Acacia Romulus Arc Guitar Review: Space Guitar Made From Materials Not Yet Invented

Finally, a review of the Acacia Romulus Arc I custom ordered after NAMM 2019! This is a decked out guitar with every single modern crazy feature you can think of. I've had a blast playing it...the three big standouts on this thing are Acacia'a hemispherical fret ends, the chatoyant carbon fiber top, and the madness of evertune. Absolutely made to rock you to death. You can learn about this model here: www.acaciaguitars.com/romulus...
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The signal chain was AxeFX2 (Friedman BE, AC-20, Double Verb) with the Horizon Devices Precision Drive pedal. Check out the pedal here: amzn.to/2w2lUd0
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[@AcaciaCustomGuitars]

Love how this turned out! It was fun to work with you and create this guy.

[@TheGuitarPit]

Thanks Acacia! Such a god tier galaxy brain guitar. I can't get enough of it!

[@randomguy5907]

that top is mind blowing, it reminds me of a quilted maple top with a 3d moving effect

[@hkguitar1984]

Such a beautiful Instrument, thank you Acacia.

[@amirking1935]

i dont mean to be so offtopic but does someone know of a tool to log back into an instagram account..? I somehow forgot the login password. I would appreciate any tips you can give me.

[@calebanderson1739]

@Amir King Instablaster =)

[@RobertBakerGuitar]

Acacia: What specs do you want Chris: Yes

[@TheGuitarPit]

It's like on those multiple choice tests, when you don't know the answers... you just draw a line straight down through all of it.

[@Oilid]

Looooool

[@AcaciaCustomGuitars]

And how about ? -just, yes

[@johnblazydichrolamllc3232]

Wow thanks a ton for the mega shoutout!!! I could tell you genuinely love that guitar, which makes my quarter million $ R&D costs into Chatoyant Carbon Fiber worth it. Didn't know the Evertune was so good - does it have some kindof computor inside that senses string stretch? 🤣

[@TheGuitarPit]

Quarter mil! Phewww! Dying to know how it's made. Is it a mould? Machined? Magic? Super secret?! And no, the Evertune is 100% mechanical. It's just a series of springs (and levers?) that somehow adjust to reach equilibrium if it notices the string falls out of tension. It's pretty nutty!

[@johnblazydichrolamllc3232]

@@TheGuitarPit yes, its molded into literal 3D quilt pattern mold with nearly 1/4" high waves, then surfaced flat, which reveals the "ghost" 3D effect from the bent fibers - literally identical to the way real quilted maple wood grows. My old profile pic to left shows me holding a pc of my Long Wave glass which is the basis of the tech I then developed for CF, but now use molds I design in CAD based on wood figure. Thanks! I'll post your youtube page on my IG post if that's ok. Imagine that top reflecting stage spotlights. Would be wild. Great, informative and well edited video!

[@TheGuitarPit]

@@johnblazydichrolamllc3232 Ah, that totally makes sense. Thanks for describing it! And yeah of course, feel free to share :)

[@surbas100]

John Blazy Dichrolam, LLC finally someone bringing your carbon fiber to the You Tube world! Thank you @Guitar Pit for doing this video!

[@SrDeMaFp]

Man, that fretwork is a thing of beauty!

[@grandprixle1985]

Wow beautiful guitar sir! Love the wenge neck! Really enjoy your channel man, awesome guitars! Cheers!

[@TheGuitarPit]

Thanks Jay! And me too, super interesting wood and texture.

[@rockindavebyron3960]

That"s gotta be the most Amazing guitar I ever see, just absolutely beautiful !!! Congrats Chris, Rock On & God Bless!!!

[@TheGuitarPit]

Thanks Dave! It's totally wild, right?! That was the point :P

[@colt.thrower]

That headstock is super sick. Acacia has been on my radar for a while now

[@ERWebster]

Congratz man, that is one epic, beautiful guitar. Gorgeous.

