News

This Halo 7 String Guitar Features a Baritone Neck For Increased Performance

"The new Halo 7 string guitar models will feature a 27 inch baritone neck, a feature not yet seen on the majority of 7 string guitars in the world."

Halo Custom Guitars has a long history of building the 7 string guitar and the addition of baritone 7 string guitar models was a natural progression. Now, in addition to offering professional 7 string guitars, Halo Custom Guitars will also provide musicians with upgraded, baritone versions.

Halo Custom Guitars added eight new 7 string guitar models to its product line. The expanded offering of 7 string guitars is in direct response to increasing demand. “We built and sold our first 7 string guitars in our first year of business,” stated Jeff Lee, General Manager with Halo Custom Guitars. “Back then, having a baritone neck on a 7 string guitar was not common. Now, 7 string guitar players are more discerning and understand the benefits of a baritone neck. The new Halo 7 string guitar models will feature a 27 inch baritone neck, a feature not yet seen on the majority of 7 string guitars in the world.”

Halo 7 string guitars are designed to play more notes when compared to a standard guitar, which only has 6 strings. The additional string is typically used for extending the range of the guitar’s low notes. However, the additional string can also be used for extending the range of the guitar’s high notes.

“I am excited to be part of Halo Custom Guitars because they are always staying ahead of the pack by incorporating new features and guitar technology in their instruments,” stated Alvin Gatewood, Quality Control Manager with Halo Custom Guitars. “We are equipping the new Halo 7 string guitars with a ‘Tune-O-Matic’-Style Bridge and Tail Piece System, which we modified to reduce string breakage and increase tone transfer. These guitars are going to be a big hit as they have many high-performance features while maintaining the traditional hand craftsmanship desired by musicians.”

Musicians interested in learning more about Halo Custom Guitars and their new 7 String Guitar models can visit http://www.haloguitars.com or speak with a Halo Representative at 1-408-873-8606.

About Halo Custom Guitars

Halo Custom Guitars, a frontrunner in build-to-order guitar manufacturing, provides fully customizable guitars and basses to consumers worldwide. Halo Custom Guitars offers more custom options, faster delivery, and more affordable pricing than most guitar companies in the U.S. Founded in 2005, Halo Custom Guitars has quickly become a musician’s trusted source for professional instruments at affordable factory-direct pricing.

This Halo Custom Bass was Recently Built to Order for a Customer

"By offering customizable sizes and styles of bass guitars, bass players are no longer forced to adapt to their instrument. Instead, the instrument is designed to fit their body and its movements, which maximizes performance."

Halo Custom Bass Company has been building highly customized electric basses for several years and has recently invested heavily in its manufacturing facility to reduce their prices and lead times to an industry low. Concurrently, customers can choose from a comprehensive list of custom options, many of which are unavailable from competing companies.

Halo Custom Bass Company specializes in build to order electric bass guitars with an emphasis on putting their customers’ needs first. “We’ve identified three key factors that make the most impact on our customers’ buying decisions,” stated Jeff Lee, General Manager with Halo Custom Bass Company. “First and foremost, we need to offer virtually limitless custom options so the customer can become the designer. Second, the amount of time it takes to order and receive a custom made bass needs to be within just weeks to a few months. And third… the price! Historically, build to order basses have been prohibitively expensive for the average consumer. We’re proud to offer surprisingly low prices that aggressively compete against standard production, non-customizable basses.”

Like many consumer products, the bass guitar is not a “one-size-fits-all” product. Individuals have different body sizes, tastes, and preferences. These differences create problems for individuals seeking the best bass guitar for their needs. “By offering customizable sizes and styles of bass guitars, bass players are no longer forced to adapt to their instrument. Instead, the instrument is designed to fit their body and its movements, which not only maximizes performance but also reduces potential injury or muscle strain,” stated Alvin Gatewood, Quality Control Manager for Halo Custom Bass Company. “Customers have the choice of woods, materials, features and functionality. As a result, the Halo Custom Shop is busy fulfilling a broad range of orders from relatively simple designs to cutting-edge, computer-interfacing basses.”

