MOON ELITE
In 2018, I was just beginning to design my own models, and I was extremely inspired by a guitar designed by luthier John Page: the Fender® Performer*
I emailed John hoping to get tracings or templates if possible, as I had seen a handful of old forum posts mention that he still had the original templates from the Fender® Custom Shop in the ‘80s. He was extremely kind and helpful, and provided with me with 1:1 exact tracings of each of the handmade templates they used to design the prototype Fender® Performers. His only request was that I not provide them to anyone else, so that he could offer the drawings through his own store in the future.
I took the tracings from the bass version (I had no idea how small the original guitars were) and made some changes to the shape, changed all the layouts and spacing, and began producing the Moon Elite.
I chose the name “Elite” because when the Performer was released, there was a standard model that came with a pickguard, and an ELITE model that was rear-routed without a pickguard. The bass version was also nicknamed the “Jazz Bass Elite” during the prototype phase, and since my guitar model more closely resembles the Performer bass, I chose to honor the original’s nickname.
Since 2018, I have tweaked the design repeatedly to better fit the rest of my brand’s overall cohesion. As of early 2022, the body of the Elite was further slimmed down in width to enhance the ergonomics and to fit in more standard cases.
*Fender® is a registered trademark of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.
Moon Guitars LLC has no affiliation with Fender Musical Instruments or their products whatsoever.
As of 2024, we are now offering our models in the following built-to-order formats:
Standard
$2799 - single pickup
$2899 - HH layout
Strings: 6
Right-Handed or Left-Handed available
Construction: Bolt-on neck w/ stainless steel neck bolts and threaded neck inserts
Scale length: 25.5” or 24.75”
Body wood: Honduran Mahogany solid body
Neck wood: Roasted maple, with dual action truss rod (adjust at headstock)
Neck finish: Satin Tru Oil & wax
Neck profile: Thin C (0.79” @ 1st fret, 0.85” @ 12th fret)
Fingerboard wood: Ebony
Fingerboard radius: 12-16” compound
Frets: 22 Medium-Jumbo Stainless Steel
Inlays: White dots, matching side dots
Binding: None
Nut: Locking R3, 1-11/16” (42.86mm) width
Tuners: Hipshot open gear tuners
Bridge: FU-Tone locking trem w/ stainless steel upgrades and big brass block
Hardware color: Chrome/Black/Gold (your choice)
Pickups: Single humbucker or HH layout, Lambertones Red Eye
Controls: Master volume, master tone, 5 way switch (Coil split options in position 2 & 4)
Case: Hard case
Other: Grover strap locks included
Finish: Solid color gloss/satin polyurethane
Deluxe
Starting at $3199
(price increases only with cost increases, no labor upcharge)
Strings: 6
Right-Handed or Left-Handed available
Construction: Bolt-on neck w/ stainless steel neck bolts and threaded neck inserts
Scale length: 25.5” or 24.75”
Body wood: Alder, Roasted Alder, Pine, Roasted Pine, Mahogany, or Black/White Korina (figured tops also available at this tier), solid body
Neck wood: Figured Maple, Roasted Figured Maple, Mahogany, Wenge, or Indian Rosewood, with dual action truss rod (adjust at headstock) and optional Graphite reinforcement rods
Neck finish: Satin Tru Oil & wax
Neck profile: Several options available upon request
Fingerboard wood: Figured Maple, Roasted Figured Maple, Mahogany, Wenge, or Indian Rosewood
Fingerboard radius: Your choice
Frets: 22 Stainless Steel (you choose size)
Inlays:
Dots - Clay, Mother of Pearl, Abalone, or Glow in the Dark
Blocks - Pearloid, Black
Binding: Black/White/Cream available around fretboard
Nut: Locking R3, 1-11/16” (42.86mm) width
Tuners: Hipshot open gear tuners
Bridge: FU-Tone locking trem w/ stainless steel upgrades and big brass block
Hardware color: Chrome/Black/Gold
Pickups: HS/HH layout (single pickup also available)
your choice of Bare Knuckle/Lambertones/DiMarzio Pickups
Controls: Master volume, master tone, 5 way super-switch (Options dependent on pickup layout)
Case: Hard case
Other: Grover strap locks included
Finish: Your choice (we can match reference pics), gloss/satin polyurethane
No nitro lacquer or relic-work at this tier
Custom
Starting at $3999
(price increases with complexity of custom options, like inlays, relic-ing, difficult/custom finishes, etc.)
Strings: 6 / 7 / 8 (multi-scale options available)
Right-Handed or Left-Handed available
Construction: Bolt-on neck w/ stainless steel neck bolts and threaded neck inserts, or Set-neck
Scale length: Your choice
Body wood: Your choice (we can source many kinds of exotic woods, and are happy to discuss options via email), solid/semi-hollow/fully hollow
Neck wood: Your choice (we can source many kinds of exotic woods, and are happy to discuss options via email), multi-piece options available
Neck finish: Satin Tru Oil & wax (gloss options available, although we’re always partial to the natural feel)
Neck profile: Several options available upon request
Fingerboard wood: Your choice (we can source many kinds of exotic woods, and are happy to discuss options via email), multi-piece options available
Fingerboard radius: Your choice
Frets: 21/22/24 Stainless Steel (you choose size)
Inlays: Your choice
Binding: If you want!
Nut: Bone/Graph Tech TUSQ/Locking
Tuners: Your choice
Bridge: Your choice, if we can source it and it will fit on the body with your other chosen specs
Hardware color: Chrome/Black/Gold
Pickups: Your choice of layout and pickups
Controls: Your choice
Case: Hard case (unless you really want a gig bag for your $3999+ instrument)
Finish: Your choice (we can match reference pics)
Standard Finish Options
Space Black
Neptune Blue
Terra Green
Nova Pink
Cosmic Purple
Solar Red
Lunar White
Natural
Quasar Orange