BFG ‘The Monark’ SG
An AviAtion-themed SG thAt runS like clockwork? thAt’ll be billy GibbonS’ new GuitAr…
When it comes to modded guitars, you’d have to go a long way to beat the instruments that billy Gibbons of ZZ top has commissioned from custom builders and modders over the years. From fur-covered explorers to SGs with Flying v headstocks, Gibbons has not only demonstrated how stunningly exotic modded guitars can be – but also how good they can sound.
his partner in crime in this endeavour, for the past decade, has been tech thomas nilson – who winds stunningly good pickups under the cream t brand name in norway. Prompted by Gibbons and other clients including keith richards, thomas has created everything from hot-rod, wide range-style pickups to lipstick-tube humbuckers. his latest venture in the arcane world of modded tone has been to join forces with raymond eide of Faust Guitar norway to create a modded-tohades 2008 Gibson SG for billy Gibbons, re-christened the monark.
raymond eide explains that the body and neck of the guitar “was totally stripped of lacquer and the wood underwent a five-day, deep wood treatment and after that a new coloured finish was added. then it went through a very detailed ageing to get even more wood structure. then it went through a process of ageing and shadow layers that utilised different liquids. the wood was finally sealed with shellac that was polished by hand.”
Among the radical mods applied to the guitar was a bull-leather covering for the face of the headstock into which the name Gibbons is etched, in place of the Gibson logo. most striking though is the working clockwork mechanism built, steampunkstyle, into one of the guitar’s horns.
“the clockwork wheels are taken from a 70-year-old english clock found some years ago at the flea market,” raymond eide says. “the switch backplate, jack ring and the plate on the clockwork mechanism is taken from a 70-year-old uS military aircraft,” he continues.
“the metal plate on the headstock, which is 50 years old, comes from a very old bike, made at the monark bike factory in Sweden. the volume and tone knobs are made in bull leather and treated the same way as the headstock. All the screws on the guitar were made in norway in 1961.”
thomas nilson, meanwhile, crafted the aged, covered humbuckers for the guitar – and he reports that it has a unique sonic trick up its sleeve. if the clockwork mechanism is activated while the guitar is plugged in, the guitar broadcasts an indescribable roaring, grinding sound that is near awe-inspiring. taken together, this incredibly deep modding job is a fittingly regal effort for the king of texas tone.