“It’s exciting to be part of Halo Custom Bass Company as they are really taking custom bass building to another level,” stated Jeff Lee, Halo’s General Manager. “The concept of custom made basses is not new. The difference is in how the Halo Custom Shop streamlines the process. The Halo Custom Shop combines factory-like, mass production techniques with the flexibility of customization to offer highly customized guitars both quickly and affordably. This is in stark contrast to commissioning a luthier (an individual who builds guitars) to produce a similar instrument. Luthiers face many constraints, which often results in custom basses being too expensive and time consuming for average consumers. The Halo Custom Shop is here to change that”.

Musicians interested in learning more about Halo Custom Bass Company and its custom made basses can visit http://www.haloguitars.com/store/Halo-Custom-Shop/ or speak with a Halo Representative at 1-408-873-8606 .

About Halo Custom Guitars

Halo Custom Guitars, a frontrunner in build-to-order guitar manufacturing, provides fully customizable guitars and basses to consumers worldwide. Halo Custom Guitars offers more custom options, faster delivery, and more affordable pricing than most guitar companies in the U.S. Founded in 2005, Halo Custom Guitars has quickly become a musician’s trusted source for professional instruments at affordable factory-direct pricing.

Halo MIDI Guitar with Piezo Pickups

"Now, the Halo MIDI guitar is capable of producing a multitude of sounds including piano, saxophone, drums, bass, and every other musical instrument sound you load into it!"

Halo Custom Guitars, a guitar and bass company offering fully customizable instruments, has expanded into both MIDI Guitar and Piezo guitars. Now, in addition to offering some of the most affordable custom electric guitars and basses, Halo Custom Guitars will also provide musicians with an electric guitar capable of reproducing virtually limitless sounds such as piano, drums, acoustic guitar, saxophone, and more.

Halo Custom Guitars is currently producing its first MIDI Guitar with Piezo Pickups based its “Morbus” model of guitars. “We chose the Morbus model for our first MIDI capable guitars for several key reasons. First, the design is widely accepted for all styles of music. Second, it is extremely well balanced, making it perfect for musicians in the studio or on the stage,” stated Jeff Lee, General Manager with Halo Custom Guitars.

The guitar is one of the world’s most played musical instruments of all time. That means a significant portion of musicians consider the guitar their native instrument, or the instrument they feel most comfortable playing on. All these musicians can benefit from Halo Custom Guitars’ new MIDI guitar with Piezo pickups. Halo’s MIDI guitar enables musicians to write and play music for a variety of musical instruments, but all on the comfort of their native instrument. With home recording and "one-man bands" experiencing rapid growth, Halo’s new MIDI guitar is going to be a big hit.

“It’s exciting that Halo Custom Guitars can offer such a versatile instrument to its customers,” stated Alvin Gatewood, Quality Control Manager with Halo Custom Guitars. “It was not too long ago that the electric guitar was a ‘one trick pony’ – it could only sound like an electric guitar. Now, the Halo MIDI guitar is capable of producing a multitude of sounds including piano, saxophone, drums, bass, and every other musical instrument sound you load into it!”

Musicians interested in learning more about Halo Custom Guitars, its MIDI Guitar, or Piezo Guitar can visit http://www.haloguitars.com/store/Morbus-Ghost-Midi-Piezo-6-string.html or speak with a Halo Representative at 1-408-873-8606.

About Halo Custom Guitars

Halo Custom Guitars, a frontrunner in build-to-order guitar manufacturing, provides fully customizable guitars and basses to consumers worldwide. Halo Custom Guitars offers more custom options, faster delivery, and more affordable pricing than most guitar companies in the U.S. Founded in 2005, Halo Custom Guitars has quickly become a musician’s trusted source for professional instruments at affordable factory-direct pricing.

This Halo Custom Guitar was Recently Built to Order for a Customer

"First and foremost, we need to offer virtually limitless custom options so the customer can become the designer."

Halo Custom Guitars makes build to order guitars and basses more accessible to the average consumer by improving upon three key factors – custom options, delivery time, and price.

Halo Custom Guitars specializes in build to order electric guitars and basses with an emphasis on putting their customers’ needs first. “We’ve identified three key factors that make the most impact on our customers’ buying decisions,” stated Jeff Lee, General Manager with Halo Custom Guitars. “First and foremost, we need to offer virtually limitless custom options so the customer can become the designer. Second, the amount of time it takes to order and receive a custom made guitar needs to be within just weeks to a few months. And third… the price! Historically, build to order guitars and basses have been prohibitively expensive for the average consumer. We’re proud to offer surprisingly low prices that aggressively compete against standard production, non-customizable guitars.”

Like many consumer products, the electric guitar is not a “one-size-fits-all” product. Individuals have different body sizes, tastes, and preferences. These differences create problems for individuals seeking the best guitar for their needs. “By offering customizable sizes and styles of guitars, guitar players are no longer forced to adapt to their instrument. Instead, the instrument is designed to fit their body and its movements, which not only maximizes performance but also reduces potential injury or muscle strain,” stated Alvin Gatewood, Quality Control Manager for Halo Custom Guitars. “Customers have the choice of woods, materials, features and functionality. As a result, the Halo Custom Shop is busy fulfilling a broad range of orders from relatively simple designs to cutting-edge, computer-interfacing guitars and basses.”

“It’s exciting to be part of Halo Custom Guitars as they are really taking custom guitar building to another level,” stated Jeff Lee, Halo’s General Manager. “The concept of custom made guitars is not new. The difference is in how the Halo Custom Shop streamlines the process. The Halo Custom Shop combines factory-like, mass production techniques with the flexibility of customization to offer highly customized guitars both quickly and affordably. This is in stark contrast to commissioning a luthier (an individual who builds guitars) to produce a similar instrument. Luthiers face many constraints, which often results in custom guitars being too expensive and time consuming for average consumers. The Halo Custom Shop is here to change that”.

Musicians interested in learning more about Halo Custom Guitars and its custom made guitars can visit http://www.haloguitars.com/store/Halo-Custom-Shop/ or speak with a Halo Representative at 1-408-873-8606.

About Halo Custom Guitars

Halo Custom Guitars, a frontrunner in build-to-order guitar manufacturing, provides fully customizable guitars and basses to consumers worldwide. Halo Custom Guitars offers more custom options, faster delivery, and more affordable pricing than most guitar companies in the U.S. Founded in 2005, Halo Custom Guitars has quickly become a musician’s trusted source for professional instruments at affordable factory-direct pricing.

Halo Custom Guitars added four new 8 string guitar models to its product line. The expanded offering of 8 string guitars is in direct response to increasing demand. “We built and sold our first 8 string guitar in 2006,” stated Jeff Lee, General Manager with Halo Custom Guitars. “Back then, having 8 strings on an electric guitar was rare and considered ‘pushing the envelope’. Now, 8 string guitars are becoming much more common. The new Halo 8 string guitar models will feature a ‘Tune-O-Matic’ bridge, a feature not yet seen on any 8 string guitars in the world.”

The Halo 8 string guitar is designed to play more notes when compared to a standard guitar, which only has 6 strings. The additional strings are typically used for extending the range of the guitar’s low notes. However, the additional strings can also be used for extending the range of the guitar’s high notes.

“I am excited to be part of Halo Custom Guitars because they are always staying ahead of the pack by incorporating new features and guitar technology in their instruments,” stated Alvin Gatewood, Quality Control Manager with Halo Custom Guitars. “We are equipping the new Halo 8 string guitars with the world’s first 8 string ‘Tune-O-Matic’-Style Bridge and Tail Piece System, which we developed and manufactured in-house. These guitars are going to be a big hit as they have many high-performance features and maintain the high quality traditional hand craftsmanship desired by musicians.”

Musicians interested in learning more about Halo Custom Guitars and their new 8 String Guitar models can visit http://www.haloguitars.com or speak with a Halo Representative at 1-408-873-8606.

“Tune-O-Matic” is a trademark of Gibson Guitar. Gibson is not affiliated with Halo Custom Guitars.

About Halo Custom Guitars

Halo Custom Guitars, a front-runner in build-to-order guitar manufacturing, provides fully customizable guitars and basses to consumers worldwide. Halo Custom Guitars offers more custom options, faster delivery, and more affordable pricing than most guitar companies in the U.S. Founded in 2005, Halo Custom Guitars has quickly become the musician’s trusted source for professional instruments at affordable factory-direct pricing.

Halo Baritone Guitars are Designed to Play in Low Tunings

"Halo baritone guitars are equipped with advanced components, which offer similar or better performance than many higher priced instruments."

Halo Custom Guitars is an established guitar company with factory-direct sales. Halo has introduced new design features to its line of baritone guitars, which result in significant performance benefits compared to other baritone guitars on the market. Halo’s newest design features can be seen in over twenty new models and will offer higher performance for serious guitar players. Halo Custom Guitars’ new baritone guitar models are designed to play in lower tunings and are available in electric and acoustic versions. Halo baritone guitars are equipped with advanced components, which offer similar or better performance than many higher priced instruments.

“It’s exciting to be part of Halo Custom Guitars as they are growing and their products are differentiated from what you would find in most guitar stores,” stated Alvin Gatewood, Halo’s Quality Control Manager and long time guitar player. “There are not enough professional options available when it comes to baritone guitars. Halo’s new baritone guitars utilize Neck-Through-Body Construction, which is an advanced guitar building method that produces better sound and stability. With Neck-Through-Body Construction, the guitar’s body and neck are constructed from the same piece of wood, as opposed to more common methods where the neck and body are constructed from two different pieces of wood joined by screws. Halo baritone guitars incorporate many professional features and with factory direct prices – it’s a win-win situation.” “In addition to offering one of the largest selections of baritone guitars, Halo Custom Guitars also offers a comprehensive build-to-order service through the Halo Custom Shop,” stated Bruce Lee, Halo’s Sales Director. “The Halo Custom Shop specializes in building guitars according to customer-supplied specifications. The result is our customers receive professional instruments tailored to their exact needs”. Musicians interested in learning more about Halo Custom Guitars’ new baritone models can visit http://www.haloguitars.com/store/Baritone-Guitars-Pre-Order-Sale/ or speak with a Halo Representative at 1-408-873-8606.

About Halo Custom Guitars

Halo Custom Guitars, a frontrunner in build-to-order guitar manufacturing, provides fully customizable guitars and basses to consumers worldwide. Halo Custom Guitars offers more custom options, faster delivery, and more affordable pricing than most guitar companies in the U.S. Founded in 2005, Halo Custom Guitars has quickly become a musician’s trusted source for professional instruments at affordable factory-direct pricing.

Halo Custom Guitars' Referral Rewards Program Provides Discounts to New Customers While Rewarding Existing Customers

"I am thrilled to participate in Halo Custom Guitars’ new referral rewards program because of the great service I've received from them as well as the quality and value of their instruments."

Halo Custom Guitars has been in the guitar business for many years and is increasing customer loyalty through their new referral rewards program. Halo Custom Guitars’ referral rewards program applies to products and services, including guitar setup. The rewards are offered to both the referring and referred persons. As the amount of referrals increases, so too will the amount of the rewards. “At Halo Custom Guitars, we stand behind our products and want to reward our customers who do the same,” stated Bruce Lee, Sales Manager with Halo Custom Guitars. “Customers who are satisfied with their Halo guitar or bass are automatically qualified to receive referral rewards in the form of a rebate or store credit. The newly referred customer gets a great discount on their first order, and Halo Custom Guitars earns another happy customer – it’s a win, win, win situation!”

“I am thrilled to participate in Halo Custom Guitars’ new referral rewards program because of the great service I've received from them as well as the quality and value of their instruments,” stated Mason Razavi, a guitarist, composer, and guitar teacher based in San Jose, California. “I've trusted their luthiers to work on my Gibson Les Paul and Eastman jazz guitar as well as delicate antique instruments with historical value and had great results. These guys know their stuff.”

Halo Custom Guitars’ referral rewards program is designed to reward existing customers and help grow their customer base. Participation in the referral rewards program is free and there are no obligations or contracts. Existing customers may request free referral discount cards from Halo Custom Guitars, then distribute these cards to their friends and family.

Musicians interested in learning more about Halo Custom Guitars’ new referral rewards program can visit http://www.haloguitars.com/store/referral-rewards-program.html or speak with a Halo Representative at 1-408-873-8606.

About Halo Custom Guitars

Halo Custom Guitars, a frontrunner in build-to-order guitar manufacturing, provides fully customizable guitars and basses to consumers worldwide. Halo Custom Guitars offers more custom options, faster delivery, and more affordable pricing than most guitar companies in the U.S. Founded in 2005, Halo Custom Guitars has quickly become a musician’s trusted source for professional instruments at affordable factory-direct pricing.

Halo Custom Guitars, a California-based guitar company, is pleased to announce the release of its new USA-made, handcrafted guitars and basses.

"Halo’s high-end USA-Made guitars and basses are designed for those professional musicians who need the absolute best we can offer – perfect playability, balance, tone, and versatility."
Cupertino, CA

Halo Custom Guitars has been setting up, repairing and customizing guitars from their Cupertino, California, shop for many years and the addition of USA-made guitars and basses to its product line was a natural progression. Now, in addition to manufacturing professional electric guitars and basses from their offshore factory, Halo Custom Guitars will also offer premium, USA-made, handcrafted instruments. Halo Custom Guitars’ addition of USA-made guitars and basses was driven by consumer demand and increased complexity in their designs. “As a custom guitar company, our goal is to build guitars according to our customers’ exact needs. While our import line of guitars have done very well at accomplishing that goal and continues to do so, we made the decision to offer USA-made guitars because the demand is there and we want to be a stronger company,” stated Jeff Lee, General Manager with Halo Custom Guitars. “Halo’s USA-made guitars are high-end instruments that combine rare, high-value materials with the latest in guitar technology. It makes sense to build these high-end instruments under our direct supervision.”

Halo Custom Guitars is not alone in moving manufacturing back home. Businesses in almost every industry are concerned with increasing costs of offshore labor, fuel rates, currency fluctuations, and quality control. The case is not the same for Halo Custom Guitars. Alvin Gatewood, Quality Control Manager with Halo Custom Guitars states, “The product quality we’re receiving from the Halo China Factory is the best it has ever been, and we are very proud of that. Halo’s high-end USA-Made guitars and basses are designed for those professional musicians who need the absolute best we can offer – perfect playability, balance, tone, and versatility.”

The first run of Halo USA-made guitars is now available in 8-string, extended range configurations. More models will be released throughout the year. Musicians interested in learning more about Halo Custom Guitars’ new USA-made guitars and basses can visit http://www.haloguitars.com or speak with a Halo Representative at 1-408-873-8606.

About Halo Custom Guitars

Halo Custom Guitars, a frontrunner in build-to-order guitar manufacturing, provides fully customizable guitars and basses to consumers worldwide. Halo Custom Guitars offers more custom options, faster delivery, and more affordable pricing than most guitar companies in the U.S. Founded in 2005, Halo Custom Guitars has quickly become a musician’s trusted source for professional instruments at affordable factory-direct pricing.

Hedras Ramos Signature Guitars Now Available Exclusively From Halo Custom Guitars - Photo by: JAQUELINEANDREA.com

"A guitarist of his caliber demands a whole lot from his guitar, and we are very encouraged by the fact that Hedras Ramos is so pleased to be working with Halo Custom Guitars"

Halo Custom Guitars has been building professional electric guitars for many years and recently unveiled the Hedras Ramos Signature Guitar. Hedras Ramos, the rising guitar prodigy from Guatemala, aided Halo Custom Guitars in the development and design of the world-class Hedras Ramos Signature Guitar.

“Halo Custom Guitars’ addition of the Hedras Ramos Signature Guitar to its Artist Series product line is a noteworthy milestone in the company’s history,” stated Jeff Lee, General Manager with Halo Custom Guitars. “Hedras Ramos’ technical proficiency and masterful control over the electric guitar is astonishing. A guitarist of his caliber demands a whole lot from his guitar, and we are very encouraged by the fact that Hedras Ramos is so pleased to be working with Halo Custom Guitars.”

