Takin' a walk on the bling side this week with the work of California builder Lee Garver and GMW Guitar Works. The model featured above is part of the Empire "Standard" line. There is also a Custom line. Trim-wise, these are anything but standard-- incorporating mother-of-pearl body binding, extensive fretboard inlay, etc. If you love the inlay thing, you've come to the right place. This model also has a maple capped ash body and top end hardware & electronics.Their headstock design totally makes sense. They basically reverse & shorten the Fender shape, and do the tuners 3 x 3. A great way to be both classic & unique while still maintaining a familiar profile for that body style! To me, this actually makes Ball's Music Man 4 x 2 headstock seem kinda goofy. My opinion...
You MUST spend some time at the website checking things out, i.e. the GMW Guitar Generator , a tool for configuring your custom guitar from the ground up. They do all shapes, graphics, paint, natural, inlay; an enormous spectrum of possibilities. Check out the HUGE archive sections too.
The Guitars for Sale page currently displays an interesting variety, including a green Heineken graphic'd Flying V (possibly a poignant & poetic nod to Mikey Schenker).
I cover the relic thing a lot, but the bling thing is still alive and well, and GMW is just the outfit for serious bling guitars that you can help design.
more Friday Strats
