Body
The body features a triple single coil setup mounted in a custom plastic/brass pickguard made by AxetremeCreations. A standard 5-way pickup toggle made by CRL allows for smooth pickup switching. There is one master volume, one tone knobs, and one blaster knob. The blaster knob at the lowest setting provides subtle gain, and at the highest setting can push your amp to light distortion. There is one 1/4″ output jack recessed on the top of the body. On the back of the guitar, there is a 9V battery box that powers the built-in blaster circuit. The harmonica style bridge and curved tailpiece are by Kluson. We offer an optional custom hard shell case to go with the Project Gator guitar.
Neck
The smooth satin finish maple bolt-on neck is attached to the body using 4 wood screws. The back of the neck contour is a C-shape that feels somewhere in between a strat and an LP neck, not too thin, and not too chunky either. The 22 fret maple fretboard features medium jumbo frets which are leveled and milled here at our shop in California for a nice smooth feel along the edge of the fretboard. The fretboard features a 12 inch radius which is perfect for soloing and playing chords up and down the fretboard. Topping off the fretboard are standard dot inlays. At the top of the neck, you’ll find a bone nut for good sustain. The flat 6-inline signature headstock shape includes our widely recognizable ‘ph’ logo. Under the fretboard is the adjustable double-expanding truss rod, keeping the neck stable in any climate.
Electronics
The electronics feature a CRL 5-way pickup toggle, CTS 250k Audio Taper pots for volume and tone knobs, a Blaster circuit by FuzzDog’s Pedal Parts, and a 1/4″ Switchcraft output jack. All wired together in our guitar workshop with vintage push back cloth wiring.
Pickups
The 3 pickups installed are DiMarzio Area 58 single coil pickups, designed to recreate the vintage tone of a 1958 single coil pickup, but with less magnetic pull and virtually no hum. As DiMarzio states, “A great pickup is clear and bright, but not thin-sounding. A great one makes the sound jump out of the amp when you pick hard and drop way down when you play softly, and the tone varies when the string is picked at different spots. The best pickup we?ve ever heard like this was from 1958, and that?s what inspired the Area 58?.”
Additional Info
The guitar body, neck and bone nut are manufactured in China. The other parts are sourced locally and the guitar is assembled and setup in our Southern California workshop.
The white and brass pickguard includes the Alligator sticker, Harley Davidson sticker, and Policeman Helper sticker. Stickers are by AxetremeCreations. Â The white 3-ply pickguard does not include the stickers mentioned above.
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13-point Setup
Our 13-point setup and inspection ensures that every PHRED Instruments guitar we ship is professionally setup and ready to play when it’s delivered to you. Setup will include string-height adjustment, intonation, electronics inspection, and the frets are leveled, crowned, and polished, as outlined below.
Fretwork and Fingerboard
1. Debur Fret Edges
This process involves filing the edges of each fret such that the edge of the fretboard feels smooth as you play up and down the neck.
2. Level Frets
Leveling all the frets ensures that you can play at low string action and with clear and articulated notes on each fret.
3. Crown Frets
After leveling the frets, they are crowned. Crowning frets is a process by which the frets are rounded slightly at the top. This makes the frets feel nice and smooth all around, ensures smooth bends, and also makes it easy to slide up and down the fretboard.
4. Polish Frets
After crowning the frets, polishing makes them shine brightly. Polishing them also makes them even more smooth to the touch.
5. Condition the fingerboard
The fretboard wood is cleaned and conditioned using fretboard oil.
Setup
6. Adjust Truss Rod
The truss rod should be adjusted such that the neck is slightly concave.
7. Adjust Nut
The nut height is adjusted to the fingerboard, and the string slots are filed to a perfect height and width for the strings we install
8. Adjust the Bridge Height
As a part of setting the string action, the bridge height is adjusted to our standard measurement of 1.75mm above the 12th fret on the low E string, and 1.5mm above the 12th fret on the high E string. We leave a little bit of room if you want to adjust the bridge a bit lower than that.
9. Adjust the Bridge Saddles
Intonation is set by adjusting the bridge saddles. We tune up and stretch a fresh set of strings, and then adjust the bridge saddle position until the harmonic at the 12th fret compared to the note at the 12th fret.
Pickups
10. Adjust pickup height
The height of the pickup is adjusted such that the perceived volume is consistent between each of the pickups installed on the guitar.
Electronics
11. Inspect and test electronics
Whether you upgrade to our USA wiring option or go with the stock wiring and electronics, we are going to make sure all the electronics work properly prior to shipping. For guitars that have an OBEL jack, we wire it Tip=Send, Ring=Return.
Strings
12. Install D’Addario 10-46 gauge strings
We install D’Addario EXL 10-46 gauge strings on all guitars. If you prefer a different brand or string gauge, contact us and we can accommodate other brands and string gauges, and adjust the setup accordingly to the strings that you prefer to use.
Guitar Body & Hardware
13. Clean and polish the guitar body and hardware
Just before we package up a guitar for shipping, we clean and polish your guitar using StewMac Guitar Polish to make it shine.
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