Although he's been building since the mid-'80s, we first discovered Pete Malinoski in 2018 at the NAMM Boutique Guitar Showcase. At the show, we thought it was impressive that each of Malinoski's instruments features his own hand-wound pickups as well as other handmade fittings, hardware, and parts all fabricated by Pete. In addition to building new guitars, Malinoski also refurbishes old vintage clunkers from the '50s and '60s—styling them out with those same custom-made parts—and the results are very cool. This particular Malinoski creation is like nothing else on the planet. Why would someone go through the trouble to fit a Floyd Rose Tremolo System on a '60s Teisco E-110 Tulip? Because he wanted to. Ladies and gentlemen, behold the Malinoski Rose Tulip!!! About as rare as it gets (because you probably won't convince him to do it again), this thing absolutely rips. The amount of work Malinoski put into it is a bit mind-boggling, and the result is a really fun guitar. For starters, the Teisco Tulip body isn't thick enough or sturdy enough to fit the Floyd Rose spring assembly. No problem! Malinoski solved this head-scratcher by glueing a book-matched block of mahogany to the back of the Tulip body, then delicately carving and contouring the edges. From there, he filled the original pickup routing, and routed out the back for the Tremolo springs. He left just enough room for one of his hand-wound Humbucker pickups in the bridge position and an EVH-appropriate single volume control. Since he'd gone through so much work to accommodate the Floyd Rose, Malinoski thought it wise to ditch the original Teisco neck and start with something brand new. The new neck is way more substantial than the original, and it allows for the proper 25.5" scale length. It also eliminates the intonation and stability issues of the inferior MIJ neck. The Rose Tulip is one of the coolest guitars we've seen in a long time. You either get it or you don't. The best guitars are the ones that are exciting and fun, and if this doesn't tempt you, we can't help. Right by the end of the fingerboard, Malinoski affixed a sticker that reads "A Fun Trick Noise Maker." Yep, that's pretty much exactly what this is all about.