[@TheGuitarPit]

Thanks dude! Epic is just the right word :)

[@papasmamas1]

Finally something new !!! talking about that top, but its a boomer to know its a heavy guitar. Looks great. BTW i enjou your reviews pretty much, i like you describe the guitar in details, and how it feels., the quality of the camera is pretty good too.

[@TheGuitarPit]

Thanks for watching, Diego!

[@randybrodzik8412]

All I gotta say is WOW! Awesome Brother.

[@FrumpyPumpkin]

Unreal. That’s a thing of beauty. 🤘

[@TheGuitarPit]

Yeah dude! I still stare at it daily, which is rare. Usually I'm sick of the way stuff looks after a week hah. It's really unbelievable.

[@shanewalton8888]

Something other than high gain metal???!!! Impossible! Death to all but metal!

[@JWCFB]

Happy for you Chris. I did not know Acicia builds Vola guitars too.

[@TheGuitarPit]

I believe they ghost build a couple brands, but Vola USA is one they do. The Japanese Volas are not made by them.

[@RequiemDead]

I am a sucker for hemispherical fret ends, AND it's on an Acacia. ALL of the yes! And CHEERS for playing Opeth - Harvest!

[@TheGuitarPit]

Hell ya buddy. Something about bad fretwork just immediately makes me go "eh this guitar sucks" even if it feels great and sounds great. Can't believe how good Acacia's frets turned out hah. Love it!

[@fernandonavarro6783]

Congrats man, looks like a dream guitar

[@TheGuitarPit]

Thanks Fernando! It's certainly a dream guitar, assuming you like things VERY modern :)

[@JimDewdGuitars]

Absolutely phenomenal guitar! Looks and sounds great!

[@TheGuitarPit]

Heck ya, it rocks super hard. I can't get over the top either...absolutely hilarious levels of overkill.

[@JimDewdGuitars]

@@TheGuitarPit it's the nicest top I've ever seen

[@pupu6oi74]

beautiful!

[@megostryder]

Awsome guitar and great review. Your right about putting together a build and then seeing the results. I'm limited to Kiesel but the same experience that you just can't get from buying stock off the shelf.

[@TheGuitarPit]

Thanks dude! Yeah this was a blast to have built and see it come true. I know it’s over the top but that was the plan. I took 1 feature from 5 guitars I liked and Acacia them all together. Pretty fun :)

[@robbievalentine8239]

stick to kiesel man. acacia are hit or miss.

[@megostryder]

@@robbievalentine8239 Yeah at least Kiesel are consistant. On the flip side however your never hear Jeff Kiesel say, "I never did one but I'm willing to learn and do it." as what happened here with the evertune. He'll just refuse to ever do it...even if he's been asked a thousand times. And it'll stay that way until some "Star' Jeff wants to sign for endorsement request it. I think i'll die of old age before Jeff ever offers HSH on the Delos. Every other builder on the planet offers it on their take on the strat but Jeff will say..." the demand isn't there." How would he know that? It's been decades since he ever offered it.

[@robbievalentine8239]

@@megostryder i see what youre saying, jeff can be really stubborn, and that is certainly a charcter flaw. but of all my kiesels (5 in my life) not one needed to be set up or had dead frets when i got them from the factory. QC is what separates the pros from the amteurs.

[@EJBGuitar]

Nice Chris! Looks wicked. Got me thinking of an Evertune on my Majesty!

[@TheGuitarPit]

Wow, is that possible? That would be awesome! I believe there is a minimum thickness for it to work, but I remember the majesty being pretty thin.

[@EJBGuitar]

The Guitar Pit - yeah, not sure. I did email them to ask though! I record a lot with that guitar and don’t use the trem 99% of the time so I was thinking it’d be a good one for that. Might think of another guitar if they can’t.

[@lloydpittonet]

The best part is with all those additions, it's actually pretty subtle. Nothing outshines on that guitar, because the neck is so exotic, the top is so eye-catching, but the white makes a statement on its own, the body having the arc to it, while having all the hardware and electronics being blacked out chrome? It actually looks good altogether.

