If You Could Only Have One Guitar...

[@jeffnduran]

Looks like a piece of salmon got tore up by a grizzly. 😂

[@gabriel_levi]

Excellent review, Andre. You do a killer job breaking these instruments down! I appreciate the shout-out. 🙏🏽

[@andrefludd]

You are the man! Love your style

[@bartvansliedregt5482]

I love seeing the guitar first in a pure musical video. And then seeing a full breakdown a day or so later

[@andrefludd]

Honestly, it is a big relief to hear this. I wasn’t sure if anyone actually cared about me playing guitar, but you all have been very supportive of that new format and I really appreciate it.

[@liquensrollant]

@@andrefluddYeah, I like it too. I mean, who are we kidding, few of us are ever going to buy a $13,000 guitar, so the playing adds a lot of interest, and is educational. To be fair, these reviews are also interesting from the point of view of design - not just guitar design, but the thought processes that go into designing anything well.

[@_Yep_Yep_]

Probably the coolest guitar youve reviewed, Doc. Aluminum neck is rad. The textured contour cuts are ingenious. Rick Toone apparently gets the idea that we can modernize a guitar thoughtfully to run with current/modern material science without being offensive. Its like Fender and Gibson are just cranking out different levels of chromed out 1950s Harley Davidsons, and this Rick Toone guy just built an Aprilia in his garage:)

[@EJH-jn6mo]

And then there's the cost of this guitar ... get ready to take out a mortgage.

[@GasStationSushiiii]

Ive seen people lose $20,000 to car depreciation and not even bat an eyelash cause most americans love upgrading their lifestyle every time. $15,000 can be someones entire guitar collection, or just 1 guitar for a guy in a small apartment

[@EJH-jn6mo]

@@GasStationSushiiiithat’s a reasonable attempt at explaining why someone should spend $15-20k on a guitar although not everyone is cool with car depreciation which js why so many of us buy used and should also be noted a vehicle for most is a necessity. Personally, I own about 20 guitars and most of those are $5k+ and I have several that are $10k but I just don’t see any justification on why I’d want to sell any of those and replace it with this. I’ve seen some of Toones other guitars and they are much more aesthetically pleasing and frankly works or art than this orange crush but in my mind anyway, I couldn’t justify that type of purchase. Now, if you tell me it can do what one of my custom Murphy Labs LP’s can do let’s talk. I'm just offering my own perspective and I'm open to having my mind blown because the looks of the little angle wing are absolutely killer (although I don’t need any more than 6 strings)

[@GasStationSushiiii]

@@EJH-jn6mo LOL comparing a gibson to rick toone gtfo

[@the_panos]

​What can your custom Murphy labs lp do?

[@uno99]

Yeah it's $14,000 but (dumb ass) people spend that much on vintage/signature model dinosaur's like les paul's that haven't changed in 70 years. This is a highly engineered, MODERN instrument, with unique features impossible to find anywhere else on a single guitar. I think the price is not unreasonable.

[@BKPickups]

We had this guitar on our stand at NAMM this year and it is a truly incredible instrument!

[@WailingRaven]

Ooh, Orange guitar, my favorite colour. I forgot how I first discovered Rick Toone's guitars, probably when I started having interests in ergonomic guitars. And man, when I first browsed his website, I was just speechless, as I was gawking at the pictures of his guitars.

[@willtato8778]

The feature you discussed that has me the most interested is the tactile fret markers at the back of the neck. Seems like a really good idea

[@immikedurrett]

Yet another idea that I've never seen before, and now I'm wondering why. It's so simple and smart.

[@kaekayyy2554]

I was waiting for this video after the tone test teaser you gave

[@humanbass]

I'm in love with those massive bolts, I need a bass with this neck joint.

[@MashaT22]

Rick Toone just seems to hit every little detail and understands function and form working and in hand. This guitar still looks traditional enough for anyone to pick up and modern enough to embrace forward-thinking design. My favorite feature is the braille on the neck - how has nobody come up with that idea up until now?! It just makes so much sense. I can only hope Rick is willing to bring his designs to the masses by outsourcing a more basic version overseas so the price can come down drastically. I don’t know if he’d be interested in doing that, but I promise they’d sell like hotcakes.

[@d3w4yn3]

This is just possibly the first guitar I've ever seen that has absolutely nothing that I would change or fix!

[@simonpark843]

Good Lord...I can't afford one, and I'm not a good enough player to justify having one even if I could...but I want one. You've created the best advertisement possible for this guitar.

