The Space Cadet Limited Custom Guitar

Guitar Tricks Insider review:
The Space Cadet will thrive in any musical situation, but with that groovy shape and expert finish, it's a superior stage guitar that will glean plenty of attention. Better still, with a body weight around 7lbs 10oz., it's not too heavy and you can rock all night without shoulder strain. Looks aside, the Space Cadet is a blast to play, with its nice setup and lively humbucker tones. No question, this retro-styled axe is a rock 'n' roll animal.

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It's a plank that begs for live work, but works just as well at home, in rehearsal, or for making recordings. It has a mahogany body with a bound and squared-off edge, something like a Les Paul. Conversely, the bolt-on maple neck has a 25.5-inch-scale. Its
22-fret rosewood fingerboard features a 12-inch radius and block pearled inlays on a bound fingerboard. Another interesting touch is that, instead of exposed wood, the neck is finished in a nice cream color.

Plugged in, the Space Cadet is a serious rock 'n' roll machine that covers a lot of ground. With a tube amp set to its clean channel, the guitar had more of a single-coil vibe than you might expect, thanks to that bolt-on maple neck. There's a nice amount of quack that can cover various F*nder or P-90 tones onstage, especially if you deploy some hybrid picking (thumbpick and fingers combined) and country-style string popping.

Increase the gain and you'll hear more G**son, Gr**sch, and R***enbacker textures emerge from the combination of mahogany body and humbucking pickups, fine for Chicago blues, roots-rock, and British Invasion jangle.

Push the crunch even further and you might be surprised how ferocious this supposedly "retro" axe sounds with heavy gain. From Led Zep and Black Sabbath to Van Halen and Guns N' Roses, the Space Cadet can roar with the best of 'em. 

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Shipping: $99 U.S. $299 international