A 1:00AM conversation with Starcrawler guitarist, Henri Cash, on New Year’s day led to the creation and eventual completion of the A-Frame exactly three months later. Its design is inspired by the 1950’s era Gretsch Round Up models combined with the angular designs that Bo Diddley (one of Henri’s biggest guitar heroes) was widely known for. With that said however, the “A” design vision came from a fellow vintage Gretsch enthusiast friend of Henri’s, Saraso Ju, that made a concept version of the guitar. Henri asked if I could replicate that concept and modify it to include an onboard Dallas Treble booster from R2R Electronics, custom logo design elements, and make it a super reliable, lightweight instrument that could survive the abuse of touring.

To keep the hollow pine body strong and stable, I put two carbon fiber rods into the spine of the body. Heat treated pine was used for all the internal bracing. The perimeter of the body is maple for added durability. All hard points where fasteners are used are reinforced with oak to limit the possibility of striping damage out on the road.

Although Henri’s guitar is outfitted with a TV Jones Power’Tron Plus, a genuine Melita bridge, modified American-made Bigsby vibrato, bolt-on neck, and an onboard R2R Treble Booster, you can get your A-Frame however you like it!