2024 Gus G1 Piezo Vibrato

About this instrument

This guitar was designed over a period of 4 months at the end of 2021 and was built entirely by Simon Farmer in the UK between January 2022 and October 2024. Simon is one of the most elite luthiers out there — best known for building Prince’s last guitar and bass. All the instruments that he builds are 100% custom, built entirely by him in his workshop. Simon forges, mills, chromes and polishes all the metal used on the guitar (except for the tuners).

Unlike Simon’s traditional Gus G1 guitars, I wanted this one to be inspired more by 1950s Gibsons in terms of tone and playability. The body and neck are made out of White Korina wood — a variant of mahogany. Korina is known for its warm tonal properties. Late 1950s Gibson Les Pauls are revered for their use of seasoned Korina bodies and necks.

The neck profile of this guitar has the same specs as my rare 2008 Paul Reed Smith Single Cut Jumbo guitar. We used calipers to measure the dimensions of the PRS neck all over to precisely replicate it. The neck is a fat D profile with 22 jumbo stainless steel frets. I told Simon that my favorite fretboard feel was phenolic material. He advised that we could get a similar feel with wood wrapped in carbon fiber and finished in clear lacquer. I wanted fret markers that would be easy to see on a dimly lit stage — that’s how we settled on the large black carbon fiber markers on a silver carbon fretboard backdrop. The fretboard has a 10″ radius and the guitar has a 25″ scale length. I selected a roller ball nut for tuning stability with tremolo use and enhanced harmonics.

The entire guitar has carbon fiber bonded to every inch of the wood. The carbon fiber is then chromed over before being sealed with clear lacquer. The carbon fiber provides increased structural rigidity allowing for piano-like attack and enhanced harmonic content.

Complementing the ’50s Gibson vibe, I chose custom Fralin Noiseless P90 pickups. The bridge is 5% overwound for some additional hotness. We were fortunate to get custom chrome humbucker-style covers for these pickups from Lindy Fralin to complete the look. Simon does make his own pickups, but I specifically wanted P90s for this instrument. I also had a Sustainiac installed — this allows for infinite sustain and controlled feedback, and it’s a ton of fun with tremolo use too.

The tremolo is completely custom made by Simon and is outfitted with Graphtech Ghost piezo pickups. This allows the guitar to sound like an acoustic guitar in addition to electric. The output jack is stereo so acoustic and electric sounds can be used at the same time. Simon doesn’t make his own tuners, so we went with Gotoh 510 locking tuners to complete the look.

The instrument features a matching, custom-made carbon fiber case that is its own work of art.

I absolutely love how this guitar plays and sounds. You can hear it in our latest videos and audio recordings.

Specs

• PickupsCustom Fralin Noiseless P90s (bridge 5% overwound)
• SustainiacInfinite sustain and controlled feedback
• TremoloCustom piezo tremolo (acoustic-like tones)
• OutputStereo — acoustic and electric to separate amps
• Frets22 jumbo stainless steel
• FretboardCarbon fiber over wood — 10″ radius, 25″ scale
• NutRoller ball
• TunersGotoh 510 locking
• Strap locksSchaller
• CaseMatching chromed carbon fiber case

Personal instrument — not for sale.