What do you get when you take a screaming electric guitar and a sweet sounding acoustic guitar and shove them into a blender and mix vigorously? More than likely you'll end up with two gnarled guitars and one seriously trashed blender. If you've ever wished for screaming electric and sweet acoustic tones in one single guitar, this perfect blend is now possible with the new Michael Kelly Hybrid Special. Best of all, no household appliances were harmed in the making of the new Hybrid Special.The Hybrid is the perfect stage and studio instrument because it instantly switches from a full acoustic guitar tone to a ripping electric tone. Want more? The Hybrid Special can BLEND both tones together for almost infinite tonal combinations, creating the sound of a two axe attack!
The amazing Hybrid Special gives you a vast array of tonal possibilities in a very simple to use format. One tiny little three-way switch makes the Hybrid the easiest acoustic/electric combination guitar to use. When the switch is forward, only the electric guitar pickup is in use, in the center you get a simultaneous customizable blend of electric and acoustic tone, pushing it back to the rear position delivers the Hybrid's acoustic tone. The Hybrid gives you a simple and elegant volume control, tone control and push-pull pot for coil tapping.
To assure a great electric tone, two red-hot Rockfield SWC humbucker pickups are used to deliver the gnarly goods. This is the same great pickup in Michael Kelly's top selling Valor Custom guitar that Guitar Player liked so much in their recent review. The SWC is built from the same vintage style American made wire and magnets as highly sought after classic pickups. The Rockfield SWC pickups are slightly over wound and provide "ringing bell like" clean tones and growling vintage style leads with endless warmth and sustain. However, turn up the gain in your favorite amp and the natural bold and spongy tone of these pickups sizzles and cooks into a very full aggressive distortion without loosing note or tonal definition. The Split coil option or "Tapped" positions are useful and articulate well for a great pickup in any format!
The Michael Kelly Hybrid Special is a carefully crafted, high quality instrument. It features a gorgeous natural Spalted Maple top, set-neck construction for great tone, and a neck and body constructed of solid mahogany, the latter of which is specially chambered to enhance the acoustic performance. The Hybrid also features reliable Grover tuners and a rosewood fingerboard with beautiful Abalone Block Inlay. The acoustic style bridge is equipped with a Fishman pickup that is active thanks to a special pre-amp design engineered by Fishman for the Hybrid. With the Hybrid, you really can replace your acoustic guitar.
If you are performing live with the Hybrid Special or using it in the studio, you will love the dual amp capabilities! When using the Y cable that is included, the Hybrid Special will send out a signal from the acoustic pickup to one amp and the electric signal to another. Of course, nothing can reproduce an acoustic signal like a full range acoustic amp so this can really enhance your performance. You can also run directly into two channels on a mixing board for live or studio applications that will allow you to tailor the sound to maximize each type of tone. Don't have two amps or a mixing board? Don't worry. When you use a standard guitar cable on the Hybrid Special, you get a single signal that you can plug into any amp. Get your hands on a Hybrid Special and see how versatile and how fun it can be. Michael Kelly built this instrument to inspire guitar players to be creative and the Hybrid's added versatility really does that!
