That's too bad. I've always admired his work, especially his PMC swirls. RIP.

I believe he actually has passed away. It is likely that guy posted there just to let the news get out.

http://www.hollingerfuneralhome.com/....php?id=481357

He was only 45 years old…that is way too young to leave…very sad indeed…RIP

I did not realize he was THAT young. Makes me sad.

Thank you - much appreciated. And again apologies if I caused or added any confusion around the notification.

RIP Herc Fede.

R.I.P. & condolences to family & friends. This is so sad but also brings the realization that the community lost a true artist

I remember first communicating with Herc based on an "ad" he posted on Usenet back in the 90s where he advertised swirling. ATD wasn't really taking work (Darren briefly sold his swirls at a very high cost thru a (local?) middleman at the long-ago repurposed greenjem.com which was a nightmare in terms of customer relations, probably due to Darren's unreliability as we all now know).

So Herc was a godsend in this regard, a gentleman and craftsman and true artist striving to learn and improve... not an prima-donna.

I remember (ATD still MIA) he swirled a mini-JEM for Vai with some donated parts myself and a few others put together and he was like a kid on Christmas morning trying to get it to him (it was stunning of course). Vai did the DNA a little while later.

As many know I have his first JEM swirl a DY i sent him. Back then 3 of us on Jemsite (Ken B., Worth and myself i believe) sent him bodies to "test swirl" and from the start you can tell he had a passion for his craft & really wanted to please his customers. Maybe to a fault as some customers have very unrealistic expectations. For example Ken wanted a GMC UV swirl and rejected the first one expecting the catalog GMC i guess. I'm sure along the way Herc must have been annoyed and felt lost confidence dealing with "guitarists" who are not the easiest "customers" to please lets be honest.

My 777 swirl was great as i had no preconceived ideas just wanting it to be colorful. The axe plays itself today and everyone of all ages just loves it. That is a testament to the artist.

Of course his work improved and he really laid it all out for my second Herc swirl the GC Custom abalone blue or whatever it was called (can't seem to find the links on jemsite to these axes). I met him in a guitar show outside Philly to pick it up, this was pre "cell phone" and my only time to meet this swirl master in person.

His memories and "art" will last a lifetime and more. His passing is a true loss. R.I.P.

.. glen

Great story - thanks for relaying this.

Really nice to hear of these experiences with Herc, the community has lost a respected member indeed. RIP.

I know people talked about posting some pics of his work so I wanted to post my Herc guitar. This is a body I bought from Herc that he had already swirled, I just did the assembly and added the missing parts. Herc told me that his favorite guitarist was Joe Satriani and he had made this for his personal guitar, but never finished the project and decided to sell it off. His inspriation was an early pic of Joe where he's holding a while '87 540P.



I've tried to stay as faithful to this vision as possible. Since I've assembled the guitar, I've added a Backstop and have recently acquired an '87 Roadstar Series RG420 neck with the straight headstock that Joe would have used.

I'm not a swirl guy but this man did awesome work!
RIP!

What a shame to go so young. I remember Herc posting in the first forum here asking [like 100's have since] about information on how to swirl, and within a couple months, had it all figured out and was swirling for dough. In time he became one of the true artists of the genre.

that is one of the classiest swirls I've ever seen - awesome - he was an artist

Omg that's horrible.
Herc tought me a lot and was very cool.
He told me just the other day that his dad had died and he was going through a very tough year.

I cant believe im just finding out.
a true swirl king has gone.
r.i.p. mr. multicolor guru.

This is personal but it is the last thing herc said to me.
I want to post it so I will never lose it and so others can see what a great guy he was.





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Dear andrewsfury,

Andrew,

2013 was a hard year for everyone, including me.

I just got back last night from a long emotional week with family. I buried my father last Wednesday.

I've seen your swirls and work. You do really nice work. Carve your own path and don't worry about what everyone else does. Find something you're passionate about that hasn't been done a million times. The whole "Vai" thing has been so overdone that no one even appreciates it anymore...the market for the niche thing is super-saturated.

I've got two kids and a wife to support and the economy is C-R-A-P. I feel your pain and frustration....people just don't have extra money to spend.

I wish I could help more. The one piece of advice I can give you is to follow your gut / intuition, not others'. I followed my own intuition to get where I am. And I'm always learning and discovering new things.

Hang in there....and remember, carve your own path (locally if possible so they can see your work in person).

Best to you and your family,
Herc

also a news paper article about his swirls.
http://www.southphillyreview.com/new...nts=1&showAll=

http://www.southphillyreview.com/new...nts=1&showAll=

Great find on those articles and a really poignant message from him. Really sad story. Do you know if he'd been suffering from health problems for a while?