Coolest Guitar EVER? | Fano Psonicsphear Luthier Teardown and Review

[@SirSneakerPimp]

For all of us who grew up watching The Jetson’s, this guitar fits right in.

[@WoolfordCraftEndeavours]

I have a Brian May guitar and I think the out of phase switching is really cool and gives you more options with 3 pickups. Also it just makes the guitar a little bit different from the norm.

[@tonymurphy2624]

Shades of vintage Vox. I like barrel jacks, but when they wear out, they're done. The beauty of a Switchcraft style jack is that it never needs more than a clean of the contacts and tease it back into good contact. Easy service is a killer attribute in anything subject to wear.

[@SweetTGuitars]

I agree that this is a really cool guitar. The neck, based on the measurements, is a little thick for my taste but all in all a really great example of a modern classic. ✌️ & 💕

[@matthewotremba9230]

At 60 , a life long Carpenter with tooling experience . I have been doing bits of work on quite a few guitars You have inspired me to go Custom I will be weight relieving a Squire 70s Jazz Bass from the back Remove most with a Foster Bit , and rout clean Cheers from Florida

[@DarwinStearns]

The switching system employed on this guitar is actually quite a bit more useful when used on a triple pickup axe (you can get some really cool sounds by setting two pickups in phase and one out of phase) but is much easier to use with three position mini toggle switches as opposed to the rather clunky slider switches used on this model.

[@bernhardklier]

Personally like the barrel jacks in my personal builds because they are way simpler to mount and smaller on the side of the guitar IMO

[@Neal73]

I'd love to see a series where you get a guitar like this, pull it apart to see what makes it tick and then make your own version, with improvements that you'd make.

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

That is exactly what I am planning on doing.. and based on this guitar at that!

[@aharkness5657]

That's basically the Fender Mustang switch configuration. I had something like that in the first guitar I ever played and I hate them. Some people really like them though. Those are also not P90's. They're more like Jazzmaster pickups with magnetic slug poles through a shallow wide coil. They just have P90 covers and mounting screws on them. Very interesting. Very interesting guitar over all.

[@jonkerr2050]

This is the kind of thing I want to add to my collection. I have all the usual suspects. Les Pauls, 335, Strat, Teles, etc… Oddballs like this are so cool.

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

I couldn't agree more

[@andrewking7919]

Delighted to see an old Petersen Strobe tuner, I was beginning to think I had the only one left. They are unbeatable.

[@dbspecials1200]

One of my favorite parts is the knobs. they seem to have a different hue that other amber ones I've seen don't. To get the frosted effect inside they probably just bead-blasted it lightly with some walnut shell or other light media. 😉

[@floydloonie4880]

Arroyo Grande is a beautiful little town on the central coast of California, just south of Pismo Beach. Very nice area!

[@JosephCarven]

My old soviet guitar "Ural" had a 5-pin DIN connector. I replaced it with barrel jack. When something goes terribly wrong and the jack is broken inside - you need proper tools (which are not always at hand) to extract the pieces. On, let's say, Stratocaster (never happened with mine, actually) you just need to unscrew the jack plate.

[@AntoekneeDE]

Very cool, love things like this with unique construction methods.

[@DavidRavenMoon]

Barrel (panel) jacks suck. I used to use them in the instruments I built. The problem is the contacts are small and wear out after a while. I’ve had to replace them on every guitar and bass I own. Recently I bought a Pure Tone Barrel Jack. I don’t care for their standard jacks, but this has a nice solid feel. Time will tell if it last longer. That guitar is wired like a Fender Mustang with the phase switches. The pickups are made like Rickenbacker toasters.

[@normbarrows]

Definitely Jetsons. "Eep Opp Orc Ah-Ah". The kludge Iness of the redundant phase setting on the switches is a rather moot point as one would never go from "in-phase/out-of-phase" to "out-of-phase/in-phase" IRL. It's AC, wiring it forwards or backwards often gets you the same result.

[@ThroughFallenEyes]

Always loved Fano from the moment I first saw a demo from Andy at Pro Guitar Shop (who else remembers those early KZbin demos?). Even though I owned a used guitar shop for years, not a single one ever came through. Some day...

[@chelastgamer55]

I kinda like the pragmatism in the wiring although there sure are more "convenient" solutions to get the same sounds

[@frankiechan9651]

What an amazingly cool guitar. The machining of the acrylic is beautifully done. I knew it reminded me of something and I found the Relish guitars that have a metal core and (plastic) front and back plates that snap on with magnets. I wonder if any inspiration was taken from the Fano?

[@teverde]

I missed this givaway.... Been looking for a psonicsphere for decade.

