In a rare stroke of marketing genius, the custom guitar company Halo Guitars has added a virtual custom guitar generator, in which you can choose body shapes, number of strings, frets, pickups, finish, etc. and it will generate a computer rendering of what your guitar will look like, which you can then save, or send to a friend, or post in a Facebook group along with a thousand others.
Despite a somewhat checkered reputation and having their guitars built mostly overseas, I have heard a lot of good things about Halo, and getting a guitar with all the crazy features you want without getting on a long waiting list and paying beaucoup bucks makes them very attractive. For instance, where else can you get a 10 string fretless guitar in whatever scale length you like without selling a kidney? They have also apparently been pulling a Domino’s recently, facing up to the criticisms and improving their quality control and customer service under some new management. We’ll have to see how that pans out.
They are currently running a contest on their Facebook page, wherein one lucky duck will win their design simply by submitting it on the contest comments section.
One of the best features of the virtual builder is the ability to upload a custom graphic to apply to your guitar. This has of course led to total anarchy and hilarious creativity. Here are some of my favorites:
The “Acoustic Electric”
The “Inception”
The “Inexplicably Inverted Birdman”, a multi-scale fretless 8 string. A fretless fanned fret guitar. That’s like being drunk in a maze.
nathangifford / February 11, 2014 1:33 pm
I’m sad my breaking bad or salad fingers ones didnt make it up there.
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dump wagon / February 11, 2014 6:09 pm
I had made myself a pretty neat 24.75″ scale Jazzmaster-style guitar, but I was pretty disappointed that I couldn’t actually select Jazzmaster pickups. Kind of a let down.
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