AxCalibur Industries

Once again, here at AxCalibur Industries, our aim is to provide you wthoptions that allow you to help in the design and creation of your custom instrument. These include wood selections (backs and tops if you choose a laminate top), shape/style, binding, routing, chambering, bridges, contour, inlay, and other customizing to suit your style and taste.

With respect to standard options that come on every AxCalibur Industries guitar, once again we point to the grade of wods being AAA or above, along with full copper shielding in all pickup, control, tremolo, and jack cavities, and recessed ( flush mounted) neck, jack, control, and tremolo cover plates.

Additionally, wherever possible, we use brass threaded inserts instead of traditional wood screws. This is the AxCalibur Tone Torque  system. The use of this method allows us to properly and evenly torque the critical compnents such as neck joints, bridges, tailpieces, jack plates, and strap locks, thereby preventing these components from loosening and altering the tuning and tone.

Such innovations create a more stable instrument, and as such, reduce the frequency of adjusting setups, re-tightening of various components to improper torque values, and potential damages to the instrument from such practices.

Chambering of Bodies:

Most bodies are available in either chambered, or non chambered versions. Chambering of bodies in specific geometric patterns not only reduces the wieght of the body, but will often times increase and improve the overall tone, resonance, and sustain of the instrument, depending upon the wood type, grain, and grade. Chambering is only available with laminate tops, and some body styles do not lend themselves well to chambering. 

Finish Options:

In so far as finishes, we are capable of providing the following finishes for your AxCalibur Industries custom ( once again depending on wood selection, for example you could choose to paint an ash body, but you would not do so to a beautiful spalted maple top): Satin , gloss or vintage clear, dyed, burst, or painted. ( Paint can be Flat, Gloss, or Satin )

And yes, of course custom jobs such as air brushed art will also soon be available. Contact us directly about art submission for such work.

Binding & Inlay Options

Bodies can be bound and/or inlaid in a variety of materials. Pricing is commersurate with the type of materials, as well as the intricacy and extent of the binding or inlay. In addition, special carving of 3D artwork is possible in some instances, depending on body style, construction, and wood selection.

Binding comes in basically two styles. Natural or inlaid. Natural or FAUX binding is where prior to and during the course of finishing, a masking is applied to the edge of the top of the body that prevents the dye, stain, or paint from adhering to the edge of the top wood, thereby showing off the natural grain if the wood at the edge. The more beautiful the wood and its grain, the more beautiful the natural binding.

Inlaid binding is just that. It is routed, inlaid, and glued into the wood at the point of where the top meets the back, or the edge of the back, or both. A wide variety of materials including wood, plastic, metals, pearl (pearloid), or abalone can be used, depending on body style and contours. You also have the options of either single or multiple ply (layers) of inlaid  binding depending on the materials used.

As with all things, pricing is commensurate with body style, materials to be used as binding, number of edges bound (top only, back only, or both), number of plies used, and the dimensions (height, width, thickness) of the binding used.

Almost anything can be inlaid into bodies, such as patterns in wood, pearl, abalone, or such things as coins, metal scrolling, etc. Once again, pricing is commensurate with the extent, intricacy, and materials.

3D carving (bas relief) artwork will soon become available as an option as well. Such work will be on a limited basis and only with certain woods, as not all wods lend themselves well to such carving. That said, pricing will be determined  by a straight time labor rate basis, and will be directly proportionate to the intricacy and amount of time involved in such carving.

Routing options:

There are two basic routing options. Top routed ( for instruments that require a pick guard such as the AX-1 Strat styled guitar) or rear routed  ( for instruments that do not require a pick guard such as the Merlin or the Arthur styles of guitar). While tese are the two basic options, there are variations within these two selections.  In addition to pickup routing options, routing for tremolo systems, bridges, battery boxes, and electronics specific routings are available.

Where standard routing is used, this is included in the price. If however you wish to add or alter from the standard his will be done an a modest nominal charge. Contact us if you are not sure. In cases where the routing changes due to an upgrade in the grade of a given model, for example where the routing goes from top to rear as is the case with the AxCalibur which is top routed in the Standard and Deluxe grades, but rear routed in the Custom and Supreme grades, this change is included at no cost to you.   

Contour options:

While contoured heels at the neck joint  are standard on Ax Calibur Industries guitars, you may opt for the more vintage non contoured heel and neck joint at no additional charge.

Natural Binding where the top was masked prior and during finishing.

 
Notice how you can see the grain of the top wood

Single ply binding

Multiple ply binding. Note both top and back edges are bound.

Fixed bridge attached to body with Tone Torque System utilizing machine screws instead of wood screws