Multiscale (Fanned Fret) Guitar with EverTune

We built this beast of a guitar for Kevin Sherwood, zombie-song writer extraordinaire.

Kevin bought his first Halo back in the earlier days (for us, circa 2004-2007) of making 8-string guitars. At the time, I don't think any of us at Halo knew about the work he'd be doing at Treyarch for the Call of Duty franchise.

Fast forward several years, and that white Halo Octavia 8-string guitar would be the guitar that countless people heard while immersed in the intense gameplay of the Call of Duty video game (25 million views on YouTube alone as of May 2023):

But, the focus for today is his latest build - a multiscale, fully scalloped, Evertune-equipped, gnarly burl-topped 7-string chambered-body guitar:

Here's a summary of the most important features Kevin wanted on the guitar:

• 7-string
• custom body shape
• chambered body
• custom headstock logo
• multiscale (fanned frets)
• EverTune bridge
• Fishman Fluence pickups
• fully scalloped fretboard
• custom inlays*
• one knob only
• output jack location
• Hipshot open gear tuners
• zero fret
• burl top and back
• satin finish on back of neck
• hip strap
• flush mounted magnetic cavity cover plates

Below are some behind-the-scenes shots and comments on the build as it came together...

Like many concepts, it all started with a simple sketch. The custom body shape was Kevin's idea and he based it off the Halo BH body style, but added deeper cutaways and a massive cutout (we share why he did that later in this article) on the body. 

And it had to have this custom logo added to the headstock:

Making the body:

Roasted maple neck:

And the flamed maple multiscale fretboard:

Reference image for how the jack had to be installed:

Some pics during final assembly:

These metal pickup rings are awesome. Slick design and excellent quality (Anomaly Guitar Hardware; made in the UK).

If you look closely, you can see the embedded magnets on the recessed shelf part of the control and battery cavities. The cavity covers themselves have magnets that line up with the other magnets, which makes for quicker access to the cavities.

Charging the lithium ion battery...

Hipshot open gear tuners

Stained roasted maple neck

Custom headstock logo

Closeup of that nasty burl

And note the inlays that are not actual inlays; we stained the fret intervals with transparent crimson (where inlays normally go), and stained the rest of the board transparent black.

So, what's up with the massive cutout in the body? 

Answer: "... so I can stick my arm through it and use my mouse while recording and have both hands-free so my guitar doesn’t slip around and I don’t have to put it back on the stand."

Reference: Instagram post  :-D

Thanks for reading!

If you have a custom build in mind, we'd love to go to work for you.

Give us a call at 408-873-8606 or email us sales@haloguitars.com