THE STORY

The idea for this guitar began at the Hard Rock Cafe® Museum in Atlantic City,

I came across Keith Richards’ famous white 1963 Gibson® SG — the one with three humbuckers and that enormous Vibrola tailpiece. Seeing that guitar in person was unforgettable, and it instantly captured my imagination.It was stunning. The way the light reflected off its body and hardware made it seem almost otherworldly, and I found myself returning to how a stack of three humbuckers fits into the space between the neck and the bridge.There was something about the symmetry of the three pickups, the dramatic tailpiece, and the unmistakable shape of the SG that stayed with me long after I left the museum. I wanted to build something inspired by that guitar, but I didn’t want to simply copy it. I wanted to play with the idea and reinterpret it in my own way.That’s where the inside joke began, a playful nod to the long-running rivalry and cross-pollination between iconic guitar brands.Instead of Gibson® humbuckers, I decided to use Fender® Wide Range Humbuckers—an unconventional choice that immediately set the tone for the project. And rather than using a Gibson®-style Vibrola, I chose a flashy Fender® tailpiece from the Corona model to give the guitar the same kind of visual weight and flair.If I were going to mix Gibson® and Fender®, I would take the idea even further. So, the control plate is actually from a Fender® Jaguar, and its intricate switching system gives the guitar nine different pickup configurations—far more versatility than most guitars offer.For the neck, I sourced a genuine Gibson® neck from a 1965 parlor model and adapted it to fit the guitar, which was both a technical and creative challenge. I liked the idea that even the neck came from a completely different Gibson instrument, further emphasizing the guitar’s patchwork nature.The body presented another opportunity to do something unusual. I wanted the symmetrical, horned look of the SG, but I also wanted a hollow-body instrument for resonance and warmth. The body was created by combining parts from two violas, turning instruments that had once served a completely different purpose into something entirely new and unexpected. This transformation was both a tribute to the past and a leap into uncharted territory.The result is a guitar that looks familiar from a distance but becomes increasingly strange the closer you look. Gibson®, Fender®, Jaguar®, Corona®, a Gibson® parlor guitar, and two violas all contributed to the final instrument, each leaving a visible mark. Every component tells a story, and together, they form something that could never have come from a single brand or era.And then there’s the amplifier.The guitar is paired with a Blackstar® Fly 3 and its extension speaker, creating a compact stereo setup that’s easy to carry anywhere. Despite its size, this little rig is surprisingly loud, and its hollow body produces a wide range of tones without the feedback issues you might expect from an instrument with so much resonance.It makes an excellent busking guitar — self-contained, portable, loud, and capable of a surprising variety of sounds. Whether you’re playing on a street corner or in a small venue, it holds its own and draws attention from curious listeners.But it doesn’t have to stay on the street.Plug it into a standard guitar amplifier, and it becomes a very different instrument, with enough tonal flexibility to hold its own on stage. The tonal palette broadens even further, making it suitable for everything from delicate fingerpicking to aggressive lead playing.In the end, this guitar is less about following the rules of any particular brand or instrument and more about seeing what happens when you put things together that were never supposed to go together. It celebrates experimentation, creativity, and the joy of building something truly unique.