James Tyler Tylerbastar Gumbo w/Bacon

A little background. The Tylerbastar with Gumbo is a unique Tyler model only available at CR Guitars. Its inception was a series of conversations I had with Jim Tyler. We decided it would be cool to conjure up a hardworking jazz/blues musician who switched out the pickup on the road and ditched the pickguard, leaving the pickguard screw holes still in place.

We named the guitar after him - Eddie "Gumbo" Gillette.

Every Tylerbastar Gumbo built over the past ten years (and there's a very limited number of them) has been slightly different from the others. Different colors, different fretboards, covers on the pickups, etc. All are built with the same aim and bacony flavor.

The result of our collaboration is the beautiful guitar you see here. It's one that only Jim Tyler could create. A Tylerbastar with Gumbo only comes around occasionally - and it's a fantastic instrument. Jim didn't do a regular relic, thinking that would be way too disrespectful to the guitar. Instead, he gave it his bacon finish, an homage to the relic concept with the satin finish and bare arm contour, but with a thin satin finish over the worn-looking areas.

Tyler will only build these "Gumbos" when he can source light and resonant swamp ash. It sings unplugged as much as it does as plugged in. It's so woody and alive that you feel you can strum it unplugged and still get great pleasure out of the guitar.

The pickups  (Tyler winds his own to match his instruments) in this guitar are outstanding. And once you plug it in, it just explodes with tone and pure mojo. Plus, its "Keef" pickup combo is further enhanced by a mini toggle switch to split the neck pickup, which means you can get all the traditional T-style goodness too.

The ergonomic arm contour helps you connect with the instrument very viscerally. It's like every note is there with you. And let's not forget about Tyler's neck work. The satiny finish and Jim's legendary neck profile make this a guitar I look forward to playing.

I love this guitar, its back story, and how Jim Tyler embraced that idea to create an exceptional electric guitar.

If you'd like to find out more about this item, just call or e-mail me. It would be my pleasure to talk to you about it.

ABOUT TYLER GUITARS
James Tyler has had a guitar in his hand almost every day since he first picked one up the summer after seventh grade, in 1964. In college, Jim studied Architecture, Design, Music, Photography and for a couple years, Theology. He paid his way through these years of collage doing guitar repair work at local guitar stores, and as a factory trained auto mechanic for Alfa Romeo, Lancia, BMW and Fiat. Later into the 1970’s, he got connected with the guys at Norman’s Rare Guitars in the San Fernando Valley, and became their main repair and restoration guy. Jim’s abilities continued to expand and soon he had enough experience and reputation that he opened his first repair shop in Reseda, CA in 1980. Since then its been a whirlwind of successes, including being chosen to be displayed among the great California guitar companies such as Fender, Rickenbacker, Mosrite and Charvel in the Museum of California's exhibit The Ultimate Guitar Show and building for artists such as Michael Landau, David Williams, Steve Lukather, Michael Anthony, and Dan Huff. James' design shapes and various ground breaking guitar finishes and most recently his line of pickups have virtually transformed the guitar building industry.