Rob was simply building this for me to try out the design/shape, before putting it into production. It is a workhorse, in no way meant to look visually spectacular. Since a lot of the design of this guitar involved input from people here on the board, I figured I'd post updates along the way. Why is he going to spend a lot of time/money on a prototype? The materials alone for a book matched quilt top is around $500 for a guy that isn't buying in bulk (go check the Jackon Custom Shop's price on the upcharge for a 3/4" quilt maple cap sometime). If people are just going to rag on it for not having a bunch of "OMG LOOK AT THAT!" visual features, then I'm going to start rethinking how many updates I post. Rob's production work stands on its own, but I'm not going to expose prototype design work to unwarranted, non-constructive criticism.
I welcome all constructive criticism, like comments about wanting the horns rounder, can it be had with a pitched neck, I would prefer a different headstock design, and so on. If you really need to see pretty pictures of what Rob is capable of, then I refer you to his production work. Here is something to look at:
Logo is carved into the body wood:
Double-neck, note the Eye of Ra burned into the upper neck:
Mother of pearl skulls with abalone brains:
My V7, with black bevels and mother of pearl iron crosses:
A new V design:
Same V, note the multicolor paint and and fully profiled horns:
When this guitar comes in, I'm going to be taking plenty of pictures. It has a black/green flip/flop paintjob that these pics are doing no justice to. Plus, the damn thing isn't even buffed out yet! The most important thing to remember is this guitar will sound better and play better than anything currently on the market. The only thing that even comes close is an EBMM JP7. If you think a Hellraiser is good enough, then more power to you. The target customer for this guitar is someone frustrated with the limitations of the market, and lack of all but one high-end seven string production guitar.