BOLD, POWERFUL, BEAUTIFUL, FAST

lIGHTNING sERIES

In a world saturated with guitar manufacturers and models it is hard to imagine how one can improve on what has already gone before. Not so. Advances come in many forms and often it is the independent thought process that provides real innovation, free of constraints and corporate thinking. We have no board, we have no massive factory churning out rubber stamp instruments, we have just the Bare Bonz, wood, chisels, a few power tools and, of course, Bonz himself.

Fire series guitars belong to a special group of guitar designs. Not traditional, not mainstream and certainly not average. These guitars are all individual in their own way, they are etherial, a whisper of luthier genius to touch the soul of every serious player. Created from the prototype #0029 Jazzie 1 and the innovations it instilled, these guitars shout quality and a dedication to the craft of custom shop guitar building. All are built using only the most beautifully bookmatched wood tops and have an "invisible" balance whether you are sitting or strutting the full length of a stage. You will hardly know it is there because of the attention to detail in sculpting the wood for the very best ergonomics. Their sound is impeccable, choose from gorgeous deep tones, powerful overdrives and crisp highs delivered with hand wound custom pick-ups selected from top suppliers from around the World.

Learn how to order and customize your Bare Bonz Fire guitar build.

Jazzie 1 and 2, how it all began

The shape that is captured in Fire Series guitars developed while Bonz played with new design ideas during the course of deciding the best ways to laminate some of the densest tonewoods for strength and visual effect. Walnut, Purpleheart, Ash and Alder all come together in an exquisite melange which can be customizeable to your select tastes. Jazzie 1 was built with a fat central core of walnut straddled by thinner purpleheart accents finishing to maple edges. Powered by two Tone Emporium TE20 Canadian pickups with AWG 42 scatterwound wire and Alnico IV and II high grade magnets. Combined with a 25 fret neck this guitar proved truly inspirational. Responsive and very powerful.

The second prototype, Jazzie 2 #0030, had a completely different wood body arrangement for a specific single pole pickup tone requirement for another series of Fire guitars.

All Fire Series guitars are based on the success of this evocative design and the combinations of exotic wood laminations it promotes within a practical, modern body style.

Spark sERIES

Out of the second "Jazzie" prototype came the basis for the Spark series. Unlike the Lightning series, Spark series guitars are single coil, 22 fret masterpieces designed for the player who wants something different but still aspires to traditional tone.

Spark guitars are made from the same select tonewoods as the Lightning series and share exactly the same body shape. Spark series guitars are powered by hand wound Canadian Tone Emporium TE 05 Custom '52 pickups for added warmth and authenticity. The neck pickup is deliberately right up hard against the neck for maximum fat glassy mellow sound while the bridge pickup sits in a compensated adjustable Wilkinson bridge for needed "spank" at 6.3k. Spark guitars are also customizable for the neck profiles and the specific custom selected wood laminations in the guitar body. Oh, and did we mention the choice of beautiful stained maple bookmatched tops?

Learn how to build your Spark Fire Guitar.

Thunder Series Bass

You would think that we might be satisfied with the Lightning and Spark to finish the series, but no. Our prototype revealed that the same wonderful balance and weight we worked so hard to achieve in the guitars was directly translatable to a bass.The bass head stock design and light-weight tuners, combined with the 32" scale length, work together with the weight of the body to achieve a really neutral balance.  Unlike many basses, the player is not faced with constantly supporting the neck with the left hand. The Thunder Bass is perfectly balanced allowing the player to concentrate on the job in hand -- which is to 'get the booties bumping'.

Thunder Series basses are built around the same ergonomic Fire Guitar body shape which allows a comfortable playing position no matter your playing style. Maybe an EMG set would be your choice of pickups or perhaps ask Bonz what he might suggest for your build. Whatever you choose the Thunder Bass is built with the strong Zoneblock and Solidbolt construction elements, Thunder bass guitars are "stage" solid as well as beautiful. You also have your choice of wood laminations for the neck and body but however you configure your instrument we can guarantee your Thunder Bass will have a superlative and powerful resonance to bring out the "Thunderfingers" in you.

Learn how to build your Thunder Bass Fire Guitar.