In
this issue
On
My Drawing Board
Luna's
Rock Stars
Staff
Notes
Win
a Henna!
Shots
'n Songs
Andromeda's
distinctive form
began to take shape during the
hand-sculpting process. |
A
message from Yvonne de Villiers
Luna Guitars Executive Director & Artistic Designer
Welcome
to another issue of Illuminations!
This month, we want to introduce you to our exciting Andromeda line of
electric guitars and basses. These are some of the most lightweight
instruments you'll play. In fact, when you pick up a Phoenix or Flame
model, you'll hardly believe you're holding an electric guitar.
What inspired me to create the Andromeda line?
The same impulses that compelled me to create
Luna Guitars itself. Having been around the heavy guitars that my mother played during her
career, I wanted to design sleek, light, contemporary electric
instruments that combined ergonomics with
art. I wanted these guitars to be sculptural. The graceful line on the
Andromeda's double cutaway was inspired by the crescent moon. Play an Andromeda and
you'll see that the design also makes it easy to get your hands on even the most hard- to-reach notes. The trick was creating an innovative shape that would
be
light and both perfectly balanced on a strap and easy to play when sitting down. When you're sitting, the
Andromedas' bottom cut literally molds to your thigh. A truly
form-fitting instrument!
I drew the profile on paper, then played around with the shape,
enlarging it by various percentages before cutting
it out of cardboard. Luckily, my husband Mike is a furniture maker,
so I had a willing and expert assistant. We first cut the profile from a 2" block of basswood. Next came the
challenge of hand-sculpting
the prototypes. They are 2" along the center to accommodate
the guitars' electronics, and taper to 3/8" along the edges. Mike
and I used rasps,
hand planes and sandpaper to produce the first guitar and bass models.
At many points along the way,
we stopped to bolt on the appropriate necks
and test them for balance. After many hours of work, the
Andromedas were born: truly innovative guitar and bass shapes that weighed
just 4.6 and 7 lbs, respectively. But there was more left to do. Once I had the blank
canvasses, I was compelled to adorn the instruments with a meaningful image.
Appropriately, the Phoenix was the first to arise. The ancient bird
symbolizing rebirth now flies again in glistening abalone, soaring
on wings of sound.
I am happy to report that my mother owns the very first Andromeda
Phoenix we produced, and she plays it every single day! She waited a long
time for a guitar that gave her great
performance without cumbersome weight. I am very pleased with the manifestation of my
vision and, once you play the Andromedas, I think you'll love them
too.
Please email and let me know what you think of our new lightweight
electrics and basses: Yvonne@lunaguitars.com.
Shine on!
Above,
Yvonne shows off a Luna Moth acoustic guitar.
|
|
Andromeda
electric in Flame Teal
Detail
of Andromeda Phoenix Bass
inlaid in abalone
|
How's
your knowledge of mythology?
Or astronomy? Both share something in common with Luna Guitars. It's Andromeda
-- in mythology, the daughter of the king and queen
of Ethiopia. When Andromeda's mother declared
her daughter's beauty more exceptional then theirs, the sea nymphs
became jealous and complained to the sea god Poseidon. In response, he
threatened to send a flood and a sea monster to destroy the king's realm. To
avert disaster, the king took advice from the oracle and chained his
daughter to a seaside cliff as a sacrifice to the monster. But
Perseus -- son of another king -- found her first.
He declared his love for Andromeda, killed the sea monster, then married his
sweetheart. Later, the goddess
Athena rewarded Andromeda by placing her image among the stars. Hence,
the astronomy connection: the Andromeda galaxy.
The
myth of Andromeda speaks
to beauty, strength, love and rewards. Electric guitar fans tell us they
find all of those in Luna Guitars' amazing Andromeda series of electrics
and basses. Uniquely contemporary styling gives Luna's Andromedas a
sleek, edgy profile. They're long, strong and great looking. And they
pack so many rewards for players that you just can't help falling in
love with them.
Beyond
the cutting-edge looks of the Andromedas, you'll find all the features
you could ask for in an instrument that packs sound quality, performance
and awesome comfort into one affordable package. From the flame finished
models to the show-stopping Phoenix guitar and bass, the Andromeda
series offers a professional musician's choice of feature options:
humbucking pickups, Floyd Rose pickup and tremolo, MM and J-style bass
pickups, ebony or nickel tuners, Luna's slender neck profile, and
more.
Best
of all, though, you'll feel like playing sets all night long because the
Andromedas' basswood construction makes them among the most lightweight
electrics on the market today. No...we mean REALLY LIGHTWEIGHT! Check it
out: our Andromeda basses weigh 7.3 lbs. The Floyd Rose Flame, 7 lbs.
And the Phoenix and Flame models? An unbelievable 4.6 lbs. To
demonstrate the Luna difference, we weighed a few other guitar
models: Fender Strat, 8.2 lbs; Daisy Rock Rock Candy, 8.44 lbs;
and Gibson Les Paul, 9.5 lbs. In the bass department: Peavy Fury, 8.7
lbs, Yamaha RBX, 8.94 lbs, and Fender Precision, 9.3 lbs. By the end of
a long night on stage, you'll truly understand why we say that Luna
Guitars are designed for maximum playing comfort.
Check
out all the features of Luna's full line of Andromeda guitars and basses
online at www.lunaguitars.com.
And play them at your authorized Luna Guitars dealer today. Great looks,
great sound and superb playing ease. It's no myth. Andromeda's a really
rockin' star!
|
I'm
really
getting better
at guitar.
I'm not trapped
behind a piano.
You can get out
and move
with a guitar
Carole King
|
From
your Luna Guitars team
Knock on Wood
All
sorts of woods from every corner of the world are used by today's guitar
makers. At Luna Guitars, we use maple, spruce, mahogany, lacewood,
quilted ash, cedar and other varieties to make our instruments. We also
use basswood. It's the not-so-secret ingredient that enables Luna's
designers to create the amazingly lightweight Andromeda electric guitars and basses.
Basswood
(pronounced like bass the fish) is light in both weight and color. This
natural blonde is known for producing great midrange tones and is said
to pair particularly well with humbucking pickups because of their
complementary frequency ranges. Fact is, basswood pairs well with most
any pickup.
Also
known as linden, basswood trees grow in the northern U.S. The wood's
inner fibers have long been used by Native Americans to make rope,
fabric and
thread. Because of its superior carving traits, basswood is a popular
choice not only for musical instruments, but also for shutters, blinds
and furniture-making.
|
Acoustic
Guitar
magazine
and
Luna Guitars
are
teaming up
to
give one lucky person
a
chance to win the guitar everyone's talking about --
the
Henna Paradise S.
Entry
deadline is
October
31, 2006.
Drawing
for the winner
to
be held on
November
15, 2006.
Contest
details
and
entry forms
will
be
available
mid-September
at www.acousticguitar.com
|
