Like a Butterfly Under A Tricycle

Well, The Raymond One now has a full dose of paisleyness and is lovely and bright. Almost seems a shame to cover the top up, but then, tis a hard knock life. I'll do some fotos later on.

I am feeling rather horrible now though, it has to be said, as when I'd left Raymondo drying, it seems a butterfly decided to err, flutter by, and somehow ended-up upside-down in a dollop of glue. And well, basically snuffed it.

Departed.

Tis now an ex-butterfly and all that Python stuff people quote without realising it wasn't funny in the first place and that it only makes them look like right plums.

But the dead butterfly. It made me a bit sad.

What a waste.

(Actually, it may be a moth, but "flutter by little butterfly" sounds better than "th mo little moth".)

But anyway, it isn't good and I only hope the wee thing was glued-up in more ways than one and didn't suffer. I do wonder if I should bury him, maybe under the walnut burr veneer, so he is part of The Raymond One forever, or is that just too weird?

I don't know.

I guess I've never gotten over Jurassic Park and all those mozzies in amber.

Anyway, I'm starting on the paisleyness of The Travellin' Man One while Raymondo dries over the weekend, and I can lacquer then burr, as it were, next week.

Young Mojo Marc sent me some more fotos of the pups for The B Movie One, so they will no doubt arrive next week sometime too and then I'll have something else to stress over.

But back to The Raymond and Travellin' Man Ones, I think I've sorted everything in my head apart from pickups and wire for these two now, so I need to think about them I guess and start to do some shopping when I have pennies to rub together.

The Raymond One is HH so I'm going to go for a Mojo Wide Range Humbucker and probably some sort of PAF type, as between them they should give some nice tones to play with.

The Travellin' Man One is HSS and is going to have a couple of single coils and a splittable 'bucker at the bridge. This will be a bit of a hot PAF, I think. I'm really tempted by a couple of lipstick pickups for a bit of bluesy bite, but we'll have to see.

Obviously, a bit more fun to be had there, methinks, so who knows where we'll wash-up in truth.

Both will have Strat trems, so I'm thinking of the Gotoh/Wilkinson ones with the solid steel block to make them all zingy like new toothpaste, and tuners I haven't really decided about yet, but probably Grovers or Gotohs, I can't decide such things yet.

I seem to be fast approaching the guitars-coming-out-of-my-ears scenario once more, worse if the new bridge for the Marauder - The Ronin One - ever arrives, but there we are. Though The Fabulous One is jangling into a new pasturally sunset, so that's one of my kids less to worry about, just got to teach it to cook for itself before it goes.

But I am a little haunted at the moment, by the butterfly crushed beneath the Jooky tricycle, it has to be said.

La la laaaa

TV Jookies and Raymund's Burr

Well, I managed to start the paislification of The Raymund One yesterday, but ran out of sticky gubbins so am on a bit of a crusade to find some today that doesn't involve Ebay and waiting for a week for it to show up. But such is life. Never even got as far as that on The Travellin' Man One, which is really bugging me.

My plan to have these a good way along by the end of the week has kinda disappeared in a cloud of sloth, as I've fallen in love with my Vintage Lemon Drop and can't leave the wee thing alone and time just seems to disappear in a haze of '60s white man blues, played with panache if not accuracy, style or feel.

It's lasted a week though, that is going some around here. So I'll probably flog it soon.

I love the advice not to feed a bull into the table saw

As for other things, all the parts are on their merry way for The Old E One so that should be nice to do next week, and I may even have found myself a router, so who knows, wood may be chopped.

In fact the highlight of the morning was Mr Mojo himself sending me some fotos of the flatwork (I just nod and look as though I understand) for the two TV Jones sized P90s he is crafting for The B Movie One. I've never tried one of Marc's petite P90s, but those that have have been raving about them, so I can't wait. Cool McGroovy. TV Jookies, doesn't get better than that.

As for today then, I'm on a glue hunt like a poorly dressed Pet Shop Boy.