[@TheAverageGam3r]

I went to the website and couldn’t even find a price lol. I guess if I have to ask I can’t afford it😂

[@donbishop6994]

Agreed.

[@donbishop6994]

​@@TheAverageGam3rhe posted the price on a video a few days ago. And you're right. That statement applies to me as well. 😂😂😂

[@ShallieDragon]

It looks absolutely stunning, and sounds great. I can only imagine what it plays like. But it's also one of the most expensive guitars I've ever seen.

[@lunamatic9775]

Glad you had a chance to enjoy a unique guitar and share the experience with us. The enjoyment is clearly written on your face. Personally, I'm happy to see you upload see a few more song samples before you have to give it back!

[@Jay_M_See]

I would love to own a Rick Toone guitar. Like you sad, a work of art.

[@allenmitchell09]

looks like an orange.

[@bgrierofficial]

I believe it's a good guitar and unique. But at that price, most players will not be able to afford it, so it's maybe like the Ferrari of the guitar world. If I were looking at PRS Private Stock or collectible guitars, then, maybe I'd be interested. But I am a big believer in playing/gigging your guitars. Wouldn't get something just to sit in a display case.

[@JackTaylorGuitars]

That's a stunning instrument but the sustain dude, mind-blowing!

[@andrefludd]

It was crazy

[@shubniggurath6464]

How does the neck respond to heat? Aluminium necks have been a thing for a long time, but they used to deform under stage lights.

[@christopherhorton4634]

Good lord, it is better than I thought. And I saw the demo you made!! Perfect shape too. Sent you an email, btw. Jeez, what an amazing guitar! Also yes! Playing an F chord, this past week on about 12 different fan frets guitars was the killer for me. I almost got a Strandberg. 😢

[@jeffrey.a.hanson]

Those country style bends sound impeccable. I’ve only played one fanned fret guitar and that perfect intonation took getting used to…like going from a beat em up rock piano to a well tuned church one.

[@inzanestrings]

something i like about the design is that the bridge pickup doesnt nearly as far away from the bridge as it tends to look on most multiscale guitars. It doesnt just look better but also probably helps it sound more like a non multiscale guitar as something like a les paul usually has the bridge pickup quite close to the bridge itself

[@picksalot1]

Regarding "fan fret" designs in general, shouldn't the frets at the Nut be perpendicular to the neck, and the bass side of the frets angle more towards the Bridge on the upper frets? It seems this would take better advantage of the normal rotation of the forearm when playing at different locations on the neck. It looks like playing a bar chord on the 1st fret would be particularly uncomfortable on that guitar. I like the deep carves in the body of the guitar, but I don't like any kind of edges, bumps, or roughness where my forearm contacts the guitar. The sunken fret markers are an interesting design. I'm pretty sure this guitar is well out of my price range, but it did sound very good, and I'm glad there are Guitar Makers taking advantage of modern materials and their potential. Thanks

[@scottcarpenter701]

brail dots: genius.

[@R0mbVs]

Holy crap I LOVE that!

[@msolano00]

This is my favorite thing from this guitar.

[@MakeWeirdMusic]

My favorite guitar neck in the world. I played one on Fabio Mittino's custom guitar. Absolutely awesome. I wish I could put it on all my guitars!

[@ChrisBuonoGuitar]

Yeah man! Well done, Doc! I'll see this one soon at the shop. Keep up the great work!

[@alanagottalottasay997]

holy f@cking wow...love the juxtapose of the very raw and the very refined...

[@andrefludd]

Me too!

[@CKS64]

Thanks for showing Us what's possible in the world of guitar. Not just Strats and Les Paul's.

[@devonaupurok6920]

You continue to get me to covet more guitars. Thank you

What a beautiful woodwork

[@felderup]

if i could have only one guitar... my old cort stratish would have been it, but it was made back in the day when wilkinson was on every cheap plank out there, the roller nut was bound, replaced it years later, the cover plate off a bit, so the screw popped out a piece of the body. it looks good, the fretboard is surprisingly decent, if it weren't for some minor shielding issues that i mostly fixed, it would be a great beginner guitar. i'm planning to rebuild it almost completely, gonna balance and stereo it, no rush cause it's well over 25 years old now(from sears) and i have other noisemakers, the pickups are coated in a thin layer of rust, if i wasn't going to balance it i could go active, but the cheapest not junk passive pickups i can find will be grand. only real problem is figuring out where to put the xlr jacks.