[@trentguitars7609]

Those Lollars are much more like jazzmaster coils with the narrow bobbin and slug poles, what an interesting guitar!

[@MooCow2X2]

Looks like their alnico pole P90s to me

[@trentguitars7609]

@@MooCow2X2 yeah that’s exactly what they are, they’ve made the bobbin more narrow than a p90 though

[@viewer112358]

Yup, they're like the Gibson slug pole P90S PuPs in 2015 DCs. Not really P90s as they are missing the two bar magnets.

[@notplaying2379]

Well spotted everyone.

[@offbeatinstruments]

They are actually humbuckers called Lollartrons and made specially for this guitar and never sold or released for any other instrument.

[@scottblair8625]

Pretty cool really. I guess after months of use you would get used to the switch's and how you personally put them to use. I hope who ever wins that beast uses the hell out of it!

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

I am sure of it, such a stunningly cool guitar

[@SpartacusPlanktonpants]

Cooler than penguin piss, that thing! Odd switching though, like you say. I'd have gone with neck/both/bridge on one switch, then series/parallel/out-of-phase with the other.

[@Benbenbenbenbenbenbenbenben]

Love the color. I bought a winter jacket recently with exactly the same dark orange color. Looks cool with the light grey too! Youo should put LED's in there with the same orange hue to them :D

[@nexquestion4379]

The wiring is the same as a Fender Mustang, like it.

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

It is at this point that I realise I have NEVER played a mustang through an amp!? The horror

[@MegaMaximus333]

I hate barrel jacks, had one on my Warwick. Only seemed to come lose during shows and the only way to tighten it was to take off the back plate. Best part I ever replaced.

[@Gorbyrev]

How cool is that, I was unaware! There's a nice guy on Reverb selling one in 'ull. It is a Retrosphear and it is at an attractive price. Someone get it bought before I succumb.

[@lenwhatever4187]

You may find that at stage volumes, the phase of just one pickup will change the level at which feedback will happen or the frequencies at which feedback will be enhanced.

[@fungusv375]

oh to the competition on les Paul and others got 19 days on , to the one that messages check, oh but the mate will be later!

[@cheapskate8656]

Simple, clean, precise. Very nice. I think barrell jacks are fine if your playing standing up.

[@TheLocalZeroChannel]

Trivial information; this switching is just like the Fender Mustang guitar. Two 3-position sliders, one for each pickup, with the centre position being OFF and the other two being ON with the phase reversed. Kinda a redundant design.

[@interruptor]

Wow! I absolutely love that guitar. Agree with you on the switching, but at the same time seems like a breeze to change it up for anything else.

[@hughschick6847]

As Fender found out a while back, aluminum bodies have a tendency to mute high frequencies. Otherwise great.

[@oldmanzen6682]

Definitely going to be buying tickets for this one. I really like it.

[@JamieLLL731]

Ben, is the word tone acceptable when it's placed in front of the word control, or knob?🤔

[@alaricpaley6865]

Always feels a little bit of a waste when they have 3 way sliders and two single coils and the switching doesn't allow for Series for "This is now a Humbucker" sounds. Still really cool, It's one of the neater constructions and the use of interesting materials really makes this one stand out.

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

I agree, I was a tad disappointed by the wiring design..

[@tedmt]

Hope you can also do a teardown on Japanese guitars, particularly the Yamaha Revstar 2022

[@stellaprs]

The wiring is very similar to how a Fender Mustang works

[@wheresridgeville1]

My guess would be the body was molded that way and they machined the areas where tolerances were important.

[@toddhansen5072]

Simply amazing instrument! As a metal shaper I would love to have seen a shaped top on the body…don’t get me wrong I’d be more than happy owning it as is! Lol

[@Dirksdungeon]

Omg I've never even heard of one of these but I'm so in love right now

[@davidstorm4015]

I don't understand why you think that the phase switching is clunky / weird? When playing it you would never flick both switches to their opposite positions at the same time, there's no need to do that. Therefore you wold never make the mistake of missing the switch position. If it's good enough for Dr. Brian May then it would be good enough for me!

[@getenlightened]

I like the look and the construction quality.

[@guitarrazos]

what about adding some led lights somewhere inside so the acrylic border glows...would be nice..!

[@nickjahraus9780]

I could hear those switch freqs were different, top/bottom, either, or. They would supply different 'tones' when pushing the headroom on a tube amp. Thus they are not the same. Cool guitar..

[@BayAreaBrenner]

Those switches remind me of the shifter in a modern BMW. Not complicated, but weird the first time you use it, and not necessarily intuitive if you’ve never seen them before.

