Some words about the Lopashnikov.

Well, well, there are so many things to tell you about this guitar that I don’t know where to start. So I decided to give you only a little introduction and let the pictures and the owner of the guitar tell the rest about this unique project!

First of all, I need to say that this guitar represents the ideology of the artist S.S. Lopakka and the band KYPCK. S. S. Lopakka, the guitarist of the band and also a chief of the Northern Tribe Merchandise, the company which has brought metal clothing to the next level, told me that it would be great to make this kind of project come true. A few months later we were ready to start.

For this project, I set the bar very high for myself! On the one hand, the Lopashnikov had to be a GUITAR - a high quality hand-crafted masterpiece with good balance, playability, and sound! On the other hand, the Lopashnikov had to look and feel like a GUN – to be more precise, like the legendary Kalashnikov AK-47, which Mikhail Kalashnikov designed in 1947! KYPCK plays in A-tune, so we decided to go with a 27” scale, which also set its own limits for designing a guitar like this.

Now we are proud to introduce to you our Lopashnikov 2008.
      - Tomi -

The first Lopashnikov drawings and plans before starting the building process.

Since I wanted to get the best result, I simply went and bought a replica of the Kalashnikov AK-47, some parts of which we also used for this guitar.






Demilitarising the Kalashnikov

Engraving an Amfisound logo to the handmade Lopashnikov stock, which is made of maple.

The case of the Lopashnikov is a combination of an ammo box and a guitar case.

The KYPCK logo has also been painted there.

I was planning to do an aging process for this guitar when it was ready, but the guitar looked too good :), so I left this mission simply to nature and to its owner S.S. Lopakka.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Construction: neckthrough
Scale: 27"
Neck: maple
Body: maple
Stock and grip: maple
Fingerboard: ebony
Frets: 24 jumbo, Stainless Steel
Dot's: white side dots
Nut: Earvana
Hardware: black. AK-47,
Hipshot hardtail bridge, Planet Waves Auto Trim locking tuners, Schaller straplocks, Neutrik locking jack
Pickup: EMG81
Electronics: on/off switch
Color: Satin black/brown
Custom case











"Lopashnikov is truly a work of art and top-of-the-line craftsmanship. I was more than blown away when I saw and tried it the first time - what started from a vague idea had turned into perfection along the way. The baritone guitar has parts that are from an original AK-47, like the trigger and the removable ammunition box. On top of that, simply everything is thought of very carefully and wisely – the plug-in at the bottom of the grip, the safety-catch-like on/off volume, the all-black neck and the perfectly placed auto trim tuning machine. Lopashnikov looks like a weapon but sounds and feels like an excellent guitar. One could think it's difficult to play an instrument that is shaped like that, but it's actually just the opposite. Lopashnikov is easily the best guitar I ever had, also playing-wise. And hey, if I make a mistake on stage, I now have the possibility of turning the head plate into my mouth and blowing my brains onto the backdrop."

- S. S. Lopakka / KYPCK -

THE STORY OF THE KYPCK

KYPCK, “Kursk” in the western alphabet, is a Russian-singing Finnish doomsday metal band.

Kursk’s biography in brief:

1032 – the first written records of Kursk, the Russian city
1508 – the city of Kursk joins the centralized Russian state
1943 – the Battle Of Kursk, the largest battle of tanks in history
1994 – the nuclear submarine K-141 Kursk is launched
2000 – K-141 sinks in the Barents Sea taking 118 lives with it
2007 – the band KYPCK is formed and their debut album recorded
2008 – the band's debut album “Cherno” is released

KYPCK's crew features vocalist E. Seppänen, guitarist S. S. Lopakka (formerly Sentenced), bassist J. T. Ylä-Rautio and drummer K. H. M. Hiilesmaa, who is also a renowned producer for HIM, Lordi, Sentenced, Moonspell, Apocalyptica and many others. It was only logical that Hiilesmaa is also in charge of KYPCK's heavy and (in its original sense) grinding production.

The dry dock for KYPCK was built in 1999 while S. S. Lopakka and K. H. M. Hiilesmaa were working on Sentenced’s “Crimson”. They talked about making music that would be very desolate and dark, with a raw yet massive sound incorporation doom metal elements while still having a very unique character. Something that hits you like a massive wave, something that is crushing yet calm. Something that is melancholic and agonizing at the same time. It took a while until first parts of KYPCK could be assembled, but the blueprints for it were taken out of the vault every time S. S. Lopakka and K. H. M. Hiilesmaa met. Mainly because of the two engineers’ tight schedules it took until January 2007 when words were put into action. It was also the point in time where they decided the language of KYPCK would be Russian to set them apart from usual metal bands.

This was even before E. Seppänen came into the picture, and it seemed quite a quest to find a vocalist who could sing in fluent Russian. After all it didn’t take longer than a week. E. Seppänen has lived in Russia for 2,5 years, studied in St. Petersburg and worked at the embassy in Moscow. He recently got his degree from Oxford and teaches Russian in Tampere, Finland as a part time job. Hence, he is more than legitimate to sing in Russian. A long time friend of K. H. M. Hiilesmaa, J. T. Ylä-Rautio completed the crew. Finnish UHO Production was so excited by the sole idea that they signed KYPCK without having even heard a note.

“We all were so thrilled about the new band and the whole idea that in less than four months we had material for one and a half albums already. It was like a dam being cracked open - a massive load just poured out”, says S. S. Lopakka – who plays an AK-47-shaped custom baritone guitar, “Lopashnikov”, made by Amfisound Guitars.

The band had just formed in January 2007 and in May Hiili was already recording his drum tracks for the album. The rest of “Cherno” was recorded in July. “At that point we noticed that we have something truly original in our hands.” The album was mixed at HIP Studio and mastered at Finnvox Studios during the autumn of 2007. Upon its Finnish release on March 12th 2008 it went straight to #11 in the Finnish charts.




The booklet of “Cherno” features all lyrics in Cyrillic Russian with English translations while Century Media’s version also includes the video-clip for “1917” as CD enhancement. At KYPCK’s Ground Zero (www.kypck-doom.com) you will find sing-along versions of the lyrics – meaning the Russian lyrics transliterated into Western alphabet. Make sure to stop by and check out some interesting features.

KYPCK line-up:
E. Seppänen - vocals
S. S. Lopakka - guitars
J. T. Ylä-Rautio - bass
K. H. M. Hiilesmaa - drums

When KYPCK play live the crew is strengthened by S. Kukkohovi on the second guitar.

KYPCK discography:
Cherno - 2008

KYPCK online:
KYPCK Ground Zero at www.kypck-doom.com
KYPCK Myspace at www.myspace.com/kypck
KYPCK Youtube Channel at www.youtube.com/GroundZeroTV