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Okay: some other of my current builds! Some of these have been in the works for more than a year.
First up is the one closest to completion, and will wear Serial No. 0008. It's another Telecaster-inspired build, with some liberties taken. Bookmatched sapele top on single-piece swamp ash body; wenge neck with ebony fretboard. TV Jones Classic pickups; Callaham bridge.
Incomplete build thread on this one is here: https://twitter.com/JLKavanaugh/status/1292920981804027905
Next is a Fender Jazz Bass-inspired build. Sometime in the '80s I was debating whether to learn guitar or bass; Geddy Lee's playing on "Red Barchetta" decidedly tipped the scale towards the lower end.
I've never owned (and have only rarely played) a Jazz, and so am building one.
I've never owned (and have only rarely played) a Jazz, and so am building one.
(Sorry - having difficulty uploading images.)
Single-piece Honduras mahogany body (from the same immense board as my S/N 0002 guitar build); birdseye maple neck (from the same board as S/N 0006); pau ferro fretboard.
This will get Dawgtown pickups w/Anlico 5 poles and, as a nod to Geddy, a high-mass bridge (though by Hipshot - I can't stand Bad Ass bridges). I think it'll look sharp with a black pickguard.
I have one more H. mahogany body blank from this board. I'm still considering what to build with it.
This bass is close to completion - I might add another coat or two of Tru-Oil, but I might not.
Next up: a Fender Precision-inspired bass that represents my first commission as a maker. It's been fun working with the client to choose the woods, finish, pickups, pickguard, etc.
Single-piece Queensland maple body; roasted flamed rock maple neck; ebony fretboard w/ mother-of-pearl fret markers.
This will wear Dawgtown pickups and a Spitfire Pickguards tortoiseshell guard. The body is from the same 16' board from which I built my own P-style bass, along with the next guitar I'll share. I have two more body blanks from the same board.
Spitfire Pickguards are expensive. (Yea, probably a lot more than you're assuming, even having read that.) But they're hand-made by one individual who spent years figuring out how to do them right. And they're stunning.
Queensland maple isn't a true maple; it's a lot closer in character to a honey-coloured H. mahogany in density, interlocking grain, and tone.
The piece of roasted figured maple is out of this world, and sure makes for a pretty neck.
Pausing for a moment, as Toto's "Africa" just came onto Spotify. Here's a reminder that a bass guitar my uncle built is featured in the video (though, sadly, not on the recording itself).
(I'd post a link, but a certain Covid-19+ presidential candidate has commandeered YouTube.)
(I'd post a link, but a certain Covid-19+ presidential candidate has commandeered YouTube.)
Both the body and neck need several-to-many additional coats of Tru-Oil.
Playing right now on Spotify: the first song I learned to play on bass, @rushtheband's "Distant Early Warning".
WTH, Spotify? "Sussudio"?!?!
NEXT!
NEXT!
Finally, a Fender Jazzmaster-inspired build. The body is from the same Queensland maple blank as the to P-style basses I've mentioned; the neck is lightly figured rock maple; and the fretboard is ebony. I built this as motivation to make the templates required for the style.
This one is obviously a bit further from completion, but I think is going to make a very cool guitar. It'll also wear a Spitfire pickguard, with Lollar pickups and a Mastery bridge and tremolo.
I'm considering sending this one off to be finished in a '60s style sunburst...
I'm considering sending this one off to be finished in a '60s style sunburst...
I'd also build a Jazz-inspired bass to be a sister to the Jazzmaster (maybe to sell as a set?), with 1961-style stacked volume/tone knobs and the same sunburst finish. I think it would look pretty nice, so long as the sunburst isn't so darj as to obscure wood's figure.
Ugh: "dark"
Thanks for the indulgence, folks. I think I'll end this thread with one more picture of that sapele-and-ash guitar. Apologies if you've seen it too many times before, but it does show the pretty little thing from another angle. I can't wait to finish this one, and hear it played!
