Phil Cook, Owner of Liquid Metal Guitars talks about his guitars and company.
We build exceptional guitars. We build metal bodied guitars, that are either chrome, machined etched surface treatment or Harley Davidson candy paints for a look that is brilliant and bright and unique and cool. The one you are looking at now is our chromed beauty, the LMG-T Guitar.
LMG-T Guitar from Liquid Metal Guitars
the body
All of our guitar bodies, the “T”, starts as a solid block of 6061 T6 Aircraft Aluminum and is then hogged out until we have the perfect body thickness. This is way denser than wood and the plucked string’s energy stays intact much longer. This ultimately makes for clearer, more pure sound. Now Apple has gone and copied us, ( just using a little hyperbole here…:) ) ..and made their new Mac Book out of a solid block of aluminum. The surface of the guitar is a machined cross hatched texture. You can definately see the patterned tool marks. Then the machined body is coated with the latest in scratch resistant clear coat, the same as is used on the Mercedes-Benz cars. This gives the machining a sense of depth, it is an amazing 3d look with an absolutely stunning luster. Again, with all our guitars this is a feature that is unique to metal, you can’t do this machining in wood, you cant do the clear coat in wood and you can’t get this damn fine sound in wood…
the pickups
Now when you want something that is absolute unequivocally amazing and nails exactly what you are after, you go to those who have the world wide reputation for making the best and for old school sound, there is none better than Lindy Fralin. For the “T” Lindy and his crew in Virginia put together a pick up set that is massively cool. The high out put bridge is 15% over wound The unmistakable twang and solid feel make this workhorse an exceptional take on a classic guitar sound. His bridge pickup is a reproduction of the 50’s style using black fiberboard bobbin parts, cloth leads, ALNICO V or ALNICO III magnets, or 1/2 & 1/2. (ALNICO III’s were used in some pre-’55 Fender Telecasters.) The neck we have put the P92, these are humbuckers in size and shape, and they are quiet, but the sound is pure single coil. The “P-92” (has adjustable pole pieces) is fat but still has clear, bright wound strings. The dynamic range of the guitar is fantastic. We have a three position switch, bridge, blend and neck. the pick up set gives you a dazzling array of sound options off this guitar.
the neck
Stainless dual-action truss rod, 12″ FB radius an absolutely fabulous 8 degrees of headstock angle to put the right amount of tension on the strings, med-jumbo steel frets, .103 wide and .048 tall, 1.71″ wide @ nut, 2.22″ wide @ 22nd fret. The neck is made of canadian hard rock maple and it shaped and sanded to 600 grit to shape, then tung oiled and sealed. This makes for perhaps the most organic feel of a neck you will ever experience. It is fast and smooth and sweet to play. We do 8 coats of tung oil, sanding the first 4 times with 800 grit sand paper and the last 4 times moving up and ending with 1200 grit and then a clear sealer. There is nothing like it. This another beautiful thing, we take a block of ebony and find the sweet spot grains on it and hew, yes, hew our finger boards from it. Beautiful long smooth fingerboards.
LMG-T Guitar from Liquid Metal Guitars
string holes, through the body
As you know the holes for the strings come through the body, we’ve taken it a step further. the string guide and through the body piece is cut out of the same block as the rest of the body, it is absolute integral, no separation, it is part of the body. This is just another unique feature that contributes to the over all exceptional “T” sound.
the nut
The self lubricating nut with tone; increases sustain, improves the tone of open notes, eliminates tuning ping, allows you to stay in tune
the saddles
Graphtech String Saver™ Saddles are a unique combination of materials made to enhance tone and dramatically reduce string breakage. Try them and you’ll see why so many of our customers say String Savers are absolutely the best guitar modification they’ve ever made!
the strings
We put DR strings, they have the most incredible sound, just perfect guitar sound. They are hand wound on a round core. This is based on a very old method, but executed with the latest most advanced metal available. The other thing about these strings, is the feel, absolutely unbelievable, so smooth and easy to touch, nothing harsh on them at all. Even if you don’t buy our guitars , you should put these on your guitar.
PRICE
$3600 USA. Includes deluxe hardshell case.
(* Shipping to North America and most European countries is FREE. $50 extra for others. Please email first for a quote.)