C Fouke Industrial Custom Jazz Box

Made to my specifications by Chris Fouke of Industrial Guitars, July 2002. Hollow body, aluminum top and back with synthetic core, roughly the size of an ES-175, but about an inch thick. 21-fret neck and two humbucking pickups salvaged from an Epiphone Les Paul Special which I purchased on eBay for this purpose. I also provided black chrome Gotoh tuners and three black chrome knobs; Chris supplied the tune-o-matic bridge, the custom tailpiece, and all additional electronics. Controls are two volume and a master tone with a three-way switch. Finished in flat black over brushed aluminum, with a custom symbol riveted to the top below the tailpiece. Check out the "Guitars" page at www.industrialguitar.com for a photo. Since this guitar was made expressly to my specs, it gets a 10.

I've had the guitar for almost a week now, and have played it extensively at home and at a rehearsal with one of my current bands. My musical projects vary from a jazz-rock-funk instrumental quartet to a goth-rock project to solo experimental looping.

The acoustic sound on this instrument is remarkably full, even though it's only an inch thick. Chris used a thinner gauge aluminum for this guitar in order to cut down on weight, and he claims that this produces a stronger acoustic voice than his other Industrials. Since this is the only Industrial I've ever played, I'll have to take his word for it, but I love the way it sounds.

My current signal chain is pretty simple: guitar into a Digitech Genesis3 modeling preamp, and then into a PA or a Peavey keyboard amp (or headphones when I'm at home). I'd love to hear this guitar through a real-deal tube amp at some point, but through the Genesis, it's got all the tone I ever wanted. I got the clean sound of my dreams by mixing a clean tube model with the direct sound of the guitar: sparkling highs, rich and full lows. My favorite distorted program is the Boutique (based on a Matchless DC30); the Industrial dishes out focused, clear lead tones and tight rhythms. The only tone I've been unable to get with it is a scooped-mid nu-metal tone, but this may be the fault of the Genesis, as I haven't been happy with those tones with my other guitars either. Since it's a hollowbody, the guitar does tend to feed back with high-gain sounds, but it's a musical sort of feedback which lends itself well to experimentation (cool trick: barre at the 5th, 7th, or 12th fret and tap or knock on the body to start harmonics). Speaking of which, this guitar gets IMPOSSIBLE harmonics - 4th-fret harmonics are clear acoustically, and high-gain tones with the bridge pickup yield striking 3rd and 15th-fret harmonics that I haven't been able to achieve with my wood solidbodies. This is the tone by which my future guitars will be judged.

Chris set the guitar up to my specs before he shipped it. The .011 strings feel great, and definitely contribute to the tone. Hardware is nice and tight, especially the three-way switch, which looks almost indestructible. The guitar is extremely comfortable to play - the large body size means I can lean against and into it, but its thinness (about 1" instead of the 3-4" of a full-size jazzbox) means that I don't have to reach my arm way out to find the strings.

The reason the guitar gets a 9 in this category is NOT Chris's fault - it's mine. The Epiphone neck that I provided for construction has a buzz in the trussrod that seems to defy elimination. I've tried adjusting the rod, and even poured some Krazy Glue into the trussrod channel to form a seal between the rod and the wood - that tamed it somewhat, but it's still present if I dig in hard with the pick. The rattle doesn't come through in the pickups in any way. Lesson learned: next time, I'll pay the extra money for Chris to provide a quality neck of his choosing.

It's made of aluminum. How durable do you think it is? I could probably stop a bullet with this thing. Hardware is tight, strap buttons are great. The finish is already starting to accumulate some light scratches, but my feeling is that they will only add to the character of the guitar over time. I don't expect this guitar to ever have any serious problems, although I would never play a gig without a backup (having painfully learned that lesson just last week).

Chris Fouke is an amazing guy. He contacted me within hours of my initial email, discussed every aspect of the instrument thoroughly with me, and kept me up-to-date on the construction with almost-daily photos. He clearly puts a lot of himself into his work, and I know that if I experience any serious problems with the guitar, he'll be ready to help me out. Highest marks.

I've been playing for about 10 years now, and like most players, I've been through a number of guitars in that time, ranging from a cheap Crestline Explorer copy to a Steinberger Spirit to a mid-80s Yamaha SBG1000. My current arsenal includes the Industrial, a Yamaha Pacifica 311 (the Mike Stern Tele), and a Kramer Focus for single-coil sounds. This is, without a doubt, the best-sounding guitar I've ever played. It will never leave my possession voluntarily, and anyone who makes off with it had best be prepared to reap some SERIOUS bad mojo. Chris has a unique vision, and I'm proud to have been able to participate in it, and to own such a fantastic guitar. My only fear is that I won't be satisfied with anything but an Industrial in the future - but, given the prices he charges, it's a managable addiction. I encourage anyone who wants a unique and beautiful custom guitar to check out www.industrialguitar.com, and prepare to be stunned.