Warrior Guitars / Aphrodite / Guitar For Sale
The Warrior "Aphrodite" guitar is one of the four guitars of the "The Olympian Collection" that was made by Warrior guitars.
Apart from being extremely resonant with a superb tone and playability, aesthetically, it was designed and decorated like an authentic piece of art.
It was made of the rarest and most valuable tonewoods in the world. In addition, the assembly with its unique features and the natural oil finishing represent the "cream of the cream" of today's luthiery standards.
Please see the picture and read the specifications for more details below. I have included two videos. The first one, after the long introduction and at the last part ( starts at 6.'25" until the end), has an interview from Premier guitar associated with these guitars at NAMM 2011. The second one shows the Warrior factory and the particular guitars.
Upon request, we can present you the whole Pdf file with the making of the guitar, the materials used, the certificates of authenticity, and its presentation in various NAMM and other International exhibitions during the last few years.
The shipping is free by DHL Express service. The guitar will be insured at the full selling price or according to the buyer's request.
Only four guitars have been made: "Zeus," "Poseidon," "Aphrodite," and "Artemis." These are some of the most valuable guitars/art pieces ever made worldwide.
Each one has its vital I.D. – related to the sound, the shape, and the artwork- associated with the particular God/Goddess.
The project started in Spring 2008 and finished at the end of 2015.
The process was very laborious and accurate since, apart from the hardware, the rest was 100% handmade.
"THE OLYMPIANS COLLECTION" JDRAN / TAKIS Design
APHRODITE
This collection is made to honor each ancient Greek Olympian God with a unique guitar. They invented this musical instrument, and they offered it to humanity. According to mythology, Apollo was the inventor of the guitar.
The original Greek name was Kithara, from which the Latin cithara was derived, and then in turn, all the modern names, guitar, guitare, gitarre, guitarra, qitara.
In the time of Homer ( 9th century B.C.), the Forminx was one of the oldest of the Ancient Greek stringed musical instruments, intermediate between the Lyre ( Lyra ) and the guitar.
(Kithara). In the 6th century B.C., it was replaced by the lyre family of stringed instruments, where the guitar was classified as the most professional member of that family.
The Warrior Aphrodite guitar is dedicated to the Goddess and reflects her personality and character. Aphrodite was the Goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality. The carved statue – a replica of the famous original - and her symbols were crafted uniquely to couple with the elegant Isabella guitar design. The result is a fine work of art.
The sound of the Aphrodite guitar represents the Goddess herself. It has a graceful, romantic tone that so touches sensitive that at one moment, it makes you weep, and the next, you feel a love affair. Clarity, sustain, accurate definition of every note, warmth, and sweetness are just a few words to describe the grandeur of this instrument.
We used some of the finest and rarest components available in the world to achieve this.
Every piece of wood is air-dried for many years!
The body
The back is made of 300-year-old Honduras mahogany. The thick carved top is made from selected aged Camphora burl. The distinctive reddish grain pattern enhances and projects the image of the statue.
The neck
The neck is made of the same precious Mahogany with a Pernambuco tone bar. Pernambuco is the most expensive and rare wood in the world. This priceless wood possesses the highest velocity of sound. Its stiffness, durability, and unique internal memory of its fibers make it the absolute Holy Grail of tonewoods.
Only the very expensive violin bows of those of the golden era ( Stradivarius, Amati... etc) were made from this wood.
The fingerboard
It was made of selected Pink Ivory. This wood is in the same class as Brazilian rosewood. Extraordinarily precious and rare. It has a superb silky feel, and it is very sonorous. Purfling of the ancient Greek Meandros design.
Finish
Unique multi-coat Warrior anointed oil finish for natural feel and resonance.
The 24 Gold frets, the Warrior Angels pickups with the wooden inlaid covers, the G System stringing, and the fantastic inlay/carving work put the final touch.
Hardcase
Luxury Croco style Warrior Hardcase, including a Warrior genuine padded leather strap, a Warrior T-shirt, and Certificate of Authenticity.
HISTORY AND MAKING OF "THE OLYMPIANS COLLECTION"
Initially, it was JDran's idea for this project as a joint venture. The concept was to make some of the finest guitars and, at the same time art pieces as a tribute to the ancient Greek Gods.
Apart from being extremely resonant with a superb tone and playability aesthetically, these guitars were designed and decorated as authentic art pieces.
Each one has its strong I.D. – related to the sound, the shape, and the artwork- associated with the particular God/Goddess.
Only four guitars have been made: "Zeus," "Poseidon," "Aphrodite" and "Artemis". These are some of the most valuable Guitars/art pieces ever made worldwide.
The project started in Spring 2008 and finished at the end of 2015. The process was very laborious and accurate since, apart from the hardware, all the rest was 100% handmade.
The making of "The Olympians collection."
