This being the 21st century, the age of YouTube and the maturation of internet guitar culture, we are used to seeing all kinds of unorthodox electric guitar builds. Remember that instant ramen guitar? Or that microtonal guitar made out of LEGO?
Sometimes the crazy builds are just that – cool experiments. A fun thing to do. Occasionally you get one that is groundbreaking: it looks and sounds great too.
Music Is Win's Tyler Larson recently got his hands on one such instrument. The Morningstar Supernova is an all-glass electric that looks great, feels great and most importantly sounds great.
It is wonderful. This is the most beautiful guitar I’ve seen
Tyler Larson
Built by Alex Morningstar, the Supernova looks a little like it was carved out of ice. It has a glass neck, glass body, and when you visit the Morningstar Glass Guitars website you can choose a shattered finish – as Larson has here – or non-shattered, with other cool finish options such as a mirrored or clear back.
In the video above, you see Larson struggling to get the case out of the shipping carton and that's not just for show.
Even without the hard case, the Supernova typically weighs a whopping 13.5lbs. As with the Lucite Dan Armstrong, you pay a shoulder tax for that cool transparent look. Larson is clearly a fan.
“It is wonderful. This is the most beautiful guitar I’ve seen – maybe held – ever!“ he says “Definitely has some girth to it. It feels like a satin finish meets a roasted neck but it is cool to the touch.
Besides the Seymour Duncan humbucker at the bridge position, the Supernova has controls for volume and tone, is equipped with a Schaller top-loading hardtail roller bridge, Grover Mini Locking Rotomatic tuners, and has a bleached bone nut.
It has a 25.5“ scale, 22 stainless steel frets, black epoxy side markers on a glass fretboard that has a 14“ radius. Worried about it breaking? Well, you worry about dropping any of your guitars and Morningstar uses construction-grade glass.
If the Supernova is a little avant-garde for your tastes, there is also the more conventional – well, conventional for an all-glass build – Starlight II series, which includes a four-string bass option and a six-string guitar.
You can also order a glass guitar neck, which would definitely be an interesting addition to a your Partscaster, or order some glass picks.
The Supernova costs $3,449. See Morningstar Guitars for more information.
