The unique Tele, painted by David Bonvillain, is his first offered for public sale, following work for the likes of John Mayer, Steve Vai, Yvette Young and Mark Morton
(Image credit: Bonvillain Design Studio)
Bonvillain Design Studio is offering a one-off custom-painted Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster for auction, in a bid to raise money for the charity Hearts & Horses.
Painted by founder and career guitar tech David Bonvillain, the instrument is the first he has offered for public sale.
Although he only started his custom studio last year, Bonvillain was previously Kerry King’s guitar tech and already has a pretty impressive client list, having produced instruments for Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, John Mayer, Bob Weir, Jen Majura, Mark Morton and Yvette Young, among others.
Finally, as with most of Bonvillain designs, the paint job incorporates a blacklight element, meaning certain elements will really pop-out under UV light.
In a post on Instagram, Bonvillain comments:
“This guitar was made special for a local charity here in northern Colorado – Hearts & Horses Therapeutic Riding Center… Given the theme/charity – I tried to keep it a little on the western and traditional side. (Well… maybe not the Blacklight action, but otherwise kinda traditional). They are a great charity and if you’ve been wanting one of the guitars I make – this one is tax deductible…”
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Matt is Features Editor for GuitarWorld.com. Before that he spent 10 years as a freelance music journalist, interviewing artists for the likes of Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, MusicRadar, NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound. In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk, which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.