Shabat Lion Special Mahogany Humbucker Guitar w/ Maple Neck & Rosewood – Black

Information

Brand New w/ Warranty. We are an authorized Shabat Dealer.

Like what you see? All photos are of the exact instrument you will receive.

The Lion Special was designed for players who want a Lion guitar, but with a little different sound than a standard T-style. The Lion Special offers a pair of Lollar P-90s or Imperial humbuckers, and a Gotoh hardtail or Graph Tech ResoMax wraptail bridge—all wrapped in your choice of classic nitro finishes.

What Does Josh Think?

This guitar is more LP than Tele, but incorporates obvious elements of both. The T-style body is superbly comfortable with a nice tummy cut. And while featuring a 25.5” scale on this particular build, the neck screams ‘50s Gibson with a 1.69” nut and Chunky ’59 profile. The neck is maple but fully painted in keeping with that Gibson feel and look. The guitar exhibits all the expected warmth of the mahogany body, but the maple neck imparts a little more responsive nature to the middle register.

The Lollar Imperial pickups are a solid choice for PAF-styled humbucking tones. Avi Shabat used a standard wind Imperial in the neck position and a high wind in the bridge for a perfect volume balance between the two. The neck position is fat but exudes plenty of articulate tendencies nonetheless. The bridge position gives more grunt in the midrange without ever feeling stuffy. And the middle is just as crisp and clean as you could want it to be.

How Does It Play?

Avi Shabat’s distressing and breaking in of a guitar are second to none. Yet he incorporates thoughtful new touches at the same time… a selector switch angled to throw back in just the direction your hand wants it to, a spoke wheel truss rod adjustment, and carefully rounded pickguard edges. Not to mention perfectly rounded fret ends! Fretwork is flawless and the string action measures 4/64” on the low E string at the 12^th fret and even a tad lower on the high E.

Weight: 8lb 2.1oz

The G&G custom hard case pictured is included!

Specifications

Body: Mahogany

Body Binding: Cream

Contours: Tummy Cut

Scale Length: 25.5”

Bridge: Graph Tech ResoMax Wraptail

Pickups: Lollar Imperial Standard Wind (N) & High Wind (B)

Headstock: Snakehead

Tuners: Kluson Deluxe

Inlay: Pearloid Blocks

Radius: 12” straight

Neck: Hard maple

Fretboard: Rosewood

Frets: 22

Fretwire: Dunlop 6105 nickel silver

Nut: 43mm (1.69”) TUSQ

Neck Profile: Chunky ‘59 (0.88-0.98")

Hardware: Aged Nickel

Finish: Black nitro finish

Pickguard: 5-Ply Black

Aging Level: Medium

Electronics: Switchcraft input jack, 3-Way pickup selector

Strings: 10 gauge

Tuning: E standard

Case: G&G custom hardshell

Notes:

Full black neck w/ matching headstock