as i was saying...
78:00 "Go ahead and strum it!" TWANG "OK, that's enough."
"You've been here a long time."
Q: we haven't even dented the surface.
"You're right, but you have to go now."

It occurred to me that I hadn't posted pics of any of the guitars that I've made. I've only been doing it for 4 years, but it has become a real source of joy for me.

The first thing I did was the Duo Sonic/Musicmaster. OG 1964 body was totally hacked and painted pepto pink, I think it was like 50 bucks. Got a nice modern MIM Duo Sonic neck on Craigslist for super cheap. I originally had a Bill Lawrence blade pickup in it, but it hummed like crazy no matter how I wired it. It was a parts bin special that I'd never tested on a guitar, so it might just be messed up. Replaced it with another thing laying around; Gibson 498R. It's a mean MF now. Got lucky on an original bridge for it too, swapped a few saddles. The bass was an Electra Long Necker which had a bowed neck. I got a Bronco bass neck from an FM (possibly Dr. Balls) and extended the neck pocket toward the bridge to accommodate the 30" scale. The neck PU was dead so I put one from a Bronco in there (just a cheap ceramic guitar single coil). I love big open gear tuners on a bass, so I reamed the holes and put Gotoh tuning machines in. Had to file the plates a bit to make them fit. This is the bass I play in my band and I love it. Short scale with a full size Jazz body. It feels very comfortable.

I love Squier Classic Vibe necks. This is from their 70s Tele Deluxe. The blue flower body has the trem cavity blocked up. Humbuckers came out of a cheap 80s import explorer body and sound just fine. There is a piezo mounted under the bridge that has an on/off switch and a tone knob. Volume pot for each humbucker and a 3 way selector. The black Mustang looking guy has a body from a Bronco bass (you could get them complete for like $75, I've used a few) and a 50's CV Tele neck. GFS "Brighton Rock" PUs that I got from Dr. Balls along with a Mighty Might Tele neck a while back. I had that cool metal plate sitting in a box forever. If you give it some gain and tap on the plate you get a really cool percussive sound. The bridge is a cut down tele bridge. Looks like I didn't take a pic after this one was all strung up, but here is the 'after'. It started life as a Vintage Modified JM, the non trem kind. Since it had been so molested it was only $275. I'd been intrigued by Jazzmasters for a long time and the price was finally right. Plus, I love a maple neck and you hardly ever find one on a JM.
It had been sloppily filled and painted and routed for trem with a TOM bridge. I couldn't get it to stay in tune and went all out, filling and drilling the post holes and installing a Mastery. They're as amazing as everyone says. I also put in Duncan Antiquity II pickups and restored the pots to 1M. Once I found it was sunburst under the paint I removed a bunch to let it show through. As you can tell, I appreciate a "fucked-but-fully-functional" look. The pickguard is plexi and yes that's foil underneath.

Ok last couple for now. DC tele with reissue CuNiFe WRHB. I love this pickup. I love this guitar. The body is from a place called Tauro Woodworks and it was only 60 bucks. Ash. Seriously hefty. It was an amazing deal, I would highly recommend them. I routed the bridge cavity for the WRHB and was going to leave the neck PU out, but since I had one laying around and there was already a route, I put it in. I'm glad I did, as great as the WRHB is, it can use the balance. This is the only body I have painted; primer, black spray paint, spray urethane. I was thrilled with how it turned out. Bridge is another chopped Tele bridge. No selector, single volume for each pickup. Neck is another CV 50s Tele. I usually have the high E tuned to B on this guitar, so there are 2 unison B strings. I got the idea from an interview with Robert Smith where he talks about always detuning the high E. I was intrigued so I had to try it and it sounds really cool. These pictures are a few years old. I cringe with how messy my work bench was.

Yet another Bronco bass. As a short scale player who likes maple necks, these things fucking rule. I've had 3 of these necks, all great with no issues. This one is pretty straightforward except I removed the HORRIBLE tuners (I seriously broke 2 of them just trying to tune the thing), reamed the holes and replaced them with Gotohs. Again, had to file the plates. Tight fit. The pickup is an 80s Schaller clone of a DiMarzio Model P. Single volume pot. I've used this on all of my 'solo' recordings.

Those are all cool as hell. Your paint job on that ash body looks killer!

Yeah seriously, that DC tele looks like a ton of fun.

MoreSpaceEcho wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 1:57 pm Those are all cool as hell. Your paint job on that ash body looks killer!

Thanks! It was so easy. I'm usually working with used parts and I was a bit intimidated to paint it but it was so easy. I just hung it from a string in my garage and went for it.

brephophagist wrote: Yeah seriously, that DC tele looks like a ton of fun.

It is! That body shape is so underutilized. It rules! I wasn't expecting it to be so beefy, it feels really substantial and satisfying.

Yeah, nice! I went down a similar road for a while but never followed thru on many of my projects, thus I have a bunch of (sometimes quite nice) spare parts lying around I'd be happy to pass along if you want 'em. (I'm in Bay View)

I forgot, we live in the same neighborhood!! Thank you for buying my solo record last year, Brian. I will definitely take you up on that offer.

Yeah, the follow through is hard. I hit a lot of roadblocks. When you put so much time into something and it doesn't work out, isn't as playable as you want, has a weird little issue that serves as a barrier to your enjoyment of the instrument, it's a deflating feeling and I gave up in frustration many times. Once I realized that I can (and must) either scrap something or keep working on it until I get it right, I stopped seeing the failures as dead ends and started seeing them as opportunities. I learned so much from going back in to sort out the little things after I thought a build was finished. Why does the high E sound choked? Why doesn't the switching work as intended? What's this noise? Looks like I have to reset the neck, looks like I have to redo the bridge, move the pickups, etc. etc. etc. That stuff killed me at first until it turned into the fun part. I don't just want all these guitars to be playable, I want them to be really nice to play. And they are. Except for the explorer bass. That project was a turd for many reasons and it's components have since been scattered. But I learned a ton.

Tom Wanderer wrote: Fri Jan 28, 2022 7:31 am Thanks! It was so easy. I'm usually working with used parts and I was a bit intimidated to paint it but it was so easy. I just hung it from a string in my garage and went for it.

How many coats did you do?

Charvel has a bunch of current models with that same black ash style, and I don't like it at all, but yours really looks great.