Introducing The OCD One

Well, after far-too-many delays, I’m finally meeting up with Geoff today to hand over our first ever Katy’s Killer Custom guitar, The OCD One. And I think for both of us it will be a relief; as to be honest it has taken a month longer than I initially hoped and that is a wee bit disappointing. Not that it has been down to a lack of effort, more that for one reason or another – mainly my ropey hands, relying on other people and weather/kids/you name it, it kinda dragged at the end.

Anyway, I gave it a final blast last night, and it plays lovely, so it is all Jooky wrapped and ready to go. So don’t be surprised to see reports of four foot of snow hitting the M5 in the next hour or so.

The guitar itself, I’ve talked about a lot, but basically it is a Strat shaped beauty, with a maple on maple neck, big headstock and Schaller tuners. The body has an amazingly designed cartoon skeleton sort of covering in white with a contrasting black scratchplate with the same design, just in reverse. This has a thin nitro finish over the top, which I’m hoping will age beautifully over the next few years and is stunning to see, though still very much Jooky, it has to be said.

Pickups are a GFS Hot Liverpool Retroton at the bridge and a couple of Kent Armstrong Lipstick single coil pickups. These look the dog’s, but give a great range of sounds. We have a micro-switch to coil tapp the humbucker, which works nicely and a kill switch to do some odd stuff with. Which is all good fun.

Other than that, I’ve done a second loaded scratchplate, this one with more standard Strat pickups, with the design of the main body – so it will have a nice white-on-white look to it when Geoff gives it a run out. It’s a nice option to have, though how much it gets used is up to Geoff of course.

As this was our first ever Custom, I’d said to Geoff that he doesn’t have to have it if it doesn’t work for him, but I hope he will, as it really does have a lot of him in it and it would be a shame for all the effort on his part not to come to something. (Unless he hates it, of course, but there we are.) If he doesn’t like it when he finally sees it, well I’ll bring my baby home and keep her, ‘cos lets face it, there is a lot of me in there too…and there will always be a roof for her if ever she is stuck...

A Katy's Killer Custom, Surely not...

Well, I spent a bit of time playing the OCD One today (without any dodgy buzzing), and despite the fact that I probably shouldn’t say this – it is a real stunner. I was meant to be handing it over to the main man, but that turned into a complete balls-up on my part, but hopefully it will finally happen tomorrow. Sorry Geoff :(

As I’ve said before, the choice of pickups was a bit of a shot in the dark, two Kent Armstrong lipstick pickups a la Danelectro/Stevie Ray Vaughan with a GFS Hot Liverpool Retrotron at the bridge, well who could possibly have told what that would really turn out like?

But all modesty apart, it is bleedin’ gorgeous.

The sound is immense, everything I hoped it would be, and with a fantastic clarity. The maple fretboard just feels beautiful, even I felt like I was flying over it, and the finish – while still Jooky at heart, just works perfectly. I must admit that initially I was a little worried that a covered scratchplate in this case would be a bit much and even suggested a plain scratchplate, but Geoff went with this and I have to say he was bang on the money, it is absolutely perfect.

To top it off, there is a little coil-tap switch to split the humbie, and just because I wanted to try doing it proper-like, there is a kill switch too. I mentioned before, that there is also a second scratchplate – with three Fender single coils in it, in case Geoff fancies a different look and sound…

So, the first of our Katy’s Killer Customs is finished, it took longer than I had originally hoped due to my jigsaw performance early on, and the wiring shenanigans, sick kids and blizzards later, but even so, what little delay that meant was genuinely worth it in the end.

I just hope Geoff agrees when he gets his hands on it soooon.

Sooper coooool, and not a little killer.

p.s. More fotos and blurb about the girl tomorrow..)

Punishment For All. Just like the '80s all over again

Well, everything is going J-Bird at the moment, but it is the finish that is taking a bit of time to work out. The scratchplate was the final piece of the jiggysaw, but I think we've just about got that 'designed' now, and I'm sending it off for somebody else to cut it.

I could probably do it myself, but as there is so much going into it, and my wobbly hands, it made sense to get a pro to do it. (Am I selling out? No burning holes with a soldering iron anymore? No pyrography tools, burned '78s and everything getting a little twee and pristine? Dunno. can't see it yet mind. Wait until you see the Jangly One finished before you decide.)