[@DaveDurango]

Sounds great. Would love to hear it in a shoot-out. People will see the price and start complaining or crying about how it doesn't sound better than INSERT LOWER PRICED GUITAR HERE...

[@JS-nf1sn]

Love it. Looks like an awesome instrument. It's great to see people pushing it forward. Why not.

[@Zundfolge]

So the neck is solid aluminum but the frets are stainless steel. Won't Gavlanic Corrosion become a problem? It would seem wise to me to use a composite fretboard keeping the steel and aluminum from touching (it kind of looks like that's what they did).

[@msi1985]

It's certainly an interesting instrument thank you for showing us. When I say it's slightly outside of my budget I mean it might as well exist in outer space but... It was interesting and I liked the arrangement that you played now I'm going to go learn it myself.

[@frankiechan9651]

That guitar has some very well thought out features that don't jump out at you until you are shown them - or in your case, feel them. I love that carve on the lower horn - might borrow that for a design I've been working on. That headstock gives me Parker Fly vibes - if Ken had decided to do a 4+2 design. Actually - the whole guitar gives me Parker vibes now that I think about it - avant-garde design, with loads of neat engineering. Just checking Andre, the neck is machined from billet aluminium - so that means the frets are part of that billet? Then I assume the neck was anodised (or painted) black - with the frets masked off or the finish on the frets removed? Then the fret markers are just drilled through to expose the raw aluminium?

[@pamelaarmstrong3612]

Beautiful sounding guitar. Except the splits on the pups are a bit noisy. Wish they were less expensive so I could get one. Hope you get to keep it!

[@t3hgir]

I am normally so skeptical and cynical of crazy custom "future of guitar" builds but this looks incredible.

[@descendinguniverse]

nice one. Maybe 20+ years later mainstream companies will implement these ideas to mass production, truss rod adjustment should really become relic

[@vorpalblades]

People like different amounts of neck relief.

[@raysstlyn6346]

Having a truss rod is... It just is, I need it, we need it, gud stuff 👍🏼

[@descendinguniverse]

@@vorpalblades they may keep it like on Aristides, but adjusting it when climate changes is not how it should be

[@whssy]

I can't help but feel that this is the kind of thing Parker would have evolved into if the original ones had found a bigger and more economically viable niche. I don't "dig" so many of the modern designs but this is one that makes sense to me at least. Way beyond the ability of my monthly paycheck though.

[@ItsVictoriaG]

Before even watching the video: Omg Dr. Fludd has a guitar that isn’t black or white!!!!!! It’s a bright color like something I would like!! Oh look at the headstock it’s giving Parker Fly vibes. No wonder why Dr. Fludd likes it!

[@russlgtr]

I take it stainless steel frets? Love this. With changes in temp did it need tuning? Awesome review thanks !

[@GreenMeanie101]

I dig the Head Stock on it.

[@citizenphaid1880]

Looks like a life of orange 😂

[@TemkaUwU]

Yeah half peeled lol!! I truth tho it looks ugly

[@UphillGardener-ly5sh]

Looks like a half peeled tangerine.... fantastic Edit: I scooted over to Reverb to see if they had any of Rick's guitars (pontless really, I'm lefty) and saw "BLOOD ORANGE GOSHAWK" so maybe I was right!

[@bradleyberdahl6148]

loved hearing you do acdc my Friend!

[@andrefludd]

Huge fan!

[@klauswigsmith]

This guitar looks and sounds great! If I ever left my basement for periods of time longer than going to work or for buying groceries, I'd get one, lol!

[@404catnotfound]

I wanna see what it would like completely in black. Along with making the headstock out of the same material as the body (which right now just looks like it's two rectangular pieces that were 3d printed and slapped on.) Make it look like it was chiseled out of obsidian.

[@timothyoo7]

Sounds amazing!

[@msi1985]

Do you happen to have the sheet music for where or when? Unfortunately my resources don't have this particular arrangement... All of the different progressions in between the chords that is. If you happen to have some resources you might be able to share please let me know.

[@andrefludd]

Check the description

[@jackbootshamangaming4541]

Is the body meant to look like a slice of an orange? It does, and I LOVE IT. Orange is my favourite colour, smell, and fruit.

