Utah builder RIP Custom Guitars has paired with Ryan Waste – guitarist of Virginia speed metal outfit Municipal Waste – for a brand-new signature guitar, the MW-AX.
Straight off the bat, that MW-logo body shape is about as brutal as it comes, but diving deeper into the spec sheet, we see that what's under the hood is equally metal-ready.
A single Seymour Duncan JB Trembucker heads up the guitar's tonal appointments, and is controlled via a singular on/off killswitch. In the words of RIP, “this AX has everything you need and nothing you don’t.”
A Kahler 2300 tremolo system with a locking nut is paired with Gotoh machine head for maximum tuning stability, so divebombs and trem-heavy solos should come as a breeze.
Construction-wise, the MW-AX features a premium-selected mahogany body and set neck with a 24-jumbo-fret, 12”-16” compound radius ebony fingerboard. It's visually completed by either a Black and Silver or Gunmetal and Slime finish, pearloid diamond inlays and Municipal Waste's logo inlayed on the 12th fret.
“This signature guitar has been a long time in the making, evolving over 13 years since its first incarnation,” says Ryan Waste. “As a left-handed player, my choice of instruments has been limited my entire life, so when the opportunity arose to make a custom guitar, I seized it.
“There are elements of the last four MW guitars that have become essential to my playing. For the first time, thanks to the expertise of Rob Gray at RIP Custom Guitars, we’ve been able to roll them all into one signature model. He’s allowed me to be more involved in the overall design, and I know for a fact that we’ve created the ultimate instrument in the MW-AX.”
Available in both left- and right-handed configurations, the MW-AX is available now for pre-order for $1,699.99. For more information, head to RIP Custom Guitars.