Our One-of-a-Kind, Hand-Painted Krautster
If you caught our recent blog post or follow us on social media, you’ll have heard all about Gear for Hope, a series of auctions in support of humanitarian aid in Ukraine. We teamed up with Grand GTRs and the good folks at Guitar Summit/Gitarre & Bass to bring it together, and incredible people from across the industry have been generous in donating top-shelf instruments, quality amps, parts, accessories and special signed items from artists. The support for the auctions, from those donating items to those bidding and spreading the word, has been amazing – what a community we have here in the world of guitar and music. So a massive thanks to all of you for your support!
While the auctions are steadily coming to a close, we’ve recently added one more item that deserves some time of its own in the spotlight. When working with everyone else involved to get the auctions up and running, we of course decided to donate one of our guitars. But, seeing all of the unique, autographed and genuinely special pieces being offered by our peers, we wanted to make it a truly one-of-a-kind instrument.
Luckily, we had the chance to not only manage that, but to make it a guitar with a deep connection to Ukraine.
And so, we’re honoured to present this one-off Krautster II, hand-painted by Ukrainian artist Irina Garshina.
We built the Krautster with its classic, top-end specs (see below) then, in the spirit of free expression, gave the guitar to Irina for her to paint exactly what she wished – no stipulation, no guidelines, just the blank canvas of the guitar body.
While her work often takes the struggles and difficulties of life as subjects, Irina has chosen here to present something else in these dark times. The motif of The Beatles on the back in a bright psychedelic scene speaks more to hope and freedom – the depiction of John and Yoko on the front, a symbol of love and togetherness. Given Irina’s background in music, it makes for a meaningful personal expression of the power of music and art in the face of hardship. The result is a striking and uplifting piece that resonates with the enduring spirit and indomitable courage of the people of Ukraine.
We’re extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to collaborate with Irina on this meaningful guitar, and thankful to everyone who has come together to make Gear for Hope a reality. With such a special instrument and in aid of such an important cause, we’re hoping to raise a good amount to add to the Gear for Hope fund, so please do check out the auction at this link and consider bidding or spreading the word further! The more people we reach, the better chance we stand of raising a good amount to donate, and the further we spread Irina’s artwork and passion.
Thank you very much again to everyone who has been bidding and helped spread the word about Gear for Hope. Keep an eye out here in the near future for an update on how much we’ve managed to raise as a community, and let’s keep going until all the auctions are done!
– Nik
Krautster II specs:
- Hand-painted by Ukrainian artist Irina Garshina
- Mahogany body
- Flamed maple neck
- Rosewood fretboard with dot inlays
- Compound 10-14” radius
- Pickups: Häussel custom humbucker (bridge), Häussel custom P90 (neck)
