10th November 2011
Newton NX Thinline Electric Guitar
The Newton NX Thinline is a versatile new instrument that adds a semi-acoustic note to the NX series of electric guitars. Its swamp ash body is completely hollow, apart from a block supporting the bridge, and is fronted by a flamed maple top with a teardrop 'f' hole. The one-piece neck, also of flamed maple, is set into the body at a 2° rake, and has an ebony fretboard featuring large block mother of pearl inlays and an angled headstock in the standard NX 4/2 pattern. The maple top and the fretboard are bound with a simple white binding, which was also used for the inside contour of the sound hole. The entire guitar was stained black and finished in clear high-gloss cellulose lacquer.
The successful and well-tested combination of a one-piece Schaller bridge and Kluson locking machine heads, as found on most NX Custom models, was again used, in chrome, for the Newton NX Thinline. A matched pair of 'A3 Classic' humbucker pickups, handwound by Harry Häussel, are controlled by a 3-way toggle switch and a general volume and tone control. Although the layout appears minimal, the controls also allow for individual push/pull switching of the humbuckers between parallel and serial signals.
The NX Thinline is light, weighing in at under three kilos, and feels very natural and comfortable to play, whether sitting or standing. In parallel mode the humbuckers deliver a clear, airy, acoustic tone, that sounds as though it comes from a far larger semi-acoustic body, while the serial setting delivers more warmth and presence without losing clarity or definition. It is equally at home with crystal clear finger picking, crunchy power chords, and punchy lead lines. All in all a comfortable all-rounder that is a pleasure to play.
3rd October 2011
Introducing the Newton NX Custom Deluxe III Electric Guitar
This Newton NX Custom has a sleek, new 'deluxe' body shape, which combines the standard NX balance and ergonomics with a slightly racier angle. The body, made of swamp ash, was sculpted front and back for player comfort and the lower cutaway was specially shaped for unparalleled access to the highest frets. The neck, set into the body at a 2° angle, was carved from a single piece of flamed maple, with a lightly angled headstock and a fretboard of figured rosewood with inset block mother of pearl. The entire guitar was treated to a vintage amber stain and multiple coats of clear cellulose lacquer.
The strings run from a Schaller one-piece bridge over 22 frets, the zero-fret, and graphite saddle, to the Kluson locking machine heads. The strap is secured with Schaller security locks, and all of the hardware is in chrome. A set of three matched 'true spaced Blues' single coil pickups, handwound by Harry Häussel, are controlled by a 5-way selector switch and a single volume and tone control.
This Newton NX Custom Deluxe III was built in close cooperation with its new owner and player, who chose the various woods, and other materials, from my reserve stocks, and who got involved in a lot of the step-by-step decision making as the instrument took shape. The result is a very comfortable electric guitar that hugs the body and is extremely easy to play, with a rich, clear tone, swift response, and powerful, even sustain.
7th August 2011
New Newton Super-G Electric Guitar
Although the Super-G was originally conceived as a single guitar for a single customer, its presentation on the web made it a runaway success, generating a number of requests and orders.
The Super-G guitar presented here became 'famous' before it was ever finished, because its progress was casually blogged on facebook during the 16 weeks of its production. Visitors to the Newton guitars workshop began to take an interest in it too, returning to see and hear it once it was ready to play. they report that the sound and quality of the finished instrument exceeded all expectations.
The looks of this instrument were kept deliberately simple with cream bindings, nickel hardware, and a fretboard featuring mother of pearl dot inlays along its 24 fret length. Neck and body were each made from single blocks of attractively grained mahogany, and the fretboard and headstock veneer were crafted from the same piece of ebony. The entire guitar was finished in multiple coats of clear nitro-cellulose lacquer.
The electrics comprise two vintage humbuckers, handwound by Harry Häussel, each with a volume and tone control and selected by a three-way toggle switch. The push/pull functionality in the volume controls allows for individual switching between series and parallel pickup signals.
