSwain Corts can't be found anymore on the Cort website.

mcswain guitar fuel

McSwain miniature guitar (as seen in Guitar Hero 5)

Guitar Hero 5, released in 2009, featured several McSwain Guitar models. To celebrate, Stephen McSwain decided to offer a limited edition of miniature McSwain's, modeled after the originals, and the ones featured in Guitar Hero 5. A must have for McSwain and Guitar Hero 5 fans.

These McSwain miniature guitars can be obtained at bigcartel.com, a shopping cart for artists. Four Miniatures were for sale; the Flame, Anarchy, Machine and Life McSwains. The Flame miniature is sold out, and as a result, the McSwain miniature Collection is sold out. The miniatures available are on sale for 29.99 USD; a mini price for an authentic McSwain mini guitar!

mcswain guitar

McSwain Guitars

Trussart guitars

Trussart guitars; all steel hollow body

In my last post I wrote about "metal top" guitar builder Zemaitis, and the Greco Zemaitis. When surfing the internet for metal top guitars, I stumbled upon a full metal guitar, built by James Trussart. So there's more than just a metal top. Like the Zemaitis, James Trussart puts a lot of craftmanship in the unique building process and the different finishes of his guitars; they are stunning! 

trussart steelcaster ganja

James Trussart, Rust-O-Matic

James Trussart is a Los Angeles USA based guitar builder. In the USA, Trussart's name is well established, but in Europe, Trussart guitars are relatively unknown. Trussart guitars almost have a cult status in the USA, and lot's of famous guitar players / bands (for example: Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Aerosmith, ZZ-Top, The Black Growes) have been pictured with one of Trussart's guitars. James Trussart primary works with metal as the base material for the hollow bodies and the headstocks of his guitars. To make his guitars look and feel like a vintage instrument, the metal is for a period of time exposed to the elements and then treated to stop the "rusty" process. As shown on the pictures, the metal bodies, as well as the pickguard or headstock are imprinted or engraved. The Trussart bodies finally are sanded and clear satin coated.
The only wood used on a full metal body Trussart guitar can be found in the neck / fretboard, where the common woods like Maple, Rosewood, and Ebony are used, and in the wooden block mounted under the bridge of a Trussart guitar.

trussart steeldeville barbwire

The full metal body Trussart guitar models

In contrast to the progressive, unique building technique and the material used, The Trussart guitar models are far from unique; as far as I can see, all full metal body Trussart models can be reduced to Les Paul and Telecaster copies. The Les Paul shaped Trussart goes under the name Steeldeville, and the Telecaster shaped Trussart carries the name Steelcaster. Trussart also offers the Steelcaster  in a DeLuxe version with one F-hole in the body. The attraction of the James Trussart guitar can really be found in the techniques and materials used, and in the perfection of the finish and sound, rather than in the shape of the instrument!

trussart steelcaster roses

The metal top Trussart guitar models

Apart from the full metal bodied Trussarts, James Trussart also builds metal top guitars. Metal top guitars are less rare than full metal body guitars. The Trussart Steeltop, Les Paul shaped, can well be compared with an original Zemaitis (also in price...). The other Trussarts steel tops, the Steelmaster and Steeltelemaster, and the Steelx have, like the Trussart Steeltop, a chambered wood body, and a recessed steel headcap. 

trussart steeldeville china

Hardware on the Trussart guitars

At present, Trussart guitars are equiped with Arcane Inc. pickups and single coils. Arcane Inc. was founded in 1990 by Rob Timmons and is located in California USA. All Arcane pickups are hand wound, and are considered one of the best in the industry. Arcane (Rob Timmons) is also a consultant for guitar companies who are searching for better tone and the best pickups for their guitar. I'm not sure in what year the relation between them was established; I read a review about a Trussart guitar from 1995, and they were talking about Seymour Duncans. Anyway, all reviews I read about James Trussart guitar, state that the Trussart guitar sounds incredible.
As for the rest of the hardware, Trussart plays safe: Tune-O-Matic bridges, optional Bigsby Tremolos, Kluson Tuners, nothing weird, all gear used by premium guitar builders!

