As someone who has been wiring my own guitars ever since I was a teenager, I almost wept at the beauty of Sam's wiring! I'd usually be irked about the lack of colour coding, but since everything is absolutely plain and clear to see and visually trace, this might be the only instance where colour coding isn't necessary! If I ever do a wiring job as pretty as this, I'll have fulfilled my life's purpose!

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

Wow. Thank you very much for your very positive remarks. Sam takes great pride in his work.

@jonkerr2050

4 ай бұрын

Exactly what I was going to say. I spent a lot of years as an RC car racer and how neat and clean your wiring is truly is an indicator of the quality of your work. And i believe the same to be true when I’m wiring up guitars. That is by far the nicest guitar cavity I’ve seen. I’ve seen Les Paul jrs with messier wiring. Stellar job. I was thinking it was the black layer under the maple cap that you wouldn’t do.

Beautiful guitar, outstanding mother of pearl carving, nice work Tom March

OK Sam, now do, the same switching but with 3 humbuckers, add the options to individually select each humbucker as series coil, parallel coil or split coil in conjunction with the original switching😅😅

I love headstock too

Head stock YES ! I don't get to catch as many of your videos as I did before , life got hectic . the up side is now your video's are like seeing and old friend who ya haven't seen in way too long. you know the one who makes you LOL from the gut and gets a smile out of you when you haven't felt like smiling all day. Thanks Ben good to see you.

Sam's wiring was simply exquisite. Magnificent!!!!

I have a guitar bought in the 80s used, made in the 70s, and supposedly by Schector, at a time when he and other well known brands were just individuals making guitars. It also has a mind-numbingly complex arrangement of switches, push pull pots, for a wild variety of sounds. Looks like a tele with a birdseye maple neck (ebony fingerboard). It gets the most squealy tones to a rich HB tone. 3 pickups, one HB and two single coils. Looks hand wound (no branding). It's the only guitar I kept out of a large collection over the years, because in the studio, it does anything and everything.

The boys out did themselves on this one. That is one of the best looking guitars I have ever seen out of a custom shop. the way that top was done it took me a second to see it even after you pointed it out. I focused on the veneer looking for variation which is a serious optical illusion if that is all you focus on. Whomever this build was for they are a very very lucky but insane person to want that level of tone combinations IN the guitar and not the rack.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

thank you very much.

15:20 "if you've thought of something else we can do that's impossible" A relic that everyone likes 😂

@afurinperil

4 ай бұрын

That's easy. just take a guitar and play it for 20 years. Perfect relic job every time and no one's the wiser

@PaulCooksStuff

4 ай бұрын

@@afurinperil people who don't like worn guitars won't like it. People who don't have 20 years left in them won't like it. So I still say a relic that everyone likes isn't possible.

@FireAngelOfLondon

4 ай бұрын

Haha! As someone who likes things to look new and pristine I am laughing; I would never relic anything, ever.

@MegaChoo2

4 ай бұрын

If we all liked the same thing, there would be just one guitar.

Well done, a tour de force. I had commissioned for my 21st birthday ( 1979) a custom made guitar from a luthier in Maine RI . I submitted my wiring block diagram and his face went pale. It was nothing compared to this but 2 x DiMarzio PAFs , partial coil taps on both pickups , master vol and Gibson Varitone circuit ( mono … I’m not mad) . I recently recommissioned the guitar from storage and after a good flush with contact cleaner the the pots stopped crackling and the Varitone sprang into life. It sounds rather nice.

As a matter of course, I always like your videos. But the Discworld reference at the end is the icing on the cake. As far as batshit crazy guitar ideas. A guitar that actually makes me sound like I can play would be great 😂

I used to request circuits like that in my 20s. Slowly I have learned that it's far more usable to have 2 good tones on a guitar

You really are a bunch of crazy guitar nerds! 😳😳 Beautiful luthiery (slightly impossible carving…!!) ….and that wiring is worthy of an ‘Information Graphics’ award!! I don’t know how on earth one could get to grips with the sheer variety of tones and fluently utilise them in a performance situation, but hey, as you stated, this is the customer’s ’guitar for life’! I’m certain they will be spending the rest of theirs getting to grips with it! Seriously, congratulations to each for the sheer stamina, fortitude and doggedness for completing this polished monster! 🥰🥰🍷🍷🎸🎸

Brilliant work! Awesome!

