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ALU-SG MKIII | 6th March 2023
Jesus I want to keep it so bad but I can't… This is horrible.
This brand new ALU-SG MARK III is the second model since the first Fail Episode (read FOR THE STORY below if you haven’t already) I make with an other new neck structure 20mm thick neck included Fretboard, lighter aluminum G1 neck through structure, 22 frets and the very first HBG’s (HumBucker Gletty).
I would love to detail the new neck structure but there are some wizardry involved that I don’t want to share publicly. But let discribe it like this. It took me a few months and tests to finally have the neck I wanted and to do so there are some pockets in some area which give the neck a very special resonance and enormous sustain. The first neck version was about 1.2kg and this version is about 900gr. Yep that's a lot of weight loss and the new C Profile feels great for bigger hand.
It features my brand new Humbuckers so go
check the HBG Pickup page for more details.
The fretboard is normally 4mm thick on my necks but this one is 5mm thick. I need to do more test with other neck profiles and thickness to tell you what kind of influence it has but it feels better to me with 5mm thick fretboard, it makes the fretboard stronger and fret slots can go a bit deeper than usual.
An other and very important detail is the Headstock laying deeper down than on my previous necks. It makes the strings angle between the nut and tuners bigger and I don’t need to cut the slots for the strings on the nut deeper to prevent them to pop out.
This is honestly the best guitar I've ever made and I'm not in a hurry to sell it.
You’ve been a lot to ask the specs and price on Insta so here there are:
Model: Alu-SG MKIII - #002
Body: One piece Mahogany Swietenia AAA
Finish: Stained Shellac / French Polishing.
Neck: G1 Aluminium neck through - C Profile 20mm thick all way through - new structure - 900gr after machining
Fretboard: AAA Ebony Gabon
Frets: 22 Jumbo 18% Silver Nickel
Radius: 12 Inches
Inlays: Cream dots 6mm
Side inlays: Ebony Dots 2,5mm
Tuners: Gotoh SG301
Bridge: Mastery Bridge M9.2
Electronic: CTS 500A Potentiometers - 022 Orange Drop Caps - Switchcraft Jack output and Toggle Switch 3 Ways.
Pickups: Neck HBG 10.5KΩ - Bridge HBG - 12.85KΩ
Pickguard: WBW 3 ply.
Strings: 11-49 D'Addario
Nut: Brass.
Gletty Hiscox Flightcase not included. Extra 250€
Stock: AVAILABLE
Price: 3590€ / 3850$
FOR THE STORY
My very first aluminium neck has been a custom order from Jean of the fantastic band SLIFT. He is buddy with some great friends of mine from the band KORTO and we met at a gig in Berlin in 2018.
I've talked to Jean about my aluminium neck project and after a few e-mails he ordered a guitar that he played I guess only once at 8mm bar in Berlin. This gig has been a nightmare. I didn't have all these small nut files at this time and the third and fourth strings slots in the nut were a little bit to bright. Jean doesn't play like a 7 years old boy scout and strings popped out a few times in the show. Instead of making a new nut I brought his guitar to PLEK Haus in Neukölln the day after to make deeper and perfect slots with the Plek machine and Plek the Frets but it didn't make any difference. I've lost a few hair that day. I finally brought it at the company which were milling my necks at this time to install a tree on the headstock. It finally worked out and Jean left Berlin with a technically working guitar.
After a while I've got an E-mail from Jean where he explains that he can't keep the guitar because of the traditional neck dive, the absence of a 22nd fret and that the strings were too close to the pickguard. It's been hard when I red this E-mail. You work hard on things you care and it's a fail.
That day I've learnt that I had to improve radically things on those axes and that's exactly what I've been doing the last two years. Since this unfortunate experience happened I make sure that when a guitar leave the shop it's ready to hit the road and perfectly adjusted to it's owner.
If I had done two years ago what I achieve today, Jean might have played that Green SG on the KEXP session and recorded UMMON with. This would have been fantastic.
Jean with the ALU-SG at 8mm bar
Jean's ALU-SG with Gorgio's Custom Amp
Jean and I 10minutes after the SG got fixed