It all started with Billy Gibbons of ZZ TOP…well almost. Jeff Carano had the great opportunity to demo one of our Babicz acoustics to Billy in Manhattan Kansas during the Country Stampede concert. According to Elwood Francis, Billy's guitar tech and "World Champion Guitar Ambassador": Billy really was impressed with the look, sound and design features of the Babicz Spider, but " for me, acoustic guitars are just bad luck…but if you ever come up with an electric I want to check it out." said Billy.

Little did anybody know that I already had a concept for an all electric Babicz guitar utilizing all three of the most prominent Babicz Design features: The Continually Adjustable neck, Lateral Compression Soundboard and Torque Reducing Split Bridge. Born on the patented Babicz acoustic guitar, all three features transfer nicely to a hollow body electric design.

The bottom line idea was to provide a very high quality, high performance electric with all of the highly acclaimed Babicz features. I wanted it to have a killer, high output electric tone, with the option of amazingly pristine acoustic sound.

For any guitar, the adjustable neck is great to have - acoustic or electric…instantly set your own action in a matter of seconds. I feel very strongly about the feature, and will continue to use it on all of my designs in the future.

Many times I have been asked "what the reason was for the bridge design". An acoustic bridge design permits the use of an under the saddle peizo pickup which is great for acoustic tone reproduction. Adding the Babicz designed bridge also makes it adjustable for intonation, which is a great benefit to finicky, extra light gauged electric strings.

By adding the Babicz string anchor system to the soundboard, three distinctive advantages to this new electric occur. The added string length offers easier string bending and the overall feel of a lighter gauge string set. The lateral compression energy produced from the top really translates to controlled sustain through the pickup system….especially at higher volumes. And lastly, it provides a cool and very recognizable new electric guitar look - making it a great stage guitar.

With my son, Jeff Jr's help, we went to work on the new body design in my shop in Newburgh NY. We had to deliver a totally new, full working prototype…and its NAMM debut was only a few months away.

Throughout the design process, the guitars' body got smaller and thinner by request of the many musicians who gave us valuable input. First and foremost, we wanted to go after the rock market. Making the new guitar less arch-top and jazzy pushed us toward a smaller, lighter, and more compact guitar. A feedback busting, fairly beefy solid mahogany billet is attached to the inside top of the guitar, surrounding the pickup area, and Seymour Duncan pickups reinforced the rock notion. The use of the L.R. Baggs preamp provided the award winning acoustic Element tone everyone was looking for. Custom rubberized knobs are used for maximum "volume and tone swell" performance. I've always been a big fan of easy to use controls; simple switching, master volume, tone and balance. A smaller Babicz style headstock was in order and a redesigned, more edgy logo was created.

Overall the new, freshly ordained "Octane" (for high output) was a smash hit at NAMM. After four full sets of drawings and several meetings with our factory, the Octane was ready for production. Billy Gibbons got the very fist Octane - a black top with two Pearly Gates Duncans, - it lives as a permanent part of his historic guitar collection. "Very Cool" said Billy as he motioned with his hands, suggesting the fanned out strings on the top….

Available in three pickup configurations, an acoustic output option, and with a choice of three top finishes, the Octane 818 has become one of the best selling guitar lines for Babicz Guitars. - Jeff Babicz Sr.