“Museum-grade works of art”: Gibson has unveiled its most ambitious set of Master Artisan instruments yet – trust us, you’ve never seen Custom Shop guitars quite like this before
Drawing inspiration from the Mediterranean, Middle East, Wild West, and beyond, these one-of-a-kind builds champion the unique craftsmanship of Gibson's master artisan builder, Rickie Hinrichsen
(Image credit: Gibson)
When Gibson launched its Master Artisan Series of electric guitars in 2022 with an extremely limited run of Leo Scala-designed Flying Vs, it kickstarted a series that has seen the firm go on to celebrate a couple of its standout luthiers.
Now, Hinrichsen is back with an even bigger collection of one-of-a-kind bespoke builds, which are quite unlike any other Gibson Custom Shop guitars we've come across.
Growing up in a small Nebraskan town, Hinrichsen is described by Gibson as “the kid in school who was always drawing”. He started his life at Gibson as a binder and soon forged a formidable reputation for his carving skill, before eventually becoming the Custom Shop’s in-house artist.
His second collection for the Master Artisan Series has produced “museum-grade works of art” that, despite their fastidious craft, are fully functional.
“These guitars are all playable,” says Hinrichsen. “Whether they’ll get played or not, I don’t know, but there is good mojo in them from start to finish. There is nothing in these guitars that isn’t made from pure joy. I hope they’ll bring joy to their new owners, too.”
Gibson Henna 1 Guitar & Amp Set
(Image credit: Gibson)
First up is the already-sold Henna 1 guitar and amp set. Inspired by the Middle Eastern Mehndi designs used in henna art, the visuals are literally wood burnt into the guitar – in this case, a Les Paul Custom – and its accompanying tweed amp, for a finish that can be seen and felt in equal measure.
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The Les Paul features a mahogany body and neck, and a maple top. It boasts Custombuckers, brushed chrome hardware, Grover tuners with Tulip buttons, and zebra wood knobs.
(Image credit: Gibson)
The Mesa/Boogie California Tweed 4:40 Head and 1x12 23” cabinet look equally classy, with wicker cane grilles and wood-burned artwork.
Gibson Psychedelic Art 2 Les Paul Custom
(Image credit: Gibson)
The collection's second Les Paul Custom journeys down a far more psychedelic path. Its vivid hand-painted hardware and mahogany body pairs a maple top with a mahogany modern medium C-profile neck and ebony fretboard, atop which the body's design continues, painted over its mother of pearl inlays.
It again features Custombucker humbucker pickups and Grover tuners, with painted-over kidney buttons. Hinrichsen has left no stone unturned with this design, even going so far as to string up yellow strings to better blend in with his magic mushroom visage.
Gibson Mayan Mosaic 1958 Korina Explorer
(Image credit: Gibson)
Moving on, a 1958 Custom Shop Korina Explorer is given a Mayan flourish with its hand-painted finish, designed to look like mosaic tiles, standing as a tribute to the Mesoamerican style of the Mayan civilization.
Brushed gold hardware, as well as true historic black control knobs, jut out against the bright and bold design. There are no covers for its Custombuckers, with Hinrichsen instead painting over its coils.
Gibson Old West 1 Les Paul Custom
(Image credit: Gibson)
Another Les Paul Custom, this one tips its hats to the “rough and tumble days” of the Wild West. It again comprises a mahogany one-two for its body and neck, with its rootin' tootin' design carved into its top, which is given a tung oil finish.
The maple fretboard continues the design, which is burnt into the wood, conveying a stagecoach robbery motif that spans across its frets.
It offers one pickup in the bridge – a black dogear P-90 pickup with gold screws – with gold hardware and maple top hat knobs serving as the final touches of in-spurr-ation for this sharpshooter LP.
Gibson Mediterranean Mosaic 1958 Korina Flying V
(Image credit: Gibson)
Last but not least is another Mosaic-inspired design, which takes its cues from the Mediterranean. A 1958 korina-bodied flying V featuring a korina neck with a '50s vintage neck profile and Indian rosewood fretboard, its aesthetics come via a combination of carving and painting from Hinrichsen's hands.
Like the Explorer, brushed gold hardware and true historic black control knobs accentuate the light blue, black, and white mosaic artwork, with Custombuckers once again serving as the pickups of choice.
All the guitars feature vintage taper potentiometers and “phone book” tone capacitors, and come with a hardshell case and Certificate of Authenticity. A custom strap is also included to further each instrument's unique design.
No prices for the guitars have been listed, but we imagine they'll each set you back a pretty penny. After all, you'd be hard pressed to find a catalog of guitars that rivals this one for sheer aesthetic ambition.
For ordering information for one of these one-time builds, interested readers can call Gibson's Nashville guitar garage at +1 (615) 933-6000.
To learn more about these intricate releases, head on over to Gibson.
A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