This Super-G is quite light (around 3.3 kilos) and, with a low string action and good balance whether sitting or standing, it is also very comfortable to play. The sound is unmistakebly mahogany, but clear but powerful, easily pushing an amp to the limits of its clean headroom, and producing a creamy, but well-defined distortion beyond that. The sustain is long and well distributed across the entire fretboard. The guitar seems to be equally at home with the roles of both lead or rhythm.
This guitar is now with its happy owner, who has already used it for recording purposes. I can't wait to see it on stage!
2nd June 2011
New Newton 'Cedro' Spirit electric Guitar
This new Newton Spirit slim twin electric guitar is unusual in a number of ways. Firstly, it is green (in case you hadn't noticed), and secondly, it was constructed entirely from Spanish Cedar, a lovely open-grained wood more normally used for the necks of classical guitars. Thirdly, a powerful piezo bridge adds a whole new dimension to the sounds this instrument can create; and finally, it is the first Newton Spirit electric guitar to officially carry the new Newton Guitars Lizard logo.
Spanish Cedar was chosen for its clear, open tone. It looks and feels similar to mahogany, but gives off a distinctive, pleasant smell when being worked. Both the neck and body were made from single pieces of this wood, which was then stained a fetching 'Reptile Green'. The fretboard, sporting a mother of pearl lizard at the 12th fret, and the headstock veneer were both made from the same piece of ebony. The arched top of this Spirit guitar was treated with a transparent filler, while the open grain was allowed to show through the 16 coats of clear nitro-cellulose lacquer on the rest of the instrument. The archtop, fretboard, and headstock were finished with a three-ply cream binding, and nickel hardware was chosen for its soft, warm glow.
A pair of Harry Häussel's new asymetrically wound 'classic' A3 Humbuckers were chosen for this guitar and provide a wonderfully clear and characteristic signal in which each individual string can always be distinguished. The usual Newton Spirit wiring allows switching between serial and parallel signals, and provides individual volume and tone for each pickup. The sound must be described as lively and open, clear and pleasant across the entire spectrum. The signal is transparent, but there is a subversive bite to the attack that promises to add dimensions to any distortion.
The extra controls set into the side of this guitar are for the bridge, from Schaller Electronics, which has a piezo transducer under each of the six string riders. This produces a strong, unforgiving signal, which can be adjusted with its own tone control and blended with the humbuckers, sent as a separate stereo channel (if you happen to be using a stereo cable), or simply switched off. Especially for rhythm work, the addition of this signal is an unexpected enhancement.
Like all Newton Spirit slim twin electric guitars, the Cedro Spirit is light, comfortable, and easy to play, and its piezo capability adds only a few grams to its weight.
15th March 2011
New Newton NX Custom III electric Guitar
This new Newton NX Custom III electric guitar combines the smooth body sculpting and neck rake of the original NX Custom design with single coil pickups and a new angled headstock. The one-piece neck is made of flamed maple and uses the new NX angled headstock and thumbstop. The bound ebony fretboard is inlaid with blocks of deep white mother of pearl.
A particularly clear signal was required of this instrument, and so a set of Harry Häussel's ST Classic True Space pickups were fitted, in individual chrome pickup rings, directly into the swamp ash body. An absolute minimum of high-quality electrical components have been used to control the tone, volume, and pickup selection. The sound is crisp and clear, and the sustain hauntingly long and even. There is a lot of room for the player to shape the tone in any direction.
The entire guitar has been finished in transparent red, so that the grain of neck and body are clearly visible. Altogether 18 coats of nitro-cellulose lacquer were used to create this finish. A solid one-piece Schaller bridge and Kluson locking machine heads complete the package.
28th December 2010
My interpretation of a well-known design: introducing the Newton Super-G electric Guitar!
Initially I wasn't too excited about building this guitar, but things changed when I realised that some subtle Newton modifications were to be allowed ...
Firstly I made the Honduras mahogany body a few millimeters thicker than the original, and built a typical Newton composite neck, consisting of two thick mahogany strips separated by a central maple and ebony sandwich, that extends right into the neck pickup recess. A two-way trussrod was installed under an ebony fretboard with 24 frets and mother of pearl block inlays.