S-H-O-P-P-I-N-G, I'm shopping.

La la laaa

Something Seedy, Something Dirty New

Well, yesterday was a bit of a write-off, but it is paisley time today and there we are. The Craps Dice showed up - which look ridiculous yet cool, and will go well with The JoBo One I think.

Being slovenly did however give me some ponder time, and letharic of brain though I be and I know it is kinda my default setting, but I have *that* yearning again, the one where I make a single pickup Strat.

I'm not really sure why, but they are the only Strats I seem to like a lot of the time and there is something that just feels pukka about single pickup guitars. Maybe I'm just too lazy or indecisive  to use a switch, I don't know, but there we are. It is one of those, I just can't decide which.

Anyway, I have some bits 'n' pieces including my shiny Gretsch Humbucker, which I've been keeping like a shell in a pearl for just such an occasion, and I'm a bit excited at the prospect, it has to be said. I'm always the same, I get down to one guitar to play and then make another and then it goes mad - kid-in-sweety-shop style and I end-up with lots again and get all uber excited and well, talk a lot of rubbish really.

Anyway, back to the Strat and I want to do it completely in rusted iron, but I want to try something a little different with the finish and maybe another with a twist or two, not sure yet.

I'm going to dedicate it to a pub I went to a long time ago in Bristol so this will be The Old E One. If you ever went there, you'll be knowing what I mean.

Other than that I decided to drop the price on The Fabulous and JoBo Ones to £399 delivered in a hardcase as well, basically, why not.

La la laaa

Double Paisley With A Touch of Burr

The Raymund and Travellin' Man Ones
Await Paisleyification With
Rust and Burr On-the-side

Well, I must admit I never expected to get The JoBo One fettled at the first attempt, but I guess monkeys can throw  shaky spears if they have enough goes, so a Jooky miracle might happen once-upon-a-time-a-long-time-ago-today.

Must admit I'm rather chuffed with it and it seems that maybe Marc at Mojo's wiring works better than my attempts, as far as the Esquireness goes. (ahem)

In other news, I had the paisley arrive for The Raymund One, so the foto shows that along with the walnut burr laminate which will go on top of the top as well.

I'm going to have a day of paisleyification tomorrow, doing that and The Travellin' Man One side-by-side, assuming I've got enough finishing bobbins to go around. Which I might have, or probably possibly not.

I decided to put The B Movie One away in it's case until I have the pickups and all that, in case you are wondering how come I'm not getting twitchy about having so many guitars around all of a sudden.

La la laaa

Sold: The JoBo One

The Fender Telemaster is the great combination of a Jazzmaster and a Telecaster that Fender never made but most definitely should have. The JoBo One is our little Jooky twist on the whole caboodle, taking it further along in the unlikely stakes by giving it a stunningly cool bubble gum pink paisley finish and capping it off with a scratchplate lovingly hand carved from an old Beach Boys record.

It is basically the signature guitar Joe Bonamassa would have if he played a Jooky, and let's face it, it is only a matter of time. (Obviously, he knows nothing, zilch and nada about this and in no way endorses this. He hasn't played it for one, and that would just be silly.)

But getting back to The JoBo One, it isn’t purely surftastic, taking the original single pickup Telecaster as our hero on a plinth, we have gone for one of Mojo Pickups fantastic hand wound and generally scattered Broadcaster Tele Pickups and paired this with an Esquire wiring loom that means you get three great sounds from a single pickup.

Now tell me that isn’t groovy?

A Wilkinson traditional Tele bridge with ashtray cover, genuine Craps Dice from the Las Vegas Sands hotel as knobs* and a beautiful maple neck with Kluson tuners finish what is quite obviously a unique and stunning guitar. Sounds like hell with a bit of fuzz, it has to be said. If this is Surf it is Surfa Rosa all the way.

*


To be clear, The JoBo One is an utterly unique guitar, and there will never, ever, be another made. It is signed and numbered, entirely hand built and finished cooler than a slo-mo run across the Nevada desert. There will genuinely never be another guitar like this and past experience suggests that it won’t be around for long.


