Zerberus Guitars / Nemesis / 2017 / White Carrara Marble / Guitar
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Can you imagine a guitar with atop that is made of real White Italian Carrara Marble?
With my gorgonized guitars I made that dream come true.
Here I offer you a Nemesis model with a 0.2" top made of genuine White Italian Carrara Marble. Not for nothing this marble also is called "White Gold".
About the builder:
My name is Frank Scheucher.
I live in a beautiful region called “Rhineland-Palatinate” in Germany.
When I was 14 Years old, I have built my first electric guitar.(meanwhile I am 51)
In 2002 I founded my very own guitar company named Zerberus-Guitars and fulfilled one of my biggest childhood dreams.
I wanted to build guitars that satisfy the demands of the modern guitarist by providing high-performance musical instruments that are aesthetically pleasing. With designs that are fresh, original, yet highly functional, my instruments should stand out from the crowd. Resonant timbers combine with the finest hardware and specialized circuitry to offer a broad spectrum of tonal possibilities. Delivering the perfect synthesis of modern design, reliable hardware and state of the art electronics, Zerberus-Guitars ensures that every one of its hand-built limited-edition instruments is manufactured to the highest quality standards.
But I wanted more…
more sound
more sustain
more uniqueness
more art
In 2007 I started developing electric guitars with a top and back made of real stone.
In January 2016 I launched my new gorgonized guitars series at the NAMM show in Anaheim California.
I have built the world´s first electric guitars with tops made of genuine gem stones such as Amethyst, Tiger´s Eye, Onyx and Aventurine.
The Zerberus-Guitars gorgonized guitars are much more than just good guitars.
They are hand built exclusive artworks that look and sound amazing.
Each of my gorgonized guitars is absolutely unique and second to none.
Thanks to the stone top, each guitar is unique like a fingerprint.
I am very focused on details and so all of the Zerberus-Guitars have my very own characteristic design.
I also have designed poti knobs especially for the gorgonized guitars allowing to lay in caps of stone.
It is hard to believe what the real stone top does for the sound. All I can say is that those are the best sounding guitars that I ever built.
You hit the strings and you feel how powerful and continuous the whole guitar resonates.
I have done this side by side with "normal" guitars and the gorgonized guitars still keeps ringing when a standard guitar already is quiet.
Some details:
Neck scale: 648mm (25.5" scale)
Fretboard radius: 14"
Fretboard made of Rosewood
Tuners: GraphTech (Canada) Ratio Locking Tuners
Nut: Wilkinson roller nut
Medium fret size 24 frets
Neck material: Hard Maple with Purple Heart stripes
Truss rod: Double action Truss Rod
Chambered Body: Light Pink Mahogany
Pickups: Lace (USA) Alumitone pickups
Potiknobs: My own Zerberus Design with White Carrara Marble caps
Controls: Master Volume / Master Tone
Both potentiometers are push-pull-types.
Each knob can split one humbucker into single coil (sounds incredible and makes the guitar extremely versatile)
Top is made of one piece of genuine White Italian Carrara Marble.
The top is 5mm (0.196") thick and stabilized with a fiberglass backing net.
This Nemesis has a 2-layer (Black/Silver) pinstripe.
The weight of this guitar is 8.8 lb.
The guitar comes inside a luxury hard case that was built explicit for the Nemesis guitars.
Thanks to the coil split, the gorgonized Nemesis is extremely versatile.
You can get everything from fat humbucker sound to crunchy-percussive single-coil sounds.
“Gorgonized”?
The term “Gorgonized” originates from the Greek mythology and has the meaning of “petrify”.
With one look, the Medusa (one of the Gorgons) was able to petrify her enemies.
The term “Gorgonized” stands for our guitars with tops of genuine stone and gemstone.
How does such a “gorgonized” Guitar sound?
Is the stone top only an optical gag or does it have any influence on the sound?
Stone and wood have a completely different micro structure.
On a wood top the sound waves move along the wood grain much stronger than to the side.
