UnOrthodox Guitars Suraci

This is a custom guitar made by Unorthodox Guitars' owner/craftsman Dave Bauer from Ft. Wayne Indiana. I received it in May 2008 after placing my order in March. Nice turnaround for a full custom. This is a hollow guitar similar in shape to a Fender Starcaster, or a stretched out asymmetrical strat. It also has forearm and belly contours like a strat, not common on many hollowbodies. This particular guitar is a walnut, maple, cherry sandwich with a 24 jumbo fret cherry neck and ebony fretboard. However, Dave can make a guitar for you out of any wood that he has, and will even send you pictures of different slabs so you can make up your mind. The whole guitar is finished with a hand-rubbed satin oil finish that is both visually appealing and butter smooth. The engineer Rob Suraci, who also designed this bod shape, can wire your guitar in any way possible. This one has seymour-duncan humbuckers, master volume/phase reversal, blend knob(instead of 3 way), and 2 tone knobs that also act as individual coil taps. Tuners, bridges and other parts are left up to the buyer to decide or provide. My guitar has grover tuners and a hipshot flatmount bridge with through-body string routing. Basically, you get what you want and more, use your imagination.

This guitar is used for everything. With the variety of pickup configurations, I can get any sound I can think of. Fat rock or blues. Twangy country. Thin funk skankiness. full warm jazz tones. Whatever you want you can get. I mainly play through an original silverface fender twin reverb, and get perfect tones all the time. Sounds equally like a strat or a jazz box. It nail's Leo's tones from the early Meters records. Being a strat player for over 10 years I was worried I would have to switch guitars in the middle of gigs before all the funky songs, but with the coil taps I can nail the slinky stuff all night.

This guitar has the softest, easiest neck heel of any set-neck or bolt-on guitar I've ever played. The neck itself is handmade; Dave can also use a pre made neck as a less expensive option. It felt comfortable right away, no time need to get acquainted. I played it the first day for several hours straight without any sign of fatigue or cramping. The action was low and fast right out of the case. There was some fret buzz that was easily fixed. With the forearm and belly contours and a large radius edge carving, the guitar hugs your body and sits in a very comfortable spot no matter how long the set is.

This guitar is heavy duty. Unlike most hollow guitars, the top is a thick piece of solid wood. No laminates here. The wiring is rock solid. Being a hand rubbed oil finish, It may need some extra care to make it withstand sweaty gigs and Southern humidity. I make sure to wipe it down and keep it in its case when not in use. Dave's neck is also very sturdy. I doubt it will crack or warp unless I do something very stupid.

UnOrthodox Guitars will take care of you! The buying process was easy and straightforward. Dave came through with some good suggestions and was open to any ideas that I had. As a result of our collaboration, I now own a guitar that is exactly what I wanted and needed, as well as a one of a kind piece of art. As the process began, we spoke on the phone several times to hash out details. How's this for customer service: If I have any major problems, I can send it back and they'll fix it. They also offered to reimburse me for any costs related to the initial setup, so that I could have the guitar set up the way I liked without anything coming out of pocket. That is great service if you ask me, try getting a rebate from Gibson or Fender.

I have been playing the guitar for 11 or so years and this is definitely the best guitar I've ever played and hopefully the last one I'll need. It can get any sound I need I can play it all night without tiring. It is one of a kind. If you take your time and talk with Dave, you will get the exact guitar that you want at a very reasonable price. I payed less money for a full handmade custom guitar than some pay for factory made gibson, and I think it sounds and plays better than any Gibson I've touched. Support the American economy by supporting small businesses like UnOrthodox Guitars.