AXN Guitars Hold High Resale Value in Second Hand Sales

Hello friends Johnny here. Recently questions have come across my email about two really cool and awesome AXN Guitars that have shown up in the online used market. We must add that both AXNs were re-sold as used guitars by private owners second hand and held respectively high resale values. This confirms the viability of the brand AXN as an investment.

FYI… AXN guitars is not affiliated in anyway with the sellers on these auction sites. We were made aware by friends and followers via email about the used listings.

I will always be proactive in regards to questions. For kind courteous people with good intentions I will answer near-to-any inquiry. Hopefully this blog post will clear up questions all of you have about the authenticity of these AXNs an their resale values. So lets see what showed on Ebay USA just yesterday in March 2021…

AXNs SOLD AT AUCTION

A 2018 AXN Model 2 Sunset Strip BumbleBee sold on Ebay.uk three weeks ago for just under 3k and this modified AXN ‘83 Standard Prototype sold on an Ebay auction yesterday just under 2K .

ebay.com/itm/133685881002

THE ORIGINAL GUITAR SOLD BY AXN

This one that sold used on Ebay . Both used auctions were authentic AXNs we sold to private owners. Both the guitars have valid AXN serial numbers visible.

SECONDHAND CONDITION

The banana head AXN = Strait away the used AXN ‘83 Standard was modified after we sold it. Firstly, scalloped fretboards is NOT something we offer at all. Scalloped fretboards has NEVER been available any AXN Guitar. The guitar is quite different than how it left our shop. Also looking at the photos there seems to be a switch-aroo to the Floyd Rose tremolo system since it left our shop in 2019. As it seems even with these substantial modifications the used AXN held its value well.

I hope this info helps all of you with questions. Thank you for making us aware of the used auctions for our guitars. I’m happy to see our guitars are popular! Don’t hesitate to reach out to me anytime in email.

Best Wishes to all, Johnny AXN Guitars

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AXN Model '83 Custom Order Watch The Process

Hello Johnny here.

So what are the steps involved in a custom order from AXN Guitars? This is a question I get all the time. If you want to see this order finished scroll to the bottom of the page…

In this post I will break the whole process down.

As of today I try to make a custom order as simple as possible. I don’t use a big giant order form full of things to fill out. I hate forms. I make it a fun experience.

I wont create more mountains to climb. Lets just agree to make it easy and comfortable. I interview each customer and get the information first hand. Most buyers are under the impression that its way more complicated than it needs to be.

To show that its easy we will follow a “live'‘custom order that is going through the shop in this post.

Some quick facts;

Firstly we will put any pickup you want in our AXNs.
Second, 9/10 customers want one of our two models.
Third, right now we have two types of bridges we offer. A Floyd Rose or our new AlienJEL Hardtail. Easy enough!
Fourth, we do a 15” fretboard radius on a flame maple neck with jumbo 6100 frets on nearly all our AXNs. Thats kinda what makes an AXN an AXN. So the choice here is neck and fretboard wood. That said, we are real luthiers, we manufacture our own guitars in our own shop. We can manufacture using any neck/fretboard wood with any frets and any fretboard radius you prefer anytime the way you want it.
Fifth, you can pick your neck shape and profile. We recommend out AXN Gen2 Neck Profile.
If you learn a little about our neck shapes you will have discovered the essence of why an AXN is something different… We are the only luthiers that know the exact neck shapes used by the famous artists that our customers are interested in. We are the only luthiers that execute a neck shape exactly at every fret and every inch of the neck. Every other boutique builder is just selling you basically a generic neck shape that they fudged a little and called it a medium or thin C.
Thats just about it. Generally i personally discuss these things with the customer and I provide advice.
Sixth, so ill make a long story short and make this the last quick-fact. We can do virtually any finish, paint color etc. If we are doing artwork or a graphic i will let you know what the extra cost or time frame is to fulfill your dream.
We work off of a base price for our AXNs. If you buy direct at AXNguitars.com you will save versus buying from Ebay or Reverb. Buy direct from us its much much more personal!!! Some reading on our available page will clue you into our standard/general build specifications.
Below The Raw Body and Neck Photos

SOME PHOTOS ALREADY TAKEN ALONG THE WAY. THESE WERE PROGRESS PHOTOS SENT TO THE CUSTOMER WITH MONTHLY UPDATES.

Step 2 - We manufactured the neck and body fresh from wood we hand picked at our wood supplier.

PART ONE - on to the current custom order! Lets have some fun!!!

