First peek at the Feline "Pantera" (UPDATE & SOUTHPAW TOO)

[FELINEGUITARS]

Those of you who have seen our range will know that we have made a model that we have called The Panther for years - in fact the first one I made back in 1990.

Here are a few random images of it :









I have made a few hard tail versions of it over the years and chosen to make a few of them a bit thinner (I recall having one on my stand at Music Live back in 1999.

However we have been asked a number of times if we would make them with a natural oil finish - sort of stripped back to basics - similar to how Organic and Black machine do.

I get to see & photograph an awful lot of Black Machines, so I am no stranger to the aesthetic and clean lines of that guitar and appreciate how fun they are to play.

So it's an easy change to make on our Panther  to do a stripped down variant.
So here is the first prototype of this model - something we are choosing to call "Pantera"

It has a thin swamp ash body - 36mm thick
Guitar weighs in at 7lbs
3 piece maple neck with a rosewood board - 22 x Dunlop 6000 frets
All access neck joint with recessed neck fixings.
Sperzel machineheads, Earvana nut, Gotoh bridge (for now), CTS pots, Vitamin Q capacitor on tone control
Switchcraft jack in electrosocket  recessed jack plate
Pickups are Bare Knuckle Painkiller pickups with cool black covers

Pictures below show guitar before the body is oil finished and a logo and some lacquer on the headstock
I am enjoying playing it a lot , but I suppose I should strip it down and finish it off.

[nfe]

Looks great Jonathan. I'm getting more and more into straight forward, stripped down, workin' man's rawk axes.

[FernandoDuarte]

I think you made a very nice design over the superstrat... Seems that it's easy but it's always hard to find the right proportion of "horns" and "curves"... You did a great job!

[38thBeatle]

I am going to come across as a sycophant but I love your guitars -they tend to be very tastefully executed. The lines of that guitar ( i.e the stripped down version) are pure. A no nonsense honest plank.

[Stevepage]

I would say, that guitar but with a reversed headstock would look awesome.


I can just imagine it now if I were to ever get one made for myself. Burl Maple veneer on top, big fat neck. F*** you unemployment  :x

[FELINEGUITARS]

One interesting point with reverse headstock guitars that we have found is that you can get the string between the nut and the tuner resonating in sympathy - something that you don't usually want - especially when that open note isn't in tune with what you are playing .

The big problem is when the low tuned string has the longer string length - it becomes a tuned open string that falls within the range of the notes that you might normally play - and as such is easily coaxed into vibrating and often being heard as a note that you hadn't planned on.

In order to mute this note players often end up putting a hair band/scrunchie over the strings just behind the headstock.

Now it happens with a non reverse headstock as well but the note created in the long length of string on the high E falls outside of the frequency range of any note that you play and as such doesn't get triggered so easily.
It is also one reason that string trees on Fender type guitars are a good idea as well getting a decent break angle over the nut.

It can happen with bass guitars as well .
Usually if the player using a P or Jazz bass isn't careful about winding on enough slack string onto the tuner the A string can create a high harmonic behind the nut because the string almost jumps out of the slot when plucked open , the portion of the string behind the nut rings through the "excitation" created by plucking and it's not in tune with the open string as sounds ghastly.
Doesn't tend to happen on the D or G strings because of the string tree

[AndyR]

I think you made a very nice design over the superstrat... Seems that it's easy but it's always hard to find the right proportion of "horns" and "curves"... You did a great job!

+1
I'm not a superstrat sort of chap, but that is shaping up very nice indeed.

Have you any idea yet what you'll be charging for a completed one of these?

[FELINEGUITARS]

Probably about £1500 inclusive of Hiscox Case etc
There will be options on BKP pickups and some customers may want dot markers on the fingerboard as well (at zero extra cost)

[dave_mc]

i like that a lot :D

[Simon D]

That's properly nice, I really like it. If only I had £1500... :(

[Antag]

As a Panther owner (well OK, mine actually has more of an RG body shape which may or may not be why it doesn't appear on the website :(), the thing I most like about the aesthetics is the headstock shape - that headstock pitched just looks right to my eye.

In playing terms, my panther has one of the nicest necks I've ever handled with absolutely flawless fretwork & effortless playability.

I'd love to buy another one...

[impossible]

mine actually has more of an RG body shape which may or may not be why it doesn't appear on the website :(

No worries, I'm sure it just hasn't found its way from the photo archives into the web pages yet :)

[FELINEGUITARS]

I'm afraid it's true - simply haven't gotten round to updating website.

Running my business is like having 3 full time jobs - if not more
Looking after customers and enquiries
Repairing and making guitars
Dealing with admin and paperwork (a full time job on it's own)
Advertising and promotions
Photography and website matters

I'm often still working on guitars after midnight (when not being distracted by the BKP forum or talking to my girlfriend or being a servant to a certain tabby cat)

[roland_rat]

Very nice looking set of  guitars you got there Johnathan. 

[HairyChris]

Very nice!  :D