*** SOLD ***

Technical Stuff:

Type: Leona’s Groovy Guitar

Electrics: Mojo Broadcaster – Esquire Wiring

Guitar Type: Fender Telemaster

Construction: Alder Body, Maple/Maple neck

Strings: Nickel 10s

Output: ¼” Guitar Lead

Controls: Volume, Tone

Special Stuff: Certificate of Authenticity, Builder Signed and Numbered, All Wrapped with our Trademark Jooky Wrapping.

Serial Number: JGE#56

RSP: £799

* The guitar will be supplied with both the Gretsch knobs pictured, and the dice knobs too, so you can choose how Vegas you feel on any given day.

Introducing: The JoBo One

Well, I'm pleased to introduce you to The JoBo One, which from the start I should point out is NOT a Joe Bonamassa signature guitar. It is an ugly rumour (that I may have started), and it frankly isn't true.

What it is, is an imagining of the guitar I think Joe would play, if he was to play a Jooky, and the imagining I thought about was that it would most probably be during his yet-to-happen Surfing-in-Vegas period. You may say I'm jumping the gun, but I like to be prepared and all good things come to he who waits and well, there we are. It is all only a matter of time anyway.

But to the guitar.

As you can hopefully see The JoBo One is a stunningly cool, pink paisleyified Telemaster, complete with a Beach Boys record hand chopped into the shape of a scratchplate, with a nice alder body from Fusion (you'll have to trust me on that as you can't see that bit) and a maple neck.

The ashtray bridge comes with a cover to flick your ash into (does anybody know if JB smokes, I wonder?) and underpinning it all is one of Marc at Mojos stunningly uber cool Broadcaster pickups, with Ye Olde Worlde Esquire wiring giving three highly useful tones to play with.

The fotos show it with a set of Gretsch knobs, which is kinda your black tie version, but it will also come with a set of knobs made from Craps Dice from the Sands hotel for when you are hitting-the-Strip. They just haven't arrived yet and I got carried away.

And there we are.

As to how it plays, well it has all the twangy surfedness you could hope for, but the grimy dirt of a Tele that we know and lurve. A tankful of reverb and you can spank Dick Dale's booty and tweak Duane Eddy's nose with a plum. Or maybe aplomb. (Are you taking notes Joe?)

Add a touch of the dirty fuzzy stuff and you are instantly transferred to Pixies, Monkey Heaven and from there on in it is sex on a sticky stick. Pure unadulterated, unashamed, filth. And you don't even need to take anybody on a one-way trip into the desert to cover it up afterwards. Cool.

So there we are, I'm happy now.

La la laaaa 

Lippy, Powder and Slap

Well, I was really rather chuffed to see a nice Mojo-esque parcel waiting for me yesterday, for I knew what not that what and which I would do, as it were.

I did know it was coming - Marc told me he had posted it on Friday - but there is always a wee buzz when something comes from Mojo as it is always good.

So far, anyway.

Don't want the boy to stop trying, know what I mean?

Anyway, I knew this was going to have another of his Broadcaster Tele pickups, which I've raved about before and got funny looks when I've said it knix it against a Bare Knuckle Brown Sugar (the pickup formerly known as the best in Tele-dom). But nonetheless, I know that will sound good, so that is cool and Jesus wants me for a penguin.

The other bit in the package was a lovely prewired harness/loom to go with the pickup in my The JoBo One Telemaster. This is the fabled Esquire setup where one pickup gets three tones, and I'm looking forward to trying it.

I have to admit, I've tried such things before and not been overly impressed as everything sounded a bit woollyboymuffled, but that wasn't with this pickup - which will be raw - and not with Marcy boy wiring it, instead of me, which you could say might make a slight teensy weeny difference, if you were going to be cruella de jour and hurt my feelings. Assuming I had any left.

But anyway, the rest of the guitar is ready so these just need installing and we should be in pink paisley clover.

