Opinions on electric luthiers

[CoolerKing]

As I'm getting back into electric, I've narrowed down to a few builders, Benjamin Liggett and Nick Toome, among one or two others.

Specs
7 string
fan fret
?headless
?CF reinforced neck
hardtail
heavier wood body chambered
two splittable humbuckers with series/parallel/blends
Classic style with a few industrial twists

Musician-wise, I am inspired by the mainstream styles of Mark Knopfler and Alex Lifeson, as well as Pat Metheny, Walter Becker, Tom Morello, heading off the reservation towards Charlie Hunter, Peter Mayer, Tim Reynolds, Tosin Abasi, Mastodon and The Sword.

Any suggestions?

Thx in advance

[blue]

Your spec list has Kiesel written all over it. And for about $1,450 base price. You can figure your electronics tweaks for extra. You probably didn't expect that did you?

http://www.kieselguitars.com/catalog/guitars/vm7

[Jeff Scott]

AC or DC luthiers? Maybe a battery operated one, perhaps?

I have been very impressed with what I have seen from this guy:

https://www.facebook.com/springerguitars

[s2y]

Chris Forshage?

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by blue

Your spec list has Kiesel written all over it.

My first thought, also.

Actually, my first thought was Carvin As I understand it, Carvin is now the audio side, and Kiesel is the guitar arm - is that correct?

[blue]

Originally Posted by eatswodo

My first thought, also.

Actually, my first thought was Carvin As I understand it, Carvin is now the audio side, and Kiesel is the guitar arm - is that correct?

Pretty much what I understand as well. I've heard different variations of "Kiesel bought Carvin", but the end result seems to be that the guitars are Kiesel now.

[jomaynor]

Rick Toone, who is now in Texas.

A fellow collaborator (and endorser) has one of his guitars, and it is a 10 out of 10 for sound, looks, and build quality.

http://www.ricktoone.com/

[redir]

Originally Posted by jomaynor

Rick Toone, who is now in Texas.

A fellow collaborator (and endorser) has one of his guitars, and it is a 10 out of 10 for sound, looks, and build quality.

http://www.ricktoone.com/

That redwood/cherry guitar is beautiful!

[jalbert]

Originally Posted by blue

Pretty much what I understand as well. I've heard different variations of "Kiesel bought Carvin", but the end result seems to be that the guitars are Kiesel now.

Mr Lowell Kiesel founded what would become Carvin in 1946. (I've heard the company was soon named after his sons Carson and Gavin). About a year ago, the guitar side of the family business split from the audio/amplifier side. The guitar side went back to using the Kiesel name, but it's all the same people. They certainly seem to be innovating within the electric guitar market! They've recently moved into a new facility, one town north from the audio folks.

Back to the original topic: I agree that the OP should check out Kiesel's "Vader" VM7 model. It might just check enough of the boxes!

[jomaynor]

Originally Posted by redir

That redwood/cherry guitar is beautiful!

It certainly is.

I like all of Rick Toone's designs, especially the more radical ones, as they have very logical ergonomics, and I think that they are beautiful, as well.

[CoolerKing]

Yes I mentioned Toone in my original post. Killer guitars. Thanks for the recs everyone. When this begins I'll start a build thread.

[jomaynor]

Originally Posted by matthewpartrick

Yes I mentioned Toone in my original post. Killer guitars. Thanks for the recs everyone. When this begins I'll start a build thread.

Oh, OK. I saw that in your original post that you mentioned Nick Toome, which does sound like Rick Toone, but I was uncertain as to who you meant.

[DesertTwang]

Originally Posted by jomaynor

It certainly is.



I like all of Rick Toone's designs, especially the more radical ones, as they have very logical ergonomics, and I think that they are beautiful, as well.

Is this a guitar or an assault rifle in disguise? [emoji12]

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by matthewpartrick

As I'm getting back into electric, I've narrowed down to a few builders, Benjamin Liggett and Nick Toome, among one or two others.

Specs
7 string
fan fret
?headless
?CF reinforced neck
hardtail
heavier wood body chambered
two splittable humbuckers with series/parallel/blends
Classic style with a few industrial twists

Musician-wise, I am inspired by the mainstream styles of Mark Knopfler and Alex Lifeson, as well as Pat Metheny, Walter Becker, Tom Morello, heading off the reservation towards Charlie Hunter, Peter Mayer, Tim Reynolds, Tosin Abasi, Mastodon and The Sword.

Any suggestions?

Thx in advance

No personal experience just new to electric myself , or perhaps re-new after some 47 years .... But after watching the movie/doc "Guitar Stories Mark Knopfler" you might check out Pensa Custom Guitars in NYC

http://www.pensaguitars.com/

[CoolerKing]

Thanks for the input guys. I ended up going with Ben Liggett, who trained at Roberto-Venn as did Jason Kostal and Mike Baranik, so that had a huge influence on my decision.

http://www.liggettguitars.com/ligget...-guitar-tulsa/

We'll be doing a riff on this design, due sometime in 2017. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks!