NAMM 2025: Coheed and Cambria frontman Claudio Sanchez has unveiled a new signature guitar, the Jackhammer, which he’ll be producing under his own Evil Instruments brand.
Those familiar with Sanchez, the restless creative mind behind the band – who alongside 11 studio albums, has also penned a series of comic books and novels and has a musical side project The Prize Fighter Inferno – will not be surprised by this seemingly bold step into luthiery.
However, he’s not going at it alone. Sanchez – who reportedly drew up the designs himself, with input from his longstanding guitar tech Kevin Allen – will team-up with US manufacturer Dunable, who have a well-respected name in heavy circles.
The Jackhammer appears to take in a blend of inspirations from Sanchez’s long-favored Gibson Explorer, through to the SG and the enlarged curved horn of Dunable’s own Gnarwhal design.
The Jackhammer name is a reference to a weapon/ship from Sanchez’s Amory Wars saga – the narrative of which runs throughout Coheed’s albums – and is memorably mentioned in the lyrics of Coheed track In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 (“Man your own jackhammer!”)
The Jackhammer guitar, meanwhile, will be available as both a high-spec US-made option and an import South Korean build, presumably produced in the same facility as Dunable’s DE builds.
In terms of specs, the US model includes a mahogany body and five-piece maple neck, ebony fretboard, Grover tuners and hardware and Bare Knuckle pickups. Then there’s a nitrocellulose finish and a bundled Gator hard case.
The South Korean option offers a mahogany body and neck, ebony fingerboard, Alnico V humbuckers, a gloss finish and comes with an Evil Instruments branded hardcase.
There’s no word on neck shape or scale-length at present, but it’s a pretty safe bet to assume it will be 24.75”, in keeping with the Explorers Sanchez has long used.
On that note, Sanchez’s comments around the launch would suggest he pursued the possibility of a signature with Gibson directly, but was either unsuccessful or unable to come to an agreement.
A limited edition Epiphone Claudio Sanchez Explorer run would have been an interesting proposition, for example, but not to worry – Gibson’s loss is Dunable’s gain – and, as a result, we’ve got a brand new body shape coming to the market.
“As most of you know, I've played a Gibson Explorer for over 20 years, and like any artist whose identity has become synonymous with a particular make and model, I have always longed for a signature model,” says Sanchez.
“Since that hasn't come to fruition, and keeping in line with my creative spirit and DIY methodology, I've chosen to create one from the ground up. A guitar that makes sense for me and is completely my own. We have developed this over the last couple years to meet my lofty aspirations... I present Evil Instruments' Jackhammer.”
Prices for the line will start at around $1,600. Pre-orders will launch in the coming weeks via Reverb.
