Up-and-coming French rock hero Alice Animal has teamed up with Wild Custom guitars to create her first-ever signature model, the oh-so glittery Custom Shop Impala electric guitar.
Animal, who champions a no-nonsense style of swampy rock ‘n’ roll, joined forces with the boutique guitar brand to create her “dream guitar”, which is described as a tool for her to extend her “personal sonic universe”.
Boasting an eye-popping Orange Flake colorway and a quirky body shape design, Animal’s all-new Custom Shop Impala features a chambered mahogany body with maple top, as well as a maple neck and rosewood fretboard.
Other features include open-gear Schertler tuners, tune-o-matic-style bridge, stoptail bar and a white pickguard sporting a unique geometric design.
By way of tone, the Impala sports a set of Seymour Duncan SH-6 pickups, adjusted via a three-way selector switch and master controls for tone and volume, which seek to deliver the “powerful, warm sound” that Animal demands.
In a short movie directed by Julia Giraudo, which you can check out below, Animal takes her oh-so-sparkly axe for a spin, putting it through its paces with some sweet intricate chordal play and delay-soaked melodic riffing.
The new signature guitar will make its first appearance on Alice Animal's upcoming debut album Tandem, which will be released on May 28.
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Wild Custom guitars, which has previously collaborated with U2’s Adam Clayton, Green Day’s Mike Dirnt, and Richard Fortus and Gilby Clarke of Guns & Roses, recently partnered with Gojira for a one-off “Branches” guitar, which will be auctioned off to support the rights of Indigenous tribes in the Amazon.
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Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
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