→]]> http://liquidmetalguitars.com/snake-bite-and-ring/feed 0 http://liquidmetalguitars.com/craftsman-hand-engraved-telecaster http://liquidmetalguitars.com/craftsman-hand-engraved-telecaster#respond Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:34:10 +0000 http://liquidmetalguitars.com/?p=1661 These guitars are a collaboration between Warren Smith and Liquid Metal Guitars. It is a hand engraved guitar, with beautiful old school engraved, chiseled and tapped patterns. Just like he has been doing on guns, knives and jewellery for years, his skill and knowledge of tradition go into this guitar.

Warren is a master craftsman, from his mountain side studio in Armstrong, B.C. he’s surrounded by a collection of small hand tools, hammers, chisels and a liberal dose of metal shavings. Tapping, cutting , filing and bending and of course engraving are the skills he uses to transform our raw metal into objects of desire.

Having seen some of his work and knowing that he has  worked in the jewellery trade for close to twenty years, we approached Warren to jointly create a new look for his aluminum bodied guitar. He jumped at the chance.

” The idea of working on such a large canvas was very exciting. What I saw when I looked at the raw body was these beautiful lines and curves , I wanted to have an organic feel utilizing the natural curves . I wanted the foliate-like scrolls to play against and to compliment the curves of the body .”

Looking at the results of this collaboration it seems like a natural fit . Beautiful , large, rolling designs, hand carved into this all metal body . One attempts to imagine the spark of musical creativity that is possible with an instrument this beautiful and created with such passion.

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Here is just a quick video on the process.

The Neck

• Stainless dual-action truss rod,
• 12″ FB radius
• an absolutely fabulous 8 degrees of headstock angle to put the right amount of tension on the strings,
• med-jumbo frets .103 wide and .048 tall,
• 1.71″ wide @ nut,
• 2.22″ wide @ 22nd fret.

The neck is made of canadian hard rock maple and it shaped and sanded with great transitions. We take it up to about 1200 grit before we clear coat. We seal this with a satin clear coat, this makes for perhaps the most organic feel of a neck you will ever experience. It is fast and smooth and sweet to play.

Our Fret Work is sensational, without exception all who touch and play our guitars comment on it being “perfect. That we are very proud of that.

String Holes Through The Body

As you know the holes for the strings come through the body, we’ve taken it a step further. The string guide and through the body piece is cut out of the same block as the rest of the body, it is absolute integral, no separation, it is part of the body. This is just another unique feature that contributes to the over all exceptional “T” tone.

The Nut

The self lubricating nut with tone, increases sustain, improves the tone of open notes, eliminates tuning ping, allows you to stay in tune.

The Saddles

Graphtech String Saver™ Saddles are a unique combination of materials made to enhance tone and dramatically reduce string breakage. Try them and you’ll see why so many of our customers say String Savers are absolutely the best guitar modification they’ve ever made!
The Strings

We put DR strings, they have the most incredible sound, just perfect guitar sound. They are hand wound on a round core. This is based on a very old method, but executed with the latest most advanced metal available. The other thing about these strings, is the feel, absolutely unbelievable, so smooth and easy to touch, nothing harsh on them at all. Even if you don’t buy our guitars , you should put these on your guitar.

Guys have been putting their own design ideas into these guitars. We’ve  put pics of wives, girlfriends ( never put these two on the same guitar ), dogs, parents, tattoos, celtic knots, old school scrolling,  24 carat gold plate, paisley pattern, snake skin, croc skin or famous faces. It ‘s really remarkable, what you can have etched into the guitar.I work with a couple of just dazzling’ artists that can put into original art work something you have rattling around in your brain. Something that you know would look just awesome.

Once we get the artwork down, we can get that onto the guitar.

Or your next guitar could  be chromed, gold plated, black chromed, etched, powder coated or anodized.