R&D with Billy F Gibbons

Terraced Top was our first R&D project with Billy F Gibbons which took shape in July 2018. The goal was to “remove every spec of sawdust and create a design to alleviate the weight” he said. Billy provided sketches of a terraced top designed NEWMAN like the Gibson Neiman Marcus BFG SG that was Copper and Gold color. The essence of the design was to reduce weight in the top, sculpted to very chambered thin in the middle, and extremely contoured on the backside. The guitar had to be a featherweight and finish in the 5 lb. range. This alone was an engineering quandary. By design, the thickness of the body was to go from SG thick and drops to Firebird thickness where the top drops in elevation.  Even thinner sections of the body are chambered.

Billy was to order this design in a Left-Handed guitar for Austin Hanks and a Right for himself.  The NEWMANs would be equipped with A Little Thunder pickup in order to go from guitar to bass in one instrument, one knob, one musician. The tour for The Big Bad Blues was lined up to start in the Fall of 2018 which meant we only had a few months to put 2 guitars together. When we realized these guitars were on a tight deadline, Billy generously suggested simplifying the builds to meet the tour dates. Billy redesigned the guitars to a flat top, but with Swarovski Black Rhinestones inlaid randomly everywhere. The guitars also required a painted fretboard and Ivory outline binding that was hand-painted by Kirby in KY. Kirby has done pinstriping for Billy for the past several years and Billy said “no binding.”We completed those 2 Black NEWMANs for the Big Bad Blues Tour by the deadline and shipped them to LA where they hit the road.  It was exciting to see the guitars being played across America in such venues as the Iridium in NYC and the Troubadour in Los Angeles.  After that tour, we went on to the next project. We went next to build 4 guitars and 1 bass in the GT40 design for Billy. This prevented us from finishing the original Terraced Top design from the sketches we had discussed back in 2018.

So, fast forward. We had cut the terraced top body in 2018 with the chambers based on sketches in 2018. Then the body was tabled and sat raw on a shelf for almost 4 years. So, I put it back on the schedule in 2022. I just had to see how it would turn out. Anyway, we completed the guitar in early December 2022. It is an amazing instrument indeed.

Terraced Top was a project that I thought we’d never complete. Now, it’s a vital instrument and living among us. When Billy was in Indianapolis for the ZZ Top Raw Whiskey Tour later in 2022, we discussed the Terraced Top NEWMAN construction and design being completed. I let him know we were spraying it Midnight Blue Metallic which imparted a very automotive influence.    

It’s amazing to see the electric guitar reinvented by a legend like Billy who generously imparts his expertise. I am grateful for the fruitful nature of design which never goes away. We all share in the evolution, acceptance and viability of the next new thing through our unique opinions and tastes. And….so goes my R&D with BFG. Jeff Smith/NEWMAN Guitars