[@TheGuitarPit]

As long as its not in the sun, it's pretty stealth :) Once it gets a little direct light, it drops the act haha.

[@HErsemerci]

DAMNNNN that neck and those frets :O Amazing guitar! You really went all out this time haha Btw didn't know you bought a morgan amp

[@TheGuitarPit]

It's absolutely hilariously over the top. I really dig it. And yeah, I've been experimenting with that AC20 and the JJ Jr. Haven't really figured out how to record them into reaper and get similar results...so this was all Axefx this time. I'll figure it out :P

[@CyberSoulLover]

Beautiful guitar! Looks amazing. Love the finish and the sides and back look so well with it. Amazing! Also do I spot a caparison in the back ground 🧐

[@TheGuitarPit]

Wow good eyes :P Yeah it's a Dillenger. It's pretty beat so I gotta do some work on it before it's ready for a video haha.

[@richardpickman2826]

For me, the purple-burst was the icing on this cake.

[@TheGuitarPit]

Heck yeah. I sometimes wonder if it should have just been 100% purple, but I think the burst is a little more interesting.

[@casperboo5465]

IUt looks Amazing Chris, and i would agree with you about the pups, be interesting to hear what it sounds like when you have swapped them out mate, Cheers

[@TheGuitarPit]

Yeah I think I'm fishman-moderned out, if that makes sense. I'll shop around!

[@casperboo5465]

@@TheGuitarPit yep it does make sense mate, be interesting to see and hear what you come up with. Cheers

[@jatna77]

Thanks for the vid! If only it was lighter and less chunky. Glad you are happy with it. Any thoughts on Mayones vs. Skervesen for a custom shredder guitar build?

[@TheGuitarPit]

I've actually never tried either of those brands! I'd like to, but they're hard to track down used for a decent price in the USA. Maybe some day!

[@cpoyet4107]

Awesome guitar! Lucky you!....

[@tamasritter247]

The illustration for the "small builder headstock" section is funny, because Acacia is really cool, Novo guitars is a huge favourite of mine, Macmull is something I still could not decide about and that Carvin one is something I just won't ever be able to digest.. and I could not decide if you love them or hate them? How does the evertune bridge sound compared to some of your other guitars? Do you notice any different sound wise?

[@TheGuitarPit]

To be honest, Fishman moderns seem to sound pretty similar in any setup, based on what I've tried. I don't think the Evertune has a huge impact on the tone here, but I'd be curious to see if there is a major difference on something like a Fender strat. I bet there might be.

[@RichardtheLionHeart645]

I was worried I wasn't gonna get any Opeth in this review lol. You made me wait for 'em this time!

[@TheGuitarPit]

I better get learning, I think I've played every bit I know. Only the hard stuff is left haha!

[@robertclarkguitar]

Beautiful attention to detail. Wow!! Let's make me one! Heheheheh

[@keelangibb565]

Just picked up this guitar yesterday and it is incredible man. I found this video and come to find out it's the same serial number haha. When did you sell it?

[@robertclarkguitar]

Kick ass.

[@DJC955]

Are you able to go to there shop and talk over the specs you want, or is it call only? I would love to get me a 7-string Hades with that green dip finish and gold hardware. But would be nice to get some hands on info.

[@TheGuitarPit]

Not sure, you'll have to ask. I called 'em, since I don't live in California anymore.

[@R2R3Lockingnut]

That's it! I am getting a guitar with an evertune. That guitar is phenomenal!! Congrats

[@TheGuitarPit]

Do it man! Heck, the LTD's that come with them are basically "free" since an Evertune + install costs what the entire guitar does. I think you'll have a lot of fun with it, and you can abuse the hell out of them and they don't care at ALL.

[@ERWebster]

Same. I have heard nothing but good things about them, and it would be awesome to have a guitar that is 100% in tune 100% of the time.