[@ywtcc]

I was practicing my fingerstyle and it occurred to me... It's much easier on my right hand when the strings are spaced more like a classical guitar. The left hand I find to be the opposite. Too much space makes it hard to finger certain chords. Seems like there should be an electric guitar for fingerstyle, but I couldn't find one. A slightly fanned guitar neck with a classical spaced bridge and an electric spaced nut should be pretty good for fingerstyle. Just my opinion. I think there should be a guitar for every style, and it seems like there's a niche for fingerstyle electric that could be filled. It came to mind because I really like the bridge on that guitar! Those top loading individual saddle things look like the way to go. Seems like it should accommodate different bridge spacings.

[@ObsidianLife]

So...I've had and designed some AMAZING instruments...Jerzy Drozd, Roscoe, early Warwick, etc. I understand the cost of CNC and handwork. I get that someone who charges significant money per hour can look into the time and labor put in and come to this kind of cost, or a Fodera...I also LOVE the innovation...but I HOPE there will be a more reasonable priced version of something like this because the cost is insane and, when it comes down to it...I've NEVER heard an bass or guitar that sounds SO amazing that its worth this kind of cost, no matter how playable (or unplayable when it comes to a vintage instrument! LOL) I've played Alembics and (aside from the weight) it sounded great but I just can't get my head around this kind of price. If someone else can, you are the target audience...I guess I'm just not.

[@stackhom656]

Could you give us the neck depths at the 1st and 12th fret? I'm having a hard time believing someone made guitar necks thinner than the Ibanez Super Wizard HP.

[@zoomzoom3950]

Interesting guitar, and color. surprised no trem?!

[@tbsq1114]

It looks like someone tried to peel an orange but gave up halfway through

[@bluglass7819]

Rick Toone is a nut. I’m not always big on his aesthetics but as a luthier I pay attention to what he does.

[@michaelcarey9359]

If you are going to entertain the notion of such guitars, and are going to say "Only have one...", you should check out Lava Drops guitars. Works of art.

[@aninfinitemindofmusicandreams]

Makes me want some orange juice

[@ej1_drew]

does the neck ever get too cold?

[@backys]

Wonderful instrument but then …I return to my old beloved Parker. I wonder how much it would have been involved through if mr Ken continued…

[@CrazyLazyDave]

Super cool guitar. 😎👍

[@ZiggyDerp]

it looks like a blood orange thats cool

[@Haretunnel]

you seen Genfenad on steam? basically runescape classic but with deck building and rpg turnbased combat

[@andrefludd]

I have no idea what any of this means 😂

[@Haretunnel]

@andrefludd my youtube application on my pc showed your comment section under a different video, it was supposed to be a comment for a gaming channel

[@zoomzoom3950]

It would be an EBMM Kaizen 6 or Majesty 6 for me.

[@dimitriid]

You know I have to take back my comment on the intro video for this guitar: I thought beyond aesthetics there wouldn't be a practical difference in terms of sound and playability that would aid musicality that's worth justifying 10 times the price of a decent guitar but it honestly sounds like I was wrong and it probably *is* worth it at least for a career professional guitarists. Oh and it's still an order of magnitude cheaper than comparable 'Professional instrument for a career musician' if we compare to classical instruments so there's that too after giving it more thought.

[@markuyehara7880]

Rick Toone is the world's most innovative luthier. I've been a fan ever since I saw his Orchid bass.

[@msolano00]

That is quite an statement tbh. What “new” thing do you see here? Aluminum neck? Not new. Fan frets? Not new. Carved texture? Not new. So when you all trash talk LP or LF (not you specific but all over this thread) and then praise some “modern day” luthier I truly ask you the question, why? Les Paul and Leo Fender truly innovated this field and we haven’t seen anything innovative since those guys. Maybe Fishman with their pickups or Aristides with the their composite resin, I give you that. Heck, Ola Strandberg came with his endureneck thing which is “partially innovative”. But this guitar? Really?

[@markuyehara7880]

@msolano00 Personally, I have not seen another luthier that combines ergonomics, aesthetics, and invention as well as Toone. FWIW, the bridge and neck on the Spearfish are both patented so, while you may have seen something like them before, they're actually unique to Rick Toone instruments. Paul and Fender are innovators, but both are dead, effectively removing them from the discussion of world's most innovative luthiers. I love Strandberg but he owns fewer patents and essentially makes one guitar. It's great and very innovative but it's one design.

[@unseenjungle5386]

the look remindes me of a peeled tangerine...

[@two50ne77]

was thinking the same

[@Tigermaster1986]

I'd play it at a vegan music festival. Jokes aside, it's a beautiful instrument.