The finish is my next concern as we are still at the R&D stage, but I've been picking brains and I think we've got a plan now.

Basically, the idea is for the body to be covered with pages from a 1980s Marvel 'Punisher' comic or three, with this being stained a blue colour before having a logo superimposed over the top. It should make for a stunning looking finish and as per, I can't really wait to see how it turns out.

Silly as it sounds, it is the staining that has been the problem, as trying acrylic, water colour and even ink looked to work initially, but disappeared once the lacquer went on. Anyway, I've been picking them there brains and am going to try a spirit based stain now, so fingers crossed that will sort it out.

Other than that, I gave the OCD One a high volume test and really annoyingly the buzz resurrected itself. I was rather err, 'angry', but luckily didn't go Townsend about it. As the only parts that haven't been changed in the last week are the output jack socket and the mini-switch for the coil tap, I'm going to swap them out too, and hopefully....

(If this turns out to be my mobile fone interfering with the guitar, a thought that woke me up at 4am, that really will get kicked into the estuary this time).

A Phoenix From The Tame

Well, Geoff's OCD One is finally done, bar a little high volume testing, so I thought I'd get going on the prep for our second Katy's killer custom - the J-Bird One.

I know I repeat the names a lot, and it isn't an attempt at brand awareness, just that I forget them otherwise.

As I picked up a quite beautiful neck for t'Bird the other day, I thought I'd sort out what I'm going to do about turning a leftie Strat headstock into a Firebird kind of shape.

Well, first of all, I haven't got a Firebird to copy, and though it would help (if somebody wants to send me one please shout out ;) as the headstock sizes are different and therefore I figured I'm kinda on my own anyway.

What I've done then is find some fotos of a FB headstock and play with them in Photoshop to get them sized sort of close. There is no point trying trace them on as basically they don't fit, but they are a good reference point.

Next, I drew around the Strat headstock onto a piece of paper.

After that, I've used my quite awful sketching skills to draw a Firebird shape onto the Strat picture. Which is the crummy picture over there.

As it hasn't scanned too well, I'll explain that the hatched areas are wood that will be removed and the shaded are the parts that will be thinner to give the right shape and depth.

Next, I guess I keep repeating the exercise until I actually get a bit closer (the sonnet writing simian that I am) and then I'll do a cardboard cut out, draw it onto the headstock and reach for the sharp things.

Gulp.

So there we are. Hopefully you'll agree it looks somewhere close to where we want to be, and that maybe I should go to nightschool or get my 4-year-old to draw it next time...

Game on, methinks...

I really can't think of a decent title, I'm fried I tell thee

Blimey - fotos to follow later, but I finally got the OCD One into a buzz free state at 10.30pm last night, which is a relief as I was beginning to think I'd lost it big-time... But it is done, finally, and a blast thru the Ye Olde Vox later today will be an absolute pleasure.

Fotos and 'reaction' to follow then...

In other news... the J-Bird One is also moving in the right direction after a few false starts with people not being entirely accurate in their descriptions of things they are trying to flog.. I said before we want it done pre-Xmas, and time is already shooting past so now that Geoff's magnifique guitar is in the land of the living, nothing gets done before this baby, baby.

Well, nothing gets done until I hit a wall in every direction, is perhaps more like it, in truth, but there we are...

Anyway, all the parts are now ordered bar a custom scratchplate. Which is quite a job in itself wondering where to put everything, and man I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to the wiring job with coil taps, kill switches and everything else. Actually, it should be fun (must find that multimeter).

Other than that, the finish has started to be tested on another body. I think I said before it is a Comic book look with a bit of a twist, and it is based on the Marvel Punisher series (top film, I watched it last week for research perps - well worth the effort.) It's a bit trickier than normal, but should be worth it, I reckon. Just worth practising up front, I feel.

All of which is good, but the one that's on the list that is haunting me at the moment is the neck. Now, as I said in the first place, what we are trying to do here is come-up with a guitar that has a Jaguar/Jazzmaster kind of body (and we're close man, we're pretty damn close), but rather than ape Fender's finest (and have they ever come-up with a guitar that looks that cool since or before - nah).

Where was I?
Oh yeah, rather than go for a straight Fender-esque headstock, Andy wanted something even cooler - one from a Gibson Firebird.

Now as you no doubt realise, Firebirds have fixed necks and Jaguars have bolt-ons, which gives a clue about a potential problem. Also of course, no bugger is likely to be selling a Firebird neck and so - what do you do?

At this point I'd have probably gone Hmmm and got a bit lateral, but Andy had already sussed it and had got a wee beauty of a plan.

So basically, what we have done is find a very nice, hand made, left handed Strat neck, with a CBS-esque large headstock, and I'm going to shape it so that it does good impression of a Firebird.

How cool is that?
Tell you what, I wish I’d thought of it.

Into that we're going for the bestest vertical banjo tuners we can lay our hands on - the Steinberger gearless ones that everybody bangs into their Firebirds if they want to stay in tune (as Gibson’s - shhh - aren't very good, I'm told)....and there we are.

So all in all, quite a bit of work to do, and I need to dig out my whittling knife (last used on a tent peg in the scouts, circa 1980) and see what I can do.

I have to say, I'm really enjoying the custom side of things, just as much as my usual Jooky fare, but for a different reason - both Geoff and Andy have turned-up with ideas that are stretching me in a different direction and making me think a bit more. And long may it last..

Sorry if that was all a bit muddled, I'm fried...

Bit of Julian Cope to make me feel sane again...

More Delays and My First Copper Thingie..

Jooky Copper Scratchplate - Imagine

Well, for all my high hopes of getting the OCD One complete yesterday, after far-too-much-pain, it turned out that one of the 'pots' was knacked, and it occurred to me far too late in the day to get a new one, so that is the job for today. Get a pot, fix the guitar. Simple.

And then that will really be it.
End of.
Honest.


(Hopefully.)

In the mean time, I stripped the J-Bird One down so that it is ready for finishing and ordered what remained of the parts - minus the pickups and scratchplate, of course, which I'm still sniffing about for.

Never simple in the Jookydome, telling yer.

A guitar loses an Orca, gains a Seal

Other than that, I started to lacquer The Fat Pussy One and The Jangly One (must remember to use really short names in future to save on the typing)

As far as The Jangly One goes, last night I girded my loins and then dipped them into the hot water that is cutting a scratchplate out of copper and then enameling it. OK, as the body is quite a busy design, I should probably have gone for something simple, and I did thank that for a moment, but then thought - stuff it - and dived headfirst into something impressionistic with two types of glitter...



This took quite a few layers and 'firings' - god I am sooo very arty - and still has to have a clear top put on it, but what do you think?

I have to say, drilling the holes was a complete bitch, but that will no doubt come with practice, or maybe the right tools, but the cutting out the shape only cost me minor blood loss. But I get that every time I change a string, so nothing new there. (All those people who have a Jooky guitar are looking carefully at stains that assumed were intended for Jookiness purposes.)

It is really a bit glittery, but you can't tell. Sneaky huh?

If nowt else it has fired me up (a tee and a hee) to get on with the proper copper topped Tele, but the Customs come first so I'll have to fit that in when and as. At least I know what a usable thickness is of copper now, that was a voyage of discovery.

One drawback mind you, I forgot to drill the screw holes (ahem).

And so back to the OCD one today... Must remember to buy Geoff a pint after all this...

Finally, finally getting OCD about it all..

This looks sooo much better with strings. And screws.

Well, I finally got the OCD One back from my mate the soldering tech last night, but unfortunately we're only 86.349% there, which means that today, if I manage to do anything else, it will be to finally finish it. 

I started talking to Geoff about the guitar on the 6th or 7th of October, so in real terms it hasn't been ultra slow, but man it feels like it has. 

And to be perfectly honest it is doing my head in.

So today is the day. 

Definitely.

You can set your watch by it...

Just call me Mr. 13.651%.

(Watch out for fotos later, at a blog near you).

Baby Please Come Home

Hopefully today it will actually have strings attached

Well today is the day that I finally get the OCD One back from the chap who is helping me out on the soldering front.

It's taken a week, feels like a decade, and it has been me that has been getting narky about it, Geoff has been really calm.

I'm sure I'm doing this wrong and it should have been the other way around somehow.

