Pondering The Porn Shop One

Well, I said a while back that I had snapped up a Red Cedar Telemaster body from Simon at Fusion Guitars and quite naturally have been dithering ever since about what exactly I'm going to do with it.

To recap, this is an imaginary cross between a Jazzmaster - the outline - and a Telecaster - the rest - which Fender never made but perhaps should have done.

Kind of like their Pawn Shop guiitars, but cooler.

I'm not sure where the idea originated, probably with somebody playing with Photoshop at work when bored, but there we are.

Anyway, for once they are the best of both worlds, and I've long fancied having a go.

And now I can.

Well, since then I've mentioned it a few times, mulled-over various ideas and generally not made too many binding decisions.

Same as normal really.

However, I've since got it straight and have been collecting the bobbins I'll need.

From the top then, it is going to have:

1. The Fusion carved Red Cedar body. What does Red Cedar sound like? I don't know, but can't wait to find out. So next...

2. A lovely one-piece maple/maple Telecaster neck. I'd been edging towards rosewood, but I think a Tele should twang and sing, and the maple helps, so...

3. A proper old school ashtray bridge, with cover. I'm going for a Wilkinson one, as basically I loved the one on Lulu. Again we will also be getting stealthy and hiding a pickup under the blank scratchplate at the neck.

On Lulu it was a P90, with this it will either be an overwound Novak Jazzmaster pickup - which seems fitting, but if that doesn't cut it a hottish humbucker.  The pickup at the bridge is likely to be a Bare Knuckle Boss, or maybe a Yardbird, or a Brown Sugar. One of them anyway.

In truth I'm thinking about the humbucker at the neck to give some extra tone options. We'll see. I'll probably try both and go with whichever sounds best.

5. It will have a blank scratchplate at the neck, by that I mean that there won't be a hole cut in it for the pickup to peek out of.

Tuners I was thinking locking, but instead decided I'd go with the vibe and have ordered some nickel Kluson style ones. Again Wilkinson, and I might go for a bit of ageing, as I will with the ash tray bridge as it happens.

7. More importantly I've decided that I'm definitely going for a new variation on a rusting iron finish. I love the look of the corroded Bronze I did on The Grecian 201 One, but rust just seems to work for this. Though it is a tough call between that and the copper sulphate blue a completely corroded copper finish offers. No, the rust, it is going to be rusty - end-of. or maybe the blue. But rust, it has to be rust.

8. Other than that it will be standard Tele controls - though with Gretsch knobs which always look cool unless I can get some bakelite ones

So there we are, what is destined to be The Porn Shop One, coming soon as I get around to it, at an Emporium probably nowhere near you.