Vayu prototype coming to life
I've been working on a new prototype for several weeks now and it's coming to a close. The Vayu is a single-cut version of the Prana model. It has 24 frets and a 25" scale length. I'm also experimenting with a new neck profile, it's a Slim V shape. Like the Slim C it has a taper from .77 to.82 but has even less of a shoulder. This style of neck is great for those that wrap their thumb over the fretboard like Jimmy Page and Hendrix. I'm going to be putting a ZerO Glide nut on this prototype as well, it's a zero fret and nut built in to one so the action will be super low and the tuning stability will be phenomenal.
For the hardware I'm using an adjustable wraparound bridge. I like combination bridge/tailpieces because they have a large amount of mass centered around one contact point with the body. Also, rather than using typical studs I'm using locking studs to make one solid piece between the body and bridge rather than two pieces that fight each other. The tuning machines are Grovers and the volume and tone pots are made by CTS. Another special feature with this guitar is that it will have a FreeWay Switch. This looks like a 3-way switch you see in many guitars but it actually has 6 different positions with unique sounds. I don't like to have a ton of buttons and switches on my guitars but I still want them to be very versitile. This switch is the best way to accomplish that.
I'm using custom made pickups for this guitar. The neck will give very pure, chimy tones without getting overly bassy. The bridge pickup will be moderate output, it will have some characteristics of a PAF pickup but won't be quite as compressed and will perform better at higher gain levels.
This model is available for sale now, if you'd like to inquire about purchasing please contact us on our Order page. Here are some pictures of the progress so far, it should be ready for clear coating tomorrow and final sand/finish next weekend.