[@insederec]

It is a beautiful top, and it's pretty crazy that it was made with synthetic materials, but it's not that unusual for guitars, as it just looks to me like a really nice quilt maple top.

[@TheGuitarPit]

The same guy makes some REALLY wild tops if you want to go way outside of the "looks like wood" realm. Check the other options out :P instagram.com/john.blazy_dichrolam_llc/?hl=en

[@KaiDown]

My Claas came with ball-end stainless steel frets, though I'm not about to gas them up for their fretwork. Just dropped it off for a setup and 3 or 4 of the frets need dressings

[@TheGuitarPit]

Ah that's a bummer. Happy with Claas overall? Would you recommend checking one out?

[@KaiDown]

@@TheGuitarPit Yeah, super comfortable to play. Apparently their fretwork is better now than when mine was built, if that's true I'll recommend them highly. Heard from a few people that have tried out their newest stuff at NAMM and it's near flawless now

[@BrianBower]

That is a super nice looking axe. Evertune's rock

[@TheGuitarPit]

Thanks dude! Yeah Evertune is now a must have for me. I'll always have at least 1 guitar with it.

[@BrianBower]

@@TheGuitarPit I now have two of them. I have a heat pump now and it can be rough on tuning and the evertune just makes tracking and general playing so much better.

[@Eventual420]

I would LOVE to pick your brain on pickups. These conversations can go on for years, the back and forth, endless debate. (!!!) 😜 So, Ash body with a carbon overlay, a natural bright tone, new woods with no moisture in them. New strings too? So we are looking at about the ting-iest guitar, in its newest form. It’ll warm up in the coming months. I don’t have a lot of experience here, either, but the warm ones I have are the DiMarzio DP103 positioned in both neck and bridge of my 335. They’re warmer than the Gibson 57 Classics which are sharp and nasty in a good way. They’re warmer than the Gibson 59 Tributes in the LP... but those are my 2nd option. I hear a lot of praise for the Pearly Gates. A lot of the benefits of these are when you adjust the volume pot, looking for a cleaner output that softens the attack of the amplifier. But then again, there’s a certain wide open character which defined Rock music. At any rate, I’m sure Stratocaster isn’t the goal here. Keep us posted! That thing looks solid, and those frets? Amazing Chris. Congratulations.

[@TheGuitarPit]

Good points as always! I've also heard a lot about Pearly Gates. Don't think I've ever tried them, to be honest. I've had a bug about trying some Arcane pickups. They don't come up for sale often, but every time I hear a demo on KZbin I'm impressed. So that's another option, but not really sure where to even find them. I'm also curious about the FIshman Devin Townsend set, but I have a hunch they'd be fairly similar to what is already in there.

[@surfrby8876]

Just discovered these guys , amazing guitar , do you still have it ?

[@BrianSGuitars]

WOW! George Jetson called. He want's his guitar back! 😁 White body sets it off hard! I wonder if they could make a red burst? I wonder if they could chamber the body to get the weight down?

[@TheGuitarPit]

Absolutely! instagram.com/p/B7Zpd0XHVjj/ Good question on the chambering...I think this one also just happens to be heavy as hell, probably isn't true of all of them.

[@ryanf4502]

My mayones hydra has a wenge neck and it looks just like this. It is such a great looking wood but I've read that it's not the easiest wood to work with which might explain why you dont see it as much. My mayones neck seems to have no finish at all, possibly oil rubbed and there doesnt even seem to be grain filler. It has a very natural feel that's quite unique. Would definitely like another guitar with the same neck wood.

[@TheGuitarPit]

Yeah it's an interesting wood for sure. I could be wrong on the finish, but it looks like it has a little satin on it or something to me. Love looking at all the grain and detail though, very interesting patterns on there.

[@ryanf4502]

@@TheGuitarPit I'd agree possibly satin. Yours has a bit of a shine to it that mine doesn't seem to have. What a cool guitar you got here. I absolutely love it.