[@immikedurrett]

Brb gonna sell my car and PayPal you for this one.

[@fluxx1]

Interesting that so many people in the comments like the look. It's a matter of taste of course, but I find it extremely unattractive. I don't mind any particular part of it, but as a whole, I dislike the esthetics. Of course, the features are great and I do like the sound. And I'm sure the workmanship is outstanding, but even though it's innovative and creative and I support both those things, the end result is not aesthetically pleasing to me. But I think I'm in minority here, which is great, actually.

[@EJH-jn6mo]

I’m with you on this one but check out his website. Some of his other stuff is sick.

[@fluxx1]

​@@EJH-jn6moYes, I took a look some of them are trully gorgeous. He kind of has a whole signature design language he developed, I get it now. But I'm not too much of a fan of the pickguards, I guess. Especially with 90 deg edges, unlike say a strat, which has sloping edges. It looks more like a patch than a part of guitar. But perhaps that's what he's going for. But again, it's a matter of taste I guess. The fact there's a guitar for everyone's taste out there is also a wonder of our age.

[@haliaxmrk4585]

Looks comfortable but kinda reminds me of jamon iberico

[@arnauhernandez5228]

it looks like a tangerine

[@quinnquitars]

it looks like an orange no disrespect haha

[@drew004jc]

I love shish kabobs

[@voyxu143]

"$13,500 USD plus shipping." JESUS....!!! No offense to you or Rick, but you can get even tone across a production guitar with the proper custom string gauges, neck adjustment, fret leveling and pickup height, AND it will cost a LOT less than 13.5K plus tax.

[@msolano00]

Does it truly matter that an electric guitar has any acoustic properties? No one would ever pick an electric guitar to play unamplified. These sounds more like the “tone wood” gimmick that guitar builders like to tell people about just to justify their high prices.

[@andrefludd]

It matters to some 🤷🏾. For example, 95% of my time is spent playing at low volumes at home. And in those situations I find semi hollow guitars do actually sound and feel different to me. Some jazz guitarists even record the acoustic sound of their electric guitars and mix that into the final product. If you don’t care, that’s also totally fine.

[@galgabrielisrael3237]

So... do you like Salmon ?

[@RedSkyWhisper]

Minor nitpick: the color of the guitar would probably pop out more if the background light color was a different color.

[@Cinegavo]

perfect besides the look 😂

[@citizenphaid1880]

It wouldn’t be that 😂

[@zool84]

That is very ugly thou… from afar it really seems like a beef picture has been painted over the body.

[@kellyb9432]

I just can't find anything positive to say about this.

[@poelogan]

boomer

[@EJH-jn6mo]

@@poelogan shall the rest of us all sink to the lowest common denominator and stereotype one another because we don’t like someone’s opinion?

[@poelogan]

@@EJH-jn6mo yes. this is the internet. you must be new here.

[@kellyb9432]

@@poelogan Get it right @$$hole, GEN X

[@EJH-jn6mo]

@@poelogan ​​⁠that’s some great cop out: everyone else is doing it. Unfortunately I’m not new to the kind of ignorance you are breeding. Keep resorting to labeling folks - just know you’re perpetuating the negative world you ultimately complain about.

[@vorpalblades]

The body and finish look great, the headstock is horrendous.

[@obsoletecd-rom]

I agree. But I imagine it was a function over form decision. Probably really contributes to the tuning stability which seems impressive given all the bending he was doing.

[@latemnf]

It's basically a reverse kiesel Holdsworth 4x2, or music man headstock, It keeps the tuners grouped closely together which stops the headstock from having any flex forward like you would get in an inline design, also it gives a perfectly straight string pull through the nut.

[@RaoulDuke613]

I’m sure they’re incredible to play but I’ve never seen a Rick Toone that I didn’t think was ugly as hell. This one looks like a grapefruit. I say this as a person who very much prefers modern guitar design to boomer guitars but this thing looks like Rick took the Kaizen and tried to make it as ugly as humanly possible.

[@DirkaDirka-n9j]

They can always be refinished.

[@Milton_Andrew]

Has the headstock of a thalidomide baby…

[@gotd4m]

Looks like a raw steak.

[@Ahmed_lovessolos]

Please make a video about Cort KS700 Evertune , I want to purchase it for a worth of a year's savings so I need a trusty player like you to review it🫂🫂

[@komraderymcdermott5903]

My only critique is the fact that it has 22 frets🥲, other than that it’s a masterpiece!