On a stone top the sound waves spread much more even in all directions making the whole top resonate with a long and even sustain.
This is because stone has a dense molecular crystal grid structure while wood has an open cell structure.
Mounting the bridge directly on the stone top with the strings going thru the Mahogany body allows a very strong attack and continuous and even sustain.
The gorgonized guitars offer distinct acoustic volume, even unplugged.
Played through an amp, they deliver a well balanced sound that stays clear even in high gain.
Even with their chambered bodies and stone tops, they aren’t prone to feedback.
The top at first touch might feel cold, but that changes after a few minutes and they don’t stick with their arm on the top like they use to do on a clear coated wooden top.
Another great benefit of the stone top is the fact that it is much more scratch and damage resistant than a wooden top.
Sustain and sustainability: Often rare and exotic lumber is used for the tops of standard electric guitars.
Those tops have to be dyed and painted to give them nice colors and appeal.
Stone as a material is completely different.
There is a whole universe of colors and structures waiting to become a top on a gorgonized guitar.
No need to cut down exotic forests to make a beautiful top.
No need to apply chemical dye and paint to make the top shine.
There are possibilities that are unimaginable on wood.
Stone can have fossils, crystals, crazy colors and it can be cut in any direction or even illuminated from the backside.
And each top is absolutely unique like a fingerprint.
For most guitar players and builders it might be hard to swallow that bitter pill, but stone as a material simply is superior to wood.
But on the other hand it does not work without using wood for the body and neck material.
It is the combination of both worlds – wood and stone – that breathe life and soul into the gorgonized guitars.
The gorgonized Nemesis guitars come inside a luxury Zerberus hard case and include a certificate.
If you want to see more guitars please visit the Zerberus-Guitars website!
If you have any questions, please kindly contact me by mail.
I am always glad to receive mails :)
You can find my mail address on the Zerberus-Guitars website. (the German address).
Zerberus Guitars, Germany 
All custom guitars are completely made by only one luthier - ME.
Zerberus-Guitars is some kind of a One-Man-Show and it´s only me in the workshop.
I do all the works - drive arround to find amazing long time stored lumber - saw out the bodies and necks -shape that all by hand without using CNC machines - equipp the hardware - install the electronis - paint the guitars and so on......I also take the photos and make the website.
No step of my work is done by someone else.
That makes the guitars very unique.
Building such a handmade unique specimen takes at least 6 months.
For making my custom guitars, I don´t use computer controled CNC-machines.
I do all the routings and carvings by hand and so I am not restricted to any standard designs.
I come from a very musical family.
My grandfather played trumpet in a band and my father is a professional rock´n roll guitarist in my region.
On the other hand my ancestors have been very skilled craftsmen who worked as makers of wood cartweels (Grand-grandfather) and wood barrels (Grandfather).
My father does not have a hand for woodworking :)
But he is a lifetime Rock guitarist.
So in my person the two rows come together being a rock guitarist that also loves woodworking :)
I have inherited some woodworking tools from my grand-grandfather that I still use when building my handcrafted custom guitars.
When I was 14, I have built my first guitar with the help of an old luthier.
Later in 1992 I had my own design company and I specialised in guitar design (have played in several bands this time).
Later in 2002 I founded my very own guitar company Zerberus-Guitars and fullfiled one of my biggest childhood dreams with that.
Is it your dream to own an instrument that is the only one of its kind on the planet, as individual as you - the owner, an instrument that is lovingly handcrafted, using selected timbers and the finest hardware, to satisfy your very own aesthetics, needs and personal preferences?
In my Custom Shop, I specialize in carefully hand-building the kinds of guitars and basses that reflect the DNA of their players. I do not employ CNC-machines which mechanically churn out half-finished guitar bodies every few minutes. By contrast, all carving, assembly and finishing is performed by one skilled craftsman, so that my guitars can not be clones of any models made previously.
Each instrument leaving my Custom Shop is a unique specimen. And not being restricted to proprietary designs, I am able to develop very individual guitars and basses in response to the originality and inspiration of our clients.
If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact us.
