Misha Mansoor’s long-awaited Surfcaster signature guitar is perhaps one of the most anticipated electric guitar launches of recent years – but, thanks to a new post from Mansoor himself, it seems we might be finally edging towards an inevitable release date.
The Periphery guitar titan helped to start the Surfcaster revival last year when he showed off a custom Jackson build that transformed the shape of Charvel’s oddball offset model into an all-out metal guitar.
Mansoor wasn’t alone in bringing back the Surfcaster through a metal medium, though: before then, Spiritbox guitarist Mike Stringer had also posted pictures of two stunning custom builds.
Since that point, fans have been patiently waiting for a Mansoor signature Surfcaster to land, and while we’ve all been slightly appeased by the recently revived standard-run Surfcaster and Lee Malia’s own signature model, the pastel hues and artful relic’ing of Mansoor’s own guitars are still highly sought after.
Now, Mansoor has a third Surfcaster to add to his collection – a turquoise-finished, Evertune-equipped baritone model that he declares “might be the one”.
“Been enjoying my custom shop Jackson Surfcaster 30 Baritones so much I asked them to make me one with an Evertune,” Mansoor writes. “This time finished in Taos Turquoise because of course I need a blue variant.
“Sounds SO good. Might be the best sounding of the 3? I’m gonna do some tests, but god I love it. These are weird niche instruments, but they are so inspiring to me in the smooth brain tuning I have them in, which the Evertune is working its magic with.”
This latest variation comes packing Bare Knuckle Juggernaut pickups, a color-matched headstock, white pickguard, and roasted maple neck and fretboard. It’s a close call between this one, the original green model, and the heavy aged pink beauty, but we’re inclined to agree with Mansoor here: this looks like the real deal.
The fact this has been labeled as “the one” suggests Mansoor has reached the peak of his Surfaster experiments. Now, if Jackson could just get moving on a signature version – especially one that recreates this stunning blue model – that would be great.
During a conversation with Guitar World last year, Mansoor offered some heavy hints regarding the future of his Surfcaster experiments, conceding that a signature run may materialize at some point owing to the sheer amount of interest his builds are getting.
“We’re sort of at the beginning stages of this. This is just for me right now,” he said. “But I will say that ever since I posted pictures of this, there’s certainly been enough interest both from people and dealers to where it’s likely there will be a run of these made in the Custom Shop.
“And then from there, maybe there would be a justification for a production line. We’ll have to see, these things take time. It would be nice to get a production version of this going.”
Elsewhere in his Guitar World interview, Mansoor reflected on the rise of offset guitars in metal music.
