Kavanagh Customs

Completed earlier this year, this is a very rare and unique opportunity to own the very first (number 001) of one of our limited edition guitar lines. There will only ever be 100 so they will always be very rare and sought-after instruments and will undoubtedly hold and increase in value in the future.

Taking tips from both Fender and Gibson's most popular models - the Telecaster and Les Paul - we set out to design and build the 'ultimate' gigging guitar, and this is our result: the RT. A high-output stadium rocker, with sleek and understated design but still robust and reliable to survive a life on the road: ideally suited to a heavily-used and abused life on tour.

The body is hand-carved one-piece African Mahogany, finished in real vintage two-step (silver-based) Candy Apple Red nitrocellulose, with a single strip of ebony binding around the face of the guitar and a tummy contour to the rear to improve player positioning and comfort.

The beautiful blood maple in the neck is hand-selected for each individual instrument and features 21 Jim Dunlop 6105 stainless steel frets (for quick and easy playing and increase life expectancy). The fret markers are tropical abalone which not only look amazing on stage, but also won't get drowned out into the fingerboard by stage lights as some black/white plastic markers do - essential for any live musician.

All the hardware is black Japanese Wilkinson - from our own experience this is the very highest quality hardware available on the market, the black colouring just gives the RT a slightly more interesting and contemporary look, as well as avoiding tarnishing and finish-peeling that players associate with chromed and gold hardware. The hardware also includes strap-locking strap buttons which ensures that the RT stays firmly on your shoulder no matter how vigorous your playing.

All electronics are USA Switchcraft and CTS - again the highest quality we could find and won't interfere with the tone of your instrument. All pots are rated at 500k to handle the higher-output pickups, allowing for a crisper and clearer signal without degradation at higher volumes and multiple amplifications.

The pickups are hand-wound right here and were designed specifically for the RT. In humbucker-dimensions, these pickups are a P90 single-coil pickup with a huge number of extra windings, allowing increased output and again, crisper sound. Coupled with the CTS electronics, the mahogany tone wood and the nitrocellulose finish, the sounds available at your fingertips are very versatile, allowing for thick jazz-like humbucker tones, right through to stinging Stratocaster or Telecaster lead-work at the roll of the tone dial.

As with all out work, the timbers used in the RT come from sustainable sources - from the beautiful and very unique blood maple neck, to the tonally-perfect one-piece African Mahogany body - all carefully hand selected and of the very highest quality.

Each RT ships with a second-hand over-sized tolex case, intended as a giveaway rather than part of the purchase (oversized to allow bubble wrapping around the neck inside the case: not necessarily suitable for day-to-day use) to ensure that the guitar arrives with you safely and in perfect condition.

Click here to visit the RT homepage. Please click on the thumbnails above for high-resolution images - photographs are of the actual guitar for sale.

We can also additionally provide a relicing service for this item if you aren't happy doing such things yourself yet still want a true used vintage appearance, just contact us to find out more!

Please note that this is not a Fender product, nor is it made in a sweatshop in the Far East by children getting paid 10p a day - it's much, much better than that. Like all our items, it has been carefully hand built to exacting standards and dimensions to ensure the highest possible quality, and the perfect fit for Fender, Squier and 98% of the Fender-copy market. We comply directly with Fender's own neck pocket dimensions (see the diagram on the left), although there may still be a small amount of work necessary to ensure a perfect fit.

If you have any doubt over whether any of our work is suitable or not for you, drop us a line, we're always happy to help.

This neck has been left undrilled at both the heel and headstock (apart from machine head holes) to ensure maximum compatibility with anyone and everyone's needs: you can fit it to a three-bolt or four-bolt body, you can use one or two string trees, and you can use any type of machinehead you desire without having holes to refill or build the rest of your guitar around.

Don't see exactly the part you're after?

We can build it for you to your exact specifications - nothing is too weird or whacky!

Contact us for a totally free quote and a chat about your requirements, and click here to see our price lists for custom-builds.

We can also supply all the parts you need to complete your guitar project, from fretwire and string trees to custom-wound pickups and polishing cloths! We will be expanding our shop in the near future so that you can conveniently purchase all these items at once but for the moment, contact us and tell us what it is you're after and we will happily arrange or source the parts you need for you.