My 'signature designed' designed Artist Guitars 'Warbird' flying V

Dark Order Lord

New member
So we, at my work - Artist Guitars - about 6 months ago contracted a new factory in China to build our range of intermediate level guitars, the same level quality of Epiphone and LTD guitars approx, and I designed this 'WARBIRD' flying V based on some of the specs of my custom made Grubisa V's with the addition of new little mod/twist on the original Gibson headstock by making it look more metal. BTW,,I left off my 'signature' as I am a nobody guitarist hahahaha


Its specs:

Tech Specs
Brand :- Artist

Model:- WARBIRD

Neck:- Mahogany Set-Neck, Truss Rod, 24 3/4" Scale Length, 24 Frets, Rosewood Fretboard with 'Split Diamond' shaped plastic Inlays.

Body:- Mahogany

Machine Heads:- Die-cast Black Chrome

Bridge:- Black tune-o-matic style, with 'V' anchor plate for String-Thru-Body.

Pickups:- Neck: Alnico V Bar, D.C. Resistance: 7.2K, Black Bobbins

Bridge: Ceramic Bar, D.C. Resistance: 16K, Black Bobbins

Controls:- 2 x Volume, 1 x Tone and a 3-way switch

Colour:- BLACK

Dimensions: 116.5cm x 64cm x 9.5cm

What do you think? The pickups are some sort of chinese made pickups, I was only allowed to select the magnets, but they don't have the ability for custom winds, but the sample sounded not too bad.

This retails for $299 AUD. And arrives January 7th.

image.jpg
image.jpg
image.jpg
 
Last edited:
Re: My 'signature designed' designed Artist Guitars 'Warbird' flying V

I dig it... the only gripe i might have is the look of the heel... but other than that it looks pretty tight
 
Re: My 'signature designed' designed Artist Guitars 'Warbird' flying V

Yeah, I agree, i sent photos of my V to copy, but I didn't tHink they would make heal like that until we got these photos. When sell out of these I will get them to change that. The chinese factories have a tendancy to do odd things in guitar manufacture sometimes, not sure why.
 
Re: My 'signature designed' designed Artist Guitars 'Warbird' flying V

That V shape is awesome! I agree with the heel comment, it looks very uncomfortable.
 
Re: My 'signature designed' designed Artist Guitars 'Warbird' flying V

Where in aus are you? i would like to try one maybe.
 
Re: My 'signature designed' designed Artist Guitars 'Warbird' flying V

now the question would be why in the hells sake you didn't spec strap locks on that thing? with these things being 20 USD or cheaper

BTW evil looking V dude, you probably can't get anymore black than that
 
Re: My 'signature designed' designed Artist Guitars 'Warbird' flying V

:eek:

Gibson-style short-scale V with split diamonds and 24 frets!

Here's a mockup I did 20 years ago of a V I'd like to have one day:

arctic-white.jpg


I'm a die-hard Jackson Zealot, but if your guys can get me one of these with 24 frets and a Floyd with R2 nut width (narrow), a fairly fat neck like a 70s SG or LP (not the Faded V neck profile), 24 3/4" scale, medium jumbo frets, 2 humbuckers, and do it right (i.e. it intonates correctly and doesn't have crappy frets), call me a buyer.

I'll take split diamond inlays on rosewood if I can't get split parallelograms. First fret inlay is not a deal-breaker, but would be awesome. Neck binding (white/ivoroid) would be nice, but not a must.

3 knobs/1 toggle setup like yours is ok, too, I'm not anal about having 4 knobs (and I have a drill with a Forstner bit anyway).

Do it right, and I may throw down for a matching black one with maple board and black inlays :D


And the blocky heel was probably done to help with the set-in stability. I'm ok with blocky heels if that's all they got (I play mostly bolt-ons anyway).


And if it can be painted Schenker-style front and back and head....... :drool:
 
Re: My 'signature designed' designed Artist Guitars 'Warbird' flying V

now the question would be why in the hells sake you didn't spec strap locks on that thing? with these things being 20 USD or cheaper

7k dollar Les Paul historics dont come with strap locks, not everyone feels they are necessary
 
Re: My 'signature designed' designed Artist Guitars 'Warbird' flying V

Dude, you live on an island, how long would it take to go to Sydney? :lol:

It's not like driving from Boston to L.A.
 
Re: My 'signature designed' designed Artist Guitars 'Warbird' flying V

^^ Haha, not quite but Australia is pretty f***ing big.

Anyway, cool guitar - I prefer '58 style Vs myself, which you don't see a lot of in the price bracket you're aiming for. Any other colours besides black planned?

Split diamond inlays ftw.
 
Re: My 'signature designed' designed Artist Guitars 'Warbird' flying V

^^ I know, but it's still considered an island - for some reason.

Hell, I'm 2 hours away from Memphis, home of the Blues, where there's a Gibson factory, and have no desire to go see it. Or I'm 3 hours from Nashville, where they have everything (including a Gibson outlet store with a ton of stuff in it), and just don't care :D
 
Re: My 'signature designed' designed Artist Guitars 'Warbird' flying V

Overall, I think it's a good looking guitar. But I wouldn't buy it myself, because I think it needs a pick guard, and I don't like the black hardware. Nice looking V for someone who likes the all black look, though.
 
Re: My 'signature designed' designed Artist Guitars 'Warbird' flying V

^^ I like it without; often wish more vintage spec Vs would come rear routed.

^^ I know, but it's still considered an island - for some reason.

Hell, I'm 2 hours away from Memphis, home of the Blues, where there's a Gibson factory, and have no desire to go see it. Or I'm 3 hours from Nashville, where they have everything (including a Gibson outlet store with a ton of stuff in it), and just don't care :D

Drive 2-3 hours in any direction from a city or town in Oz and you're in the middle of nothing :D.
 
Re: My 'signature designed' designed Artist Guitars 'Warbird' flying V

^^ Haha, not quite but Australia is pretty f***ing big.

Anyway, cool guitar - I prefer '58 style Vs myself, which you don't see a lot of in the price bracket you're aiming for. Any other colours besides black planned?

Split diamond inlays ftw.

No other colours at this point, we want this thing to sell out to Metal Heads, so black it is. And in my experiance the Epiphone V's, in particular the 58 reissue are complete dogs as far as full sounding tone, the Warbird is far better acoustically, but not quite Gibson standard. The reason? As Frank Grubisa explaind to me once (Grubisa Guitars, the luthier of my own custom guitars) aside from the actual tone woods quality, its all in the neck, especially the truss rod cavity. USA or expensive Japanese guitars have very small cavity with the correct truss rod system laid in, and a wooden bridge-cap to encase.

The cheaper chinese/korean/indonsian guitars like Epiphones in particular have large truss rod cavities with no covering wood. The large truss rods are ready built and just laid in and then the fretboard stock over the canal.

This is wHat suck out the solid mids, and the main reason for the tonal difference of an Epihone to a Gibson for example.
 
Last edited:
Re: My 'signature designed' designed Artist Guitars 'Warbird' flying V

I'm all for rear-routed Vs. Never saw the sense in covering half the top in a giant hunk of plastic. It always struck me as a lazy design.
 
Re: My 'signature designed' designed Artist Guitars 'Warbird' flying V

Dark Order Lord i hate you with the deepest of my black soul, now i will had to buy that V when i had the money for the shipping (i dobut it being avaible on my country)
 
Last edited:
Back
Top