Ernie Ball Music Man has announced a new Jason Richardson Artist Series Cutlass HT collection of guitars, designed to the specifications of the All That Remains guitarist and solo artist.
Richardson’s first take on the firm’s Cutlass electric guitar was introduced in 2019, with the guitarist, who cut his teeth playing in Born of Osiris and Chelsea Grin, telling Guitar World, “I play this guitar every night. I was a high-school kid watching John Petrucci play his Music Man... now I have my own signature model.”
The next generation of signature guitars is spearheaded by brand-new, specially designed HT humbucker pickups resulting from “over a decade of guitar string research” and voiced to Richardson’s liking.
Such science has resulted in a humbucker set that delivers “an ultra-high-output and powerful low-end response” without compromising the clarity of the tones produced at lower volumes.
Continuing the focus on premium electronics, the guitar comes with two push/push controls, for both coil-splitting the new humbuckers and delivering an innovative 20+ dB gain boost.
Elsewhere, the new models sport 24 stainless steel frets and a custom Music Man fixed bridge with a whammy bar.
The guitar is available in two finishes and top woods to augment its alder body. The Kokiri Forest colorway has been described as “a mesmerizing translucent green finish” and is crafted with a buckeye burl top, and a roasted, figured maple neck with an ebony fretboard.
A translucent Venetian Red finish pairs the same alder body with a maple burl top and a white maple neck with a striped ebony fretboard.
Of the two finishes, the Kokiri Forest is more readily available in six- and seven-string formats. The Venetian Red colorway is exclusively available via the Ernie Ball Music Man Vault, limited to 50 units split evenly between six- and seven-string models.
“These new pickups are a level up,” Richardson enthuses, saying that they offer “more body and fullness, [and] effortless pinch harmonics.
“I’m stoked to have more variations for everyone to choose from. The Kokiri Forest is absolutely stunning to see in person, and the Venetian Red also adds a more diverse option between the woods that we haven’t done with my line before. I’m incredibly stoked for both these guitars.”
Credited by Guitar Player as one of five cutting-edge guitarists you need to know about, Richardson was championed alongside Aussie maestro Plini, Jakub Zytecki, Lari Basilio, and Sarah Lipstate, who trades under the name Noveller.
That should go someway into underscoring his talents, as should the fact that he's a perennial when it comes to EBMM signature models, which is no mean feat.
Reviewed in 2021, his HH Cutlass was cited by this very publication as “a super-classy take on the future-forward electric,” with its “wonderful vibrato unit” singled out for its well-crafted design and hand comfort.
Its biggest pitfall was the price, and the HT's $3,599 pricetag will continue to be a sticking point.
Head to Ernie Ball to learn more about the new Jason Richardson Cutless HT models.
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