In the end practicalities dictated that we've gone for a mini-switch instead of a push-pull pot for the coil tap, but not the end of the world and in truth it might be more useful in those live-stress-filled-moments where you want to give it a bit of welly without changing your volume and all that.

I just can't wait for it to show up, to be honest, I just want to give it a blast and make sure it is all bang on before it gets the brown paper and string treatment and winds it's way down the M5 to it's new home.

I know I've done this a few times now, but I still get all emo-tional about it....

Anyway, when I've got it and all is well, I'll put some fotos up of our first example of Katy's Killer Custom Jookiness

I Dunno

Since I started talking about the OCD One, it's been quite surprising how many people have asked about them.

I guess we guitarists all like the idea of a one-off, built to fit our own ideas of what a guitar should be and I have to admit that the Jooky ones are about as one-off as you can get.

Anyway, the question I've never quite had an adequate answer for is 'How much do they cost', as to be perfectly honest, it depends on so many things.

When I make them for myself, I decide what I'm going to build and then hustle around looking for parts, or as I've said before, I come across parts and that sets me off in a different direction. Cost doesn't really come into it - I make something I like or that interests me and then when I sell it, I try to get enough money for it that I can make something else. Profit and wages don't really come into the equation either. And if that means I happen to have the money to pick-up a Bare Knuckle P90 when I see one - great - and if I don't have enough, I might get a PRS one, or an IronGear, or whatever.

In terms of the Katy's Killer Customs though, it is a rubbish answer, but it really depends what people want as far as parts go, if you are verily specific, it will be a case of what I can turn up and how much they cost, If you want new parts, they cost more than second-hand etc.

With Geoff, and the OCD One, we did it the other way around. We agreed a budget, and I then worked within that, having a base spec but trying to improve on it as we went along with anything better that I could lay my hands on. For example, when I planned things initially, I was expecting to use some nice Wilkinson tuners, for instance, but then came across some (superior) Schaller ones going second-hand, and instead went for them.

Similarly, I was going to use some Mexican Fender Strat pickups, but then had some Kent Armstrong lipstick ones available, so went with those instead, and so on.

And to be honest, that is probably the best approach, with the sticky bit being the setting a budget up front. Which brings me back all around the round thing.

So, much as it bugs me in a way, as I'd much rather be thinking about making guitars than talking about money, I'm thinking that what I should do is set a price for an example Jooky Custom guitar, which can then be adjusted based on specific requirements, as was suggested in our comments section by 17FiftySeven, who obviously is more switched on than I am..

And so that is a plan, the Jooky Guitar Emporium will soon have a price-list of sorts.
How scary is that?

A Bit More OCD - WIP Fotos

Well, the OCD one is all dry, and so I've partially fitted and partially plonked it together so that Geoff can see whether he likes it or not.
And being the sharing kind of chap I am, I thought I'd put my triumph/shame (delete as you see fit) for all to see in public.

I know, I am such a muppet.

Here are a couple of fotos of it looking somewhere near close to being done, like...

Flying Out They Is

No more Funky Anymore

Well blimey, The Funky One didn't hang around long - that nice Fat Old Man snapped it up within the hour of it being listed, which I think is a new record around here. Hope you enjoy it mate, it is truly a lovely wee thing.

In other news, I've shuffled along quite quickly on the Peace Train One, and I have to say it is really quite a stunning looking guitar as well. It is going to be pretty cool to put it back together and turn it up way loud, methinks.

I've just got hold of some nice Fender pickups which (I think) I'll drop into it, though to be honest, I'm still not really sure as the existing ones have a sound about them that is just 'different', and that is always worth holding onto, innit? Maybe whoever ends-up with it will get the choice between them, just have to see.

In other news, The OCD One has had its final coats of lacquer and will be drying over the next few days. The scratchplates, however, are both done in terms of the finish, and so I can whip out the soldering iron and get them sorted out tomorrow with a bit of luck, so that they are easy to pop on in come the glorious day.

I don't know why it is, but some of these Jooky guitars come together really quickly, and others seem to take forever with no discernable reason. The OCD One has certainly taken longer than I thought - and not for any 'committee decision making' reason, that side has been very easy, it just seems to have been in slo-mo.