Here is what the custom order Specs looked like :

AXN ’83 Custom
maple fretboard neck - Flamey
maple body two piece center seam ( all AXNs are )
Custom BareKnuckle Holydiver humbucker
Black with Red Rising Sun Graphic using nitro paint
Black hardware
New floyd rose with AXN '84 sustain block, old style floyd rose arm
EVH style hooks instead of the usual strap buttons
Hard case

PART TWO OF THIS BLOG POST - Black Nitro paint and finish

Customer Udate ARTWORK

Artwork Applied

This whole guitar gets nitrocellulose. The customer understood that we accurately replicated this graphic from a 1982 Charvel and this is the Rising Sun Graphic color scheme that he chose for his custom order.

A couple of decades ago i used wax paper and pencil to copy this graphic directly from a 1982 Charvel. As some people know i spent decades recording technical specifications of vintage 1980s guitars. Over the decades, in the process of making notes and recording the specifications, i also copied the artwork from various guitars exactly off the 1980s originals.

Ok enough with my Sensei stuff. So i’m still personally hand creating the artwork for 9 out of 10 of my AXNs. When i dont create my own guitar art i work with someone who was well known in the industry in the 1980s.

Below are some photos of the custom order just after i removed the blue tape.

The graphic turned out awesome and “period correct”. I’m using nitro paint and no grain fillers. Sure to end up with the most tone-full AXNs everytime! As we all know paint fillers and clear coat cause shrill sounding distortion and alters the sound wave.

So there we have it. I enjoy this exercise in art creation. I also Believe in Rock-N-Roll and simplicity. As my single humbucker rock AXN guitars demonstrate. That said the most fulfilling part of this journey is yet to come… And that would be building up a 100% handmade AXN guitar and playing it through my Marshall Plexi. A guitar made from the best tonewoods, the best hardware, the best pickups as it was designed to be. ONLY….THE BEST OF THE BEST.

Next update Relic WORK

Age and Relic Work

This custom order was created by the customer himself. He looked at examples of several similar AXNs and choose a relic rising sun guitar. In this step we now ever so delicately and strategically remove finish.

Final Stages - Assembly, Form and Fit, Set-up

FINALe - completion - finis

Creating guitars that are new but look old is not so easy. When its an awesome AXN 80s style guitar its not that different from polishing an already perfect gem. It takes a fine eye and very much patience to replicate truly earned road wear.

The above completed custom order was a great success. The buyer was mystified by the very cool and precise AXN Model ‘83 neck shape. A big fan of EVH he fell in love with the mojo that this AXN has in great abundance.

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END… stay tuned for more “follow the process” AXN Blog Posts

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AXN™ Guitars Made to Spec in The USA

AXN Guitars are created, designed and manufactured by Johnny and his team. He is considered the Sensei of Vintage 1980s guitars. This term was applied to Johnny by his friends, colleagues and fellow vintage Gibson and Fender guitar collector nerds.

In this world of collectors “period correct” is everything. And everything AXN manufactures is inspired by the glory days of of 1980s Metal guitars.

If one would spend the time to take a closer look and compare what was [ in the 1980s ]. Then refer back to what is being manufactured by Johnny and his team today… It is logical to conclude that AXN guitars are absolutely 100% period correct.

This guitar is an 2020 AXN Model ‘83. This model was inspired by my authentic 1983 Kramer Baretta collectors item guitar I have here in my home. Over the years, I sampled and recorded on paper notes the specifications from five actual 1983 Kramer Barettas in order to develop this accurate period correct AXN retro-model. Every neck specification and body contour of or retro-model AXN ‘83 is 100% accurate and period correct.
For late 2020 and 2021 we are now painting these in the exact 1980s Kramer paint color “creme”. The paint color was effectively cloned. We sampled the color from our 1983 Kramer Baretta and we are spraying a limited amount of these in nitrocellulose lacquer for 2020-2021.
We put the same amount of effort into all our throw-back guitars. We use science, actual data and experience!
Johnny - AXN Guitars

For more information on the AXN process for duplicating accurately the specifications of a 1980s guitar pleas refer back to this post >> http://alienxnation.com/vintage-1980s-guitar-resource-blog/kramer-baretta-1983-guitar

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AXN™ Believe In RockNRoll T-Shirts and Merch

Hello friends, We’e got some new AXN T-Shirt Designs.

AXN Guitars Believe In Rock-N-Roll T-Shirts

Mens and Womens Stuff is available!

We are launching a line of apparel into the store. Keep a lookout for these hip new designs.