The design and execution are beautiful and so is the sound. I probably wouldn't be able to hear the difference in half of the tones produced, but the customer should be delighted. Good work, fellows.

I just had an idea for a series maybe? Taking a famous shape out of a factory (Les Paul, Strat, Tele) and turn it into a ergonomic/ playable monster. Pointing out all the flaws in the body shape and how these can affect your playing. You've got a great experience on the fundamentals of ergonomics and how a guitar should not fight the guitarists but allow them to express themselves, fitting their bodies comfortably so it would be really interesting to watch! I guess you could also take it further and mod the guitar but up to you 😊

Oh and the headstock is a must for crimson to use as a signature design.

yes on the head stock

absolute stunning instrument! Nice top, and how you put that on the ash bottom!! fabulous.

I honestly thought that it was going to have an interchangeable pickup set with the way the cover is made, did not spot the elbow relief, amazing work, as always!!

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

3 ай бұрын

Thank you

Beautiful Guitar, exquisite craftsmanship!

So, I did notice the carve and wondered if it was that but I had no idea exactly what until you mentioned it. Absolutely gorgeous work

I spotted it!! No joke, I really did. Only because I’m working on designing a chambered 335-esq shape body that will have a belly cut and a forearm cut to get a bit more comfort when it’s played sat down. Saw the top line straight away cos it’s all I’ve been looking at for weeks. Wonderful work

It is a lovely looking guitar, i like the shape i like the headstock.

Absolutely outstanding! Cheers from Myrtle Beach, SC 🤟😺🤟 Michael

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

That is the most beautiful guitar I've ever seen. Well done crimson 👏👏

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

Thank you very much - we love the way it turned out

Absolutely love this guitar 🎸 the bridge is an interesting design too

This is by far the most batshit insane and intricate build I've ever seen. Literally jaw dropped the whole time. I think my favorite part is the falling leaf inlays. I wish PRS had those instead of the birds, or as a common spec because they look amazing.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

Thank you, we appreciate that.

@deadcassettemusic_

4 ай бұрын

@@CrimsonCustomGuitars

Perhaps I'm just naïve, but I had no idea flamed sycamore yielded such a creamy and subtle neck appearance. It's very nice, though sycamore is not as hard as most maples so I'd be nervous about warping. I love that you guys got the wiring to match the dreams of the customer. If Ben is looking for unnecessarily complex projects with little-to-no potential payoff, how about a tele with two single-coil pickups that slide on rails to find that perfect sweet spot.

Well done boys, as someone with option paralysis I’m a one volume, one ton kinda guy…..beautiful work on the guitar and wiring, so neat!

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

Thank you kindly!

Beautiful inlays!

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

Many thanks!

Yes, I was clapping at 7:44 ..... impressive!

We all need a Sam. That is a very beautiful wiring job. Great looking guitar as well. Nice job Matt.

That is an awesome looking Guitar. When I look at that I see a modern take on Brian May's Red Special.

Everything about that guitar is absolutely stunning! I love the headstock, i love the body shape and carve. The inlay work, and oh my lord the wiring is excellent. I always wonder why these custom guitars have messy wiring. In all of my hot rod mods i go crazy keeping the wiring slick!

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

Thank you very much for the positive words.

Love it!!!

Beautiful guitar!

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

Thank you 😁

I spotted the forearm relief but your method of producing it by hand is blowing my mind!

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

Well done for spotting it. We have some fantastic dedicated luthiers working here which helps

Finishing a hand tool only build?

@fluxx1

4 ай бұрын

Agree, it's been way too long, it's very discouraging to us that are attempting our first hand tool build.

Wow just an amazing combination talent, knowledge, and precision went into making a beautiful guitar. Peace.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

Glad you liked it!

Oh my good God almighty such an exquisite instrument. Incredible! Wicked, Ben, Sam et al, You ROCK! Pete 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

It's a thing of beauty, the circuitry is a work of art, it's a lot to remember.. but after a while you'd probably get used to it! Nice work!!

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

Sam is brilliant.

I thought it was going to be the mistake of letting the clients design their own guitar. Storeroom full of 'one-off' template designs is ridiculous!!!! Nice finish on that axe!

I can’t even wrap my head around how you did the lamination. Very impressive!

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

thank you very much.

@flapjack413

4 ай бұрын

If it was all done by hand, they probably used carbon paper to leave marks on the high spots, and just slowly carve and sand away until it all mates up properly. Very time consuming and labor intensive process!

