Utah’s Klos Guitars has been making acoustics and ukuleles fashioned from carbon fiber for a number of years now, and while there have been instruments you can plug into an amp, the company hasn’t ventured into all electric guitar or bass territory, until now.
Like some of the models gracing the Klos catalog, the new electric guitar and bass options currently funding on Kickstarter are hybrids rather than all carbon fiber. But this time around, the company makes use of wood like okoume and ash for the bodies and carbon fiber for the bolt-on necks.
Noted for its toughness and light weight, carbon fiber has been used in automotive design, posh ebikes, exoskeletons, camper solutions and more. And it’s made for travel-ready guitars too, with Klos saying that such qualities – combined with not being adversely affected by humidity and temperature changes – make carbon fiber an excellent choice for an electric guitar or bass neck.
The Apollo series guitars have a 24.75-inch scale carbon fiber neck with a truss rod inside for adjusting relief and a squat 3×3 headstock angled at 11 degrees, which is said to lower the friction at the nut to make it less likely for strings to go out of tune on their own. The neck is topped by a composite synthetic ebony fretboard with 22 frets. The bass Apollos have 24-fret, 34-inch necks with a 40-mm nut width.
Klos has also remained true to its travel-friendly design ethos, saying that the metal threaded inserts in the neck allow for frequent removal to pack the instrument down for backpack or suitcase travel – though bolting on, restringing and tuning up after every trip might be a bit of a pain.
Model options are available rocking a carbon fiber pickguard, Fishman Fluence pickups, a custom aluminum bridge, and Klos locking tuners (guitar) or Ratio multi-gear tuners (bass).
Early bird Kickstarter pledges for a standard Apollo electric guitar start at US$699, which comes with an okoume body, ABS pickguard, steel bridge and gig bag. A $1,599 Pro electric ups the specs to an ash body, carbon fiber pickguard, Fishman Fluence pickups, Tusq nut, locking tuners, a machined aluminum bridge and more.
The standard electric bass features an okoume body, ABS pickguard, Klos humbuckers, steel bridge and a gig bag, and will require a pledge of at least $799. And the $1,699 Pro version comes with an ash body, carbon fiber pickguard, Fluence pickups, machined brass saddles and more.
Should everything go to plan, shipping is estimated to start in July. Backers will be asked for color choices before then.
Travel-friendly electrics combine tonewood body and carbon fiber neck [New Atlas]