So, given my new realism, and the dawning of the third period of enlightenment, I'm aiming for this to be done by the end of the week. In the hope that I won't upset myself further with deep seated knowledge of my own failings and failure.

Or if I don't cock it up, it might be ready for a proper introduction later today. You never can tell even if you can usually guess.

Other than The JoBo One, I'm aiming to kick on with The Travellin' Man One this week as it is about the only one that doesn't need woodwork and I am seriously scared of the router now. And I think it will be fun, but more on that baby laters.

As for the rest of the week, well if I can find a router without homicidal tendencies, I will hopefully get on with the woodwork. If not I might have to start making bodies out of matchsticks, vinegar and brownish paper.

So, to the soldering iron and my pink heaven


La la laaaa

Pinkies and Lemons...

Well, end of the day excitement. Another magical package of cool stuff arrived today from Marc at Mojo - a nice Broadcaster pickup and Esquire wiring loom for The JoBo One. Can't wait to sort that one out tomorrow as it feels a long time coming for some reason.

But the fun never stopped there, oh no by gum, there was also a lovely, tres bon de lovely Vintage Lemon Drop Les Paul-a-like, for me to practise the bit of Black Magic Woman I can remember on with proper hollow middle soundedness.

And very cheerfilled to play it is too. The foney relic job is less annoying than I expected and it doesn't have that tacky shininess I've always hated about Epis. So in summary I'm rather pleased.

Typically it seems to have had a jiggle or three on it's way as one of the pickups didn't initially work, but a drop of solder or three sorted that out, so no big deal. No doubt I'll be flogging it in a fortnight, but nice it is, so I be pleased at the mo.

And that was that in truth. Not a lot achieved but set-up nicely for the morrow methinks.

La la laaa

Monday, Monday Doo-bi-doo

Well, here we go again in the little kingdom of Jook and in the coming week, with no footballish distractions to tear my guts out, I see in the eye of my mind that we may well expect the finish of The JoBo One.

That is my one target, and as I'm expecting the pickup and groovy wiring loom to turn up today or tomorrow from Planet Mojo, it should be achievable even for me.

After that, I'm planning on starting to finish The Travellin' Man One, as in finish the body, the rest of the bobbins are in the postal ether.

This is going to be a bit of a combo type of thingy so should be pretty nice, methinks.

Other than that, I have a nice HH Tele body on it's way from distant shores that will prove to be the basis of The Raymund One with it's paisley, rust and walnut burr finish, Strat trem and other things I forget.

Not sure when that will arrive by duck though, so not really a this-week-kinda-thing, so I don't know why I bring it up.

As for the rest, I'm still a router short of a tenon joint, so unless I find a chisel nowt will happen for a while. Though I have got an odd hankering for another single pupped Strat, we'll have to see.

So come-on-mister-postie, I'm booooorrrreeeedddd.

La la laaaa

Of Lemon Drops and Swiss Army Knives

Well, as I probably mentioned I have a spare place in my guitar-collection-of-three since I had the cull a few weeks back and really quite fancied something with 'buckers to join my Jazzmaster and Gordo (even if it still remains sans pickups).

Long term I will buy a nice Gibson Les Paul Traditional, keep it for a week and then sell it on, of that    sure, but to tide me over I was thinking a cheap Tokai - though I want mahogany and maple, and  they aren't these days, or maybe a Chinese Burny - though they seem to have the same slant on woods. So I wasn't sure really.

I used to have a Vintage V100 which was lovely good, and they are crazy cheap, so I'd pretty much decided to get one of those and generally pimp it up a bit. And then somehow I seem to have snaffled one of their 'Icon' range, which I think are meant to be a little bit better or aged anyway and it will save me having to attack it with a belt sander. Assuming I had one.

