COHEED AND CAMBRIA‘s Claudio Sanchez has announced his new guitar The Jackhammer, which will premiere at NAMM this weekend in Los Angeles. “Man Your Own Jackhammer” is a famous line from the COHEED AND CAMBRIA song “In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3”, and now the singer/lead guitarist has taken it from the fiction to the real. The Jackhammer is the first presentation from Claudio‘s new guitar and music company Evil Instruments. Claudio has been playing the mysterious guitar on tour for the last year, and now we know why.
Speaking about his new guitar, Sanchez shares: “As most of you know, I’ve played a Gibson Explorer for over 20 years, and like any artist whose identity has become synonymous with a particular make and model, I have always longed for a signature model. Since that hasn’t come to fruition, and keeping in line with my creative spirit and DIY methodology, I’ve chosen to create one from the ground up. A guitar that makes sense for me and is completely my own. We have developed this over the last couple years to meet my lofty aspirations… I present Evil Instruments‘ Jackhammer.”
Claudio will be at NAMM this weekend displaying the guitar and signing autographs at the Dunable booth #4338. Pre-orders will be announced in the coming weeks. Prices will start around $1,600.
The guitar was completely designed by Sanchez, with assistance from longtime guitar tech Kevin Allen, and fine-tuned and built by Los Angeles-based Dunable Guitars. The guitar will come in three colorways; black, white and natural wood with a laminated body.
Full specs for each below:
USA:
* Mahogany / maple, 5 pc laminated body and neck
* Ebony fingerboard
* MOP block inlay
* Grover Rotomatic 18:1 tuners
* Grover Nashville tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece
* Bareknuckle pickups
* 2 volume 1 tone, 3 way pickup selector
* Satin nitrocellulose lacquer finish
* Gator hard case
* Made in Los Angeles, CA
Imports:
* Mahogany body and neck
* Ebony fingerboard
* Pearl lid block inlay
* Closed back tuners
* Tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece
* Alnico V humbuckers (10k/12k)
* 2 volume 1 tone, 3 way pickup selector
* Gloss finish
* Evil Instruments hard case
* Made in South Korea
Earlier in the month, COHEED AND CAMBRIA released the new single “Someone Who Can” from the band’s forthcoming album “The Father Of Make Believe”, which is due on March 14 via Virgin Music Group. In conjunction with the new song, the band shares its heartwarming Mason Mercer-directed video where we get a glimpse at the early days of COHEED AND CAMBRIA in and around their hometown of Nyack, New York.
“Someone Who Can” follows the previously shared “The Father Of Make Believe” singles “Blind Side Sonny” and “Searching For Tomorrow” along with “Claudio Covers”, which arrived at the end of last year and features eight songs reimagined by Sanchez, including “Just Like Heaven” by THE CURE and “Welcome To New York” by Taylor Swift.
COHEED AND CAMBRIA recently announced a North American co-headline summer tour with TAKING BACK SUNDAY with support from FOXING on all dates. The 25-date trek, produced by Live Nation, will kick off on August 16 in St Louis.
Ahead of their run with TAKING BACK SUNDAY, COHEED AND CAMBRIA will embark on “The Infinite Arc” co-headline arena tour with MASTODON, following the Tool In The Sand festival with TOOL, PRIMUS, MASTODON, EAGLES OF DEATH METAL and more in the Dominican Republic this March. This July, the band will perform at 2000 Trees with KNEECAP, TAKING BACK SUNDAY, ALEXISONFIRE and more in the United Kingdom. This November, COHEED will embark on their S.S. Neverender 2025 cruise with THURSDAY, L.S. DUNES, THE DEAR HUNTER, ILLUMINATI HOTTIES, ZULU and more.
“The Father Of Make Believe” continues the narrative of “The Amory Wars” / “Vaxis” universe, following COHEED AND CAMBRIA‘s 2022 album “Vaxis Act II: A Window Of The Waking Mind”. “The Father Of Make Believe” will include the aforementioned singles “Blind Side Sonny”, arguably COHEED AND CAMBRIA‘s most aggressive track to date that was complemented by a Max Moore-directed video that unveiled a new villain in “The Amory Wars” realm, and “Searching For Tomorrow”, which arrived with an Anthony Scheppard-directed and animated video.
For the last 20 years, COHEED AND CAMBRIA have continuously broken the mold of what a rock band can be, forging their own path and building a universe around their music unlike any other. Whether it is in the way their genre-spanning approach to songwriting has allowed them to bridge worlds without being contained to one, or the multifaceted story arc of their albums and comic book series which mark the longest running concept story in music, COHEED AND CAMBRIA have consistently shaped new standards, never conformed. Comprised of Claudio Sanchez (vocals / guitar),Travis Stever (guitar),Josh Eppard (drums) and Zach Cooper (bass) the band has gripped listeners and press around the globe with their visionary compositions and conceptual mastery.
Photo credit: Jimmy Fontaine