Nick McCarthy of Franz Ferdinand debuted his custom First Act guitar at the 2005 Grammys in front of 30 million viewers.

Nick wanted a vintage-look, Japanese-style electric. He yearned for a black and white guitar, and he wanted it to be covered in snakeskin.

Luthier Bill Jancar set to work making a sharp, retro-cool instrument that would look and sound great. He covered a Japanese-style double cutaway alder body with white vinyl snakeskin, and added a hand-rolled black binding.

A custom “broken up” black and white pickguard was designed to protect the snakeskin and to make the top pop.

The ebony fretboard was inlaid with alternating pearl blocks. A custom plate was designed for the headstock.

Three Kent Armstrong vintage style single coil pickups were installed, along with a volume control and a switch for each one, with one master tone control. The knobs are white vintage Japanese knobs.

The result is a striking piece of art that sounds awesome. Nick can deliver his modern garage disco rhythms, going seamlessly from bright jangle to retro fuzz at the flip of a switch or turn of a knob.