This guitar is a commission sale. If you have a high-end or vintage guitar you are interested in selling please contact us.
 
Here for sale we have a prime example of the unique work of French luthier James Trussart. James began his musical journey in the late '70s as a fiddle player with Zachary Richard, moving his attention to crafting violins and eventually guitars throughout the 1980s. By the year 2000, Trussart had set up the LA workshop he still produces guitars from today, and began carving himself a niche as the unconventional luthier who builds guitar from metal. Many famous players count themselves owners of his creations, from Billy Gibbons to Tom Morello and many more besides. 
 
Hand-made by James and his team in the USA in 2008, this guitar features a bolt-on construction comprising a Mahogany body with Engraved Steel top, Mahogany neck and 24 fret Ebony fingerboard, bound in Aluminium. Aged Nickel hardware is fitted including a TonePros Stoptail, TOM bridge and sealed tuning machines. A pair of Aged Nickel Arcane Inc. 'Trussero' humbucking pickups are installed and are wired to a 3-way toggle switch, independent volume controls and a master tone control. The Steel top is engraved in an African tribal design, and is aged using James’  'Rust-O-Matic' process. This involves allowing the top to oxidize in the elements for up to a few weeks, treating the surface to stop the corrosion and then sanding back to simulate years of distress. 
 
The Mahogany neck plays very well, and delivers a rather unique playing experience for a variety of reasons. With an overall design that is clearly Gibson-adjacent, the nut width is surprisingly on the slimmer side at 1.665". This allows for easy reach across the strings in all registers, making the instrument feel easy to navigate. The neck is carved into a mildly-soft 'V' shape - something which is more typically found on vintage guitars. It's a very comfortable and ergonomic shape which encourages good thumb positioning and proper left hand technique. The Ebony of the fretboard is pleasant under the fingers, and paired with the unique Aluminium binding creates a supremely luxurious playing experience. Medium Jumbo frets and a 14" radius provide practicality for lead techniques like string bending and vibrato whilst remaining round enough for comfortable chord and rhythm playing.
 
Amplified, the pair of Arcane Inc. 'Trussero' passive humbucking pickups installed deliver thick, full bodied and powerful tones, well suited to a wide range of genres and playing styles. The Steel top does seem to add a brightness and fast attack which makes the instrument feel unique in both its response and tone. The neck position is warm, pushing your amp into a sweet vintage-inspired drive tone with higher gain settings and easily driving your lead lines and solos to the front of the mix. The bridge position is of course brighter & hotter, handling serious amounts of gain masterfully. The independent volume controls mean that in the middle position you can blend the pickups in any combination, providing an impressive amount of versatility. This is a unique guitar in every sense of the word, and is sure to reward its new owner with many years of faithful service. 
 
This guitar is a commission sale. If you have a high-end or vintage guitar you are interested in selling please contact us.
 
Please be aware that for international buyers import fees are not included in our postage and packaging cost, this only covers the cost of the guitar being sent to you. Import fees will be charged by Customs upon the guitar's arrival in the recipient country. Due to Brexit, this also applies to EU buyers. We advise checking the total import cost with Customs as this is not information we are able to accurately provide.