NGD: Hapas Sludge 628

[ItWillDo]

Finish: "Pitch Black"
Pickguard: Flamed Maple (Recessed)
Body Wood: 2pcs Selected Ash
Neck Wood: Maple (Stained Black)
Fretboard Wood: Richlite (Black)
Number of Frets: 24
Scale Length: 28"
Inlays: None
Hardware Type: Gold/Black Mix
Bridge Pickup: Læviathan (Golden Poles)
Controls: 1x Volume


I've been playing & experimenting with extended range for well over a decade now, but for some reason the idea of a 6-string baritone never really clicked with me until about 2 years ago when I tried a friend's Ibanez RGIB6. Whilst it was fun to play on, I still stuck to me 7s & 8s for all ER stuff. But once Loathe released "I Let It In and It Took Everything", everything in my perception changed as well as I found their tunings & resulting compositions very interesting.

Not much later I bought a SubZero Rogue VI, and while it did service me well for a short time, the "budget cuts" in the fit & finish started to show pretty soon and I wanted to upgrade. I got in touch with Hapas as I loved the work they did for/with Buster (Humanity's Last Breath). Passed my order on the 19th of Feb (2021), and a few days ago I got word back on the axe being finished so the waiting time is more than acceptable for the quality delivered.

Enough talking though, enjoy the pics:

Conclusion
All in all super happy about the result. As with most "stock" winded pups, I was concerned in the beginning but the Læviathan has really won me over completely. Super clear yet warm sounding on cleans, and the response on the lower registry (guitar tuned to Drop E) is amazing when dialling in the right amount of gain. If there was anything which I could potentially complain about, than it would probably be that the case it came in doesn't reflect the "Premium" quality of the guitar (Gator foam case), but this can probably be discussed in your order to change.

And while the guys are super friendly & responsive in the discussion phase of the guitars, they don't really (pragmatically) keep you up-to-date in the building phase as some builders do so if you want info during the builds you'll really have to chase them yourself. Aside from that can't recommend these guys & the guitars enough!
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[Emperor Guillotine]

I was wondering who received this after I saw Robert post these photos to the Hapas social media. So glad to see that this Sludge is in the hands of a fellow forum member! This board needs more Hapas content.

 

[Ben Pinkus]

Recessed Pickguard is really cool!
Seeing more builders doing this atm (Vandermeij is building something similar) and I dig

 

[wheresthefbomb]

The pickguard is beautiful. Congrats!

 

[Wildebeest]

This is sooooo sick. Big fan of Hapas, I hope they play as nice as they look.

 

[jephjacques]

Saw that on instagram earlier, was wondering if someone here specced it out. Killer!

 

[Dayn]

I didn't think NSFW content was allowed to be posted. The colouring and style is out of this world.

 

[Protestheriphery]

I dig it. I'm all about: Tele shapes w ergonomic contours and hums, simple basic colors, reverse headstocks, and low tunings. This encompasses all the above. Love the hardware, too. HNGD.

 

[ItWillDo]

Recessed Pickguard is really cool!
Seeing more builders doing this atm (Vandermeij is building something similar) and I dig

Agreed, absolutely blew my mind when I saw the first one (I think?) they did for Simon Sludge (hence the name I suppose?) from WFAHM a few years back. Funny enough, a Vandermeij was the very first custom I ever had built and I really regret ever letting it go. Should you ever find it in the field though, feel free to give me a heads up:

I didn't think NSFW content was allowed to be posted. The colouring and style is out of this world.

Hah, thanks! The original plan was to have the flamed maple pickguard be whitewashed (example below) to get get that classic black-white telecaster look, but whitewashing isn't something their shop does so I stuck to the natural look. Very happy with the latter though as I feel the natural pickguard suits the gold accents in the hardware really well.

 

[Ben Pinkus]

Agreed, absolutely blew my mind when I saw the first one (I think?) they did for Simon Sludge (hence the name I suppose?) from WFAHM a few years back. Funny enough, a Vandermeij was the very first custom I ever had built and I really regret ever letting it go. Should you ever find it in the field though, feel free to give me a heads up:

No way it was you who got the headless magistra? Seen that pic a few times when I was researching my Vandermeij build and always thought it looked super cool. Any reason why he hasn't done any more headless builds do you know?

 

[ItWillDo]

No way it was you who got the headless magistra? Seen that pic a few times when I was researching my Vandermeij build and always thought it looked super cool. Any reason why he hasn't done any more headless builds do you know?

Back in the days when I got in touch with him, he was still very early in his development and I believe he wasn't even building full-time yet. Of course I can't know 100% for sure, but I assume that I managed to get in touch with him in a time where he still didn't have a signature style & workflow defined (there were no "standard models" like the Magistra available yet aside from a few prototypes) and he was pretty much open to any kind of request in terms of shape/hardware/etc...

I remember going through several prototypes with him as I wasn't even completely sure what I wanted myself. The first prototype was actually an 8-string with headstock (and as you might've guessed, shapewise I really love the Vik Duality):

 

[Ben Pinkus]

^ thats super cool getting involved with him at ground up level!
I had been following his work for a while before I ordered mine and in that time his operations had grown massively. Really happy for him as he seems like a great guy, and his work is very very good.
Would like to see a couple of other shapes from him as standard, but guess that'll come in time!

 

[seekfreed]

Man, what a beauty!