So Monday will hopefully see a courier turning up with a nice Vintage Lemon Drop, which I've fancied for a while as the couple I've tried were pretty cool, and though I'm not really a Fanboi of anybody these days, I love the Peter Green in-betweeny sound and it'll save me having to flip magnets or stand on my head whilst playing or something. Plus I like the colour, which is more usually my top criterion.

Anyway, no doubt more on that when it arrives, assuming it arrives in one piece, which would make a chance Mc Pleasant on recent form.

Of more interest, I've been on a bit of a knob-fest (steady) and treated myself to a couple made out of twelve-bore shotgun cartridges, and a few more that have been made out of Craps Dice from some hotel in Las Vegas I'll never see. I'm not really sure what I'll use them for, though the dice might be good on The JoBo One and the Remington one could go well with The B Movie One.

In fact there, I've made a decision to at least try them, Jooky inaction, here right before your very eyesomes.

It feels odd in England buying gun related bobbins, as it is never part of real life - guns I mean - outside of the inner cities and country piles, and well, Manchester I suppose.

And having guns at home seems such an alien thing to do, and I guess when you look at Charlton Heston it just gives that nutter vibe to gun ownership, and you assume that people with guns in America are crazy-weird and warmongerish bigtime.

But then you look at the ultimate peace-filled land of Switzer where every adult male legally has to own an automatic weapon and know how to use it, and that is the world's beacon for peace, so I don't know.

Who can really tell?

I always thought it odd that you could get Swiss Army Knives when they don't have an army. I guess though that maybe they used to and are selling off all of the old stock, but then you don't see too many ex Swiss Army anything-else's and in truth if they only had knives and no guns it was probably best that they never got into any wars as they wouldn't have done too well really.

Hmm, think I'll stick to thinking about guitars. Guns make my head hurt

La la laa

Getting Started On The Travellin' Man

Well, as I am officially waiting-for-parts, and in-need-of-a-router-not-designed-to-maim-me, I am a little jobless on the Jooky front, so I am tempted to start on the body of The Travellin' Man One come Monday as you wouldn't believe how long ago this one was meant to be getting of going.

OK, you might.

This, I'm sure I mentioned before, is one of those rarities where I'm making it for somebody, which is nice as I won't be tripping over it afterwards, but a bit different in that I want Patrick - said geezer - to like it. Not 'want' enough to stop me doing whatever I feel like doing with it at any given moment, but you know what I mean.

From the top it is a bit of a HSS superstrat kinda deal using one of the Fusion bodies I got from Simon before he put himself into Cryogenic mothballs. I've managed to find a nice neck which is already overdue, but I'm sure will arrive one day, and it is going to have a couple of Stratty pickups and a hot humbucker that can be split in all those familiar places.

Actually, I'm sure I've explained this before, so excuse the repetition, and the fact that I can't be arsed to check.

After that it is the usual good quality bits n bobs to nail on and it will be lovely.

Of course there is the small matter of the finish, which could be fun, and I'm thinking it might be nice to mix it up a wee bit, so I'm thinking paisley with gold leaf, rusted iron, corroded copper and bronze with a nice burnt wood veneer on top. Oh, and sprinkles. Never forget the sprinkles.

Saying that though, as he will maybe want to play it - I include somewhere dark in that - maybe that is a tad much and I should simplify.

We'll see though. Come the glory-filled day.

La la laaaa

Rainy Afternoon in Jookyland

Moody fotography
or did I lose my spex?
You decide..

Well, today is a bit of a non-runner, so I guess I'll just have to have a little Fabulous time, which is a hardship but I should take opportunities when they come.

I am rather loving my pretty wee jangle-monster though, it has to be said.

Other than that, a few parts showed-up, so The B Movie One now has it's neck attached, a bridge and groovy bullet ferrules around the back for consistently cool string passageness.

They haven't fallen out yet either, I must have ordered the right size after all.

So that and The JoBo One are pretty much there apart from pickups and wiring, which is cool.

So all in all, at the end of the week I've done everything I could really, so I feel settled now, and might have to go on a router hunt.

Anyway, guitars to strum etc.

