James Tyler Studio Elite HDX - Tequila Sunset Shmear

There are guitar finishes, and then there is what James Tyler does with paint when he decides the rules don’t apply. The Tequila Sunset Shmear is not a burst, not a graphic, not a pattern — it is an abstract expressionist event captured in semi-gloss on an alder body. Golden yellow erupts from the lower bout in organic, chaotic textures that read like sunlit lava or molten gold, transitioning through vivid orange splatters and smears into a deep, saturated crimson at the upper bout and horns — the full palette of a desert sky at the exact moment the sun touches the horizon, rendered by hand and entirely unrepeatable. No two Shmear finishes are identical. The black hardware running throughout — bridge, tuners, pickup rings, switch tip — cuts against the vivid color without competing with it, the roasted quartersawn maple neck glows in warm caramel contrast against both the body and the black headstock, and the black Onyx dot inlays trace the fingerboard with a quiet precision that grounds the whole visual composition. No pickguard — nothing between you and the finish. This guitar is as much an object of art as it is an instrument, and it arrives having already made a statement before a single note is played.

The Studio Elite HDX is Tyler’s more sophisticated performance platform — wider in its switching capability than the Classic LAX, with three function buttons that go beyond the mid boost alone. The Tyler Mid Boost is here as always, the anchor of the system and the circuit that made these guitars the choice of LA’s studio elite for decades, but the HDX adds an Add Neck/Bridge button for Telecaster-adjacent neck-and-bridge combinations and a Series/Parallel Bridge control that gives the “Super” bridge pickup two distinct voices in the same position. JTS5500 single coils at neck and middle deliver Tyler’s characteristic clarity and chime, and the stainless steel Wide/Tall frets across the 10"–12" compound radius fingerboard add durability and a silky, frictionless feel that nickel-silver frets can’t match. Gotoh G2TS tremolo, locking tuners, ST59 neck at .825"–.915", 1 5/8" nut — the Tyler platform executed at full specification. At 7lbs 7oz, it plays as effortlessly as it looks dramatic. 

Model: Studio Elite HDX
Body Wood: Alder
Body Finish: Tequila Sunset Shmear (Semi-Gloss) 
Neck Wood: Roasted Maple (Quartersawn) 
Headstock Finish: Silver Explogo w/ Tequila Sunrise Tint Logo on Black 
Neck Back Finish: Satin Natural 
Neck Shape: ST59 (.825" - .915") 
Nut Width: 1 5/8"
Inlay: Dots (Black Onyx) 
Scale: 25.5"
Radius: 10"-12"
Frets: Wide Tall (Stainless Steel) 
Bridge: G2TS 
Tuners: Locking 
Hardware Color: Black
Neck Pickup: JTS5500  
MiddlePickup: JTS5500  
Bridge Pickup: Super
Pickguard: None 
Switching: 5-Way, 3 Buttons (Mid Boost, Add Neck/Bridge, Series/Parallel Bridge) Vol, Boost, Tone
PU Rings/SW Tip: Black
String Gauge: .010-.046
Weight: 7lbs 7oz. 
Case: Hardshell Case