Golden-ness on the Bay

Well, one of the things I looked forward to seeing with the Strappado bodies, was how they ended-up once people had turned them into their own guitars. It appeals to the random in my soul.

Typically, nobody ever sends me a foto of the finished guitar and I end-up pacing the floor, just like wondering.

But today was a good day as I happened across this wee beauty that Ash put together with my gold leafed Strat body, and very nice it looks too.

He is flogging it on ebay if you fancy it, and even did a YouTube video, which I hope he doesn't mind me putting here.

Not such a bad day after all..

La la laaaaa

Strappado-a-Go-Go

Well, it is the end of the week and it may not feel much, but getting four new Strappado babies fettled is definitely a step toward that place over there called Right.

It's been a while, let's face it, but it was fun and took my mind off the waiting-for-parts-to-arrive depression.

Today though it is going to be about the Old Gordo as I'm itching to give it a blast, although if the parts for The Sappho One should put in an appearance, it might get relegated once more.

La la laaaa

Feeling Rusty

Well, I'm having all manner of fun-ness doing some Strappado bobbins, and the second pair are coming along quite nicely-thank-you-verily-much.

The one on the left is a real multi-metal combo - I've exposed more of the alumium as that is quite sparkly, and layered it with copper and bronze over some iron, so as it corrodes it will be all rainbow-like.

On the right I wanted to do a straight rusty iron job, as I must admit this is still my fave.

There is something sadly and yet deeply satisfactory about seeing iron rust. I can't get enough of it.

And this really is my first trial with my new way of doing it. The rustifying acid stays the same, but I did a lot of meandering and head-scrabbling over the summer to try and improve the way I fix it all.

Originally I used lacquer, but you lost a lot of the colour of the corroded bits, it was cool, but things can get better. Next I went with the hard wax oil which was a bit more stable, and now I've found a strange mix of beeswax and essential oils originally used by Egyptian Religious nuts to keep Pharaohs eyes looking gleamy in their pyramids. I kid you not. You really want to try milking an asp sometime. This even  lets the corrosion carry on for a little while which is stunning, and means it will age nicely.

And it seemed to work well on the scrap wood before, but this is the big test and again it seems to be panning out so far.

But time will tell...

La la laaaa

Tying Myself in Knots

ST#8

Well, the first of the new round of Strappado bodies are done, and jolly decent they look too.

I went for an orgy of metals and corrosion, and though my shonky fotos don't really show it, they look quite 3D and sparkly up close and impersonal.

Both in fact have aluminium, copper and bronze in there and groovy they are too.

As for other stuff, waiting for the postie really, though I need to solder the Old Gordo so I can be-a-playing, methinketh

La la laaaa

ST#9

Fake Tan and Strappado Body Art

Well, I thought I'd get me finger out, and at least start something this morning, and as you can see a couple of what-will-be-shall-be Strappado Bodies are in the early stages..

What I'm going to do with these is give them a fake tan of a walnut stain, back and sides - for that dark back look, with corroded copper and bronze tops to follow.

I will probably do The Diamond Shiny One along the same lines as it looks soooo verily cool, to mine mince pies, but the kitchen table isn't big enough to do them all at once, what with all the other junk I've piled on there.

While they are drying, I'm planning on soldering the wires and doing the strumability thing with the Old Gordo. I've realised that I've run out of a few nice-to-haves, like knobs and neck plates and things, so The Sappho One will have to wait a day or two until they show their faces.

Such is life.

La la laaaaa

Neckless of Posset Town

Well, I seem to be struggling with my necks at the moment. Bodies-a-plenty, but not a neck to call me own.

So this week, unless one arrives, I think I'm going to have a play with some Strappado bodies and try and build up a bit of stock, or maybe enthusiasm. Or perhaps maybe something.

When this web site of mine eventually sees the light, Strappado bodies are one of the things I'm keen on having on there, mainly as it gives me the fun part without worrying too much about necks. I hate necks. Necks are evil. The devil's work.

So I  think this maybe be a Tele body week. I still have the one to do as a How To for The Fretboard Forum of course, and the lovely knotty woody one for The Diamond Shiny One, but I have a couple more Tele bodies around too which could look good in bronze, copper and rust, probably.

Not that I'm depressed

La la laaa

The Future Sound of Jookyland

Well, I've mentioned a few times that I've spent the summer dreaming-it-all-up-again, and I think I am just about there now. Just the insignificant and boring, trifling even, part where I make it happen, to do.

Hmmm.

As the regular reader will know, over the last few years I've constantly changed the way I do things - initially it was all about 'found art' and recycling, then a mixture of old and new parts and more recently new parts with the quality of these improving all the time. And I'm really happy about that, although I must  admit I still enjoy finding parts and seeing what I can make.