I was able to craft a free flowing neck transition to allow easy access to all 24 frets, and I moved the jack socket to the side, and the neck strap pin to the rear of the upper horn.
The powerful humbucker pickups were hand-wound by Harry Häussel, and the standard Newton wiring has push/pull volume controls to switch them between serial and parallel signals.
The entire instrument was finished in gloss black nitro-cellulose lacquer with chrome hardware. This guitar is a dream to play, with classic neck proportions and a low action. The balance is good whether standing or sitting, and the sound is simply awesome!
14th December 2010
A new pair of black and white Newton NX Custom Guitars
This new matching pair of black and white NX Customs was actually finished way back in October 2010, and the white instrument has long since joined Fettes Brot guitarist Sven Waje for the final leg of their German tour.
These guitars have a new, more ergonomic, body shaping, and a very streamlined neck join. The necks are made of one-piece maple and are set at a light, comfortable angle. The ebony fretboards have Mother of Pearl dot inlays on the face and side, and 22 medium-jumbo frets, plus a zero-fret and a graphite nut. The bodies are made of a light swamp ash that provides a full-bodied tone with a strong, clear definition.
The electrics comprise of Harry Häussel's humbuckers with individual volume and tone controls and a three-way selector. Each volume control also has a push-pull function to switch its pickup signal between parallel and series. The electrical cavity and pickup recesses are heavily shielded and earthed to, hopefully, withstand all interference.
Both instruments are finished in multiple coats of nitro-cellulose lacquer, the white guitar in the Fettes Brot stage livery, and the black guitar in a transparent smoke finish that allows the swamp ash body to show its deep and attractive grain.
3rd October 2010
Andrew Newton Guitars in the News
Andrew Newton Guitars has recently appeared twice in the news in Northern Germany:
- on 1st October in a 10-minute documentary on North German television (NDR).
- and on 13th August in the regional newspaper 'Kieler Nachrichten':
Click here to read the article (opens in a new window).
9th September 2010
Ruby Red Maple-Topped Newton Spirit electric guitar
This beautiful new Spirit electric has an arched top carved from a single piece of figured maple. Another single piece of light Khaya mahogany was used for the base of the body. The composite neck was also made from three matching strips of Khaya mahogany. The bound ebony fretboard has a 12" radius, 22 medium frets (plus a zero fret), and mother of pearl block inlay. The headstock veneer was crafted from the same piece of wood used to make the archtop.
The entire guitar has been finished in a transparent ruby red with white binding and chrome hardware. The locking bridge and tailpiece are from TonePros, the machine heads from Schaller, and the powerful humbuckers were handwound by Harry Häussel. Alpha push-pull pots and orange drops dominate the electrics, and allow the pickups to be individually switched between series and parallel signal output.
At 3.6 kilos this maple-topped instrument is only a few hundred grams heavier than an all-mahogany Spirit Slim Twin. That and the comfortable round neck profile, combined with a very low string action, make it a very easy instrument to play. And the sound is definitely that of a masterful lead guitar. Whether on 'clean' or 'high gain' settings, the thick maple top adds its clear, singing, bell-like guality to the more mid-range growl of the mahogany, and the natural sustain allows the tone to soar and float above the crowd.
1st August 2010
Newton NX Custom guitar for Sven Waje, guitarist for Fettes Brot
Recently I finished this all-white Newton NX Custom for Sven Waje, a professional musician based in Hamburg. Sven is a music producer, songwriter, and a sought-after guitarist who is involved in many live and studio projects, most prominently with Fettes Brot, with whom he is currently on tour playing this guitar.
Sven's NX Custom has a body of swamp ash, contoured for maximum comfort, and a set maple neck, both finished in a high-gloss white. The fretboard is of ebony with mother of pearl dot inlays, and all hardware, from the Schaller one-piece bridge to the locking tuners, is black.
The heavily shielded electronics have been kept simple for the stage, but include two switchable (parallel/series) humbuckers, hand-wound by Harry Häussel.
This instrument boasts a healthy attack and sustain, offers reserves of both bass and treble, and produces a clear, powerful sound with character that can still be entirely shaped and controlled by its player.
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