Hell Guitars

[tjcurtin1]

Hell! We want to see what's INSIDE that box - who the hell cares about the wrapper! (Just kidding - congrats!)

[FrankenFretter***]

Syo, I'm very much looking forward to owning one of your fine guilars.

Do you have any photos of the new babies fresh off the production line?

[syo***]

Syo, I'm very much looking forward to owning one of your fine guilars.

Do you have any photos of the new babies fresh off the production line?

Almost Sean.
Here are a few pics in the factory, guitars not yet completely off the production line but close. I took these photos at Duffy's request to see some shots of the process/factory. Sorry I didn't get these up sooner. Taken with my mobile phone so quality is so so. I'll try to post a few more soon.

Here's a shot of some of my guitars which were brought in to have the hardware assembled.



Pickups being installed



These 3 were taken in the final assembly/setup phase. I spent quite a few hours myself in one of these stations playing dozens of guitars. In fact I was standing in the same position for so long that when it came time to go to dinner my legs were almost locked in position. I think I was so focused on trying to find any flaws that I forgot to shift my weight from time to time. You'll notice labels on the Bare Knuckle pickups. I put them on before shipping them from Japan as we have several different combinations per style. I didn't want to take a chance that they could get confused.

[Robert****]

Very interesting! Thanks for posting these pics.

[bcdon***]

Are those Nailbombs? Sweet!!!

Very cool, syo! Can't wait to see more (and have one too!)

[sumitomo]

I really like the looks of that white one,good job.Ah but what the hell you already knew that.Sumi

[bcdon***]

Can't wait to see the website up and running...

[Robert****]

Very cool Syo! I hope to see one in person one day!

[syo***]

Can't wait to see the website up and running...

Yes don, I know. I'm late as usual. Sorry...

Things are coming along however. Recently received the first production run and I'm personally inspecting and testing all of them. I should be finished with most of them by the end of the weekend. I must say that so far I am completely blown away with the quality. I know that this sounds like self serving sales talk but it truly isn't. I post all the Hell news as it comes and if it were otherwise, I would say so. All of the so far tested guilars are excellent players and sound terrific. There have been two so far that actually sent chills down my spine. Incredible tone and drop-jaw sustain and they played exceptionally fast. Second to no guilars that I have ever played.
There are a couple that will have to go as B stock for purely cosmetic reasons. Nothing major yet though. Will see what the rest of this weekend brings, but so far I am relieved and very very happy.

I was messing about a week or so with ago with melting ice and came up with a little video teaser. Rough but conceptually where I'm going. Audio is the first (and only) take of some playing around I did while while watching the video. I'm thinking to have a contest with the finished video, "Score one for Hell". A competition to score the vid. Winner gets a guitar. Could be interesting.



Of course once you go to hellguitars.com all bcdon (or anyone else for that matter) can currently see is that "coming soon" page. The site right now is being held up by the fact that at this stage of Hell development I'm still in control-freak mode. I will be bringing others in to help soon but I have to get through the birth stage first. Nearly delivering. Practically however it is being held up by the fact that the guitars (oops guilars) have had some minor changes made to them so I have to reshoot the lot. I can't do that until some new hardware (knobs) arrives next week. But the layout is about ready.

I can see the lights up ahead and they spell H-E-L-L...

[NWBasser]

Yes don, I know. I'm late as usual. Sorry...

Things are coming along however. Recently received the first production run and I'm personally inspecting and testing all of them. I should be finished with most of them by the end of the weekend. I must say that so far I am completely blown away with the quality. I know that this sounds like self serving sales talk but it truly isn't. I post all the Hell news as it comes and if it were otherwise, I would say so. All of the so far tested guilars are excellent players and sound terrific. There have been two so far that actually sent chills down my spine. Incredible tone and drop-jaw sustain and they played exceptionally fast. Second to no guilars that I have ever played.
There are a couple that will have to go as B stock for purely cosmetic reasons. Nothing major yet though. Will see what the rest of this weekend brings, but so far I am relieved and very very happy.

I was messing about a week or so with ago with melting ice and came up with a little video teaser. Rough but conceptually where I'm going. Audio is the first (and only) take of some playing around I did while while watching the video. I'm thinking to have a contest with the finished video, "Score one for Hell". A competition to score the vid. Winner gets a guitar. Could be interesting.

Of course once you go to hellguitars.com all bcdon (or anyone else for that matter) can currently see is that "coming soon" page. The site right now is being held up by the fact that at this stage of Hell development I'm still in control-freak mode. I will be bringing others in to help soon but I have to get through the birth stage first. Nearly delivering. Practically however it is being held up by the fact that the guitars (oops guilars) have had some minor changes made to them so I have to reshoot the lot. I can't do that until some new hardware (knobs) arrives next week. But the layout is about ready.

I can see the lights up ahead and they spell H-E-L-L...

Hmm, I think I know how the label mishap on the box happened...

[Ch0jin]

This is getting pretty exciting So score wise you're thinking 30 seconds? Not that I have any composition/arrangement/musical ability, just, well, curious

I think the main competition here is going to be more like "Who buy's and receives the first Hell Guilar". I know there are a couple of us here quite interested

[bcdon***]

This is getting pretty exciting So score wise you're thinking 30 seconds? Not that I have any composition/arrangement/musical ability, just, well, curious

I think the main competition here is going to be more like "Who buy's and receives the first Hell Guilar". I know there are a couple of us here quite interested

I bet shipping from Japan to Down Under is much faster than to North America.. at least we should have the European guys beat! ;-)

[FrankenFretter***]

Man, this anticipation is driving me crazy! In a good way, of course.

