Bootlegger Guitar Absinthe ~ EMG Pickups

About Absinthe from Guitar Max

Gen 2 Absinthe Fixed Bridge Or Tremolo EMG Pickups Coil Split

Gen 1 Absinthe Tremolo EMG Pickups Coil Split

A Taste of the Exotic

The Spade was our first headless design and has continued as a “flagship” with players around the world using it across many genres of music.

we wanted to use the design of the Spade and modify it into a modern, full body guitar. We worked on a few initial ideas only to end up frustrated, as the designs were not up to our standards. My partner Ken suggested we hire a friend of his (a renowned Japanese designer) to help dial in the designs we had started. With his guidance, the Absinthe design was finalized and approved!

Gen 2

We then made the decision to develop a new single string lock, replacing the block style lock. This design provided us with the opportunity to rethink our neck and the ergonomics of the neck end-piece.

With this new design the strings are independent of each other, meaning with the independent monorail tuner and the independent string lock there is no string to string contact, reducing or eliminating string  transient vibration.

This provides a more natural wood sustain and tone. The design gives the player the feel of having a full headstock while in the open position and the extra thickness creates more stability, mass, and tone.

EMG

We wanted to use a U.S. company for the pickups on this model and EMG quickly jumped to the opportunity. We gave EMG the freedom to choose the pickup design with a coil split option. While working with the Absinthe architecture, we developed our new neck with the curved block contour at the string lock. This improvement is now the new neck for both the Spade and Absinthe models. The design gives the player the feel of having a full headstock while in first position and the extra thickness creates more stability, mass, and tone.

The Absinthe is a well-balanced guitar with easy access to all the high frets. True to its name, derived from a wicked psychedelic liquor, it’s a modern, high-end consciousness-expanding guitar.

Order yours today and experience the flexibility, tone and true player enjoyment with the Absinthe!

The Green Fairy

Absinthe

Absinthe, a liqueur, is a combination of spirits and herbs, mainly fennel, anise, and a type of wormwood called Artemisia absinthium. That’s what it’s named after.

Van Gogh and Picasso were big fans of absinthe back in the day, along with other artists. Some believe that absinthe-induced hallucinations partly inspired some of their greatest.

The green aperitif became legendary in late 19th-century Paris thanks to bohemian artists and writers who reported psychedelic, mind-altering effects.

It made their minds wander, which they equated with expanding their consciousness and inspiring creativity. This led to absinthe often being called the Green Muse or Green Fairy.

It wasn’t until the 1970s, after the rise of psychedelic drugs, that scientists finally started to seriously study thujone and its effects. By then, absinthe had already been banned in the United States and other countries for several decades.

What Players Are Saying About Absinthe

Dude, meets and exceeds expectations. Freaking awesome.

I’m a sloppy SLOPPY player but I’m going to post some Youtubes for my friends on Facebook. I’ll give you the link(s) if you want and you can ignore and do as you wish once I get them up there. I’m also going to play it through my Blackstar 20W and metal it up a bit to see how it sounds.

Seriously, this one will replace my Strandberg classic as my go to guitar. Even without the fan fret/multi-scale, it’s a fun guitar to play. Plus the Strandberg doesn’t have enough wood to have a decent tone, so it sounds tinny even through my tinnitus.

I can’t quit gushing. Really really nice guitar, dude. Proud I waited for this rather than an every-other-day Ibanez QX52.

RSK
Randy Kelly

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