First look: Prototype Waghorn Alex Hutchings guitar
Brit fusion hero heavily involved in design
Here's a prototype of the Waghorn AH6, a new one-off signature guitar being developed by the high-end UK luthier for fusion guitar maestro Alex Hutchings.
Although it's still very much a work-in-progress and it's not yet clear whether the AH6 will go into wider production, the guitar has a number of intriguing twists and we're not just talking about that unusual body shape.
On its site, Waghorn says the project has been borne out of Hutchings' desire to find "the perfect balance of geometry, hardware and aesthetics to suit his style" and as such there has been a 'ground-up' approach to its design.
Key features include a short-scale 26 fret fingerboard, a Gotoh 510 Series vibrato, Bare Knuckle Abraxis and Emerald humbuckers (at the bridge and neck, respectively) and a Roland GK3 pickup system, which can register and separate signals from each string.
We also spoke to Waghorn to find out more about the seemingly complex controls and we're informed that the three toggle-switches on the bottom right horn, include a three-way pickup selector, a coil-tap and a bypass switch for the GK3 system.
There are also volume and tone control pots near the bridge and along the bottom of the body (as you see it), up and down selector buttons for the GK3, plus an independent volume control and LED indicator.
Although vastly different from the early model (see that in the video below), the guitar pictured here is still just a prototype and Waghorn tell us that Alex will likely tweak it again in the near future.
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Matt is a freelance journalist who has spent the last decade interviewing musicians for the likes of Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, MusicRadar, NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound. In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk, which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.