Body
Style |
Body
Wood |
Neck
Wood |
Fbd.
Wood |
Scale |
Frets |
Pickups |
Switching |
Neck Joint | Strings |
Weight |
Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ZT |
Walnut |
Maple |
Maple |
624 mm |
24 Large/Medium *Dual Size |
Neck: Fender NoCaster Bridge: Fender 52 |
3-way pickup select |
Screwed |
ZOG 9+ RW |
8 lb |
$2700 with case |
Welcome to another display in pure narcissism to feed my insatiable pathology. This sickness is so powerful it has become me.
The inspiration for this Z actually came from the custom brushed, un-plated, raw-metal bridge. It may seem strange to some but I built this instrument around this bridge. What I had to do is make the rest of the hardware also brushed raw metal, so everything matched in a cohesive aesthetic theme. This took a lot of time and work. I knew the body wood had to be dark and nothing too fancy in grain as not to distract from the hardware. A dark, plain, yet elegant background would contrast yet highlight the brushed metal parts and make them come forward visually. This two piece Walnut for the body is a very nice piece of wood. Its heavier than most Walnut and very dense. This makes this particular ZT weigh in at a hefty 8 lb. The neck however had to contrast the body color. All the elements of design must be obeyed. This is what separates what I do from tinkering. A tinkerer is a dolt and does not have the background I have to see and feel the work as art. There are strict rules to be followed in art in terms of design, aesthetics and tradition.
I should get a top mark for this one in shop class.I made the custom control plate to match the bridge but this plate couldn't just be any random meaningless shape, it had to be anchored in history. Each Z must speak to you metaphorically and reference something else. In this case it gives specific vintage Fender cues. Everything I do must be rooted in tradition. This is why I don't like most custom handmade guitars. If you ever go to any of these guitar conventions, like the one in Montreal, none of those guitars are inspiring because they are just too wacky, haphazard and not rooted in anything. They usually refer to nothing and therefore say nothing. The various design elements don't usually fit and they look like cheesy nightmares, regardless of being hand made. These people give "handmade" a bad name and no wonder they are nothing more than side show freaks, not player's guitars. This is because very few guitar builders are artists. Just because you build guitars does not make you an artist. When it comes to function, form and aesthetics, most handcrafted guitars are a collection of disparate elements just thrown together, lacking any design relationship; sort of like the individual strings found in conventional string sets you buy in stores. These builders, as with most people, don't possess that ability to see and feel, or do so at a far lessor degree then the hypersensitivity of an artist. My definition of a masterpiece is where all the elements fit perfectly together and actually compliment each other. Each element must have a relationship to one another and must actually speak to each other resulting in the makeup of the whole creation. This can also be called harmony, as in music but of course harmony cannot be seen without the presence of contrast. Zachary guitars are known for their function but the aesthetic theme is also an integral part of each one. To be a visual artist you are hypersensitive in what you see and what you feel. In everyday life you are constantly aware and virtually tormented by shapes, colors, and the relationships and contrast between them. This is not something you can ever learn, you have to be born with the ability.
Besides making the control plate, which spontaneously should make you recall the first P bass of 1951; if you know your guitar history that is. I brushed the finish of all the other hardware parts. Allowing for contrast among the hardware parts would have broken the continuity in the worst way and achieved the complete opposite effect to Harmony, They parts would no longer be related and they would no longer speak to each other. Contrast must be introduced but it has to be placed very carefully and by design. Contrast in the wrong place can kill a theme and the piece of work could only end up at the Montreal Guitar Show.
I then removed the plating from my custom neck pickup ring to make it raw brushed aluminum and to me delight with absence of plating the raw aluminum became non-magnetic. The heavy-knurled aggressive raw looking knob was also a perfect choice to continue the industrial theme and in striking contrast to the sooth walnut body and maple neck. You have rawness and smoothness side by side. The presence of harmony and dissonance side by side. You should know by now that everything is planned and has a purpose when it comes to a Zachary guitar. The heavy-knurled knob is brushed raw lightweight aluminum, as it must be. You now should realize why I freak when some part is changed on a Zachary guitar or if someone specifies something which may not be appropriate and detract from a particular theme. This lack of artistic perception always offends me. I also brushed up all the plastic parts, strap buttons, neck pickup cover, every screw head and even the string saddles. Continuity was established. Even the black parts have their own continuity, including the black tuner buttons, switch tip, neck screw Ebony plugs and bridge pickup. Remember, it all has to fit and be correct functionally, aesthetically and historically. It definitely has to also have historical context, even if it is a Hot Rod. There is a lot happening here in terms of aesthetic design which will not be apparent to the average viewer or guitar enthusiast. If all this seems bizarre, unintelligible and meaningless to you, don’t worry about it and I cannot help you. I will take care of the details because its important to me very much. This stuff keeps me up at night. This is why you are you and you are not me and I like it that way. To me a guitar is not just for playing but must make a visual and emotional statement.
