The first instrument from the Platinum line is “the Black Amber Drop #1”.  Rapolas Grazys wanted to create a guitar that connects the past and the future while also giving a nod to his home of Lithuania, where black amber from the Baltic sea is harvested. The construction of the guitar is a single seamless piece of Sapele wood for the body and neck with an ebony fretboard and 24-3/4” scale length. The neck has a truss rod that is reinforced by two rods of carbon fiber. The sapele has been routed out in the body to house the 4.4 pounds of Baltic black amber, with a 5mm rim around the inlaid amber rocks. Baltic amber is over 45 million years old, produced by the Pine trees which grew in Northern Europe and around the Baltic Sea. It is also considered by many to have therapeutic properties due to its high level of succinic acid, a compound said to have analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. The fact that the Baltic amber is millions of years old is humbling to say the least when you pick this instrument up to play. The guitar as an instrument is a joy to play, with a very fast and striking response to notes and chords, from the rigidity of the amber. The neck has a rounded neck profile, with large frets that give way to fast riffing. The pickups are Lace Alumitone humbuckers, and rounding out the looks of this one of a kind guitar are gold hardware, and a 24 karat gold Lava  headstock logo.