Hayward Custom Guitars

08/09/2023

12/05/2020

This one was recently built on order for Grant Clack. It wasn't intended as a faithful vintage repro, A mild relic was applied to the finish and hardware. The pickups were made up to vintage spec - both low output & really sweet. The tort guard was also cast in the shop. Neck and body are both 1 piece Honduras mahogany.

25/09/2019

We've just cast a few pickguard blanks for custom work on client instruments. Here are some that came out particularly well

16/05/2019

A Les Paul was brought in last week. Playability/setup was a problem and the player wasn't getting the sound he wanted. The bridge pickup in particular was too harsh for what he wanted. A basic setup was done and I changed the bridge bar Alnico for a different grade. This was one of those jobs where we could hear right away that we'd nailed it. Ethan Adams is the happy customer.

12/05/2019

This is a cross section of some of the things we have been busy with over the past month.

18/01/2019

This is our new model - "Pallas". We have been working on it for a while now & the first one - pictured here - is finished.
The construction follows the method of the ES-335 & similar. The front & back are 3 ply laminated maple, as are the sides. The centre block is lightweight mahogany with korina fillers. The neck is old growth (100y/o) Honduras mahogany with cocobolo rosewood fingerboard. Neck & body are bound with celluloid tort & maple. This one does some of strat positions - but with P90s. It weighed in at 2kg without hardware.
Fitted with Gotoh ABR-1 & locking tuners.
Acoustically, it is a little louder, brighter & snappier than a 335. The string through construction enhances the acoustics of the body.
Three others are currently receiving finishing touches. two are still available - one with PAF replica pickups & the other 2 X P90.

18/01/2019

This one is up for sale. This is a T-Style set neck - Honduras mahogany neck & body, ebony fingerboard. The mahogany on the body has a spectacular grain. It has an aformosia cap. The bridge is a pickup is a vintage replica - with Alnico 5 poles - bright and snappy. It balances well against the P90 neck(A4/A4 magnets).
Tuners are Gotoh vintage style locking tuners. CTS pots, orange drop cap, Oak-Grigsby 3-way. R20k

20/12/2018

George from Shakatak dropped in to have some setup work done on his Jaydee bass. He was in Cape Town performing with some local musicians. What a fantastic guy. Pleased to have met him.