I’m a fusion/progressive rock type guitarist, and I started playing a lovely instrument made by Houston-based luthier Pablo Rocha a year or so ago. As someone for whom Holdsworth has been a big influence over the last several decades, I became interested in headless guitars a while back. I owned a few of them before I was contacted by Pablo in advance of a short “tour” I did a few years ago. He brought two ROCCA prototypes to a Houston gig for me to check out, and I was blown away. The attention to detail and the build quality impressed me, as did the tone and feel. It made perfect sense after I heard Pablo play; a gifted guitarist with a subtle and technical approach. I really wasn’t in the market for another guitar at the time, but we kept in touch. A few years later, I pulled the trigger on his model 2 (Rocca 2), which incorporates maple, alder and carbon fiber for the body with a maple neck/ebony fingerboard. The design is a real work of art, I think. I know he’s sold a few here and there, but I thought I’d give him a shout-out here for anyone interested in original headless designs.
Here’s a video of some weirdo music I played with some friends last year that features the Rocca.
https://youtu.be/PZfWOFsa6rI