[@BBGuitars]

Thats a neck that was made to party. Honestly wouldnt hurt to add a couple mm thickness to the nut end, yeah I like em thick...

[@erickaufmancustomguitars1351]

How about this one for the barrel jack. I bought 5 usa Jacksons in the mid to late 80's never had a single issue with the big switchcraft style input. During the same time period 3 Kramer's too. All had the switchcraft brand barrel Jack's. One needed replaced twice. The othe two were temperamental many many times with multiple cables and wireless transmitters. Now that I've been building guitars a few years with around 30 builds and have used these switchcraft barrel jacks 2 times I can attest I will not be building more with these unless it becomes absolutely necessary. Lastly, there's not enough pressure on the tip of the patch cord or transmitter jack, therefore the culprit for the issues lies at this tiny weak point. That's the best got dude, convinced yet? They just dont stand the test of time.....

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

Convinced..

[@PaulCooksStuff]

The pickguard reminds me of brandy snaps. What a cool guitar. Almost star trek.

[@BootleggerPhil]

Besides the layout, the pickup switching system is fundamentally the same as a bog standard Fender Mustang (guitar)

[@LisaHarsh]

This caught my eye when on the website and bought a ticket. I wouldn’t mind winning this.

[@ChrisHopkinsBass]

Imagine this with the fretboard and controls from the Electraglide!

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

Oh! I love your mind!! That would be beyond incredible!

[@warrenclarke3722]

With its unorthodox construction it reminds me of my Tokai Talbo.

[@azbababooey]

Nice GMT “Batman” Mr Crowe!

[@jipes]

BEautiful design and matching anodised top it's quite spectacular

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

I'm really rather impressed at the anodising, it seems to be more robust than I expected

[@hcolguitars]

Strange, but cool! Reminds me "relish guitars", from switzerland (of course without the humbucker-trick-awesomness). Thank you Ben

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

Good shout! They make very cool things!

[@robmoreau3272]

I really love that guitar! If Iwin it, please include instructions to use the switches. ;)

[@colinchristensen6603]

So, swapped or replaced neck? The scrapes in the side of the neck from the sharp aluminium top would bother me too, hidden as they are. Controls wise, a four way blade switch would offer the same sounds in a simpler package.

[@Snivic-music]

BEN!!! what happened to the kit guitars? i can't find them on the shop anymore

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

Sorry. We are not making kit guitars any more. We are moving those staff towards building white label guitars for other manufacturers and our own brand instruments. So sorry. DC

[@aleksimeronen958]

You should check out Flaxwood guitars. They seem interesting

[@michaelwallace1189]

Very cool but I really prefer wood, it's just my favorite medium because no 2 trees are exactly alike.

[@stekodat7461]

Pickup selector switching is a copy of Fender Mustang/Duosonic system

[@ianthomson9363]

I have mixed feeling about this one. I like the engineering and build/materials but don't like the shape. I agree with you about the switching- surely you only need one phase switch? But there again, I don't like the sound of two pickups out of phase, unless it's Brian May doing it.

[@sohosteveuk]

Lovely looking thing. Though those two screws half showing at the bottom of the scratchplate would seriously meddle with my OCD 😩

[@borgonianevolution]

It is for sure a nicely designed and made guitar. The orange is incredible and goes so well with the aluminum and acrylic. Detractors for me would be the pick ups and the fact it is yet again another body that looks like freakin Squidward. Still a very unique and desirable instrument.

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

Squidward!? 😆 🤣

[@borgonianevolution]

@@CrimsonCustomGuitars yes grab it by the neck and hold the body up. Its Squidwards (From SpongeBob Square Pants) head shape.

[@borgonianevolution]

@@CrimsonCustomGuitars Also see the spam bots are very busy in this thread. Went thru and reported as many fake telegram me accounts as I could find. If you can block keywords add telegram to it as NO ONE who is not a scammer uses that for the most part.

[@tamarmolerick3814]

Fab and groovy guitar. More than a hint of 60s Vox, (which are the coolest guitars in the world).

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

I think you are onto something here!

[@LosPompadores]

The out of phase sound sounded the same, but the single switch changes didn't. I think they do something else. Maybe I'm just imagining things.

[@oliviercolombot6904]

Beautiful guitar !

[@AndrewSmith-pc8eq]

Did you finish the Kauri wood guitar yet? That wood is sick!!