"I'm really happy and pleased about working with Halo Custom Guitars. The first guitar I got from them was their stock ‘Morbus’ model – a black one that you can see in some of my videos on YouTube. That guitar feels so good and the tone is perfect,” stated Hedras Ramos. “Then we worked on my new signature guitar, which was based around the ‘Morbus’ model, but has all the additional features I want on a guitar… some fun stuff like the kill switch and pull/push knobs that allow me to get the single coil tones I really love. My new Hedras Ramos Signature Guitar is very versatile. It can give you some crystal-clear clean tones like an old Strat, but also some nasty Humbucker power for shred stuff.”

The Hedras Ramos Signature Guitar is designed for maximum versatility and uncompromising playability. Take one listen to the latest Hedras Ramos' album, "Atoms and Space" to hear what this guitar is capable of producing. Powerful shredding and crystal-clear clean tones are achieved with the dual Seymour Duncan pickup configuration. Outrageous whammy bar action is encouraged as this guitar is equipped with the Original Floyd Rose for the ultimate in tuning stability.

Musicians interested in learning more about Halo Custom Guitars’ new Hedras Ramos Signature Guitar can visit http://www.haloguitars.com/store/Hedras-Ramos-Signature-Guitar.html or speak with a Halo Representative at 1-408-873-8606.

About Halo Custom Guitars

Halo Custom Guitars, a frontrunner in build-to-order guitar manufacturing, provides fully customizable guitars and basses to consumers worldwide. Halo Custom Guitars offers more custom options, faster delivery, and more affordable pricing than most guitar companies in the U.S. Founded in 2005, Halo Custom Guitars has quickly become a musician’s trusted source for professional instruments at affordable factory-direct pricing.

Officially Licensed Bettie Page Guitar Design by Adam Parker, www.adamparkerdesign.com, adam@adamparkerdesign.com. Bettie Page™ is a Trademark of Bettie Page LLC.

"The Bettie Page Guitar is a handcrafted, hand painted, quality made instrument suitable for professional musicians, guitar collectors, and Bettie Page fans."

Cupertino, CA

Halo Custom Guitars has been building custom guitars for many years and has recently honored the late, great Bettie Page with the release of an officially licensed Bettie Page Guitar. Now, fans of the All-American Bombshell have a premier item to add to their Bettie Page collection.

Halo Custom Guitars is currently producing fifty Bettie Page guitars and each will come with a certificate of authenticity, serial number, and luxurious guitar case. “It’s exciting to be a part of Halo Custom Guitars because they are known for making unique and hard-to-find instruments that stand out from the rest,” said Alvin Gatewood, Quality Control Manager with Halo Custom Guitars. “These new Bettie Page guitars are truly unique as they were designed and built with the input and approval of Bettie Page LLC, the company that manages all of the intellectual property rights relating to Bettie Page. It’s the real deal”. “The Bettie Page Guitar is a handcrafted, hand painted, quality made instrument suitable for professional musicians, guitar collectors, and Bettie Page fans,” stated Jeff Lee, General Manager with Halo Custom Guitars. “We built the first Bettie Page guitar last month and have already received great feedback and interest from local customers, music stores, and her fans.”

"For so many musicians, their guitars are part of their identity. To have a guitar that expresses one's love for Bettie Page and that kind of personality is great. We're happy to be working with Halo Custom Guitars on this program,” stated Bettie Page LLC.

Musicians interested in learning more about Halo Custom Guitars and the officially licensed Bettie Page Guitar can visit http://www.haloguitars.com/store/bettie-page-guitar or speak with a Halo Representative at 1-408-873-8606.

About Halo Custom Guitars

Halo Custom Guitars, a front-runner in build-to-order guitar manufacturing, provides fully customizable guitars and basses to consumers worldwide. Halo Custom Guitars offers more custom options, faster delivery, and more affordable pricing than most guitar companies in the U.S. Founded in 2005, Halo Custom Guitars has quickly become the musician’s trusted source for professional instruments at affordable factory-direct pricing.

Halo Quality Control Manager, Alvin Gatewood, Handpicked this Particular Piece of Solid Cocobolo Wood for its Choice Grain Pattern, Moisture Content, and Density.

"No single guitar can satisfy the enormous diversity of guitar players in the world. Instead of trying to push a ready-made guitar onto customers, we invite them to be a part of the design process so they get exactly what they need."