Anyway, going forward I have been trying to find a way where I can co-habit these splintered and diverse needs (psychoses?)  and I think I have finally developed a plot  and a plan. And the plan that I've plotted is that from the Autumn, I'll split Jookyland into three or four provinces, each of which are not at all designed for customer satisfaction or desire, but instead aimed solely at making me a happier person. I am nothing if not utterly self-absorbed and selfish, let's face it. If I was trying to please you and make money I'd spend my waking hours turning out Butterscotch Teles. And I'm not a butterscotch type of chap.

So, Jookyland is devolving, although still under the dictatorial boot of yours truly, which is of course how all good devolution works.

So how will it look?
I'm glad you asked as I was talking meself into a corner. Well, it is pretty exciting as I see it being:

1. Jooky Customs
These are going to be the cream of the gold top, and will be limited to a few 'types' or god forbid, styles.

I will be making these to order from the best possible parts, all of course with stunningly cool Jooky finishes.
This will be the first thing you see appear as I make some examples in September and October and open an order book of all things.

2. Jooky Classics
These will be the old school Jookies and I will make them as and when I feel like it, from whatever parts come to hand. There won't be many but they will be fun, for me if nobody else.

3. Strappado Bodies
I really liked doing these and they went down well, so I'm going to aim to have a few of these available at any one time. I love the idea that people can make their own guitar with a Jookified finish and they are fun to do of course.

4. Jooky Juniors
This is still being planned at the moment, but I  want to do something cheaper and trashy and superbly cool and this will be it. I love the whole lo-fi thing, and Danelectros and Airlines, Mosrites and the rest are all supremely cool, and I think a series of Jookies in that vein would be lovely to be beholden by.

So will this happen?
I'm glad you asked that too, but yes, I think it will. There are other things changing too - the mythical web site to support and explain all this is nigh on done - and generally I think it is about time that the whole Jooky doctrine on life and love got a bit easier to understand.

So there we are. That might make no sense at the moment, but it is what has been driving me m-m-m-mad for months and at least now that I've said it, it will force me to get on with it...

La la laaaaa

Strappado Bodies -Special Offer Thing

Well, do second degree burns and an array of poorly-ill bratskis slow the turn of the Jooky globe so that nowt and nada gets done for weeks on end?

Yes, yes they do, and so there isn't a lot to report, and therefore I, well, I haven't.

I did miss you though.

Yes, you, not the others, just you.                               

However, time waits for no deluded-demi-tasse and as I am a leetle bored  I thought I'd welcome myself back with a spesh offer.

So for a small short time only if you fancy any of my beautiful Strappado Guitar Bodies, you can have one of them for a quite silly £149 delivered to your UK-based door. Simple as that, and then just make yourself something cool, all to your very own tasties.

£149. How daft is that - just pick one from Here and then Click on the Big Yellow Button and let me know which one you wanted in the first place.

La la laaaa

And Then There Were ST#6

Well, I'm rather pleased with how this one turned out - I was trying for a kinda sea foam greeny/blue hue, by quite naturally enough corroding copper with acid (I'm sure that is how Fender did it originally), and I like to think I nailed it. Or at least nailed what I was thinking of if not Fender's colour, which it isn't but there we are.

Excuse the poor light fotos, but it was finished and I'm not one to hang back for a better moment.

So this is my sixth Strappado body, I think it is going well. Alder Tele body, it will have a nice pickguard when I can find one and there we are.

Jesus wants me for a sunbmw.

La la laaaa

Introducing ST#5 For The Tele Fans

Well, the keen of eye amongst you may have noticed that I exceeded my boredom threshold and gave my pretty Strappado bodies their own section of this blog as the web site is taking far-too-long. Mainly it has to be said because I still haven't done the decent foto thing, but there we are.

Anyway, I was rather chuffed to finish the catchily named latest bod - ST#5 -  so I thought I'd introduce you.

Early morning light fotos give it a whimsical feel, so imagine it slightly more vibrant and exciting and you'll be a lot closer to the reality.

As for today, well last day of the school holibobs so it will no doubt be dedicated to finding school projects previously denied, realising sports kit has been festering along with last term's sarnies in hidden school bags and generally entering full-on panic mode, That of course is proper organisation, normally it is Sunday night.

Oh and I have a Strat body in need of some rustification, I might sneak that in somewhere too.

La la laaaa

If you can see a Walrus crossed with a Panda...

Well, my latest, psychedelically challenging Strappado body has started to get colourful already today, and I've taken a slightly different approach which seems to be paying off, so all is looking good in la-la-land this day.

Which is groovy and cool as two hours sleep and gaffa tape over my eyelids means I'm not exactly facing you with cylinders-a-fire. In fact there is nowt in the glimmer-of-a-spark department at all which is a wee bit worrying.

So today in truth is likely going to be about the psychedelic reject, with a possible side-track into the sanding of another body and some rustification, if I can summon the urgency.