La la laaa

Introducing: The Fabulous One

Well, I'd like to introduce you to my latest trick, a little guitar I've grown to know and love as The Fabulous One.

From the top, it is a semi-acoustic (though thankfully with a feedback busting centre block hidden beneath), and it is quite clearly based upon the Fender Coronado I, though with a few Jookerific twists to make it my own.

The body is made from alder with an ash block in the middle, and it has been joined in holy matrimonial goodness with a Strat neck - maple and rosewood for the fact fans out there.

The finish is multi-dimensional, with the back and sides being given a beautifully blue corroded bronze finish, while the top has a greeny corroded copper. To set it off a little more, there is an Ersatz binding of red paisley, which looks lovely and messy and cool all at once as it wiggles it's way around.

Pickup-wise, there is another one-off, handwound by Marc Ransley at Mojo Pickups, and with all due nods to any company's who's name begins with "R" and ends with "ickenbacker", it is a version of something famously toaster-like. I have to say it looks great sat there all proud and West Coastish.

Other bits are a nice trapeze tailpiece with a quite Danelectro-esque metal bridge which only adds to the jangle. Tuners are Grovers and of course are rock solid and smooth of twirl.


Playing the guitar acoustically, there is definitely a nice bright jangle about it - almost a touch resonator like, which is probably down to the bridge and I have to say it does sound Dano-like, in a good way.

Plugging it in shows the pickup does a whole lot more than Smiths impressions, and whilst Beatles, Byrds and yes Mr Marr can be found without trouble it is really easy to get a touch bluesy with it too. Marc supplied another of hiis excellent wiring looms for this too, and using good pots makes a world of difference. Just volume in this case but with a nice responsive amp it adds plenty to the option list.

In a way I'd be disappointed if this was just seen as a Jangle monster as The Fabulous One really does have a lot more to offer. With a bit of distortion it sounds massive and overdriven it is reet sweet.

So there we are. I didn't even need to dig out the  SpongeBob plasters as a couple of pipe cleaners meant the wiring went in without any hassle at all.

The Fabulous One, in summary, cool as Ray Bans in a niteclub.

La la laaa

The Psychedelic Surf One - Up For Grabs on t'Bay

Well, a long time ago in a land a lot like here, I somehow made a rather excellent guitar and fell in love with it.

Then like the pimp I clearly am, I sold it's booty like Cornflakes.

I've made quite a few now - nearly 50 (which is worrying but I'll gloss over that) - yet The Psychedelic Surf One is one of a handful I could easily break my own golden rules over.

But it went to a top chap called James and he made a lot better use of it than I ever could, so all is well.

Anyway, time stands still for no guitar(ist) and James is moving my wee beaut on.

In fact somebody asked if I could authenticate it and pointed me at it on Ebay yesterday HERE and I would be surprised if it is around too long.

If I had the dosh it wouldn't be, that's for sure.

*sigh*

It is odd, but it was only the 3rd guitar I made and, well, I still miss it.

Clearly it will be worth millions in years to come, and me and James will both cry over it's loss.

Heh ho

This is it in action...


La la laaaa

Like A Bridge Over Still Waters

Well, today was a bit of a no-progress-due-to-real-life sort of day, which isn't awful in the granda-schema-maxima, but is kinda frustrating nonetheless..

Nice things that did happen were that the bridges I ordered for The Fabulous One arrived and whilst one was far too big and chunky of girth, the other was just about perfect. It is beautifully retro tinny looking too which is quite a bonus in itself.

I will need to adjust the string slot bits a little and maybe tweak the angle of the neck, but with it in-situ my two strings actually play with a half decent action, so that is cool. Hopefully I'll get the rest of it done this week as it would be nice to give it a blarrrst.

As for all the other bits 'n' bobs, well none of them arrived, so I don't have to feel guilty about ignoring them too.

One bonus with the Fab's bridge, is that it is the perfect size for The Ronin One (I think I said the ones I've tried haven't been great and I hadn't been able to find one to fit that was better. Until now.)

