Talking ’bears

Nearly 40 years on from the Custom Shop’s inception, its creations are more ambitious than ever. Find out how the team walks the tightrope between ‘canon’ and ‘cannot’, and where its guitars are heading next

If guitars are actually getting better by the day, us modders will have nothing to improve. Is it the end of the line, wonders Dave Burrluck, when he gets a new guitar on the bench

Your letters to the Guitarist editor. Drop us a line at guitarist@futurenet.com

Used by big names such as Richard Fortus and Audley Freed, and made here in the UK, Ivison guitars recall the lost art of the ‘golden era’ but in very original dress

ThorpyFX’s latest stacks up the germanium transistors for full-fat vintage tone in a functional modern setting

All three Specials have very similar circuits