I guess me cocking-up the first finish, having to strip it back, paint the body and then do it all again, may have come into it, thinking about it now.
Ho hum...

The OCD One - WIP

The OCD One: Front - Uncut

Well, I promised to show the OCD One as we went along, and then failed dismally, so here is a bit of a flavour...

Firstly, to recap, this is the first 'Jooky Custom' guitar I've attempted, where I put one together to somebody else's 'spec'. In this case Geoff,
nice bloke Geoff.

Anyway, it has taken a while due to various falls down stairs, and mishaps, but we are finally at the lacquering stage and I figured it would be nice to show the design.

I think I mentioned before that it has a kinda old-style goth/emo look to it, and in the fabric we've used as a covering, Geoff has picked-up on that in a big way...as you can see. As before, it will have a 70s headstock, maple neck, twin lipstick pickups and a Retrotron 'Hot Liverpool' humbucker, which will be coil-tapped, blah blah & a blah.

So there we are...you won't see another like this one...

The OCD One: White SSS Scratchplate

p.s. The dents on the scratchplate are just where I haven't cut-the-'oles out, as it were...

The OCD One: Uncut

The OCD One: Black Scratchplate HSS

The OCD One: Black scratchplate reclining casual like

More belly buttons

I’ve said it many times before, but I'll say it again, I am sooo very indecisive when it comes to deciding on the pickups I'm going to use for any particular guitar.

I don't know why that is,

I lurve P90s

or maybe I do really.

You see for me, when I'm thinking about a guitar it is all about the finish. Don't get me wrong, I have a plan initially about how I want it to sound - usually that starts and gets somewhere close to ending with a P90 - but it is the look I'm really into. The thing that defines a Jooky guitar for me.

So I get a good idea about the design of the guitar, and then I have an initial idea of the sound, the type of pickups I'll need.
And then I change my mind.

Don't get me wrong, quite often it comes back to what pickups I have available, or if I'm being specific, what I can find to buy. Sometimes, I'll buy new pickups if I can't get, say a coil-tappable reverse wound humbucker sized P90 with blue neon flashy bits or a Tele pickup for the bridge that is really going to hit the mark. But mainly that goes against the 'ethos' and I'll come across something else that makes me think 'Wow' or 'what if' and then the chaos takes over and I'll change direction.

Like on the OCD one, for instance. my initial thought was a couple of single coil Fender strat pickups with a Bareknuckle humbucker at the bridge. But then I thought at the last about the lippie pickups and then the Filtron-a-like, as they seemed to fit with the rather intensely cool finish we've gone with and then its all change; a bing and a bong.

And so I'm sitting here thinking about the second scratchplate that is coming with it. The SSS one, which I was going to put some Fender Strat pups in, basically because maybe even the 'Plan B' should be something a bit more interesting too, you know what I mean. If Geoff ends-up switching the plates and then sticking with the triple-S, I'd hate him to find it boring. I'd hate for the guitar to lose out in the personality stakes. And maybe, just maybe, I'm thinking that I might be missing a trick.

Though don't get me wrong, I'm well aware that for the first time in Jookydom it isn't actually and entirely my choice - the guitar is being made specifically, and (shock horror) to a budget, so I can't suddenly completely change tack and throw another couple of hundred quid on a set of pickups, even if I wanted to. I have to be a bit more disciplined than normal, especially as the budget is already only relevant in historic terms anyway..all the money is spent.

Hmmm...Maybe I'll have to get creative.

And I guess that is another area that is making the move to building the 'Jooky Customs' interesting to me, more problems to solve, keeps the brain ticking over whilst the fingers are burnt and covered with glue. I wonder if I'll ever do another one

I'm a Jigsaw - Or all about going to pieces in the box

Fabien de Frietas - Another dodgy finisher

Well, the OCD One started so well, but I don't mind admitting that I cocked it up. Nothing drastic, and no real harm done, but it wasted a bit of time and added a few more days to the 'Expected delivery date', which isn't good.

What did I do?

Well, the lovely finish we're going with involves a cream coloured cloth with a rather wicked design on it. This, I think will look the canine's cojones when it is done, but I didn't think about the fact that the guitar body I'm using (a lovely, lightweight Alder one, if you are wondering) had previously been finished in black.