Obviously this is cool-in-excelsis, and so I shot off to Allparts' web site to order another, but it was out of stock. Starting to think that my little Marauder should have been call The Cursed One.

Heh ho.

At least I know it is possible, if not probable now.

So really, I'm looking at tomorrow now. I can put The Fabulous One back together again, and then spend Friday fixing whatever I mess up. That's no bad, I can live with that.

La la laaa

Slow News Day

Well, I fixed the tailpiece on The Fabulous One so that err, lines-up nicely now. Always a bonus.

I've also decided that the bridge is a wee bit high for comfort, so I've ordered a couple of replacements and hopefully one of them will prove to be better. I'm expecting the action to still be a tad high, so I'm going to have to give the neck a bit of love and we'll go from there.

One for the morrow now though, along with the soldering as I never quite got that far in the end.

As for other things, I'm not sure if said, but Marc from Mojoland, is winding me a couple of his special pickups for The B Movie One La Cabronita thingy. These will be TV Jones shaped, but in reality be a pair of his P90s, which sounds an even better bet to me.

Other than that, all of the other parts for this cutey should be here tomorrow, which is pretty cool, especially as the neck fits perfectly and I had run out of neck plates and screws, so it is a bit floppy right now.

*breathe*

Must remember to...

*breathe*

Heh ho

La di daaaa

Staring Me In The Face

Well, I don't claim any great level of expertise in anything at all really, but sometimes I have this kind of Zen state where I can immediately look at a guitar and know - feel if you like - that something maybe isn't quite right.

Why do I mention it? Well, I thought I'd put a couple of strings onto The Fabulous One and see whether the bridge is a little too high - it is niggling me somewhat - and I don't know why, but I just got this feeling.

Maybe it was the low E string being somewhere in the middle of things, or maybe it was the high E floating in mid-air off the side of the neck, I probably won't ever really know for sure, but instinct kicked in and after a bit of investigative work, I found that I was right.

I'd put the tailpiece in the wrong place.

Oh, how I laughed.

I even know how I managed it - being organised (ahem) I had drilled a hole for the strap pin a way away from the ones for the trapeze, and then obviously I used that for the tailpiece instead.

So no great harm done.

As for the bridge, well the action was OK and I could maybe adjust the neck angle to improve it further, but I've ordered a couple of different - shallower - bridge mounts instead as I think it would be at it's limits, as it were.

As for today, well the new neck and tuners arrived for The B Movie One, so I'll probably drill and fit that later if I haven't run out of screws and neckplates (which is possible) and I really should get my finger out and install the Mojo Toaster in The Fabulous One, oh and maybe move the tailpiece a tad to the right. Might be a handy thing to do.

La la laaaa

WIP: The Fabulous and B Movie Ones

Don't Leave Your Records
In The Oven Mrs Worthington

Well, I know a lot of peeps read this blog and worry that my slick approach to making my Jooky babies raises the bar so high that it really isn't worth trying themselves. And I can understand that and sympathise. I realise how lucky I am to have been born with such a gift, and believe me when I say it brings it's own pressures.

So I thought I should show you that yes, even I can make life hard for myself and if not quite show myself to be fallible, well, perhaps hint at a teeny weeny chink in the old armour.

So when I say I may have left a record a little long in the oven while making a scratchplate for The B  Movie One, I hope that makes life, if not quite worthy of living, then perhaps a touch more endurably bearable.

Though, who hasn't wanted to do that to Brothers In Arms and Rumours?

Anyway, The B Movie One now boasts a nice vinyl pickguard, and I'm rather pleased to say that the paisley binding of The Fabulous One is done too - lacquer drying as I type.

I tussled with myself over this as to be honest it looked very nice thank-you-very-much without it, but I thought it might add a little something and it will be easy to remove if I don't like it. Well, maybe.

Obviously I could have gone for perfectly perpendicularly aligned smooth lines, but instead I went more windy and wyndy. It would have looked silly otherwise.

