Hagstrom - Fantomen Custom Black

The fruit of a new collaboration between Hagstrom and the hard-hitting spirits of Ghost, the Fantomen Custom doesn't try to seduce: it imposes. Its three-piece maple neck is flanked by two African mahogany wings, for an aggressive response and mids that growl like an overconfident amp. It's built to take, deliver and roar, night after night. A well-behaved monster, to be sure, but one that gnashes its teeth as soon as you plug a jack into it.

It's comfortable too, with a slim D-profile and H-Expander trussrod for stability and low action, even when in full possession of the stage. Add an ebony fingerboard set with stainless steel frets and glow-in-the-dark markers, and you've got a neck that's as fluid as a solo at the end of a concert. Even the tuners are at attention, with locking tuning machines and in-house Hagstrom knobs to ensure that every pull of the string is worthy of the name.

The two Lundgren humbuckers - No. 2 neck, No. 5 bridge - are splittable, so you can vary the pleasure from almost clear vocals to distorted fury. This broad palette means you can switch from ceremonial hymns to frontal attacks without ever changing guitars. Everything is controlled by a three-position selector, two volumes with R/C circuitry and two push-pull tones. Yes, it can hold its own, but it prefers to be pushed a little.

Schaller's signature hardware, from the Tune-O-Matic bridge to the stopbar tailpiece, guarantees optimum transmission of every vibration. The whole thing is finished in an unobtrusive White Gloss. And since not everyone can see like an owl under a strobe light, the phosphorescent side markers will guide you, with a little sci-fi effect to boot. In short, a guitar that sees in the dark and shakes the walls.