When you need to get all Wylde up onstage and chop the audience’s head off with a big ol’ grizzly bear riff, when you need to cut through the mix, reach for the Thoraxe...
(Image credit: Wylde Audio / Instagram)
Wylde Audio has officially launched the Thoraxe, and it might be one of the most metal guitars to have come out of Zakk Wylde’s electric guitar brand yet.
In fact, it might well be one of the most metal designs we've seen this year – one that’s named for a part of your anatomy, and yet is shaped like it is made for disassembling your enemy’s anatomy.
As with every Wylde Audio model, the silhouette is like something culled from The Encyclopedia of Medieval Weaponry, 2nd edition. The lower horn and bass-side lower bout call to mind the B.C. Rich Mockingbird but just look at that second cutaway. It’s like the Warhammer brand has turned its hand at contemporary luthiery.
Now, the BLS main man and longtime Ozzy guitarist has mentioned this model before, but this is the first time we have actually seen the Thoraxe in the wild, with Wylde Audio – and its partner Schecter Guitars – announcing it on their respective Instagram accounts.
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(Image credit: Wylde Audio)
(Image credit: Wylde Audio)
These South Korean-made electrics are now available to pre-order from selected retailers, and they are available in two colorways – the muted Transparent Black Burst and Tortoise Psychic Bullseye Gangrene.
The latter will give you motion sickness or open a portal to another dimension, depending on what kind of mushrooms were in your omelette.
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(Image credit: Wylde Audio)
(Image credit: Wylde Audio)
The Thoraxe recipe is classic Zakk Wylde, a big, brawny guitar for people who look like they’d eat your kids with fries and a side of slaw.
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We’ve got a solid mahogany body, flat-topped but enthusiastically beveled – which makes for a great contrast with the Transparent Black Burst model – to which a three-piece maple neck is glued with a deep insert joint to enhance sustain.
Said neck is carved into a Zakk Wylde signature Deep C shape. The scale length is 24.625” and there are 22 extra jumbo frets to navigate.
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(Image credit: Wylde Audio)
(Image credit: Wylde Audio)
The fretboard has a shreddable 14” radius and is made from ebony, inlaid with MOP runes to enhance that Mad Max on a longboat vibe. There is sadly no onboard holder for a drinking horn; you will have to use the mic stand. But there are a pair of active EMG humbuckers to accommodate your high-gain adventures.
As per Mr Wylde’s preferences, you’ll find an 85 at the neck and an 81 at the bridge. These high-output electric guitar pickups are controlled by individual volume knobs, plus a master tone control – all speed knobs like the Gibson Les Paul Customs he often rocks – and are selectable via a three-way switch.
There’s no messing around with double-locking vibratos here. Wylde has gone for a TonePros T3BP Tune-O-Matic with T1ZS Tailpiece, Grover tuners, all in satin black. The nut is Graph Tech XL Ivory Tusq.
The Thoraxe is available now, priced $1,399. See Schecter Guitars for more details and pics.
Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to publications including Guitar World, MusicRadar and Total Guitar. He uses Jazz III nylon picks, 10s during the week, 9s at the weekend, and shamefully still struggles with rhythm figure one of Van Halen’s Panama.