[@tonlarj37]

Cool guitar, man! Heavy guitars, for heavy playing. Light guitars, for light playing. ;) "Weight it over rated" - John Suhr You rock that thang!

[@TheGuitarPit]

Hah, yeah I'll survive with my chair playing anyhow. But still, that's masssssssively heavy. Had to mention it :P

[@PooNinja]

So kewl so much movement in that top and the frets OMG even in the video you can see how sweet the finishing is 🤘🏽 if it had a Floyd I’d lose my 💩🤣✊🏽

[@TheGuitarPit]

They'll make that I bet :P Yeah I stare at it daily. Still.

[@PooNinja]

The Guitar Pit I bet it’s gorgeous congratulations Sir

[@alexaudiovisuals]

Ohhh I so want a Guitar with a Wenge Neck, hard to get here tho, maybe I'll set for Walnut 🤔 That top is crazy :O

[@TheGuitarPit]

I've never really looked at the wenge necks up close...man this one is wild looking. Feels good in the hand too, so it seems like a great choice. Makes me want to try that NJ schecter :P

[@alexaudiovisuals]

Ohh that's so nice, I've been wanting to build a partscaster with a seafoam green or shell pink body and a Wenge custom neck with Gibson scale and stainless steel frets ... But warmoth is so expensive to ship here, I think I'd settle for the UK version, but they don't do Wenge

[@DilganURikisNuni]

Was that "Harvest"?

[@gmxracing]

What's a guitar with all those features going to set me back Chris??!!

[@TheGuitarPit]

I've seen them on Reverb range from $2500~4k+, depending on features and such. Here's one example at $3299 from Acacia: reverb.com/item/25349500-acacia-guitars-romulus-arc-carbon-quilt-top-2019-blue-burst

[@richardlopez313]

I see a pedal board in the background. I was wondering how that was coming along.

[@TheGuitarPit]

Coming along pretty good! I haven't gotten the amps set up to record on videos yet, but I'll do a video on the layout when I get that dialed in!

[@DarioRubilovic]

12:30 Ibanez also now has few models with Evertune.

[@TheGuitarPit]

Ah, very cool! I'll have to look those up. I wish more companies offered them standard. They're just too expensive to add after the fact.

[@robbievalentine8239]

its amazing how much work Acacia put into their guitars for youtube personalities, and how little they put into the guitars for regular paying customers. Your experience seems to be drastically different than mine. Id love to know how much you paid for this guitar

[@robbievalentine8239]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gae7fKN7hsyYbqc

[@TheGuitarPit]

Shame you had a bad experience, sorry to hear. I had 2k subs when I bought this guitar, so I don't think I got any kind of incredible special treatment as a "youtube personality." Even at 4k subs I feel like there is little-to-no value in that proposition haha. It's the 3rd most expensive guitar I've ever purchased, so they weren't exactly giving it away. But I was curious, and wanted that carbon top. Like I mentioned in the review, it's not perfect -- a couple flaws in the binding and other small issues. But the point of this purchase wasn't a perfect guitar, it was a crazy carbon-top-evertune-fishman monster with perfect fret ends, and that's what they delivered. It did however take them over 8 months to make, for what it's worth. That's still not awful in the grand scheme of small custom shops.

[@user-kq7ji1kp9r]

I'm honestly way more interested in the Jazzmaster-Tele hybrid in the back.

[@TheGuitarPit]

It's a Shabat Lyon Custom! It rocks. I'm behind on reviews but will get a video out on that eventually!

[@BrandonBames]

Best. Top. Ever.

[@TheGuitarPit]

I can't get enough of it haha. GAZE INTO THE WEIRDNESS.

[@BrandonBames]

The Guitar Pit I just wish the colors were even more saturated. Full on Lisa Frank mode.

[@kionihernandez356]

wow. no more to say. just wow! :o

[@TheGuitarPit]

galaxytop

[@kionihernandez356]

Black Hole Burst

[@daniwest1370]

Hey, check out the Eastman ER (el rey) pretty cool differeny guitars

[@TheGuitarPit]

Those are mega cool. So used to guitars that look like that being $10k or whatever. Nice to see they are making them for a fair number.

