# Sabre Ghost 6 String - Build Thread



## Lorcan Ward (Oct 22, 2013)

I've been looking for a good 6 for the past year+. No 6 commercial strings had the specs I wanted and since I couldn't find one I bonded with at Messe(apart from Paul Masvidal's Strandberg) I contacted Christian Howes(Sabre Guitars) in April about a build. He was really helpful and my quote was very reasonable considering some of the exotic specs. 

Main Specs:
Body - Claro Walnut 
Top - Curly Robusta(Swamp Mahogany/Eucalyptus Robusta)
&#65532;Neck - 9 piece Wenge/B.Limba Stringers/Purpleheart veneers
Fretboard - African Blackwood + MOP Inlay blocks and custom inlay at 12th Fret
Hardware - Schaller Hannes, Gotoh SGS-510MG(I think), Graphtech Nut, Dunlop 6100 frets

The Robusta guitar top is a strange one. It has a couple of names since I couldn't find to much information on it. They have them for sale at Hawaiian Hardwoods Direct now. It looks like a mix between quilt redwood and flamed koa. It will pair up very well with the inlay I'm going for.

Some pics of the neck before CnC. 










I have some lumber pics but I won't upload them since they weren't oiled and will look much better glued & cut. More pics soon.


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## pondman (Oct 22, 2013)

This looks interesting


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## jfrey (Oct 22, 2013)

sweet! any thoughts about the new syren series?


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## Lorcan Ward (Oct 22, 2013)

pf78 said:


> sweet! any thoughts about the new syren series?



For a slimmed down range they are great value for the price. Top quality hardware & woods with the build quality of a full custom. I would chose one over a well known other slimed down guitar. Although being 100% honest I've never played a Sabre or seen one in person so I can't say what they are like playability wise.


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## StevenC (Oct 23, 2013)

EndurNeck or no EndurNeck?


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## Lorcan Ward (Oct 25, 2013)

StevenC said:


> EndurNeck or no EndurNeck?



No EndurNeck. I'd love and endurneck up to the 12th fret and then a D profile for the rest of the neck but not sure if thats even possible without getting a weird crossover in the middle.

Update! Here is a pic of the Curly Robusta top. Looks like a mix between Mahagony, Curly Redwood and Koa.






It hasn't been oiled yet so the figure and colour will pop a lot more. I'm really excited to see how it turns out since I've never seen it used on a guitar before. Binding next and then on to the neck & fretboard.


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## Lorcan Ward (Nov 13, 2013)

I spent a good while talking to Chris on what I want for the inlays and binding. We(mostly Chris) came up with some really awesome ideas but for playability I went with a more common approach in mind. The mockup looks awesome and I'm really excited to see how it turns out. 

I have a lot of trouble playing guitars without inlays. I always feel like I'm a fraction of a second behind and I have to consciously think where I am where as a guitar with clear inlays on the fretboard I can think ahead of what I'm playing.

Here's a teaser pic of some of the inlay from the mockup:


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## narad (Nov 13, 2013)

Didn't you have a Sabre quilt-top ghost in progress? I was really following that build, but haven't seen any updates in a while.


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## Lorcan Ward (Nov 13, 2013)

narad said:


> Didn't you have a Sabre quilt-top ghost in progress? I was really following that build, but haven't seen any updates in a while.



I do. Chris has just been really busy so I haven't asked him for any pics and that was someone else's build I bought up so it will probably be finished after this.


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## sabreguitars (Nov 16, 2013)

Hey chaps - 

Yeah Lorcan's got two builds on the go at the moment, Both are at pretty much the same stage as I wanted to try and finish them together despite the different start dates and save Lorcan on the Shipping cost to Ireland. 

As it turned out there was an issue with the Robusta top we originally chose and ordered for Lorcan's scratch-build (the quilt top as he mentioned was a take-up from another customer who had to pull out) The top which arrived wasn't the one we'd chosen from the supplier and we had to wait for another suitable top to be cut and sent which lived up to the awesomeness of the original Lorcan had chosen. 