[syo***]

This is getting pretty exciting So score wise you're thinking 30 seconds? Not that I have any composition/arrangement/musical ability, just, well, curious

Yes, Ch0, looking at a 30 second spot. Still working out the details for this but I'll give ample warning along with final video and clear instructions. While composition skills etc., would probably help, they're not necessarily required if you can manage to capture the Hell vibe. Anyway, stay tuned!

I bet shipping from Japan to Down Under is much faster than to North America.. at least we should have the European guys beat! ;-)

I know you're joking don, but I'm not sure about which would be faster. Technically flight time is about the same. What I don't know yet is what are the typical custom delays from country to country. Shipping a guitar to the US usually takes about 4-5 days from Japan. I know Europe usually has longer delays getting things through customs. I am looking into arranging a distribution center for N. America so guitars will be shipped from the States. This will help cut costs and make delivery faster for US and Canada. Not sure when this will happen though I'm fairly sure that this is what we'll do.

[syo***]

I am rather happy as I recently received some hardware (knobs/toggle knob) that are perfect for my Bender model. I initially wanted to design my own but in an effort to control costs I've been searching for over a year for some pre-existing knobs. It is amazing to me how few styles/choices are actually available. They are chromed brass and really finish things off nicely and have a nice feel to them. I'll take some pictures this weekend and post them.

I also recently learned that there is a law (apparently) that guitar manufacturers must also sell T-shirts. So to be in compliance I have been designing a few.
I would love to hear any opinions/comments if anyone is inclined. The first one is definite. Just the classic hell logo look. The other 2 I threw together from sketches while waiting in the hospital this week. It was my inclination from the start not to have any devil imagery, satanic stuff but the one below just came off as fun and natural. Might do another with angels too. Anyway, please let me know what you think. Thanks!

[FrankenFretter***]

Way cool, Syo! I actually like all of them, and I don't think I could choose one favorite. I guess I'll have to get one of each when they're ready. I do kind of favor the bottom design just a tad, I guess, although I'd prefer a black T. Any plans to make baseball caps and beanies? They seem to go along with the tee shirts most of the time. Here in Oregon, I could really use a nice warm Hell hat. ;-)

Thanks for keeping us up to date!

[kidsmoke*]

Cool stuff, SYO, must be very satisfying for you. If I had to choose, I'd get the last design, the headstock logo. I dig that.

[Duffy]

Syo, one thing I like in a T shirt is a small graphic over the pocket. I like a pocket in them. I have designed a few decent T shirts for various purposes. In addition I like the big graphic on the back instead of the front.

Just my opinion, but I think the bottom graphic with the headstock and a couple tuners with HELL on top would lend itself real well to being modified into a smaller four inch diameter circle pinstripe above the pocket with HELL arcing across the top inside the circle and the year 2011 arcing within the bottom of the pinstripe circle. I personally think this motif makes the T shirt look real cool, especially with the big graphic displayed proudly on the back of the T shirt. It kind of gives it a two dimensional element and looks classy, as opposed to just a plain T shirt with a big graphic on the front and no pocket for MP3 player, phone, etc., highlighted with the four inch diameter graphic above the pocket. I have found these pocketted T shirts to be very popular compared to the plain type.

Just some ideas from my personal perspective and past experience in T shirt design.

The T shirt can be a lot more than just a legal necessity. In my personal view T shirts can be powerful advertising, especially if they are really cool and have an element of desirability that separates them from the plain run of the mill T's.

I also think they look better in a color other than plain white, even grey or red or black. I usually don't go overboard with more than one color and make sure that I have abundant quantities in the most desirable sizes, especially extra large, because of shrinkage, especially with the cheaper T shirts.

I wouldn't mind drawing a sample circle graphic above the pocket and big graphic on the back, but I'm sure if you are contemplating designs you can easily conceptualize the idea I'm getting at. Green would be another color that would, similar to grey, accentuate the red in the headstock graphic.

As I said, I'm really into the powerful advertising value of cool and desirable T shirts.

I personally think the hellish characters on the shirts look really linear and make it difficult to have a flowing graphic, plus they look "busy" and maybe only one character would be better than a few, in my inconsequential opinion.

I hope you don't mind me throwing out some ideas. I definitely don't mean to sound critical, but don't mind sharing some of the experience I have had designing what turned out to be highly desirable T shirts with "strong" advertising value.

Your entire endeavor looks great. I wish you the greatest success.

I really liked that black and gold prototype you posted with the cool diamond or skewed box/rectangle blockiness on the body. That was one stunning finish, probably relatively expensive to produce, but really had a beautiful vibe to it.

What is your target demographic by the way, if you don't mind me asking?

Again, best wishes in your substantial endeavor. It is highly interesting to watch you share your quest with us. We can almost feel your ups and downs. I've never seen such a revealing insight into a mfg'ing pursuit of any type. Thanks for opening that window to your cool project.

[FrankenFretter***]

That would be a great sticker! Just sayin'.