James Trussart Guitars

Arcane Inc. Pickups

Greco Zemaitis

Greco Zemaitis, metal top

"Normally", a guitar is made of wood. Solid wood, laminated wood, all kinds of wood. Guitars made of other materials are "rare", eccentric, special, and in most cases, technical masterpieces and a feast for the eye. One of these other materials is metal, mostly used for the top of the guitar, and often engraved as part of the "theme" of the guitar. Some artists specialize in engraving these custom made metal tops, like for example Phil Cooper from engravedguitars.com. Other artists / luthiers take the whole picture; they actually build the guitar and provide it with a unique metal top. Guitar builder Tony Zemaitis was one of them.

greco zemaitis black top

Zemaitis guitars, some history

Zemaitis guitars was founded by Tony Zemaitis, born in 1935 in London England. In his younger years Zemaitis was trained in cabinet making, and actually build for some years high quality furniture. As Zemaitis started to play guitar, he didn't have the funds to buy a decent guitar. Zemaitis borrowed a guitar, and using his skills, made a copy of the guitar. After this one he build more guitars, improving the guitars and his skills.
This eventually lead to the building of, in that time, "rare" 12 string guitars in the 1960's. Zemaitis name was established, and in 1965 Zemaitis became full time guitar builder. Zemaitis made guitars until he retired in 2000.
Zemaitis became famous with his engraved metal top guitars and his pearl inlayed top guitars. Zemaitis guitars were played, and collected by some famous guitarists like Ronnie Wood, George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Peter Frampton. Although Zemaitis was a master in making the guitar "look good", he never did any concessions to the purpose of the guitar: his guitars should play and sound great. Tony Zemaitis passed away in 2002.
Fortunately, Zemaitis legacy lives on in Zemaitis International, founded with the support of his wife and son, and Zemaitis friend and co-worker and engraver Danny O'Brien.
Lot's of information about Zemaitis and his guitars can be found on the Zemaitis guitar owners club website.

greco zemaitis black head

Greco guitars. some history

Greco Guitars is one of the famous Japanese guitar builders. Founded in Japan in the early 1960's, Greco at first built original, "non copies" guitars in the FijugenGakki plant. With the increasing popularity of, mostly, American guitars and models in the 1970's, Greco started to make clones of the originals: Fender's, Gibson's, Rickenbacker's, Ibanez's, and yes, also Zemaiti's. Around 1974, the quality of these copies made by Greco was excellent. Due to the sublime quality of the Greco guitars made in the late 1970's and 1980's, some Greco guitars are very vintage and collectible. Japanese guitar builders like Greco and Tokai have a good name when it comes to quality.
Greco guitars are still in production today; the current series is the Greco Zemaitis, licensed by Zemaitis International.

greco zemaitis top detail

Greco licensed by Zemaitis

Zemaitis International, Tony Zemaitis's legacy, currently runs 4 series: the Custom, Acoustic, Bass, and GZ (Greco Zemaitis) series. The original Zemaitis metal and pearl tops are highly collectible, as they were not produced in large amounts. No wonder the Zemaitis guitar owners club warns for fake, counterfeit guitars.
The Greco Zemaitis doesn't come cheap, but compared to an original metal or pearl top Zemaitis, for reasonable prices, considering the work and craftmanship which has been put into the guitar. I especially like the metal tops, as pictured in this post, but also the pearl inlayed tops are true masterpieces.
Greco has a long history in building quality guitars, and in my opinion, Zemaitis International did well in choosing Greco as a partner for their "budget" series. The popularity of Zemaitis in Japan even resulted in the building of the Zemaitis Museum, where lot's of Zemaitis guitars, two of Tony Zemaitis's cars, and personal items are on show. All part of guitar history!

greco zemaitis red head

greco zemaitis red back

PRS Dragon, "dragon" inlay fretboard

PRS Dragon, Series I, II, III and 25th anniversary

Some guitars are considered to be "art", and actually, there are guitars which can be found in museums. In this case it's not about playability, but it's all about craftmanship and design, guitars built by masterbuilders with the skills of an artist / designer.
One of those guitars to be considered "art" is the PRS Dragon with it's design and inlay of the fretboard.

prs dragon series I fretboard inlay closeup

PRS, founded in 1985 by Paul Reed Smith, has the PRS Dragon exposed in the Smithsonian, the National Museum of American History. Also the PRS Dragon is supposed to be in the collection of the MOMA, the Museum Of modern Art, but I can't find any information about that on the MONA website. The guitars were donated by PRS, and it gave a boost to the collectability of the PRS Dragon. From here, the success of PRS Guitars started.