Don't get me wrong, I've used black bodies before (and red, blue, purple, white, silver and well, lots of colours now) and never had a problem, and maybe it is because the fabric is a little thinner or that the cream is just that bit more tender, but the bottom line was that you could see the black thru the cloth, which kinda killed the effect somewhat.

Worse still, where I'd applied the adhesive with a brush you could see brush marks through it too.

In summary, nightmare.

Anyway, that was a little too Jooky, even for me, and so I've stripped the guitar back, given it a good smoothing too, and done what I should have done in the first place which was to give it a nice white undercoat. Something that will pay dividends later on...methinks.

So there we are, confession over.

While I've been waiting for the paint to dry, it has given me the chance to get on with some other OCD bits, and I thought the neck was as good a place to get going as any. As I mentioned before the wood is really nice and as it happens there wasn't much to do other than to put the Schaller tuners on and add the logo. I did, give it a light sand and a couple of coats of very thin nitro - investment for the future kind of thing. It was a practically unfinished neck so it needed a touch of something and oil didn't seem to fit with this one.

Other than that I've started to prepare the finishes for the two scratchplates. The one the guitar will 'ship' with (the HSS Filtron and lippie pickups) is having a black version of the cloth, to give a nice contrast. I was a little worried that it would look too busy, but as it happens it doesn't, and I'm pretty chuffed with that.

The second one, which is the three single coils, is going to be cream to match the body, and again it was nice to see how that worked out as it retained the cream look and gives a nice indicator for the body, of course.

Surprisingly, I even remembered to use the right colour pickguards (I had one white and one black...soooo...)

So, basically we're getting closer now. Once the pickguards are finished I'll wire them up, and I can be getting on with the body finish after a bit of flattening of the undercoat.

In more of an upbeat summary, can't be bad...

Back On Track, All Over Again

Well, things are getting back to busy in Jookyland once more. I'm putting the finishing touches to the Funky One - more on that soon, and my first Custom job, The OCD One is coming along too.

On top of that, I've decided to have a go at another Tele after picking up a beautiful hand made pine body from a chap, and a lovely neck off the bay. I must admit I've always been intrigued by the idea of pine bodies, since I read that some of the original Teles were made of pine, and more recently I (think) that the Fender Baja Telecasters have gone that route again. Actually I just checked on the Fender site and they are Alder, but there we are. They do make Custom Shop ones though, so there. More to the point, what I'm planning to do with this one is something a bit swish.

First off, it will have a rather cool finish - no surprise there, I guess - but I want something that looks a little along the lines of a single pickup esquire, with no pickup at the neck.

Saying that, I'm really tempted to have a hidden humbucker or overwound P90 under the traditionally blank pickguard, so  that the options are there, but without it looking like it.

This has it's own problems, I guess, as the magnets will be further from the strings and covered by a layer of plastic, but I'm hoping that a higher powered pickup should overcome this. I'll give it a wee go... Other than that, I could maybe put a boost circuit in or something...

Anyway, no doubt you'll hear more about that soon...la la la.

Feels like we're back on track

***

Speaking of the OCD One, if you've been following my escapade into Customness, I'm pleased to say that it is coming together quite very nicely, and more to the point it has been a real pleasure working with Geoff, not least because he makes decisions a lot quicker than I do.

As far as the future goes, I am actually quite keen to try it again, so if you have always fancied one of our guitars, but never quite seen what you want, give me a shout, and who knows...we could make beautiful musical instruments together.

I am sooo very cheap, you wouldn't believe it. Laaa.

Jooky Custom: Getting a bit more OCD

Well, I mentioned The OCD One, which is my 'tester' of a first Jooky Custom Guitar, but didn't really explain what is happening in any detail. Which has a certain irony, I guess.