Thankfully the new top arrived safely and we're up and running in style! 

I've also had a bunch of stuff on lately (being forced to move workshops, my apprentice leaving to be a butcher, finding out I'm having a baby) so although work is continuing at the same ridiculous pace I just haven't had time to take many photos of it!


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## Lorcan Ward (Jun 2, 2014)

I got some new update pictures today. I'm absolutely stoked to get this guitar.

The Eucalyptus Robusta was a good choice! In the last few months I've started to see this wood on several wood stores for guitar building so its getting more popular.





The inlay turned out amazing. It pairs up really well with the flamed top.


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## foreright (Jun 2, 2014)

That inlay is awesome - really like the block position markers too!


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## ikarus (Jun 2, 2014)

wow that inlay is amazing!


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## alvaro89 (Jun 3, 2014)

Is it already finished?


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## Lorcan Ward (Jun 3, 2014)

Cheers dudes! When I saw the fiery figure on the Robusta top I wanted to get a Serpent/Dragon inlay to go with it. 

Yes its pretty much finished. The side dots have been done since then. Just needs strings and a setup.


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## Lorcan Ward (Jul 6, 2014)

Some final pics before setup and shipping.










I'm amazed how well this inlay turned out. I can't wait to see it in person. Chris put a LOT of work into this and it really paid off. 





I love all the contrasting colours.





A forearm contour on a flat top guitar is a must for me.


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## FIXXXER (Jul 6, 2014)

KILLER!


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## russmuller (Jul 7, 2014)

That pinstripe in the binding is real classy.


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## immortalx (Jul 7, 2014)

That wood combo is one of the most beautiful I've seen! And that inlay is killer


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## blckrnblckt (Jul 7, 2014)

That top is gorgeous, and the inlay just makes it special. I wonder what it would look like without the pot


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## Lorcan Ward (Jul 14, 2014)

Guitar is shipped and on route 

























blckrnblckt said:


> That top is gorgeous, and the inlay just makes it special. I wonder what it would look like without the pot



No volume pot just looks weird to me.


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## StevenC (Jul 15, 2014)

Lorcan Ward said:


> Guitar is shipped and on route



I need a where and when!


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## Lorcan Ward (Jul 15, 2014)

StevenC said:


> I need a where and when!



I'm not sure, the delivery site doesn't say much when I put in the tracking number.

I think another guitar day at Sam's is in order


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## Pikka Bird (Jul 15, 2014)

Super awesome work from Sabre once again, by the looks of it... I'm tripping out over the angle of the pickups, though. Am I seeing things?


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## VSK Guitars (Jul 15, 2014)

That's a beautiful axe man congrats! That inlay is sweet


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## Lorcan Ward (Jul 15, 2014)

Pikka Bird said:


> Super awesome work from Sabre once again, by the looks of it... I'm tripping out over the angle of the pickups, though. Am I seeing things?



He slightly angles the bridge pickup. The tone change is micro from what I gather but its still there. I'll find out soon enough. A part of it is to ad some signature flavours to his guitars like the cutaway around the hannes bridge. With the amount of custom lutheirs making superstrats you need to add your own little touches to stand out. One of the rarest things is probably the 3 X 3 headstock!!


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## HurrDurr (Jul 15, 2014)

He should definitely wipe down the binding on the fretboard before sending out pics next time. Aside from my ridiculous nitpicking though, that thing is gorgeous! HNGD in advance for when it gets there!


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## Erockomania (Jul 15, 2014)

Pikka Bird said:


> Super awesome work from Sabre once again, by the looks of it... I'm tripping out over the angle of the pickups, though. Am I seeing things?



A touch more attack, apparently. It's perfectly in line with the bridge angle. 

Lorcan... you're not kidding about the tracking... it's about as useless as the USPS site. Sometimes I don't see a change until after the darn package arrives!