AXN Guitars Full Line of New Merch

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The Tale of Two Flip Flop Guitars by Bruce Kulick of KISS

see the Bruce Kulick Story of his AXN GUITAR Posted in April 2020 on facebook and his web site

In 2019 and 2020 Bruce Kulick and i worked together to re-create his 1983 ESP guitar. This guitar was used for many live shows with KISS in the 1980s. Bruce used this guitar on MTV. Bruce Kulick has his 1983 ESP guitar hanging in the Hard Rock Cafe in London England near one of Eric Clapton’s guitars.

I have shown some photos of this AXN custom guitar at the following link >>> AXN Bruce Kulick Flip Flop Burst <<<

I have to thank my friend Bruce from the band KISS for being so supportive of AXN Guitars. Bruce and I are working on some future AXN guitars models together and i appreciate his technical input and design notes. These suggestions help me to continue to define 1980s metal.

Bruce is one of the hardest working rockers out there with so much energy and drive. Bruce is just plain inspirational. Keep a lookout for The Bruce Kulick band with front man Todd Kerns! Support them and their music.

HERE IS A LINK TO THE FULL VIDEO >> Bruce on his AXN <<

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AXN™ Guitars - Obsessed With Period Correct 1980s

AXN™ Guitar ( Prototype Display Model )

Model 2 for year 2020

New Floyd Rose w/ AXN™ SuperWide™ Sustain Block

Single Humbucker

Super Thin Paint w/ No Fillers

AXN Neck Shape

1980s Graphic/Paint

Maple Fretboard Neck

15" Radius

Frets 6000

Prime Alder 2-piece Center Joined

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AXN™ Introduces Another Period Correct Vintage 80s Body Style

Vintage & New Body Style - AXN™ Introduces Another Period Correct Vintage 80s Body Style Into the 2020 Line of Guitars.

This body style would appear typical at first glance. Some of you guys might call it a Jackson Dinky or an ESP Kamikaze body shape. Could it be a 1989 Baretta 2 guitar body shape? This design is a favorite for some yet for others its sleek lines stray away from a traditional Fender Stratocaster just a bit to far.

The pictures posted here were taken in 2019. Shown is an AXN™ Prototype body. It has 2 piece maple construction with a center seem. With AXN circular control cavity in the back. A single humbucker is the only pickup. The tremolo posts are for a modern Floyd Rose Original Tremolo. In 2020 we have moved to the Flat Head type mid-1980s tremolo posts for period correct authenticity.

Maple wood brings you back to the 80s. It was known to be a popular wood for the famous shredders of the day. Now they use alder guitars because its a lighter wood and easier on the back.

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AXN Rising Sun 05/05 Gone !

2018 AXN™ SunsetStrip™ Relic Rising Sun

Here is #1 Rising Sun of 5 made exactly like this

Body Wood - Premium Alder
( 2-piece & center-joined wood body )
New Dimarzio Super Distortion
One Humbucker Body
Art is REPLICATED OFF an ACTUAL 1982 CHARVEL
Custom Clear-Coat-Free Paint | Heavy Relic
6105 Fret Size
R3 nut
Neck Shape Dimarzio Charvel

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That Famous NECK SHAPE ! what no one else knows the dimensions?

You Can Get Close or You Can Get an AXN™

Our AXN™ neck shapes are a result of over 30 years of research which resulted in hundreds of pages of data and over 2000 technical entries. We are the only luthiers that have collectively documented historic neck imprints taken from the famous 1980s guitars. With white glove reverence we recorded the neck shapes, neck profiles and fingerboard radiuses along with other unique information 100% accurately.

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AXN Model 3 F-Bird Style 2020 PROTOTYPE - Finally!!

This model has been in the works for some time. In my mind, I might have even been going back and forth on the details for two decades, even before I started AXN™ Guitars.

In his Glendora California shop Mr. Grover Jackson made one of these for a friend of mine John from the Inland Empire California band called Roxanne. Ive loved these guitars ever since my days hanging around the Green Door RockNRoll Club in Montclair California around 1985-1986!

This one is hand made from only the best of the best woods and hardware!

AXN Model 3

Neck : Oil Finish
Nut : 1-11/16" R10
Fretboard : Prime Quartersawn MAPLE
Neck Shape : AXN™
Fretboard Radius : 15"
Frets : 22
Pickup : JB
Body Wood : Maple 2-piece center joined
Paint Color : Creme
Bridge & Nut : 2019 Floyd Rose 1984 Chrome
Sustain Block : AXN™ SuperWide™ 42mm
Volume : Bourns 500K
Wiring : Mil 27500 Miltary Grade
AXN™ Adjustable Treble Bleed Circuit
Tuners : Gotoh

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AXN™ GUITAR - RED MAKES HISTORY

NOTE : WE PLAN TO MANUFACTURE SOME RED GUITARS - WATCH IN 2020

AXN™ RED HISTORIC

This AXN™ is run of three guitars. Using historical data we manufactured three necks and three bodies in an experiment to chase the early VH1 album tone using a specific humbucker pickup. A vintage 1979 Dimarzio SD Pickup reacts to certain woods. Therefore we used Carolina Poplar body wood of the same type Kramer Neptune NJ used on the1983 Baretta.