Anyway, the idea is simple - I've worked with a really nice chap called Geoff and agreed a spec for the guitar, which is basically a Strat shaped, large headstocked, HSS pickuped thing of beauty. It is going to have a quite amazing emo-goth finish, which is cool even by Jooky standards, with a contrasting scratchplate design. I won't explain the finish further yet, but it will really be a moment of jaw dropping intensity. If you check the comments on this site, Geoff is very nicely explaining how it goes from his perspective. (Which I might regret in the long run - la la la). But the OCD One:

Wiring wise, the humbucker is going to be something spesh, coil tapped and generally cool and then there are a couple of single coils in there in the middle and at the neck for all those traditional sounds.  As far as the humbie goes, we're going for a good old-fashioned Filtron look, in the shape of a GFS Hot Liverpool Retroton. Again these are something a bit different, giving a flavour of the old Gretsch twang, but they have still got the balls of a good PAF. I like these a lot as you don't get the mushiness which you find on a lot of hummers when you try to clean them up. I've never coil tapped one before, so that is something new for all of us.

The two single coils are going to be Kent Armstrong Hot Lipstick beauties, which will give it a good range of sounds methinks. I like these because they give you that Dano sound, but then have a lot more too. Easy to get the standard Strattiness, but then can get almost Jazzmaster like with a bit of tone fumbling.

The neck is a one piece maple jobbie, with a (surprise, surprise) maple fretboard, which should be nice and bright and it is a lovely large '70s Fender headstock at the top. It's got a lovely 'pattern' to the grain, but nothing in your mush and PRS-wallpaper-like.

To fill the holes in the end I've just grabbed some Schaller tuners, which should mean that the tuning will be as solid as a rock and for the bridge it will be a nice piece of Wilkinson Steel which will give a good dose of sustain, and generally everything is going to be nice and solid. I just can't wait to play it.

To make things even more interesting, it is going to be 'supplied' - I am sooo very businessman-like - with a second scratchplate, set-up with a standard three single coil combo - Fender pickups in there. This will mean that it should easy enough to swap things around if the need ever arises. The design will be different on this, and all in all, I think that is a nice touch. Might even be a little cigar box amp to match, if I get my act together, and I already owe somebody else one too. (Note to me: Make some amps you muppet.)

As with a couple of our guitars before, I'm planning to finish the err, finish, with a thin coat of nitro, over a poly lacquer basecoat. I know a few people will throw their hands up at such a concoction, but especially with this guitar, I think it will age beautifully that way. I do the same with a lot of the necks anyway, despite the usual abuse and oil I inflict on them...


So things are looking good, and I think the first Jooky Custom is really going to look like a custom guitar...

All in all then, I'm looking forward to this and have spent the last week or so scurrying around and gathering the parts, and I'm rather keen to get back to doing some guitars. Pronto like, missus.

OCD, is definitely the new cool.

Custom is as it does

Well, after much thought I've finally got a grip of Ye Olde Jooky Custom Programme. Though I'll obviously have to think of a better name. The idea is then that I'll now be making (or at least offering to make) Jooky guitars to anybody that wants one. They'll get choices on all the bits and bobs and then I'll create their monster for them. Which is all good stuff, and it means that I won't quite be surrounded by guitars that I have to try and sell before I can make the next one - and more to the point it should stop the emails saying 'I really like the Mellow One, but couldn't it have X, Y or Z'.

How does this fit with my aim to start making some original designs?
Well, I'm glad you asked.

Basically, they will just become options - you can have something traditional, which I'll source elsewhere, cloth or paper finishes a specialty of the house, naturally, or you’ll hopefully be able to pick one of the designs I've been working on.

So will this all cost people shed loads?
No, I don't think so. I still very much want to keep the old recycling ethic going, and like anything it depends on what you pick...

All I need now is to do a proof-of-concept, to see how it works in reality...


And guess what?

Yep. I'm pleased to say that I've got my first err, victim. A lovely chap from down south who is game enough to let me try and put a guitar together to his spec. And I have to say I'm really looking forward to it, as it is a bit more of a challenge in some ways, yet nice to have somebody to bounce ideas off. The guitars will still be complete one-offs, of course, and the whole ethos remains the same, but it makes things a bit more professional and basically gives me a sharp kick up the back and side, which is all good.

Anyway, the first of these babies is to be a Strat shape, CBS shaped headstock and a HSS pickup arrangement.. All maple neck and tapped coils, with a fine and uber cool finish.

Sounds like fun, and I'm already scouting for toys, as it were.

It's going to be called The OCD One, it is going to have a crazy goth-come-emo-esque finish, and I can't wait.

Ta-daaa