HurrDurr said:


> He should definitely wipe down the binding on the fretboard before sending out pics next time.



What are you seeing?


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## HurrDurr (Jul 15, 2014)

I may be seeing things, but it looks like some excess residue left off from glue or something on the binding at the base of the neck. It could be the photos and the fact that it's wood binding playing tricks on my eyes; I've seen this guy's work several times and I know he's not careless like that.


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## Lorcan Ward (Jul 15, 2014)

Erockomania said:


> A touch more attack, apparently. It's perfectly in line with the bridge angle.
> 
> Lorcan... you're not kidding about the tracking... it's about as useless as the USPS site. Sometimes I don't see a change until after the darn package arrives!



"Status - Advised"

What the hell does that mean? 

Hopefully it arrives tomorrow!



HurrDurr said:


> I may be seeing things, but it looks like some excess residue left off from glue or something on the binding at the base of the neck. It could be the photos and the fact that it's wood binding playing tricks on my eyes; I've seen this guy's work several times and I know he's not careless like that.



Might just be the colour of the maple at the end of that strip. The rest of the binding is going to get stained in time from playing it anyway.


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## david_pri (Jul 15, 2014)

wow


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## ceiling_fan (Aug 28, 2014)

Did you ever get this thing? I want to hear it!


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## Kammo1 (Aug 28, 2014)

Beautiful guitar from a very fine UK maker  absolutely love Christians work and also he's a bloody lovely chap  \m/  That sir will knock the bollocks of all the "JIZZ MACHINES" that are sadly flooding the market


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## Lorcan Ward (Aug 28, 2014)

ceiling_fan said:


> Did you ever get this thing? I want to hear it!



It got damaged during shipping so its back in Sabre HQ getting fixed.


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## guitarxtc (Aug 28, 2014)

Wow,inlay is awesome!


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## Pikka Bird (Aug 29, 2014)

Lorcan Ward said:


> He slightly angles the bridge pickup.



Yeah, that _is_ slight. I can't imagine how much that would affect the tone, but I guess it's all about the little things to set yourself apart.


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## Lorcan Ward (Oct 27, 2014)

Ghost finally arrived back. Just need to re-string it after the shipping and cold stay in the warehouse knocked the setup out. Will report back. Guitar looks very nice, crazy figure on the woods and the Dragon inlay looks awesome.


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## downburst82 (Oct 31, 2014)

Is the gap in the neck pocket as big as it looks in this picture? 

Everything else looks seriously amazing!


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## Prophetable (Oct 31, 2014)

I don't see a gap, I just see a line of dark wood from the neck.


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## Ibzzus (Oct 31, 2014)

I need to know, how much did this bad boy cost you?


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## Lorcan Ward (Oct 31, 2014)

downburst82 said:


> Is the gap in the neck pocket as big as it looks in this picture?
> 
> Everything else looks seriously amazing!



Its an illusion. The dark wenge wood makes it look like there is a gap from that angle. The neck joint is tight.



Ibzzus said:


> I need to know, how much did this bad boy cost you?



I ordered in May 2013 so the prices will have changed since then. You'd have to ask Chris.


I've been really busy with work and Halloween so haven't had much time to lay it yet. Is very fast and easy to play. Having some trouble with the 22nd fret, its chocking out. I'll need to bring it to my tech next week since thats out of my experience.


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## downburst82 (Oct 31, 2014)

Lorcan Ward said:


> Its an illusion. The dark wenge wood makes it look like there is a gap from that angle. The neck joint is tight.



ahh ok good good


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## narad (Jan 25, 2016)

Did you ever get this guitar? I was watching your Daemoness video thinking...did Lorcan ever do a Sabre NGD/video?


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## Lorcan Ward (Jan 25, 2016)

narad said:


> Did you ever get this guitar? I was watching your Daemoness video thinking...did Lorcan ever do a Sabre NGD/video?



