The Gigerstein

Chris Stein of Blondie, a longtime client of Lieber Instruments, commissioned Tom Lieber to create an instrument based upon the artwork of Chris’ friend, H.R.GIGER, who is well known for his spine-tingling, bio-mechanoid creatures and set designs as seen in the movie, "ALIEN." After Lieber’s careful study of Giger’s artworks, the concept of using an Alien’s hand for the peg-head was realized and several body depictions were rendered. In an artistic meeting, Giger, Chris and Lieber hammered out the final modifications and details and the result is truly a work of art. Much of the guitar’s components and ornamental design hold true to Giger’s signature style of mixing the organic with the synthetic.

The asymmetrical bio-mechanical body is hand carved in wood. It is adorned with carbon graphite, assorted biological materials and bronze castings. The neck and six- fingered "peg-hand" comprise unidirectional carbon graphite fiber. A unique construction feature is the integral molding of the neck and fingerboard. A long scale guitar (25 ½ ), its overall length is 40 1/8 inches. The body is 20 1/4 long x 13 3/8 wide x 1 13/16 thick and the weight is approx.9 lbs. The guitar’s hardware (i.e., pickups, bridge, tailpiece, battery, and face plate), set up and adjustments are accessed from the instruments back. Electronics include: four custom E.M.G. pickups, one volume, one tone control and one single pole switch (on/off) for each pickup. Price: $57,000.00

The builder (Lieber) is a seasoned and accomplished luthier, with eight U.S. and Japanese patent innovations relating to guitar construction techniques, ornamental design, and utility design for hardware and pickups. Presently the guitar projects being commissioned are only those that demand true inspiration on the part of the builder and player. "There’s a finite number of instruments I can personally produce within my lifetime, that’s why I currently devote my time to stringed musical instrument innovation." Lieber has been involved in the design and building of instruments for Paul McCartney, Tom Chapin , Jerry Garcia, John Wetton, Phil Lesh, Pete Sears, Stanley Clarke, Chris Stein, and Iris DeMent


A Beautiful Piece of Sculpture Transformed into a Playing Instrument

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