Halo Custom Guitars pushes mass customization into the guitar world by offering build-to-order musical instruments through the Halo Custom Shop. Now, in addition to offering a full line of electric guitar and bass products, the Halo Custom Shop will offer customization in three key dimensions: size, style, and functionality.

Halo Custom Guitars’ build-to-order production methods are aligned with growing trends of personalization and customization in consumer products. “The reality is that every guitar player demands a different set of specific needs from their guitar,” stated Bruce Lee, Sales Director with Halo Custom Guitars. “No single guitar can satisfy the enormous diversity of guitar players in the world. Instead of trying to push a ready-made guitar onto customers, we invite them to be a part of the design process so they get exactly what they need.” The Halo Custom Shop emphasizes three key dimensions of customization – size, style, and functionality.

Like many consumer products, the electric guitar is not a “one-size-fits-all” product. Individuals have different body sizes, tastes, and preferences. These differences create problems for individuals seeking the best guitar for their needs. “By offering customizable sizes and styles of guitars, guitar players are no longer forced to adapt to their instrument. Instead, the instrument is designed to fit their body and its movements, which not only maximizes performance but also reduces potential injury or muscle strain,” stated Alvin Gatewood, Quality Control Manager for Halo Custom Guitars. “Customers have the choice of woods, materials, features and functionality. As a result, the Halo Custom Shop is busy fulfilling a broad range of orders from relatively simple designs to cutting-edge, computer-interfacing guitars and basses.” “It’s exciting to be part of Halo Custom Guitars as they are really taking custom guitar building to another level,” stated Jeff Lee, Halo’s General Manager. “The concept of custom made guitars is not new. The difference is in how the Halo Custom Shop streamlines the process. The Halo Custom Shop combines factory-like, mass production techniques with the flexibility of customization to offer highly customized guitars both quickly and affordably. This is in stark contrast to commissioning a luthier (an individual who builds guitars) to produce a similar instrument. Luthiers face many constraints, which often results in custom guitars being too expensive and time consuming for average consumers. The Halo Custom Shop is here to change that”.

Musicians interested in learning more about Halo Custom Guitars and its custom made guitars can visit http://www.haloguitars.com/store/Halo-Custom-Shop/ or speak with a Halo Representative at 1-408-873-8606.

About Halo Custom Guitars

Halo Custom Guitars, a front-runner in build-to-order guitar manufacturing, provides fully customizable guitars and basses to consumers worldwide. Halo Custom Guitars offers more custom options, faster delivery, and more affordable pricing than most guitar companies in the U.S. Founded in 2005, Halo Custom Guitars has quickly become the musician’s trusted source for professional instruments at affordable factory-direct pricing.

As you all know Bettie Page passed away at the age of 85. We here at Halo are honored to have had the chance to work with Bettie during her life. She will be missed by everyone, as Bettie Page was a truly an American Icon.

Please if you can take a moment of your day and remember Bettie Page and celebrate her life, her energy, and all that she has brought to this world.

Bettie Page will always be a part of the Halo Guitars family.

CUPERTINO, Calif. - There aren't too many mean-looking things in Cupertino, this sleepy Silicon Valley haunt of Apple employees and overachieving middle schoolers.

But there's something gruesome growing in one corner of town: Halo Custom Guitars, Inc.

Fueled by a resurgence in heavy metal music, and its numerous dark sub-genres, Halo makes and sells evil looking instruments with bodies carved to resemble rotting flesh, distended eyeballs and bone. The demonically-themed guitars primarily find their way into the hands of death metal musicians.

Regular heavy metal music can cover the usual topics of scorn and despair, while death metal sub-genre leans heavily on growled vocals and themes such as Satanism and dark mythology.

Both are an important niche for electric guitar manufacturers like 5-year-old Halo. It sold 200 guitars its first year in business and now sells 200 to 300 a month in direct sales and another 200 per month to dealers, said co-founder Waylon Ford.

"Ever since we started making more outrageous designs, we started selling more guitars," he said. "We really owe a lot to the metal genre."

Street teams of Halo guitar players and hangers-on keep the company's buzz alive across the U.S., posting links to their favorite Halo-using bands on their MySpace pages and posting images of the lithesome Halo Gals, young models that appear in ads wearing little more than underworldly undergarments.

