Preview — This is an early look at the Relay Guitar Platform. Content and specs may change before launch.

Relay Reef

Lab voicing

This voicing's design is defined but has not been physically built and validated yet. Component choices and wiring details may change after testing.

Humbucker · Dual-lipstick subsystem

Two voice families in one body: a bridge humbucker and an independently controlled dual-lipstick subsystem for high-contrast clean and driven sounds.

Bridge

Humbucker

Middle

Lipstick

subsystem

Neck

Lipstick

subsystem
Selector5-way bladeVolumeconcentricToneconcentric

Pickup interaction: Subsystem

The middle and neck lipsticks form an independently controlled subsystem alongside the bridge humbucker.

What it is

Relay Reef puts two voice families in one body: a bridge humbucker and a two-pickup lipstick subsystem. It is not the Lipstick model with more lipstick pickups. The lipsticks are their own system with their own controls.

Pickup interaction

Category: Subsystem.

The middle and neck lipsticks work as a grouped subsystem. They have their own volume and tone on concentric controls, separate from the humbucker side. The humbucker and lipstick subsystem share the 5-way switch, but they remain separate signal domains.

That matters because Reef is built for contrast. The humbucker can carry thicker drive and sustain, while the lipstick side can stay clean, glassy, and wide without being forced through the same control behavior.

Controls

5-way blade

  1. Bridge humbucker
  2. Bridge humbucker + middle lipstick
  3. Middle lipstick
  4. Middle + neck lipsticks
  5. Neck lipstick

Concentric volume - One volume for the humbucker side, one volume for the lipstick subsystem.

Concentric tone - One tone for the humbucker side, one tone for the lipstick subsystem.

How it behaves

The bridge humbucker gives Reef its heavier voice. It is the side you use when you want more weight, more push into an amp, or a stronger driven sound.

The lipsticks provide the separate clean family. Position 4, with both lipsticks together, is the key Reef sound: low-output, open, and clear across a wide frequency range. Because the lipstick subsystem has its own controls, you can keep that side bright and fast while the humbucker side stays thicker.

Choose Reef if you want maximum contrast inside one instrument instead of a single voice that changes gradually.

Who it's for

Indie, surf, alt-country, shoegaze, and studio players who want radically different clean and driven sounds without changing guitars. Reef makes the most sense when the contrast is the point.

Pickup choices

Default GFS choices from the platform proposal, plus the rules that matter if you substitute parts.
  • Neck: GFS Lipstick Tube Pickup, low-output target around 6K
  • Middle: GFS Lipstick Tube Pickup, low-output target around 6K
  • Bridge: Bridge humbucker - target specs finalized during testing

If you substitute parts, keep the lipsticks low output with a wide frequency response. Avoid hot single coils or anything mid-heavy enough to collapse the lipstick subsystem into a generic Strat-style sound. The bridge pickup should contrast clearly with the lipsticks instead of trying to match them.

Join the community

Following the Reef build? Join the Discord to ask questions, share early builds, and help shape the design.

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