Holy Grail Banana Hockey Stick Headstock

Neck : Oil Finish
Nut : 1-11/16"
Fretboard : Prime Quartersawn MAPLE
Neck Shape : Holy Grail
Neck Profile : Holy Grail
Fretboard Radius : Holy Grail
Frets : Holy Grail same
Guitar Weight 7.15 lbs
Pickup : Vintage 1979 Dimarzio Super Distortion
Body Wood : Carolina Poplar 2-piece center joined
Paint Color : Red
Bridge & Nut : 2019 Floyd Rose 1984 Chrome
Sustain Block : AXN™ SuperWide™ 42mm
Volume : Bourns 500K
Wiring : Mil 27500 Miltary Grade
AXN™ Adjustable Treble Bleed Circuit
Tuners : Gotoh
Scale : 25.5"
Gig Bag Included

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AXN™ Guitars New Model Sneak Peak

My luthier and I manufactured a run of four AXN™ guitars with this shape. The red version started the idea as a custom order. So I was asked to make a Firebird with a Floyd Rose and we made four :-) … boy these take a lot of wood to manufacture but we like them

I want your opinion

What about you Charvel Jackson guys?

What do you think about us making this body style?

What AXN™ headstock would look best? A reverse headstock?

Let us know…Send Johnny an Email

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AXN™ MAHOGANY STAR RELIC - RUN OF FIVE ( 5 guitars )

AXN™ MODEL-2 RELIC - MAHOGANY BODY / MAPLE NECK

http://alienxnation.com/available/axn-mahogany-star

This was a run of 5 guitars. The first two went to an artist and those two guitars are being used live as a main and a backup. We manufactured the five total… this one was made with a Flamey Maple wood neck. This one #05/05 was also was manufactured special to be stocked in our online store also at online retail locations for purchase.

Floyd Rose + AXN™SuperWide PLUS Block

2019 AXN™ Guitar MADE IN USA
100% Satisfaction Guarantee !!
One year manufacturers' warranty

Reverse Headstock Maple Fretboard
Neck : Flamey Maple with Oil Finish
Nut : Floyd Rose 1-11/16" - R10
Fretboard : Quartersawn Maple AXN™ relic
Neck Shape : AXN™ Standard
Neck Profile : AXN™ Standard
Fretboard Radius : 15"
Frets : AXN™ = Dunlop 6000
Body Wood : Maple 2-piece center joined Mahogany
Paint Color : AXN™ No-Clearcoat
Nut : New Floyd Rose R10 15” radius
Sustain Block : AXN™ SuperWide™ PLUS 42mm
Pickup : NOS Jackson J-80 Alnico 13oHms
Volume : Bourns 500K
Wiring : Mil 27500 Miltary Grade
AXN™ Adjustable Treble Bleed Circuit
Tuners : Gotoh Reverse Premium
Scale : 25.5"
Gig Bag Included

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For Retail Sale - AXN™ SUPERWIDE™ PLUS SUSTAIN BLOCK

We are happy to announce that our flagship sustain block is now for retail sale. You can buy direct and save $$ here >>

http://alienxnation.com/guitar-bridges/axn-superwide-plus-sustain-block

Manufactured and Machined by hand IN THE USA - 42mm Size Block

MANUFACTURED IN THE USA by an Aerospace machine shop
Up-To 7X the size of Floyd Rose® blocks
Unimaginable gains in sustain and whammy bar effect
Perfect weight for creative soloing antics
Manufactured in the USA from prime American metals
Based off the original EVH 5150 sustain block
Modern Metallurgy used during research and development
Exclusive feature of our AXN™ Custom Guitars and now available to you!
Easy To Install
ONLY available in size 42mm ( for the biggest block and the biggest tone )

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Dragons - AXN™ Guitars Sneak Peak

Heres what we have been cooking up at AXN™ Guitars. Now this one is off to get a photoshoot…This Dragon guitar is #01/03. The second one delivered in march 2019 to happy AXN™ customer Tommy D!!