This guitar would claim SO MANY switch flickin’, knob turning hours from my life. It looks cool AF!

I was close, I thought it was something to do with the veneer line in that area. Insanely well done folks.

Nice one :) wiring is clean, good job ! A stupid idea ? A headstock going upward, without a blocking system like with floyd of course :) In my brain, with a zero fret, it could work...

Fantastic guitar! My only problem with so many sound options is, you usually find 2-3 you like the most and you never touch the rest, but maybe thats just me ;)

That is just stunning

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

3 ай бұрын

Thank you - we are very pleased with it.

@Piplodocus

3 ай бұрын

@@CrimsonCustomGuitars and so you should be! :)

Beautiful guitar, superb wood working as always, beautiful design and execution. Electronics are too complicated for my tastes, but I am sure there are folks out there who would love this setup.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

Thank you very much!

I love the body design. master craftsmanship without a doubt. The neck inlays are very reminiscent of the Patrick Eggle guitars. The headstock reminded me at a quick glance of Parker fly designs. All great masters are inspired by other great masters. It makes the craftsmanship bar higher and higher striving for perfection. 👏👏👏

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

Thank you very much!

That is a thing of beauty

The inlays are fantastic.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

3 ай бұрын

thank you

Genius and crazy -W😀W!

One to try. Three p90s. Neck and bridge wired on a 3 way blade. Middle on a blend, plus a switch for out of phase and bypass. I like a Varitone, but only ever use a couple positions. So a 3 way vari-toggle with a selection of capacitors mounted like blade fuses, so the user can play with combinations. One could be a pass through. Better still, an inductance based circuit like the Entwistle ATN. All of this on a blend pot. Plus a standard tone pot to grab quickly live. With both toggles on bypass, only the standard Volume, tone, and neck/bridge selector are in play.

@davidrjbrown8808

4 ай бұрын

For clarity: middle on its own volume.

The most stunning wiring job I've ever seen.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

3 ай бұрын

Worth it in the end, but this was complicated!

Yes, that double-carved top would indeed be nightmarish, I can easily imagine thát 🤣 It does look absolutely stunning though. Headstock yay or nay: Absolutely 100% YAY! 😎👍 I think it's gorgeous - the logo fits so nicely at the end there. The shape does remind me of a brand that produces high end guitars for high end metalheads (can't think of the name at the mo), but this one is definitely esthetically more pleasing by far.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

Thank you. We love the way it turned out

This really reminds me of that Monochrome 12-string that Ben did years ago, both in terms of electronics complexity, and in aesthetics.

A beauty to behold! And a zero fret, great! All guitars should have one! 🙂

48 years ago the switching options of the Shergold Masquerader were baffling / impressive on an affordable British Guitar which many punk/new wave teen guitarists accepted as a new norm for modern technology. Late 70s & early 80s - the era of innovative and bizarre mass production guitar wiring schematics.

Was it the variotones interacting in the middle positions that stumped you? That would create all kinds of chaos!!!

I thought the overhang of the top was subtle, yet interesting feature. I am really impressed with the volute area and the entire headstock works when viewed from every angle. I 'm a little concerned the upper horn does not extend to the 12th fret - may effect standing balance for those who appreciate a more classical angle faclitating finger style playing.

Beautiful headstock. It just floats like a gorgeous woman. And I could look at that wiring all day long. Top-shelf work, gents!

have frets all the way up the pickguard so you can play very high notes on the bridge pickup

Another option is to use a blender pot. One way is a standard tone the other is the bass cut.

If you want insanity - how about all of the controls from this guitar - but done from one knob, in the style of the BMW i-Drive control system in their cars. You might need some kind of display screen for that though - even if it were just 2 lines of text on the side of the guitar that only the player can see. (I can hear Sam screaming from Australia at that idea)

Headstock definitely the best looking design of this Parker-like type.

insperational work of witch I will steal some of those ideas

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

You are most welcome. We love to pass on anything we learn or do.

Beauty

Trying to pat myself on the back.. For the impossible project; try to beat me at making an acoustic guitar with the size of an electric that sounds as loud as a regular acoustic with only acoustic amplification. I've been thinking about it for decades and done tests. I'll finish the first prototype this year

With the extreme flexibility of the switching, this instrument would be ... challenging ... to play live.