The PRS Dragon is handbuilt, in the early years of PRS Guitars, and is considered to be far more superior than the guitars built in the PRS factory, which was established in 1995.

prs dragon series II

PRS Dragon, Series, building years and limited numbers

Like most collectible guitars from a Custom Shop or (PRS) Private Stock, the limitation of numbers built is essential. The PRS Dragon is no exception. The PRS Dragon is not as rare as "single pieces", but still rare and expensive enough to be collectible. Most PRS Dragon's will be in private collections.

The PRS Dragon Series I was built in 1992, limited to 50 Dragon's.

The PRS Dragon Series II was built in 1993, limited to 100 Dragon's.

The PRS Dragon Series III was built in 1994, limited to 100 Dragon's.
The PRS Dragon 25th Anniversary, limited to 100 Dragon's.

PRS Dragon, fretboard / neck inlay

Obvious, the fretboard "dragon" inlay is the main feature of the PRS Dragon series I, II and III. The work is done by hand, which takes a lot more time than the modern method, using computer controlled cutting machines and duplicating devices to automate the series production. The fretboard inlay of the PRS Dragon series I, II and III is crafted by hand, so every fretboard of the Dragon in each serie is kind of unique.

I'm not sure if the inlay of the PRS Dragon 25th anniversary also is crafted the "old fashion way". Probably the fretboard inlay on this PRS Dragon is done by "Pearl Works", who does all the inlay work for PRS, computer driven.

*****

The dragon inlay on the fretboard of the PRS Dragon Series I is made of 201, small pieces of abalone and turquoise mother of pearl which results in a 2 color dragon on a dark rosewood fretboard.

prs dragon series I fretboard inlay
 

The dragon, crafted in the fretboard of the PRS Dragon II, is my favourite dragon inlay within the PRS Dragon Series. I especially grave the shiny abalone wings of the dragon. This dragon is made of 218 pieces of gold, coral, abalone, malachite, onyx and mother of pearl.

prs dragon series II fretboard inlay



The PRS Dragon III, the last of the original PRS Dragon Series has the most extensive dragon inlay. No less than 238 pieces of gold, red and green abalone, mother of pearl and real mammoth ivory were used for the dragon!

prs dragon series III fretboard inlay

The PRS Dragon 25th anniversary has a new designed multi material dragon inlay in the fretboard, which includes 300 pieces of 20 different materials in 8 colors, difficult to describe, but the image tells it all.

prs dragon 25th anniversary fretboard inlay

*****

The PRS Dragon is in every way a very desirable and collectable guitar. Apart from the dragon neck inlay, the rest of the guitar is first class too. The top of the PRS Dragon is made of "bookmatched" superior wood, and as every PRS, lots of attention goes to the finish and details.

How does it sound in real? I don't know! My local guitar stores don't have the PRS Dragon in stock, so I never had the opportunity to see and hear the PRS Dragon myself..  PRS wants every guitar to sound like a perfect blend of a Gibson Les Paul and a Fender, and I'm sure the PRS Dragon, with "PRS Dragon" humbuckers sounds great. However I can't imagine taking this guitar from the wall and playing the delicate fretboard!

PRS Dragon III Video

Below is a video of the PRS Dragon III, posted on Youtube by guitarist  Tony McKenzie who runs a wonderful website and who actually owns the PRS Dragon III. He presents the guitar, but, like expected, this PRS Dragon III is unplayed. It's all about the fretboard!

Fender CS Indian Stratocaster

Fender CS Indian Stratocaster

From the hands of Fender Custom Shop Senior Master Builder Marck Kendrick comes this stunning piece of work, the Fender CS (Custom Shop) Indian Stratocaster.

