Choose Your player
Want to play an Abhorrent but don't know your options?
Here is a walkthrough of the options we offer and our pricing:
Body style
Headstock Style
Wood selection
The myth of tone wood. Arcane knowledge or pseudo science... I will let you make your mind up on that one...
Body woods: Anything is possible here although like most luthiers I have my tried and tested methods. For body wood I keep stocks of UK grown Ash, comparable to USA grown swamp ash without the price tag or air miles, this is my go to wood for neck through wings, charred bolt on guitars or general budget conscious, super versatile and tactile. For lighter weight builds I keep White Limba in stock, perfect for painted guitars, super tight in tone with good midrange snarl. For those who want something more classic with some weight to it I also keep stocks of Sapele, a common mahogany adjacent wood with less dark characteristics, perfect for all occasions. As well as these three wood I also keep Small quantities of Black Limba, more expensive but sonically tight and stunning in grain pattern, I also keep Black Walnut, a darker wood in both tone and appearance, another premium option that you rarely see in mainstream guitar building.
Neck woods:
As a rule of thumb most of my necks are based around the tried and tested multi-laminate Rock Maple format, with a quarter sawn core and using full depth construction with a volute. These multi laminate sections are often paired with black pinstripe veneers but I can offer pretty much any combination conceivable as long as it's likely to be rigid enough. I also keep sections of Wenge, Sapele, Bloodwood, Purpleheart, Black Walnut, Flamed Sycamore and Black Limba in stock. Wenge and Maple for neck-through's is a personal favourite. I also keep stocks of Flamed Carpathian Maple, pale and super lightweight but these requite scarf joints if quarter sawn construction is desired.
Fretboards:
I keep a quantity stock of Indian and Gabon Ebony as well as Black Richlite but can also offer, Maple, Flame Maple, Pale Moon Ebony, Rosewood and Bog Oak. Among my stock I also have supplies of less common woods such as Pau Ferro, Cherry, Yew and Laburnum.
Top Woods:
My top wood supplies are constantly changing but generally I have a stock of flame and quilt Maple in sizes big enough to accommodate all of my shapes. Here is a gallery of some tops from recent stock takes, Note, not all of these will nessecarily be available but give you an idea of what I tend to use.
Hardware and customisation options
The abhorrent standard, Ranges and pricing
I have preferences for hardware but If It's quality and I can source it in the UK then we can make it happen.
Machine heads: As standard my builds come with Gotoh 381 series or Hipshot Grip-lok tuners (but will also use Sperzel and Schaller from time to time), These are tried and tested options and present great value for money. On guitars with Locking Nuts I tend to use non locking tuners as they are less essential and save on weight, I also tend to steer clear of Grover type tuners as they weigh so much and encourage neck dive.
Bridges: Hipshot are my go to brand for hard tail bridges, I'm a big fan of their high mass ibby versions, Ive also had good results with Gotoh and Grainger variants. For tune-o-matics I will almost invariably recommend the Hipshot tone-a-matic, in my experience this is by far the best TOM bridge on the market. For tremolos I tend only to fit double locking types but will fit more traditional versions on request. My default tremolo is the Gotoh GT1996 as I believe this to be the most comfortable and competitively priced trem' available, I also regularly use the Schaller Lockmeister and will use OR Floyd Rose, for 8 strings I use Floyd Rose. With locking nuts I tend to use them in unison with a Zero Fret as I believe this gives the optimum playability that the Fixed locking nut sometimes hampers.
Pickups: the most personal part of the guitars and one where I'm happy to offer a broad variety of options. My go to brand for years has been Bare Knuckle as they offer the broadest rage of options. I am also a huge fan of other UK based boutique pickups From Legendary, Oil City and Instrumental Pickups from the USA. I have also fitted many guitars with Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, EMG, Lace and Fishman pickups with great results.
Build Standards: Abhorrent prides its self with offering nothing but the best quality hardware while keeping the budget as low as possible. As a basic, all guitars come with bound fingerboards, luminlay side dots, 2-way slimline truss rods, Jescar 55090/57110 stainless steel fret wire and carbon fibre neck support rods.
Inlay: As a default Abhorrent guitars come with no fret markers but that is by no means the only option, I keep many standard materials such and MOP and Abalone in stock as well as brass, aluminium and various resin options. if you have an idea for a completely custom set of markers or and epic 12th fret area inlay we can make it work.
Body finishes: My standard finish is Matte 2k lacquer in tandem with natural wood and oil based dyes for the most vibrant finishes or fire and epoxy for the most gnarly, I also can offer in house a traditional danish oil finish for a skin like closeness and Nitro-celulose paint/clear for more vintage themed finishes. For painted options or highly durable 2k gloss finishes I use a local paint custom shop who offer top quality service at affordable prices.
All other custom Options: If you have a mad idea I want to hear it, Abhorrent is known for not following the well trodden path and every available turn, laser etching, custom art work, corroded metal, aged hardware and whatever you can cook up, if I think we can make it look awesome then it's a possibility.
The Abhorrent standard: All builds come with Luminlay side dots, carbon fibre neck rods, bound necks and Stainless Steel frets and are faithfully and passionately built by one person in the UK
Full custom builds: These typically start at approximate £2500 inc hardcase (excluding shipping).
Workhorse range: Until recently, all guitars built at Abhorrent have been one-off customs, either created from my imagination of from the desired specifications of my clients. As of 2025 I will be offering the Workhorse range; This is due to feature the Leviathan, Vengeance, Scythe and Sol models.
All come as bolt-ons with 3pc maple necks, English Ash bodies ( raw/stained with 2k matte finish) and Richlite fretboards. These will feature a choice of 25.5" or 27" fretboards, Bare Knuckle Bootcamp pickups and either Hipshot hardtail bridges or Gotoh GT1996 tremolos, all one volume, black hardware
This is currently a work in progress but get in touch to register your interest. Prices will be in and around the £2000 mark so as to offer premium hardware coupled with UK handbuilt quality at prices comparable to higher end guitars made in bulk over seas.