More established guitar makers are taking notice of metal's rebirth as well. B.C. Rich Guitars boasts an aggressive looking lineup that includes the "Warbeast," "Warlock" and "Dagger," the latter available in the color "Blood," according to the company's Web site. The Warlock is pointy from all angles, while the Warbeast looks like a bit like a Fender Stratocaster with an attitude problem.

"B.C. Rich had a huge heyday in the 80s, obviously when metal and big hair bands were all the rage," said Ted Burger, a spokesman for Davitt & Hanser Music Group, the Hebron, Ky.-based parent company of B.C Rich.

Then came the 90s and Nirvana and grunge bands that wanted nothing to do with big hair or brightly colored guitars. Grunge bands sported unkempt hair, plaid shirts and let their standard guitars to the talking.

Now grunge is a trivia game answer and metal is king again.

"People just missed the pleasures of a nice piercing guitar solo," Ford said.

Ford takes his designs to the extreme and his guitars boast names such as "Satyr," Hellfire," and "Fallen Angel." The "demon" headstock, where tuning pegs adjust string tension, looks like a horned profile of Lucifer himself.

Halo sells custom-made models as well as lower priced machine-cut guitars fashioned at an overseas plant.

The metal niche guitars fill a void that your regular old Fender Strat or Gibson Les Paul won't. Those standard guitars look out of place in the hands of a growling 20-year-old lead metal guitarist wearing black nail polish and white face paint screaming into a microphone about Norse mythology, a favorite theme of many metal practitioners.

Led Zeppelin's heavy metal of the early 1970s gave way to an angrier, more puerile version. Metallica and Slayer are a couple of the current metal music standard-bearers, and still newer bands go even heavier on the face makeup and gloomy stage presence and themes of death.

The heaviest of heavy metal is well-represented on Apple's iTunes, with downloads from bands like Dismember, Cannibal Corpse and Hatebreed all available. And notably, Richmond, Va.-based Lamb of God, a death metal band, peaked on the Billboard album chart at No. 8 last year with "Sacrament," further cementing metal's comeback to broad acceptance.

Marc Minarik, who runs Minarik Guitars with his father out of Glendale, Calif, said there's no doubt he owes his business success to the recent metal resurgence.

"I put everything on the line for this. I sold everything I owned, every dollar I had to my name, to put into this company," Minarik said. The result was the 2002 introduction of the $1,199 Inferno, a guitar with a body shaped like licks from a raging fire. That unique design, and a newfound consumer appreciation of metal paid off for Minarik.

"It's the reason that we are where we are. It's because we launched the company with one of those exciting, edgy metal, neo-metal shapes. The Inferno. And no one had ever seen anything like that," Minarik said.

Minarik Guitars sells between 115 and 130 pricey custom model guitars per year, and more than 2,000 lower-priced machine cut models annually, Minarik said. As with most guitar companies, the handmade U.S. models command a higher price and are favored by serious players. The offshore-produced guitars range from $300 to $1,300, while the U.S.-made Minariks start at $2,950 and go up from there, based on the amount of customizing required.

"You may look at that flame-shaped body and be like `Oh yeah, cool. Flames.' But I engineered each one of those flame tongues to generate a certain frequency response. Everything about that guitar is completely thought out," he said.

Minarik is thrilled when famous rockers such as Dave Navarro, formerly of Jane's Addiction, and Claudio Sanchez, of Coheed and Cambria, occasionally play his wares. They're not purveyors of death metal, but they're noticed among guitar players.

Minarik likes the possibility of expanding to traditional designs, since the music tastes can be fleeting and the fire for metal may flame out, yet again.

"It's a pendulum. It'll swing back the other direction and hopefully we'll have our line well padded with instruments that the other styles of music will find equally pleasing," Minarik said.

So what exactly is the allure of the whole demonic metal scene? The deafening crunch of 8-string metal guitars on stage? The fake blood and white pancake makeup? The screamed "Cookie Monster" vocals few listeners can comprehend?

"'Cause there's always kids and your parents tell you not to listen to it," Ford said. "It's a really good outlet for your aggression."

As for his mean guitar designs, Ford put it simply.

"Some people like skulls," he said.