Vola has teamed up with prog metal electric guitar player Malek Ben Arbia for the Djinn – an all-new seven-stringsignature guitar that might just be one of the most visually arresting axes we’ve seen all year.
Ben Arbia, who plays with Tunisian outfit Myrath, worked closely with Vola to design the Djinn, which is said to be inspired and influenced by both his music and history.
Let’s not beat around the bush here: that body artwork is quite something. According to Vola, the aesthetics were inspired by Myrath’s Legacy album, and was created using a variety of fancy production techniques by the Vola Custom Shop team.
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(Image credit: Vola)
(Image credit: Vola)
(Image credit: Vola)
(Image credit: Vola)
In its bid to capture the vibe of an “ancient carving in stone”, the artwork was laser etched into the buck-eyed burl top and left open underneath the high gloss finish. Similarly, the Luminlay logo that sits at the base of the body is composed from custom-made glow in the dark acrylic, which was cut flush into the instrument.
The results are pretty alluring, and are made even more impressive by the 12th fret logo inlay and the color matched headstock. Two examples are available, and arrive in Void (Purple Burst) or Sands (Natural Buckeye) finishes.
In the build department, the Djinn features a neck-through construction comprising a mahogany body and birdseye maple neck, which is complemented with an ebony fingerboard.
Two SP Custom humbuckers – Savage Beast neck and Chaos Land VIII bridge – also feature some appropriate Myrath artwork, and are wired to master volume and tone parameters, and a three-way switch.
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Vola Djinn in Void(Image credit: Vola)
Vola Djinn in Sands(Image credit: Vola)
“The guitar is not only the physical embodiment of the sand spirits, but also the visual representation of Malek's playing and the band he plays in,” said Vola.
Of his new signature, Ben Arbia added, “There are a lot of details – very Tunisian, very oriental – that match perfectly with our sound, atmosphere and backgrounds.”
The Djinn is available for $4,239. For more information, head over to Vola.
Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