14:18 poor Sam 😂😂

Gorgeous guitar. Very interesting wiring, though I doubt I'd ever go that nuts. Love the inlays (I'm Canadian, so that's just mandatory). Hate the headstock with a passion that will fuel me through the day. (Kidding, of course... but I do hate it.)

I could never play that guitar. I would never know what sounds it'd be making. But it is really beautiful!

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

Thank you very much!

I actually made something quite similar (from an electric point of view, I wouldn’t dare to claim I can do craftsmanship even in the area of that guitar) on a warmoth I built. 5-way varitone and an additional pot for dampening the resonance frequency of the capacitors (sometimes it that can get quite annoying) works fine only the dampening effect is quite subtle.

Nicest for me is the transition from neck into the headstock - mine turn out ok - eventually - but I find it really difficult.

👏

Isn't this the second time that underneath curve of the maple cap has been done? I seem to recall seeing one being done/attempted towards the end of 2021?

Headless hollow body guitar with a Bigsby tremolo, active electronics, and RGB interior lighting seen through a honeycomb insert in the “f” holes.

That is an incredible instrument. Sam, I strongly suspect you will be running your own luthierybusiness extremely successfully within the next 5 years.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

Thank you

The wire is all one color !

Do a one day hand tool build ?

wow

I love the guitar, it shows just how carefully crafted Crimson guitars are. But its controls are much too complicated for me- how will the customer remember (or indeed, have time to change) them mid-gig? Aside from that, the pickup mounting is genius, the forearm carve is beautifully done and may be unique for evermore, and the instrument just oozes class , though I'm not sure about the body shape but I'm not the customer so what I think is irrelevant.

The headstock looks like the design from Ormsby Guitars

Put pickups on both sides of the fretboard

@7:51 I got an; oh my sweet lord have mercy moment. Soldering is something I do out of necessity. I do not enjoy it, but I live with it. The job done in that guitar, IS a work of art in itself. But the amount of insanity, coffee and brain power needed to make it happen. And here I was thinking that Ben held the crown of insanity within Crimson Guitars (and I love Ben's insanity). I've had some wild ideas on electronics but this..

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

Sam is a real star and asset to Crimson.

That electronics could possibly be done with cheap custom PCB rather easily. I bet it could come fully assembled with components and screw terminals too. No soldering required. Well, apart from running pot lug wires etc. of course.

This palaver hilarious. I’m from Finland and in finnish ”palaveri” means a meeting.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

A Palaver in Bantu means exactly the same.

Will there be a new guitar build anytime soon or will the hand tool only build ever get completed?

How about inverting the way one (or more) of the pickups work? Usually the string moves in magnetic field to generate the current that mimics the vibration of the string... How about feeding this electric signal back to one of the pickups to create a varying current that will induce movement in the string - ie. sustain the strings movement.. Much neater than using one of those handheld jobbies to do the same.. I did try this a (very) long time ago but only using one string so as proof of idea, but with 6 strings... woh!

@paulsnell7201

4 ай бұрын

I forgot to say - this may already have been done, but I am not aware of it. Also it should read: "feeding this electric signal back to one of the pickups to create a varying current that will then induce a magnetic field that will induce the movement in the string.."

@collinschipper9248

4 ай бұрын

Sustainer pickup, or sustainiac. Bridge pickup feeds an amplified signal to a lower wound coil in the neck pickup location that creates a magnetic field.

What is the manufacturer and model of the mega switch?

First glance I thought it was a Parker Fly Tribute

🤔Sounds like gibsons H4 type wireing without the dip switch?

Im not a guitar builder, but one of my ideas was to pour some little baby doll heads with clear resin for the body and make some creepy looking guitar😂

Freeway 10-way switch to save some pain next time?

In all honesty if I owned that guitar I'd have a see through cover for that wiring. The wiring is as beautiful as the top...

@CrimsonCustomGuitars

4 ай бұрын

it certainly is. Sam is a marvel

Are the falling maple leaf inlays not copyrighted by Patrick Eggle Guitars the same way PRS copyrighted the bird inlays?

Does that locking arm come with the bridge or is that different? I can't find it anywhere

@StenTFord

4 ай бұрын

Trev Wilkinson is (was when this was designed) selling the arm and backplate separately on Reverb, but only outside the USA. You have to buy a separate complete trem, and then use these extra bits too. It is not a cheap way of doing it.

Was *The Red Special* part of the inspiration for this guitar?