Guitarist Steve Perry of the ska band Cherry Poppin’ Daddies was propelled to ska stardom with their album “Zoot Suit Riot”. While “Zoot Suit Riot” may have little in common with the Frank Zappa composition “Zoot Allures”, Gibson had decided to honor Steve Perry and the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies with a guitar that is a equally extravagant and riotous as the album “Zoot Suit Riot”, the Gibson SG Zoot Suit.

The eye-catching feature of the Zoot Suit is the flash of its layered multicolor exterior. The unique thing about this is that the Zoot Suit does not involve the use of any paint; rather, the layers of color are attributed to individual pieces of birch wood (each about 0.075” thick) that have been dyed individually and constructed in a laminate fashion to form the body. The entire body is finished off with two coats of nitrocellulose lacquer.

Now, if you’re a ska guitarist, you really don’t need that long winding sustain, but if you’re a Malmsteen, Vai, Petrucci, etc. (you get my drift, right?) clone, singing sustain is everything. When you think about laminate construction, its sustain doesn’t even compare to just one single piece of wood, right? Gibson says not really. The glue used to bond each wooden component, according to Gibson, is a Type 1 glue which forms that permanent sustain-enhancing bond. Add to that a 17-degree angled headstock, Gibson seems to make up for the perceived loss of sustain. The neck also features the multicolored laminate construction where a solid piece of ebony rests as the fingerboard. The pickups are Gibson’s 496T and 500T pickups with clear coil forms that allow you to visibly see all of the components such as the copper wire and magnets, clear control knobs, and Tune-o-Matic bridge.

The Gibson SG Zoot Suit Guitar also comes with its own deluxe gig bag with the classic Gibson logo. Color varieties include rainbow, black and red, black and white, black and natural, and red and blue. The Zoot Suit Guitar is produced in limited quantities and is priced at 1,999 USD (MSRP).