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“Tribute” is a stunning composite of cocobolo, maple, ebony, mother of pearl, sterling silver, and brass and weighs eleven pounds, six ounces with a standard 25 ½” scale.



The battery cover plate of “Tribute” is 3/8” deep to accommodate a surreal 3D inlay that changes hue when exposed to different lighting.




3D mother of pearl designs in the headstock: Eight pieces of inlay form the trunk and lie beneath the base and fans of the palm tree. The cocobolo truss rod cover has a dolphin mother of pearl inlay. The peg-head binding is maple. It has a 1 5/8” brass nut.




The body consists of eight layers of wood.  From the top: cocobolo, another layer of cocobolo, maple, cocobolo, maple, cocobolo, maple, cocobolo.



Electronics:

• Three Schaller humbucking pickups (two neck and one bridge) encased in a cocobolo mounting plate with a brass bottom.
• Schaller bridge with piezo saddles
• Five way blade pickup selector switch
• Master volume
• Master tone
• Piezo tone control
• Piezo-magnetic blend control
• Coil tap switch for neck pickup
• Coil tap switch for middle pickup
• On/off effects loop switch
• Effect loop ¼” jack
• Output jack 1/4'”

Encased in acrylic, the 3D sterling silver rings literally surround the planet.




The ebony fretboard has forty-seven separate pieces of mother of pearl inlay.

The binding surrounding the 24-fret ebony board is maple. The fretwire measures .011” x .057”.




Tribute pictured during construction—from Cripe’s files.




Lightning Bolt, Tribute, and Top Hat—outtake from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Photo Shoot.

> See "Eagle"