It's all go in the business world of Rob Chapman for 2023; he's announced that in addition to Chapman Guitars, he's now the co-owner of two other brands – Californian-based Cerberus Guitars and Guitarmory Pickups.
In a New Years Instagram message, Chapman revealed the news to fans and explained the thinking behind the move. "Where Chapman kind of knocks on the door of heavy, pointy, scary guitars, Cerberus runs through that door and up the hill and continues onwards towards battle."
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In addition to a US custom shop, Cerberus also has a South Korea-made Hades Line of electric guitars.
Meanwhile, California-based pickup maker Guitarmory were featured in a video on Rob Chapman's YouTube channel last year where he retro-fitted a custom set in his first ever Chapman production model.
"Guitarmory makes boutique custom shop, zero compromise, super high quality pickups in California," explained Chapman.
"We can make anything – P-90s, single-coils, relic'd, aged – the whole shebang," he added, but he stressed these new acquisitions "will not distract me from my normal day to day duties at Chapman."
In other Chapman Guitars news, Rabea Massaad recently announced he was parting ways with the company owned by Rob and Lee Anderton as a signature artist. Though he was keen to stress in his announcement on Instagram that here's absolutely no bad blood involved in the decision.
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"Rob, Lee and myself have been good friends for a long time, and I’m grateful for all the good times we’ve had together at Chapman," stated Massaad. "Just to be crystal clear it’s all good for those wondering! We are still friends and there are no bad vibes between us at all. Just love and support!"
For more info check out Cerberus Guitars and Guitarmory Pickups and Chapman Guitars.
Rob Chapman: the 10 records that changed my life
Rob is the Reviews Editor for GuitarWorld.com and MusicRadar guitars, so spends most of his waking hours (and beyond) thinking about and trying the latest gear while making sure our reviews team is giving you thorough and honest tests of it. He's worked for guitar mags and sites as a writer and editor for nearly 20 years but still winces at the thought of restringing anything with a Floyd Rose.
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