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

Not yet. Keep watching. DC

[@jokosaputrasaputra3335]

This not guitar but art👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@jameswaldher2336]

Just the video to watch on a plane ride

[@markmilligan8773]

Omg that's a delicious guitar 🎸 pity I'd break my teeth 😬 nibbling on it. I sooooo love interesting and different guitars especially offsets

[@TheMuffington]

Sweet Batman, Ben 👌🏼

[@michaelmenkes8085]

When the switches are up they look like googly eyes looking askew at the picking hand. This makes the pickguard look like a Barbapapa

[@lotuselanplus2s]

That acrylic is simply begging for some internal leds. Just saying.

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

Yep!

[@JoeySchmidt74]

The neck would aethestic would go great on the Cyberpunk guitar.

[@captaintony1227]

I bought a ticket and if i win thats exactly what i plan to do to it .

[@tyremanguitars]

personally I prefer the fender jazzmaster but it's a cool looking guitar

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

The jazzmaster is cool.. now, imagine a jazzmaster hardware, pickups etc hut with this body construction! 😳 I want!

[@robertr4193]

I do like the shape of the guitar and it sounds pretty good with the switches for the normal phase. Not really a fan of the sound with the pickups out of phase. I like the color combination of the copper and silver together. I do like the head stock design as well. Over all a pretty nice guitar.

[@creativecomposites6193]

Very nice sounding guitar!

[@scottakam]

Cool guitar. I think I might have liked it better if they used wood instead of acrylic.

[@dougiedrever7168]

barrel jacks might look nice but a complete pain as they dont last and theres nothing you can do but replace it

[@matthewotremba9230]

The "Jetsons" Model

[@veteran011]

Hey Bun, I've noticed that you've gotten away from the "fold over the tape" trick when masking off fretboards recently. Any reason for that?

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

Speed.. it is a really cool method if you only have 1" tape but I recently found smaller width options and it is much quicker!

[@moogoomoogoo5990]

So cool. I want one

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

Me too! 😞 😓 😩

[@Birkguitars]

So is that Fano as in Dennis Fano who now does Novo guitars? It's very cool as are the Novo ones.

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

Yep, that's the one

[@davessparetime83]

Put controlled Color LEDs in side each cavity.

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

😆 I'm sure someone has already done this at some point to one of these

[@shaneglackin]

With a chonky neck, and a super-lightweight body, how does it balance? Is there a lot of dive? Or does that prominent offset upper bout balance it out?

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

No neck dive at all, truly amazing balance

[@davepoul8483]

Afternoon Mr C.... can u tell me what the pads are u are resting the guitar on plz.... the orange and black tings.... :) Davey P..

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

Hi Dave, these are bench cookies. Very cool things. We're considering making our own version soon too tbh

[@davepoul8483]

Cheers.... will add them to my list :) ps do u know that your You Tube channel keeps asking me to Telegram you, sometime with "Iv won something" have seen this on other channels as a scamm... just an FYI... Dp.

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

Thank you Dave, we are trying to deal with these scam comments as quickly as possible.

[@14TacomaDR]

I imagined that screwdriver slipping and putting a big scratch in the top.

[@mattomon1045]

Mr Ben What was the nut made out of ?

[@Paul-D]

Everything about the traditionalist stick in the mud that I am shouldn't like this guitar. But I can't help but really like it haha!

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

Me too!! I used to think I was a rebel, now I realise that I simply adore vintage straps etc and then come full circle to loving the new stuff! Who am I? What do I even LIKE anymore 😆

[@antonrandle4146]

sorry for the rookie question, is the acrylic body not done in a mould rather than cut?

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

No. Now days people would cast the resin and run the risk of shrinkage. Bubbles etc, but this was about 10 years ago and was a solid sheet of acrylic warer jet and cnc routed out. Much easier to make for the luthier if a bit more wastful

[@antonrandle4146]

@@CrimsonCustomGuitars thank you for your reply. I've just finished a resin/cloth top guitar, made from my wedding shirt. And I thought that was wasteful-covering whole blank with epoxy!

[@danmar007]

That's a really nice instrument.

[@dubioushumor9243]

I'm friends with the current owner of Fano. He will get a kick out of this video

[@allenbrown3688]

57 Chevy !!

[@nohalo7]

Make sure the bridge is straight.

[@matthewotremba9230]

Copper color ?

[@russellmorgan5611]

Cool look. Not a cheap brand. How much ?

[@PaulCooksStuff]

There's a few other second hand models on reverb circa £1300. So not cheap, even used.

[@donniebrookins6215]

I like it. Definitely entering

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

I know the feeling, only I'm not allowed to 😞

[@donniebrookins6215]

@@CrimsonCustomGuitars I looked it up. That sucker is pricey!

[@doughsnakes]

Interesting guitar