[@mrblack90210]

Hey Chris Where's the review of the new suhr dream guitar?

[@TheGuitarPit]

It's coming up next, hopefully! I've had the Acacia longer so I wanted to get that video done first. Bit of a backlog lately!

[@mrblack90210]

@@TheGuitarPit you need to check out this guitar 😋 www.ebay.com.au/itm/223666877874

[@Bendalf]

I might be wrong but I think you need to check the intonation because it kinda sounds out of tune on the higher frets.

[@TheGuitarPit]

Yeah I should. We've had a lot of weird weather here lately so the neck may have moved a bit.

[@Bendalf]

@@TheGuitarPit Oh right ! Could be that too. Anyways congrats on the guitar, that thing is a beast !

[@Loudmouth69]

Big mistake not having it wired with the split IMO... I have the Devin Townsend voiced ones in my ESP Eclipse. They have the most amazing single coil sound. You have so many options when you have single coils, humbuckers and active pickups in the same guitar. That's the answer to your "I want to use this guitar for more than metal"

[@TheGuitarPit]

I've had these split before. Wasn't real exciting. I've heard the Townsend ones are a lot better, so that's another option for me to swap to :)

[@PaulLue]

Crazy space guitar lol 😂

[@TheGuitarPit]

I put this outfit on when I play: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jofSc4SnoMqnfq8

[@JeffMillerCurtJester]

“Crazy Space Guitar” should be the product model name

[@TheGuitarPit]

👽🤘🚀

[@YellowJack6]

I like everything about that guitar except for the headstock. Im not a fan of those or Music Man headstocks. But I like Dean headstocks and I know a lot of people hate those ha.

[@TheGuitarPit]

Fair! I don't mind it, and like that isn't not just another clone of something else. But get outta here with those cursed Dean headstocks! :P

[@YellowJack6]

@@TheGuitarPit haha, I see what you mean. Really nice guitar over all though

[@bluematrix5001]

I like the Guitar but the white binding and back Is too much for me...sounds amazing tho

[@TheGuitarPit]

That was part of the fun :) Over the top everything! But yeah, it's wild. Fun guitar for sure!

[@hibernative]

FRET CITY

[@TheGuitarPit]

I'd move to Fret City.

[@Oilid]

Finally! (bis) 😉👍

[@TheGuitarPit]

Heck ya man! This is craaaaaazy. Love it. Hypno-top!

[@Oilid]

@@TheGuitarPit 😉👍 Caparison next? 😁

[@TheGuitarPit]

@@Oilid I gotta fix that one up a bit. It's in C- condition and needs a little improvement before I can give it a fair review :P

[@Oilid]

@@TheGuitarPit Oh OK! 👍

[@SixString_J5]

6:05 Do-do

[@TheGuitarPit]

Got me, burned. haha.

[@SixString_J5]

@@TheGuitarPit Timestamp was for the middle school humor that's trapped inside me. It's gotta come out from time to time.

[@Ph3nomen0N]

Tune the guitar please

[@rjpike75]

How dare you sir! Don't change the pickups. Just make everything you play on it metal. Problem solved, LMFAO!!!! 😂😂😂

[@TheGuitarPit]

I like the way you think!

[@Bierce88]

I feel like Acacia is just trying to hard to be Kiesel.

[@daniellesniak3242]

Bierce88 what does this even mean? Kissel doesn’t have any of these body shapes , nor do they have chatoyant carbon fibre finish ... nor do they do that fret treatment... brain power to create this comment = zero

[@wrongfuture]

I don't get the buzz over all those exotic tops. They just look cheesy and gimmicky, nothing beautiful or cool about them.

[@TheGuitarPit]

It's just fun and different. Obviously no one would want this on EVERY guitar, but it's fun to look at on one. That goes for most of the features here. Evertune, fishmans, etc etc.