The ultra-limited edition, hand-built ‘Alfa Romeo’ electric guitar by Yorkshire based guitar builder, Harrison Custom Guitar Works, is inspired by the Italian sportscar company. It’s finished in bright red, has a volume dial cunningly disguised as the marque’s hood badge and its semi-open body has been carefully designed to mimic the classic radiator grilles of iconic Alfas of the past.
Each Alfa Romeo guitar takes the UK company eight months to build and will cost £4000 ($6,800).
However, as well as exclusivity and individuality, the finished result actually promises to be a serious guitar for serious musicians, thanks to its blend of the best materials and craftsmanship associated with both car building and musical instrument production.
Like the best electric guitars that money can buy, the Alfa-themed guitar, designed by Guy Harrison, has a Korina wood neck and a body made from poplar and maple. And these elements are combined with aluminum inserts, milled form single billets that house the five hand-wound pickups, and the back and rear supports are formed from carbon fiber, just like the best cars.
The final automotive touch is a four-leaf clover aluminum/coral insert in malachite green on the third fret, a nod to the ‘Quadrifoglio Verde’ badge that has adorned the world’s fastest and most potent Alfa Romeos for the last 90 years.
Harrison Custom Guitar Works plans to build just 11 examples because Alfa Romeo has been in business for 11 decades.
Guy Harrison, owner of Harrison Custom Guitar Works said; “As a concept, the ‘Alfa Romeo’ guitar seeks to mirror the passion, the curves, the sportiness, and the occasionally unconventional designs you get with Alfa Romeo through the grille shape, the use of high quality materials and the sleek body. I also wanted to use materials that were evocative of the brand’s designs, so the carbon fibre for the back, an Alfa Red body, the aluminium components – bringing out all those beautiful qualities that Alfa Romeos have. The Alfa Romeo guitar requires some special techniques. The whole thing is absolutely brand new – the concept, the design, everything. I’m an Alfa Romeo driver, so to be able to design a guitar around a brand that I already buy into was fantastic and this project has been a joy to work on.”