Like the Fender CS Birdflower and the Fender CS Chris Craft Esquire Boat Art LE (sold!), this Stratocaster is also for sale at the German Music Store. From time to time I take a look at their site to see if they have new "Custom Shops". As they are the largest music store in Europe, they have the funds to aquire the most beautiful and expensive guitars, like this CS Stratocaster. This Custom Shop guitar is not a new item, but it sure deserves a closer look!

fender cs indian stratocaster neck

fender cs indian stratocaster output and knobs

 

The Fender CS Indian Stratocaster has a transparant finish with, airbrushed on the body, a very detailed indian head. It's a masterpiece; the feathers from the headdress expand over the pickguard, and like the indian's hair, it seems like they actually are arranged on top of the Stratocaster's body.

The back of the body, including the cover for the electronics, is decorated with feathers and a bleached wild west animal skull.

Another detail of the Fender CS Indian Stratocaster is the inlay of the same animal skull and feathers in the neck. The output and the three knobs are just clean chrome, a nice contrast to the full decorated CS Stratocaster. I haven't seen a lot of these cool clean chrome knobs on guitars, but I really like them a lot.

Last but not least, the humbuckers almost have the same "woody" color as the pickguard, and here also, the paintbrush expands. The Fender CS Indian Stratocaster is packed with these little details.

I took the liberty of using the pictures of the Fender CS Indian Stratocaster from the Musicstore  website, these images are great, and they show all the wonderful details of this CS Strat. Musicstore sells the CS Indian Stratocaster for just under 10.000 Euro. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find more specific technical information.



fender cs indian stratocaster  full back



fender cs indian stratocaster body

 

Fender CS Indian, 2 Stratocasters and 2 Telecasters

One of the reasons I like to post about CS guitars like this, is the fact that most of the (Fender) Custom Shop guitars are built in small numbers, or "one piece", and after they are sold, it's difficult to get information and pictures once these CS guitars are removed from the sellers website. Also many of these limited Custom Shop Fender's can't be found on the Fender website anymore.

Senior Master Builder Mark Kendrick from the Fender CS built 2 Indian Stratocasters and 2 CS Indian Telecasters.
The German Musicstore aquired 1 Indian Stratocaster and 1 Indian Telecaster.



fender cs indian stratocaster back




fender cs indian stratocaster full body

 

Stolen Fender CS Indian Telecaster

When searching for more information about the Indian Stratocasters and Telecasters, I found the Musicstore announcement about the theft of 50 Custom Shop guitars in the of night the 1st and 2nd of december 2007. Among these stolen exclusive CS's was the Fender CS Indian Telecaster!

The complete list of the stolen CS guitars :  http://video.musicstore.de/diebstahl/index_EN.html
The theft in 2007 was all over the news and on the forums on the internet, but I can't find any information about recovery, so I assume these CS guitars are still "missing". The reward for the recovery of the stolen CS guitars was set on 30.000 Euro, or at least 5000 Euro for the recovery of a single guitar! 

fender cs indian stratocaster headstock

fender cs indian stratocaster neck plate

 

Fender Chris Craft Esquire Boat Art Limited Edition

Fender Chris Craft Esquire Boat Art Limited Edition

 

Fender Chris Craft Esquire Boat Art Limited Edition

"When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.".

This famous quote from the leading English art critic and thinker of the Victorian era, John Ruskin states what Chris Craft, builder of premium yachts and boats stand for;  the quote is written on their website.

Chris Craft and also Fender, especially the Fender Custom Shop, are  USA icons. John Ruskin's quote might as well be on the Fender website. Both company's have a long history, and they stand for craftsmanship and dedication. In the Fender Chris Craft Esquire Boat Art Limited Edition, Fender and Chris Craft blend together in a remarkable Telecaster.

Fender Chris Craft Esquire Boat Art Limited Edition

Like the Fender Birdflower, The Fender Chris Craft Esquire Boat Art Limited Edition was presented on the NAMM 2011 Show. These Fender Custom Shop guitars are one of a kind, demonstrating the skills of the Master Builders of the Fender Custom Shop. The Fender Birdflower comes from the hands of Yuriy Shishkov and the Fender Chris Craft Esquire Boat Art Limited Edition is one of John Cruz's masterpieces. 