We started with the essential material, which is wood. For the body and neck, we chose ancient ( 300 years! ), naturally, air-dried for many years, and hence super-rich Mahogany Honduras ( Swietenia Macrophylla ).
It has signed Family Vault Honduras Mahogany. It is one of the most prized mahogany boards in the world that is impossible to find nowadays.
The board is thirty (30") inches wide ( Picture in the Pdf file ). The tree was approximately fifty-four (54") to eighty (80") inches in diameter. This kind of gigantic tree has been extinct for over 100 years, thus making this board really priceless. Even at the time they existed, only 1 tree in 1000 trees had the width to produce a board of this size.
The tone of this wood will have a sustain that will stand in an arena of its own. The warmth and punchiness are second to none.
Explanation of age of this particular board:
We have done samplings which are marked by the pins ( Picture in the Pdf file ). The number is how many growths rings between each pin. Each year of age corresponds to one growth ring. We counted nine growth rings per inch as the lowest number, and the highest number is eleven growth rings per inch, nine years per inch lowest and eleven years per inch highest.
So, conservatively calculating, the formula would be: 30 inches x 10 (average) growth rings per inch = 300 years of age.
For Mahogany wood to be sonorous, the tree must be over 50 years old. Then, its fibers are long enough to resonate. Imagine the difference that a 300-year-old tree can make!!!
All four guitars are made with 1 piece body and very long tenors.
Camphor Burl top
For the thick carved top of the "Aphrodite" guitar body, we chose a rare old piece of Camphor burl from the JDran's family vault.
Neck Wood
Next, we chose the neck wood, which was the same Mahogany with a tone bar from Pernambuco wood. The tone bar extends from the top of the headstock to the end of the neck and has the size of a violin bow. Its contribution to the sound of the neck is immense. The sound is more pronounced and articulate with superb mids, singing highs, and tight lows.
Pernambuco is the Holy Grail of tonewoods and mega rare. It is the wood that the famous violin makers use for their valuable violin bows.
It possesses the highest velocity of sound ( 5,200 m/s – 6,400 m/s) among all the woods and its fibers have internal memory for perfect stability.
( Note: the velocity of sound is the speed of propagation of the sound waves through a medium. The internal memory means a specific property that when the wood changes its shape it has the ability to return to its original one by itself, thus staying forever stable.)
We chose in purpose the most desirable type of Pernambuco, which is the so-called expert "Peccati". It is lighter in weight with a slightly deeper orange color and is more resonant ( Picture in the Pdf file ).
Blank of the Pernambuco "Peccati "that was imported from Brazil.( Picture in the Pdf file)
Unfinished necks of all four guitars with their matching headstocks ( Picture in the Pdf file)
Unfinished neck showing in the middle of the Pernambuco tone bar. ( Picture in the Pdf file)
Finally, we chose the wood for the "Aphrodite" guitar fingerboard to be the rare and valuable Pink Ivory.
Close-Up picture of the central inlay, the meandros purfling along both sides of the whole fingerboard, and the "Gold" frets. ( Picture in the Pdf file)
The meandros purfling as well as all the inlays are handmade by multicolor Mother of Pearl.
Especially, the meandros design was a very tedious job, due to its precise cut and its length and complexity.
The "Gold" frets are certainly one of the most revolutionary and very expensive products in the music industry. These gold-tone frets are made from 24Kt Gold, Titanium, and some other alloys. They are extremely durable and much harder than the traditional Nickel Silver or Stainless steel frets. The luthier that will fret a guitar with these frets must have special skills, especially if the wood is dense like Ebony, Pernambuco, or Pink Ivory.
Their feel is amazing and exceptionally smooth. They look brighter and glossier than the Stainless Steel and the Nickel Silver frets.
Soundwise, they sound like the Nickel Silver frets, but with more clarity and not as bright as the Stainless Steel frets.
These are the perfect frets combining the looks, the durability, and the sound.
Originally, we decided to choose the main figure of the carving to be our free interpretation of the famous Aphrodite marble statue. Then, her name in ancient Greek letters and her symbols for the inlays were designed accordingly.
The multi-coat oil finish is a unique oil finish that Warrior guitars company is specialized in and is known for.
This finish gives the surface a superb look and silky feel second to none!
This is the ultimate finish for protection with luxury, but at the same time, the natural look and above all the wood breaths and resonates extremely well.
Copenhagen Fine Guitars, Denmark
Showroom located in Copenhagen / Denmark. Please contact us for an appointment at our showroom. Or shop online directly on our V&R store.
We work with luthiers, amp, and pedal builders from all over the world. We are the first guitar store in Copenhagen and Denmark to focus exclusively on handmade guitars & gear as well as a smaller section of selected high-end vintage.
Please do not hesitate to contact us.
The current list of brands we exclusively represent in Denmark: Shin-ei, Fredholm Guitars, Tonfuchs Guitars, Dreamer Guitarworks, Henman Guitars, Dag Pedals, Rozawood
Also dealers for: DryBell