A long story short the neck cracked behind the truss rod so I shipped it back to be repaired in April. The last I heard directly was at the start of October saying the guitar was being setup and ready to ship out then so hopefully soon. I sent a bunch of emails/messages since then but no answer.


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## narad (Jan 25, 2016)

Dude, that sucks. Ready to ship in October then fastforward five months with nothing...starting to sound ViK-ish


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## MaxOfMetal (Jan 25, 2016)

Watch out for that guy. He had a shill come on here, make a mess, lie, etc. Eventually they were both banned.


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## StevenC (Jan 25, 2016)

narad said:


> Dude, that sucks. Ready to ship in October then fastforward five months with nothing...starting to sound ViK-ish



You've been living in London so long that you're picking up rhyming slang.


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## narad (Feb 22, 2016)

Still nothing? Seriously?


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## Erockomania (Feb 22, 2016)

Sounds familiar


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## Lorcan Ward (Feb 22, 2016)

narad said:


> Still nothing? Seriously?



I got an update last month with pictures, the new neck is done, fretboard re-attached, everything looks great and was just waiting on strings and a setup then. I've sent a few messages but no reply. Hopefully it ships soon. I'm dying to get my hands on it again.


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## narad (Feb 22, 2016)

Lorcan Ward said:


> I got an update last month with pictures, the new neck is done, fretboard re-attached, everything looks great and was just waiting on strings and a setup then. Hopefully it ships soon. I've sent a few messages recently with no answer.



I just realized this thread started in 2013! Not sure how you stay so optimistic, or which smiley is more appropriate  vs.


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## Erockomania (Feb 22, 2016)

Damn, those frets are REALLY leveled.


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## Lorcan Ward (Feb 25, 2016)

narad said:


> I just realized this thread started in 2013! Not sure how you stay so optimistic, or which smiley is more appropriate  vs.



Yeah its been a long time but everything is being sorted and hopefully back in my hands soon.


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## Dust_to_Dust (Feb 25, 2016)

They're currently doing a run on a FB group called EUGG too, I nearly caved in and brought a spot as the Sabre's I played/saw last year were quite nice, but I remembered everything that happened on here so


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## Lorcan Ward (Apr 6, 2016)

I'm getting a lot of messages about this lately. I still don't have it back yet, still waiting on shipping.


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## narad (Apr 7, 2016)

There's been a bunch for sale lately. Some guy is selling like 3 brand new builds so not sure if that's just a front or what, but either way, pretty sure you were in line way before.


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## Heroooh (Apr 12, 2016)

If I understood correctly he is affiliated with Sabre in some manner, I could be totally wrong tho


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## Erockomania (Apr 13, 2016)

Lorcan, your whole situation sounds like Déjà vu, man. While my situation all worked itself out in the end with a refund for me due to myriad issues, the end game was maddening. I haven&#8217;t said much about my build because it was truly upsetting and I felt like I wasted a lot of ideas, time, energy and money on something that never really came to fruition, but I continue to see the same issues a year+ after my build. It&#8217;s truly a shame as Chris always seemed really cool and tried to be as accommodating as he could. I attributed it to him simply being in over his head at the time. In the meantime, more customers came on board only to get frustrated. I&#8217;ve had folks message me privately asking what happened to my build and to get insight into why communication is so spotty&#8230; these issues, which I was told were pretty much only my build, are and were far reaching. I continue to get messages to this day as people recognized my guitar and want to know where it went&#8230; well, I can&#8217;t give any recommendations. I tell them to look elsewhere as things aren&#8217;t seeming to get any better. Really, truly sad. I REALLY wanted my build to work out but it was nowhere close. She would have been awesome.


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## Lorcan Ward (Apr 18, 2016)

I was really sorry to hear yours didn't work out and had the same issues as mine. Its been a year now since I sent my guitar back and months of that have been just waiting for it to ship. I've sent countless emails/messages trying to find out whats going on but its been very low priority to get it back to me.


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