Fender Chris Craft Esquire Boat Art Limited Edition

Not only the Fender Chris Craft Esquire Boat Art Limited Edition Telecaster was crafted by John Cruz, he also made two sublime extra's, a model Chris Craft boat, and a matching Morris & Holmberg guitar case. The neck plate of the guitar is engraved with the signature of John Cruz.

Both the Fender Birdflower and the Fender Chris Craft Esquire Boat Art Limited Edition are at this time still for sale at the German Musicstore; the Birdflower for a stunning 45.000 Euro, and the Chris Craft Esquire Boat Art Limited Edition for 8.569 Euro.

Update: According to the Music Store website, the Chris Craft Esquire Boat Art Limited Edition they had in stock, is sold.

More information about the Fender Chris Craft Esquire Boat Art Limited Edition ?

The Fender Chris Craft is a "Limited Edition", so there should be a certain number of guitars produced, or they have been produced for a certain period. I found different webshops who have the Fender Chris Craft Esquire Boat Art Limited Edition on sale, but I can't find how many were in the run. Another question is who initiated the original design, John Cruz, or was the Chris Craft company involved? If you have more information (maybe you are one of the lucky owners) about the Fender Chris Craft Esquire Boat Art Limited Edition, please leave a comment!

Fender Chris Craft Esquire Boat Art Limited Edition

Features FENDER Chris Craft Esquire

• Master built by John Cruz 
• 12/4 "quartersawn" Mahogany body 
• Urethane finish 
• 4/4 Mahogany neck 
• ´59 Esquire "C" Shape, 9.5" Radius 
• Nitro finish 
• White Binding 
• 6100 Dunlop Jumbo frets 
• Neck plate engraved "John Cruz Signature" 
• Nautical Symbol Inlays 
• Custom Shop Logo in 12th fret 
• Vintage 63 Tele Bridge 
• Vintage Kluson Mechanics 
• Morris & Holmberg guitar case

Fender Birdflower Telecaster, only one piece, built in the Fender Custom Shop

fender birdflower telecaster

Fender Birdflower Telecaster!

Take a look at this wonderful one of a kind Fender Birdflower Telecaster from the Fender Custom Shop, and read more! It might well be your last and only chance.....

Here in big pictures!


When going through the 2012 catalog of the German Musicstore my eye fell on the Fender Custom Shop Birdflower Telecaster, advertised with: "single piece" and a pricing of 45.000 Euro! It's the most expensive Fender Custom Shop ever build.
The guitar is built by master builder Yuriy Shishkov who was looking for a way to put some Claro Walnut to a good use. He presented the Telecaster on the Namm show in Los Angeles in 2011, and put hundreds of hours of craftsmanship in building this Telecaster masterpiece. No CNC machine or laser used! The fingerboard, headstock and the top are handcrafted, decorated with mother-of-pearl, different colors of abalone, silver wire and copper wire. What a piece of work!

Fender Birdflower Telecaster

I took the freedom of using the information and the pictures from www.musicstore.de where this diamond is for sale. I hope they don't mind. Only a little piece of information can be found about the Birdflower Telecaster, and when it is sold, we probably never see it again....

Fender Birdflower Telecaster

Features: 

• Premium Ash Body 
• "Claro walnut" blanket with Ivoroid Binding 
• AAA birdseye maple neck with modern C shape
• Ebony fingerboard with 9.5 "radius 
• 22 medium jumbo frets 
• Fender Texas Special neck pickup hand wound by Abigail Ybarra 
• Fender 1963-style Telecaster bridge pickup hand wound by Abigail Ybarra 
• 3-way switch and pots from the back of the cabinet mounted 
• Modern Fender tuners Pearl Button 
• Razor-thin, hand-polished lacquer 
• including Morris & Holmberg Flight Case & certificate 

Birdflower Telecaster back

Fender Birdflower Telecaster Video

The German Musicstore has been so kind to put a video online on their Youtube tv-channel, starring the Fender Custom Shop Birdflower Telecaster. It still is the most expensive Fender Custom Shop guitar ever.

Enjoy the video!