Another 52 Guitars, week 16—Grainger Guitars Hades

One trend I’m noticing more with the guitars I’m coming across for this year’s Another 52 guitars series is the craftmanship that is going into some of the more boutique luthiers I’m discovering. Honestly, I’m loving the way the modern guitars are looking. Don’t get me wrong, I love the traditional shapes as much as anyone else, but for the guitar industry to have a future I honestly believe it needs guitars that are unique. Guitars such as the Hades by Grainger Guitars. This thing is absolutely beautiful.

If I understand the information I’ve been reading on the Grainger Guitars website—including the imagery that is mind blowing on their Gallery page—then the Hades is customisable in colour and potentially accessories. The video I’ll include below that I found on YouTube also indicates that there’s a model out there screaming my name … it’s all black.

The guitar’s body shape looks Explorer influenced, but the alterations made to that traditional shape are exceptional. The cutaways and the semi-hollow body design really make this guitar design pop. Even if I didn’t get an all-black version of this guitar, I’m sure I’d be in awe of the guitar’s beauty for a seriously long time.

As I’ve mentioned before in this series, another intent with this series is to find guitars that all offer something unique for my collection. I’m looking for something I can use to potentially say to the wife “Oh no … this is absolutely not like any other guitar I already own”.

Does the Hades meet that simple criteria? Yes it does. It does it in spades (which sounds nothing likes Hades even though they’re spelled in a similar fashion—damn you English!)

Let’s look at some cool features the Hades has that I don’t already have in a guitar I own.

• Chambered body (with a sexy design I might add)
• Grainger hard tail bridge (from their own Grainger Guitar Parts company)
• Triangle inlays that can be wood or resin (very cool)
• An ability to pick from a few pickup manufacturers I’m yet to try

If I’m not mistaken, the bridge isn’t a string-through-body type. It looks like it might be, but images I’ve seen indicate there is no string access on the back of the guitar. If true, this is great from a design perspective. I’m intrigued.

I like that the guitars can come with EMG, Seymour Duncan, Oil City Pickups or Bare Knuckle Pickups. I’m yet to try the last two manufacturers. If you have other pickups in mind, it seems Grainger Guitars are happy to work with you on that as well. This approach is one I’m a fan of. Another pickup option I love is their willingness to have single humbucker. Perfect.

As I mentioned earlier—and this is something regular readers already know about me—I am a fan of black and/or white guitars. Knowing this, you can imagine my delight when I discovered this video on YouTube of a black Hades being played. Reading is one thing, seeing hearing a guitar is another.

It looks and sounds awesome. Can you see and hear why I was excited to discover this guitar? It’s absolutely worthy of consideration for a purchase later this year. For now, I’ll keep drooling and dreaming.