And as the thievin basket posty showed-up, The Fabulous One is now neck attached and has a lovely tailpiece and bridge (which looks a little high to me, but we'll see later on like). Tis looking good

As for chopping wood, well I had another fight with my router and to be totally honest I just about convinced myself that it is blinkin' impossible, the router bucks like a, err, bronco, and the bit seems to slide up and down at random and generally having to hold it one handed while I turn the power on as the on-off switch doesn't work is a tad tiresome too.

So in a fit of fed-up-ness, I borrowed a different router from the chap up the road, and which was loads easier and actually, well, cut the bits of wood I wanted. So for once, bad workman though I may be, I think I can safely say that this tool is garbage and I am justified in blaming all of my woes on the little £$%^&*(.

There, got that off my chest. So now I need a new router. Do not pass go, do not spend anywhere near £200 as you are brassic as per.

So in summary, don't feel inadequate in Jookyland, there really is no need whatso,and with a bit of luck I might be getting some strings onto The Fabulous One tomorrow, assuming that the pot and socket go thru the F-hole still, now that I've covered it with gubbins.

La la laaaaaa

The B Movie One Gets
A Record Breaking Pickguard Thing

Ooh, Looks At Those Grooves
(OK, Only One And It Is A Spiral, But...)

Paisley Bound Fabulous

Now With Bridge and Tailpiece, Blimey

O Mother, I Can Hear...

The Fabulous One
If I Only Had A Tailpiece
And a Bridge
And Was Wired-Up

Well, another week in paradise regained without the Rooney-esque barnetry benefits, unfortunately.

As to what gets done this week, well in truth it depends on what shows up in the post.

Young Marc of Mojo fame is whirring his winder and producing all sorts of bobbins and general loominess.

There are necks and tailpieces, strap pins and bridges and all sorts of other stuff in degrading orbits too, and who knows what will crashland next.

As for things to make and do, well as far as the three-most-likely-to-be-finished go, there isn't actually that much.

1. The Fabulous One:

The lacquer is dry so I just need to sort out the ersatz binding and then put it all together once the tailpiece and bridge arrive. Sounds easy, hmmm.

2. The JoBo One:

That is waiting for a pickup and wiring loom and that be that.

3. The B Movie One:

That is waiting for, well, everything. Though I need to craft a scratchplate, which I can be doing, like.

So today then is binding the Fabulous and scratchplating the B Movie, which shouldn't take long, and then the race is on for the rest.

Hopes, dreams and expectations?

Well, I would like to finish one of them this week, but I don't really know which. The Fabulous One is probably the most likely, but who can really guess at such quicksilvery slivers in the corner of your mind's eye?

Other than all of that, I'm going to go ferrit on The Pearly Dewdrop One and get some wood chopped.

Didn't I say that weeks ago?

Probably.

And there we are....

Fun fun fun

La la laaaaa

Quiet Days Am These

Well, a day away from Jookyland, but still I managed to sort out some pickups thanks to the ever resourceful Mr Mojo - he is going to be winding me something groovy and TV Jonesish (I really should say Gretschish ) of shape especially for The B Movie One. All of which means I'll no doubt finish that last-minute-distraction before all of the others, but such is life.

Can't wait to see what he comes up with.

Elsewhere, the lacquer is dry on The Fabulous One, so I'm assuming that with parts arriving early this week I might actually get that put together soonerish. The JoBo One too now I think about it.

All of which is timely as much as I while lurve my Jazzmaster, I do like grazing across a selection of guitars and having knackered the Gordo I'm limited of option and general graze potential.

Speaking of my Gordo, I still haven't worked out what pickups to put in it. I might just go for a PAF and a P90 again, though that is a bit of a cop out as I'd be back to where I started, so I should probably try something else. Maybe, err, dunno.

Today though, in between the usual weekend bobbins, I shall be masterplanning my initial Jooky - Haut D'Jook - T Shirt. There truly is no beginning to my talents.

La la laaa