Just can't decide whether to play with the Strat body or one of the Teles. Decision they name ain't Jooky.

La la la

Strappadelia

Well, I never really got too far with The Scooby Doo One yesterday in the end, as the pickup routs need expanding somewhat, and that isn't something I can do with bratskis ahoy, so I spent a little time on the web site and more on playing referee.

Today then, I have been reassessing somewhat and maybe doing, err, something else.

I can't remember if I mentioned before, but I picked up a Tele body that is a bit rough around the edges and has some quite beautiful little knots here and there, that I think would look rather stunning with a waxed finish back and sides - maybe a stain and sanded back finish, to emphasise the grain and blemishes - but with a truly technicolor yawn of a top.

I'm seeing this as a Strappado kinda thing, but I think in truth all of the Strappado bodies are up for grabs when it comes to me making guitars, so who knows.

In fact since I started writing this, I side-tracked myself and gave it a stain and wax on the back and it looks glorious. A couple more coats and it will be divine. For the front I'm going psychedelic I think and that will be a finale of sorts as the Mother of Jook look is already at it's limits and it is time to move on. Of course that wouldn't sound quite so silly if I had actually finished one of the guitars, but there we are.

Life's like that after all.

La la laaaa

Hunk of Burning Love

ST#3 - Front

Well, as per is normalish, the weekend had more to do with supermarkets and flying kites in force 9 gales than guitarification, but I did manage to finito a couple of bodies, along with a slight change of plan.

I had planned to make The Throbbing One a rusty finished '51 Precision, and have done the body accordingly, but as I have another body of similar spec to play with, I decided to instead do something different with that. I have a germ of a nano-idea I want to explore and it should be fun, so what the hell.

So this morning, I have two rather lovely and lovingly be-rusted bodies that are joining my Strappado collection, numbers #3 and #4.

As you can see they are a Jazzmaster body and the '51 previous mentioned and both have a stunningly cool rustificated finish. And they will be up for grabs whenever I finish the web site. I  know..

As for today, well, now for something completely different...

La la laaaa

ST#3 - Back

ST#4 - Front

ST#4 - Back

Leafing My Strappado

Strappado #2

Well, I seem to be inundated with parts now, which is good as it means I can finish a few things soon, but am still getting The Black Russian One together which is taking a while more than the bit longer than I hoped.

I'm now on my third nut, which is bizarre, I never break nuts but this time pwoof there-goes-another-one. And to make matters worse, one of the bridge screws wasn't in all the way and I knackered it up when I gave it just-one-more-tighten. So I need to extract that too.

I think I'm lacking match praccy, it is as simple as that.

In between - well over the last few nights in truth - I've been smothering my other hard tailed back loading Strat body with some variegated gold leaf and generally bashing it about a bit. And it looks rather stunning in a cool and groovy kinda way, and is destined to be the second - ST#2 - Strappado body for the infamous yet rarely missing inaction web site of future days.

I used this same leaf a lifetime ago on The Crowley One, but then so many thing that go around come indeed around again too.

But broken screws and dodgy nuts, I need to see to both...

La la laaaa

Strappado-a-go-go - Jookified Customised bodies

 

Well, one of the things I've been doing to keep-my-hand-in while screwing has been out of the question, is to finish a few of the bodies I am going to be hopefully flogging if I ever get a web site together, and it has been fun.

In fact apart from playing the finished guitars, doing the body arty business is definitely the part I like best, so it kinda makes sense.

Anyway, as with the full-on-proper-Jooky guitars, I want the bodies to be unique with all the usual arty bollox that goes with that, and so they too will be numbered and signed, although with their own numbering system (to avoid confusion).

I thought 'Jooky Custom Bodies' would be a good name for this little initiative, and I was right.

However I've decided instead to call them Strappado Bodies, which probably isn't as descriptive, but amuses me more and gives a nod to the fact that the bodies are largely tortured in some way. So Strappado it is.

I might in future do these to order, but initially I like the idea of putting them out there and seeing what happens.

The first of these is a Jazzmaster body - a nice bit of swamp ash - which I've given a rather dashing looking corroded copper and bronze finish and done a complementary pickguard to go with it, as I'm that kinda chap.

It has worked really well and you still get some of the lovely ash grain thru it all so that is a bit of a bonus (and the aim, but then...it always is and doesn't always come off that well.)

So that is ST#1 - the first of the Strappados, and cool it is too.

After that, there is a hardtail Strat, a normal Strat and a Tele in the works, which is all good, but more on those once they are done.

And who will want such trinkets?

Well, I haven't got a clue, though the biggest danger is stopping myself from using them for guitars, I would imagine. It is already proving harder than I'd expected.

As for today, well The Black Russian One is nearly there, so maybe I'll introduce you later on if I can find another replacement nut as I've just cracked the second one...

La la laaaa