You see, this leads into an explanation for why I do what I do and why I do it the way I do it. This is not about anything other than art and creativity. Forget everything else. I pity the poor bastard who is nothing more than a marketing mascot for some large guitar factory bearing his name but who does not build guitars. How could he. Technology and the pursuit of market share has made what I do and the way I do it completely ridiculous and stupid to people in the guitar industry. The rat race is on and its not about art but all about marketing. Let them work be done by computerized machines, the marketing has become a perverse type of art form I can wallow in creativity all day and brush each screw head and I can take a whole month making a Z. The sad part of it all is that it is no longer possible for them to make guitars by hand. The world they live in will not allow for this. They don't have the skill, they don't have the time and they don't have the money. How about all those big shots in the guitar industry who have no actual connection to the making of a guitar. They are corporate heroes. Some of them are actually famous and revered for their skills. What skills? Maybe skills on Wall Street but not in making a guitar. I could name many names. You could even name them. They are the poor bastards and I am the rich man. Because its not about business, money, fame, guitar magazine reviews, celebrity endorsers or talking to thousands of irritating morons at a NAMM show. Its only about making art, one at a time. There is nothing more required or desired. This is what I need to do. In short, I build for the same reason I hope you play the guitar. Nothing more is needs to enter the picture and nothing else matters. Anything else is a downgrade, will degrade art and totally defeats the purpose and does not satisfy the need to create. An artist creates art and whoever does not have a desperate need to create is NOT and artist.
Circle Jerks often criticize as to why I don’t just let my work do the talking. Well, as much alive as these instruments are, I cannot get them to talk, no matter what I do. Since they can't talk, I must do the talking for them. If there were no idiots and everyone was knowledgeable, I wouldn't have to say a thing. This is because most will look but they will not see. I must explain what they are looking at and what to see. I am always shocked at how shamefully ignorant the average guitar enthusiast is. Ignorance is a dangerous thing. Why would anyone object at my sharing some information which is not apparent to the average dolt? Who exactly is a guitar enthusiast? Any moron who gets on a guitar forum is automatically elevated to "expert" status. Instead, let's see what you got. Show you accomplishments, I show mine to the world. Whacking off anonymously on a guitar forum only proves what a loser you are.
Not only do I show my work I also educate, even if its like a brick hitting you in the head. Just think of all the free education you are getting in the process. Are you not a whole lot smarter now then before you started reading this commentary? Think about what I am offering you. Where else could you see truly hand made guitars and also see detailed close ups of each work. You do understand that cleaning up CNC cutter marks from bodies and necks in a factory does not constitute a hand made guitar, even though they worked hard to make you believe that it does, and you did believe it. That's why I am here to educate you. You should be grateful and privileged to even be allowed to look at these pages, This is priceless knowledge you will never get from your fellow circle jerks. People who are as uninformed as you are and maybe even stupider will only keep you stupid. Conversely, if you come to this web site, it will make you smarter and change your life. I know one thing for sure, I leave a lasting impression. Remember, "Everything You Know About Guitars Is Wrong".
My friend,
Harmony is such an apt word for what you do. This instrument in particular is an excellent example of flow and form within your ZT design (it is your design now, the other guys dropped the ball long ago and don't deserve to carry it henceforth). It is such a good example that, indeed, it's name should be such.
I have fallen totally in love with walnut as of late; It's tone, feel and look. Gorgeous caramel wood with molasses lines, what could you not love? Its almost too sweet, especially when you hear the brightness of it and it's sustain. This guitar, vocally, has to be a choir raining down from the sky. Jeff
Alex, Just wanted to say that the new ZT is absolutely beautiful. I know very little about Tele's, so in some respects I have just looked at your latest creations, read the descriptions, and learned quite a bit. This tele, for me, is "it" with respect to the ZT's you've built to date. There is so much going on behind the "specs", both historically and philosophically, that the contrast between the actual simplicity of the instrument and the complexity of the thought behind it is staggering.
Oh - and yes, the original P-bass control plate came immediately to mind....of course, that was easier to recognize because the bass you built for me has a control plate that also hearkens to that instrumental era :-) Jay
Blackstar Amplification