In pictures: Motörhead's War-Pig logo becomes a bass at the hands of Cynosure Guitars
Double Bass
For the past few years, Bloodstock Festival has played host to some unbelievable creations from Cynosure Guitars, but this year's instruments are perhaps the luthier's best yet, paying tribute to late, great Motörhead frontman Lemmy.
Two basses are on show: the Lemmy Bass, which brings the Motörhead War-Pig (or Snaggletooth) logo to life, and the more traditional Motörhead Bass, which pays homage to Lemmy's military obsession, in particular WWII-era German military.
For a closer look at the two basses and comments from Cynosure himself, head on through the gallery, and be sure to check out the luthier's incredible RAM guitar from last year's event.
Cynosure with the Motörhead Bass
Bloodstock Festival takes place from 11-14 August, and headliners include Slayer, Mastodon and Twisted Sister.
Day and weekend tickets are available from the Bloodstock Festival website - if you need any more convincing, take a look at our guide to the weekend's finest guitarists.
Lemmy Bass
“It was a sad day for the world when Lemmy passed. Upon hearing the tragic news, Paul Raymond Gregory (founder and director of Bloodstock) immediately approached me in regards to creating a very special unique type of guitar that signified the vision and general atmosphere of the band, but more specifically, the prominent, legendary force that is Lemmy.
“The Lemmy Bass was designed around Motörhead’s iconic ‘Snaggletooth’ or ‘War-Pig’ emblem, complete with large curvaceous tusks, nightmarish teeth, nose ring and an insidious gaze. The idea was to manifest the entire character to purport a sensibility of power, eminence, unrest and sheer individuality.
“The body is composed of only one cut of wenge wood. The material is a very dense hard wood that originated from Africa.
“The neck is a three-piece multi-laminate, made from two outer pieces of Peruvian walnut and an inner length of zebra wood, lineated with maple veneers. The tusks, teeth and irises of the eyes are also zebra wood.”
Fingerboard
“The bass guitar's setup is 34” scale length, four-string, hardtail bridge. The fretboard is, once again, wenge wood, the same as the body.
“It's fitted with stainless steel inlays, which have been routed into the fretboard in the fashion of the famous Ace of Spades, in addition to a 12th-fret custom ‘Lemmy’ inlay.
“The headstock is the signature Cynosure Guitars style, sporting a custom-made seven-piece laminated nut of bone, ebony veneer and maple veneer.”
Skull 'n' chains
“The chains feature accoutrements of a carved zebra wood skull and ‘extra-tooth’ (in true Motörhead mythology, the skull was used to create a size comparison between a human and the War-Pig).
“With the ability to un-clip the chain, it allows for easy packing. The zebra wood tusks are bolted on with machine bolts with brass inserts that can also be removed for packing purposes, all accessed with the removal of the backplate.”
Eyes
“Perhaps the most ‘exciting’ feature of the entire bass guitar is the eyes. Custom-made from wenge, these knobs incorporate zebra wood irises that create a menacing stare.
“The eyes actually function as volume controls for each Fender slimline pickup.”
Motörhead Bass
“Composed of multi-laminate of strips of mahogany, structured with Peruvian walnut veneers, this bass takes on a dominant authority, aided by a Cynosure Guitars ‘signature’ satin-glossed, textured steel sheet that shimmers in three-dimensions in the sunlight.
“Outfitted with custom-weathered Lace Bass Alumitone pickups, the instrument creates a visual impact like no other. The inside portion is also bordered by a bass string soldered into place that highlights the dimensions and specific features of this creation.”
Fingerboard
“Four individual depressed bridge ‘rails’ anchor the strings for a perfect action over the wenge fretboard with beautiful grain. The fret markers are mini Iron Cross inlays cut from a jewellers saw and inlayed into the board, featuring a 12th-fret ‘Motörhead’ inlay.
“The aluminium binding facilitates the strings in a straight string-pull across the custom-made multi-laminate nut of bone, ebony veneer and maple veneer onto the Cynosure Guitars signature headstock.”
Headstock
“The headstock matches the theme of the body with an outer mahogany frame with steel sheet inlay, promoting three-dimensional Cynosure Guitars branding and handmade German emblem ‘totenkopf’.”
Body
“Another ode to the military, the rivets are configured in a pattern that follows the perimeter of the body and gives an almost machine-like quality to the piece. Custom hand-made control knobs of mahogany defined by inlayed steel Ace of Spades also adorn the body.
“The setup is a 34” scale length, individual ‘rail’ bridge system with two volumes, each controlling its own pickup and a master tone control.
“The front gives focal point to the WWII German military Eagle and Iron Cross, proudly embellishing the visage of the bass.”
Rear
“The control panels are hand-engraved with Cynosure Guitars branding, and detail the name of Paul Raymond Gregory, in addition to Motörhead.
Also, the backplates are held-on by five individual mini earth magnets, allowing the panels to be removed easily and quickly via the use of a custom-made magnetic backplate remover tool.”
Side
“The side of the instrument features engraved oak leaves, a nod to the German military, as they were once used within their ranking system, as well as being features on Lemmy’s signature bass.”
