Pink & Gold Or, The Internet Spec'd a Super Strat
The Julien Rosenthal OZ JRM Signature Guitar by Vola Guitar
SHELL PINK!!!
OMG!!!
Click the thumbnail to watch the full demo!
Look, I'm not going to lie to you: I've wanted a Pink guitar for a LOOOOOOOONG time. But my pink tastes have always fallen towards the neon side of the color palette. I suppose it's my fandom of 1980's Shred Metal wizards RACER X and the incomparable PAUL GILBERT that fed that obsession...
But a few years ago, there was a new pink in town. And this color caught on FAST! You couldn't turn your head without seeing ANOTHER post on a message board, Facebook Group, or Instagram profile of it. The color was Shell Pink; a slightly more pastel variation that caused a new wave of guitarists to embrace the more colorful side of life. And I liked it too...
But then EVERYONE started making Shell Pink guitars. First it was the boutique builders, then the larger, niche brands and finally Fender started making shell pink guitars. Honestly, it got out of hand.
I fully understand following trends to attract new and returning customers...I'm not dumb. But when something seems to catch on so quickly it's easy to write off some of the offerings as cash grabs. You could forgive me for saying things like: "Yeah it's shell pink but how does it sound? Is the neck comfortable? IS THIS GUITAR MORE THAN JUST A COLOR?!?".
That's where Vola comes in...
If you haven't heard of Vola Guitars you're missing out. And if you haven't gotten a chance to play one you're REALLY missing out! To me, Vola is a company capable of taking the best parts of old school guitars and combining them with great forward-thinking ideas to create a guitar that is as futuristic as it is timeless. Nothing about their guitars is too far-out to be called "strange" nor too traditional to be called "lame".
This past November, I got a call from the guys at Vola's USA office with a proposition: to make some videos for the Vola YouTube Channel. I jumped at the chance to work with them because I already knew the guitars to be great but I was surprised to find out my first "project" would involve a shell pink guitar. And not just a shell pink guitar; a shell pink guitar spec'd out by one of their signature artists. That guy's name a Julien Rosenthal. Allow me to introduce him...
Julien Rosenthal - French Guitarist par excellence!
Based in Nancy, France Julien is a guitarist (duh), educator, and YouTuber. Although he excels in the neo-soul genre that has become quite popular amongst guitarists he is also a member of the French metal band Atlantis Chronicles. The dude has RANGE. And that means it can be hard to rely on ONE instrument for all your tonal needs. Trust me, I've been there...it's hard. But it seems the cats at Vola were quite ready to take up the challenge of making Julien a guitar he could 1) use for anything and 2) be proud of.
The OZ is Vola's take on the Strat-style guitar. It's a shape that many players will easily bond with. There's no sharp edges and the body contours make for a cool, new silhouette of the classic body shape. The great thing about a guitar like this is that it provides a great "blank slate" for an artist to create their dream instrument. So what did Julien & Vola give us?
Let's first get the obvious out of the way: yes, the guitar is finished in a Glossy Shell Pink. It looks beautiful...yadda yadda yadda...
But it's everything else about this guitar that makes it such a wonderful guitar.
The Shell Pink is complimented wonderfully by the Gold Hardware. The color scheme of this guitar screams "luxury"!
It has a roasted maple neck made up in Vola's Modern C shape.
The Vola-designed pickups sound FANTASTIC and the electronics for combining the pickups make for one insanely versatile instrument!
This won't be the last you see of Vola Guitars on this website and my YouTube channel! I just got another guitar from them just before Christmas and I'm REALLY excited to show you this one. For now, I leave you with this guitar and video. I'd love to know what you think of this one!
Until next time friends...HAPPY STOMPING!
~ SPJ