AXN™ Standard Neck Profile
1981 D100 Dimarzio Super Distortion ( vintage )
Mahogany Neck
Rosewood Fretboard
Prime Alder 2-piece center-joined body
Painted Dragon Artwork
Crackle Purple Paint on back
New Floyd Rose
AXN™ SuperWide™ Sustain Block
AXN™ Custom Treble Bleed Circuit
JEL Pearl Gotoh Tuners
Hard Relic

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AXN™ Guitar Neck Shapes Revealed

Our AXN™ neck shapes are a result of over 30 years of research which resulted in hundreds of pages of data and over 2000 technical entries. We are the only luthiers that have collectively documented historic neck imprints taken from the famous 1980s guitars. MORE >

http://alienxnation.com/axn-neck-shapes

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AXN™ Guitars Video - Typical Build 2019

[ AXN™ ABOUT US PAGE ] [ AVAILABLE STOCK ]

AXN™ Guitars Typical BuilD

What do we stand for and what is an AXN™ Guitar About?

The above video displays parts of our daily manufacturing routine in a 42 second AXN™ Guitars Video Short.

AXN™ Guitars are 100% Period Correct. Our mentors were those great luthiers from the 1980s and before. It is from them we learned the secrets to manufacturing an electric guitar the old-school way.

For us sorting through raw guitar tone-woods is exciting. Picking maple wood for the guitar in this video is an excellent example of some good times!

The AXN™ Model2 guitar in the above video was manufactured from prime woods. Every AXN™ surpasses by far the quality of any production line guitar! Our guitars are what we call “Luthier Grade” because any skilled luthier would consider our work highest quality.

If you give a closer look you can see that we made this AXN™ guitar body from 2 pieces of center-joined white maple. A design that creates robust tone.

The AXN™ guitar neck in this video we manufactured from extremely flamed or tiger striped maple wood. The white mother of pearl fret markers with our unique AXN™ fretboard relic-ing and perfect fretwork creates a true work of art.

After finishing this new AXN™ becomes an aged guitar. The video footage demonstrates the transformation from new-to-aged.

At the end of this video is our AXN™ Guitar in all its glory. With our proprietary AXN™ SuperWide™ Sustain Block and a new German made Tremolo - our AXN™ Guitars deliver the Ultimate Floyd Rose experience.

The result is a tone-monster. This guitar produces a huge bottom end with articulate highs and excellent mid range attack. With a hard wood like white maple the “snappy-ness” of the string is such that this guitar achieves near-endless sustain. Since our guitars don’t have traditional tone-killing clear coat every note sings on and on forever.

The #1/5 Maple Reverse White Star guitars we manufactured and sold in 2019 that appeared in this video is displayed here AXN Maple Reverse Headstock with White Star Artwork.

So there we have it. One example of an AXN™ Guitar. That said, every guitar we manufacture is hand made just one guitar at a time. Of course, all our guitars are manufactured in the USA… You Can Get Close or You Can Get an AXN™

Please view our AXN™ Guitars Available for Purchase Page. Remember we manufacture very few guitars every year. Pre-Order yours exactly the way you want!

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Photo Gallery - AXN™-83' STANDARD GUITAR

The AXN™- 83’ Standard - front

The AXN™- 83’ Standard - back

The AXN™- 83’ Standard - Body

The AXN™- Model 83’ Standard - Body

AXN™- 83’S - Truss Rod Notch, prime Rosewood Fretboard

AXN™ 83’ - Large Non-Tilt Banana Headstock

AXN™ 83’ - Hockey Stick Headstock

The AXN™- 83’S - Rear Mount Nut

The AXN™- 83’S - Holy Grail Neck Shape

The AXN™- 83’S - Holy Grail Neck Profile

The AXN™- 83’S - Sharp Arm Scarf

The AXN™- 83’S - Body Contours

The AXN™- 83’S - Precise Action Adjustments

The AXN™- 83’S - Side Dots

The AXN™- 83’S - Exact Holy Grail Fretboard Radius

AXN™'s - Conveniently Serviceable Input Jack

AXN™'s - Perfectly Placed Volume Control

The AXN™- 83’S - Floyd Rose w/ Stainless Upgrades

AXN™ SuperWide™ Sustain Block

AXN™ Sustain Block 5X the tone

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AXN™-83' Standard guitar - Sneak Peak

http://AXNguitars/axn-83/

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Celebrate The Magic of Made in USA Guitars 2019

Join us in celebrating not just our AXN™ guitars but all the other small USA guitar shops that are putting out instruments that make a difference. Guitars that are built out of love of the awesome woods, frets and pickups. Let us all in 2019 celebrate the magic of a superbly manufactured RockNRoll guitar.