Hand-carved by an Artisan
Dr. Nik is a bi-coastal avant-garde artist, musician, and puppeteer specializing in creating striking visual images. Over the years, Dr. Nik has spawned original art from old bicycles and recycled tin cans. Now Dr. Nik has turned his artist’s eye, capable hands, and sculpting tools toward guitar bodies. Dr. Nik is the true shaman behind the IYG Tribal Axe Series!
Wired by a Wizard
Mark Zampella is a certified audio wizard. He’s a Grammy-nominated audio engineer who knows the ins and outs of sounds and tone. Mark’s been playing guitar for decades and knows what it takes to make an axe sound great. Zampella-wired instruments are renowned for their broad tonal spectrum and rugged construction.
Three Tribal Axes come equipped with classic pickups with Alnico V magnets and a “magical blend knob” located where a Stratocaster’s (useless) second tone knob is usually found. (Sun and Sky have a standard knob arrangement.) The blend knob allows various pickup blending options not found on standard Stratocasters, including mighty humbucker sounds and funky out-of-phase settings. Check out the blend knob on an IYG Tribal Axe, and you’ll agree — it’s magic!
Assembled in North Jersey
The endpoint for all these exotic, global components was the IYG workshop in Riverdale, New Jersey, where Rocco and I pulled everything together. Hand-shaped necks were smoothed and sanded for a perfect pocket fit. These necks and bodies are made for each other! We carefully finished the bodies with a clear matte sealer, attached the necks, and installed the custom pickguards. Strung up and set up (with Ernie Ball Super Slinky strings), the Tribal Axes became much more than the sum of their parts. Each instrument is a unique tonal machine capable of exploring sonic landscapes in far more detail than any guitar you’ll ever play. This is no mere Gibson, Fender, or PRS! This is IYG’s Tribal Axe, a one-of-kind custom blend of playability, dynamic tone, and indigenous folk art.
The IYG Tribal Series — become one with the tribe!
