Relic Music "Gazing Guitar" No. 3 of 5: BilT Relevator LS Oxblood w/HSC

By now, if you’ve been following us at all, you know collabs are part of our DNA here at Relic; and if you’re a new observer of the shop, we absolutely love collabs (and thank you for jumping on board). 

I first met Ty from Shock the Fox at Fretboard Summit 2024. He was a dear friend of our dear friend Phillipe Herndon from Caroline Guitar Co. They were working together on a guitar that had a Custom Cannonball inside it and were showcasing it there. I was there with our buds from BilT and Frank Brothers doing literally the exact same thing (along with showcasing the world’s first ever Collab Guitar between two companies). We hit it off. His likeminded approach to his builds, the way he goes about things, and how he views this wonderful industry were in, left me feeling like he and we would work together at some point. 

Shortly after, he approached me with an idea to do some Relic Exclusive Pickups with Righteous Sound, and seeing as how we are in love with the 1991 Gazing Set, it was a no brainer. 

To take things a step further, I thought, why not take 5 of these sets and give them to 5 of our favorite builders; along with a loose set of guidelines for each build, but still allowing them some “room to cook” and have a complete set of guitars that have lots of similarities and differences. 

The guidelines:

-Oxblood Finish

-Trem System (Vendor’s Choice)

-Relic Exclusive 1991 Gazing Set with Aged Flame Maple Inserts and Oxblood Foils

-Flame Maple FIngerboard 

-Matching Headstock

We expected our buds at BilT to take this idea and run with it; and boy...did they! The gorgeous flame maple fingerboard theme continues all the way down through the center/top of the guitar. They also painted the back of the neck, included a custom smaller guard, acrylic knobs, and a mastery set to complete things. Just an exceptional guitar and one that we will never, ever forget. And one that will make someone very, very happy. 

Finish: Hi-gloss nitro

Body material: Chambered Alder - Roasted 5A Flame Maple center strip

Neck material: Maple

Fretboard: Roasted 5A Flame Maple

Inlays: Black dots

Neck profile: Standard "C"

Scale length: 25.5"

Radius: 9.5"

Nut width: 1.70"

Nut material: Bone

Neck pickup: Righteous Sound 1991 Gazing Single Coil

Bridge pickup: Righteous Sound 1991 Gazing humbucker

Control layout: 1 Volume, 1 tone, 3-way toggle

Tuners: Kluson Deluxe Locking

Bridge: Mastery Kit

Weight: 6 lbs 8 oz

Case: BilT hardshell