Beware of my Evil Axe

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StayblCam.com
Nov 7, 2006
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Scottsdale, Arizona
www.stayblcam.com
Ok, time to toot my own horn a little and post something I also posted in another forum... lol

This is my Evil Axe - a guitar I decided to build myself - simply because it didn't exist and I wanted to own one. :) Because if you want something in life bad enough - go and get it! Make it happen!

EvilAxe-Guitar-by-Eskil-Nordhaug_(BC-Rich-Widow-Blackie-Lawless-replica)_800px.jpg


The guitar build was first started in 2007, but delayed several times due to....life. In 2011, the new body was cut after the first one had cracked due to non-dry wood (ugh). Inlay grooves were routed VERY carefully by hand so that the mirror inlay pieces would be flush with the body surface.

Lots and LOTS of sanding and touchups went into the body before it could be primed and painted. The headstock has skull-shaped machine head tuners, and for hardware I also used matching chrome skulls. The pickups are black EMG 81/85s.

The Evil Axe has been modified with the 18 volt mod to give your amp that extra kick in the nuts...

The Making of an Evil Axe (Video)
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9WLY6sk6r8"]The Evil Axe Guitar - A Blackie Lawless BC Rich Widow Mirror Guitar/Bass Replica by Eskil Nordhaug - YouTube[/ame]

About the design...
Ever since I my early teens, I was fascinated with rock or metal bands with a great sound, catchy songs, and an attitude. One of the bands that caught my interest early on was the notorious, but very underrated band W.A.S.P.

If you were a kid or teenager in the 80's, and you saw or heard W.A.S.P. for the first time - you were blown away. They were one of the first bands to become both become commercially successful (given frequent MTV-airtime) - while at the same time getting away with releasing their famous F-word hit single AND putting on an outrageous stage show while on tour. They were actually also one of the first metal bands to be banned from showing up in several countries, lol. No one had seen something so shocking since Kiss in the early 70's.

So anyway, Blackie Lawless was (and still is) the brainchild behind W.A.S.P. He not only is a great and much underrated songwriter - but he has probably the greatest voice in the history of heavy metal.

But Blackie's voice wasn't the only incredibly unique thing he had. He also had an insanely awesome looking bass guitar - which can be seen in the videos for Wild Child and Blind in Texas. I had never seen anything like it, and quickly found out that this was a custom piece made for Blackie - and I would NEVER be able to buy one. Not just that, I didn't want a bass guitar. I wanted a regular guitar that closely resembled his. :)

Some specs:
- Norwegian birch wood solid body
- Bolt on, BC Rich Warlock neck w/Widow headstock
- Mirror inlays cut by Jeff at KAMN Guitars in Oregon
- EMG 81/86 pickups
- Plastikote automotive paint and laquer, Color of Evil (Black #1001)
- Ernie Ball Power Slinky 11-48 strings
 


Nice. How much experience did you have with building guitars from scratch? How'd you decide which woods to use for the body/neck, etc.
 
That thing is sick as fuck. Knowing nothing about guitar's. What kind of wood did you use? Was it like stock guitar wood that you moded? Would love to see any pics of the build if you have any.

Edit re read the OP missed the type of wood in it.

Edit2 Should have just watched the video.
 
Looks brutal (except the ugly inlays)!
How's the feel and the weight? I felt that the B.C. Rich headplates are very heavy and pull the neck down, that totally fucked up the handling for me.

Any idea how much time you spent on this? Any review copies? ;)
 
Nice. How much experience did you have with building guitars from scratch? How'd you decide which woods to use for the body/neck, etc.

I had zero experience actually, lol. Learning by doing. :)

For deciding on the wood and learning the basics, I did a lot of reading at first on certain forums (mainly Project Guitar.com :: Guitar Project.com).

I went with birch because it was hard and heavy - and one of the few available to me when I was trying to find hardwood blanks while I still lived in Norway (easier said then done there).
 
Looks brutal (except the ugly inlays)!
How's the feel and the weight? I felt that the B.C. Rich headplates are very heavy and pull the neck down, that totally fucked up the handling for me.

Any idea how much time you spent on this? Any review copies? ;)

Actually, yeah I've heard about the Widows (especially basses) having issues with being neck-heavy. This actually isn't a problem with this guitar. It sits nicely at an angle when standing up, and I think that is thanks to 1) the heavy weight of the body and 2) the placement of the straplock on the back, positioned high on the left 'horn'.

Time spent? Hmm... wow I'm afraid to think about that, lol. I started on it years and years ago but for long periods of time I couldn't or didn't work on it for various reasons so it's really hard to estimate the time.

I'd say if I were to do it again now - working on it a little bit every day and having all the parts already - it might take me 6-8 weeks (also figuring in dry and wait time for all the coats of paint/clear coat, etc).
 
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2Xfvn5P62o"]Rocky - Fy fan vad jag ska knulla runt! - YouTube[/ame]