Unique Jaws Guitar Crafted from Guitar World Pages Up for Auction
Trey Xavier is ready too say goodbye to his unusual Jaws electric guitar, a stunning instrument he meticulously created using countless fragments of paper sourced from the pages of Guitar World.
In 2013, Xavier introduced what could be considered one of the most elaborately designed custom guitars ever featured in Guitar World. The irony lies in the fact that this remarkable guitar was constructed from the very pages of the magazine itself.
As Xavier shared over a decade ago, this journey began with a standard Ibanez RG5EX1, which he transformed into a unique piece of playable art that pays homage to steven SpielbergS legendary 1975 film, jaws.
This project was a important milestone for Xavier, who combined his love for both the film and the magazine into a decoupaged guitar that stands out in the world of music memorabilia. The craftsmanship was impeccable, with even the pickups adorned in the same artistic style.
Now, Xavier has announced that he will be auctioning off this one-of-a-kind guitar to help promote his band In Virtue’s upcoming album, Age of Legends, set to release this week.
In a recent YouTube video, Xavier reflected on the inception of the Jaws guitar, stating, “This guitar embodies a year of my life. I dedicated an entire year to transforming a stock Ibanez RG into a unique piece of cinematic art.”
The creation of the Jaws guitar emerged during a especially challenging period for Xavier. He recalls living in a bar’s parking lot, feeling disheartened about his future as a private guitar instructor, and grappling with the struggles of his band, In Virtue, in 2013. This led him to a moment of intense frustration.
To escape this rut, he discovered a new passion: decoupage-the art of decorating objects with cut-out paper designs. He applied this newfound interest to a Guitar Center-exclusive Ibanez guitar, recreating the iconic Jaws movie poster using snippets from Guitar World, and had it finished by a local luthier to preserve his artistic endeavor.
Additionally, the Jaws guitar features a unique ‘Inside Out Standard’ tuning, which resembles inverted tuning by altering the gauge and octaves of each string.
“The most significant challenge was the immense time and patience required,” Xavier explained to Guitar World back in 2013. “I could binge-watch an entire season of a show while only covering five square inches.But the result is absolutely worth it; the texture it creates is unlike anything else.”
although Xavier’s ambition to turn his decoupage hobby into a thriving business didn’t materialize, the guitar gained recognition in Guitar World and marked a pivotal shift in his life, leading him back to performing and creating content full-time.
“This auction won’t be inexpensive,” Xavier remarks about the upcoming sale. “This is a unique piece of handcrafted art. Parting with it will be challenging as it symbolizes a crucial chapter in my life. Though, moving forward frequently enough requires letting go.”
Interested bidders can find the Jaws guitar on eBay.
