Betty Is Beautyfilled

Betty Wears Her Chrome With Pride

Well, not quite finished the Lightning Dragon yet today, but some super-speedfilled sorting out by Liam at Axesrus meant that the scratchplate arrived and could be gold leafed, which proved to be the most interesting experience of all and where I came closest to doing that
Dad thing:

Let-me-do-it-no-not-like-that-Jesus-won't-you-listen.

I didn't even do the:

speaking-slowly-whilst-fuming

stomp, I surprise myself at times.

Speaking of good service, I also received the replacement bridge plate for The Betty Blue One which means that it is ready to go too. Apart from that I ran out of strap pins again. Tis always the strap pins. Oh, and I can't find where the neck has gone either. But apart from that, it is pretty much there-ish. Man I lurve a girl in callipers.

Anyway, hopefully I'll have something to show later on...

Well, maybe.

La la laaaaaa

The Lightning, The Fallen etc.

Well, we're just about there with the Lightning Dragon once the scratchplate arrives, which is all good stuff. I even got the brats to drill new holes for the neck to be bolted on and they came out really well. I can see me subcontracting in future.

The daft thing is that I'm really looking forward to playing it and  have already been told that I won't be allowed to as I keep telling her not to touch my Jazzmaster.

Which is fairy Nuff I guess.

At least until she is at school.

Other than the dawning light, I've decided that the four Jooky days of next week will be all about The Fallen One. I'm determined to sort it out, and on the strength of it dug all the various bits out.

The list of things to do is something I'm refusing to be scared of, despite wood chopping being involved, there is nowt I haven't done before.

It be:

1. Rout neck pocket. It is too shallow so I need to dig deeper a few mm.

2. Pickups hole things: Same with these, they are a bit shallow, so I need to get deep down, baby.

3. Bridge: I need to drill some holes for the bridge thing.

4. Stain the body and finish with wax oil. No point doing this before I make some holes as it would be a guaranteed way of ballsing that up, let's face it.

5. Drill neck holes. One for the kids.

6. Put it all together. Simple..

And that is it.

How hard could it be?

And if I can't get it done in four days I never will.

Probably.

La la laaaaa

So Near, Or

Well, with a bit of luck we'll get The Lightning Dragon finished before the weekend is out, with the slight wrinkle being a minor cock-up in the wrong scratchplate being despatched dept.

But a replacement is whizzing it's way quick smart double-time and will hopefully arrive tomorrow. Axesrus were brilliant about it, great service as per usual.

So we'll get some done today - tuners, bridge, neck-bolted-on, maybe even wire the pickup up and man it looks cool. It probably sounds daft but I bought a cheapo pickup because I liked the cover, and then swapped in the Catswhisker pup I found in a drawer. The daft thing was it was cheaper than buying the cover elsewhere with the added bonus of something to put in the drawer so it doesn't feel bereft.

All in all, despite the breaks for weather, holidays, birthdays and going-to-the-park, I have to say I've been pleasantly surprised how well this has gone..

I've very deliberately let the bratskis do all of the work, which probably explains why it is getting done on schedule and looking as it should.

I can feel a dynasty coming on.

I'm most proud of the synchronised paint runs on the back and the checking on the side. Lovely.
(Really, I am.)

As for next week, well school opens once more on Tuesday and I'm pretty fired up, though not most other times.

So I'm going to be going for it a wee bit and hopefully Jookyfying the nation once again (ahem).

I've been sketching out body shapes off and on and am going to be making some templates, which is good. This Second-Coming-Jooky lark is occupying me somewhat at the moment and I'm trying verily hard not to offer to run whilst yet to take on to solids, as it were. But still, a boy can dream.

As ever my problem is controlling the urge to start forty-seventy-three projects before I've finished one of them and ending-up bewildered and generally making the big announcement and killing myself to make it happen.

But what can you do?
A baggie can't change his stripes, after all.

So today, bit of Lightning Dragon-ing, is 'bout as good as it gets, and when the 'plate arrives, a bit of gilding, knocking together, the usual WTF moment that defines just about everything, and we'll be there. Lovely.

What was the question again?

La la laaa

Rout Mastering

Well, thingies seem to be come gathering together muchly lots nicely at the moment. The Lightning Dragon is poised for a flamboyant flourish, I'm ever more optimistically expectant that all of the AWOL missing parts to my various jigsaws will one day arrive, and I'm getting excited about it all once more. Which is a goodly cool thing with tingling tinkle bells around the edges.

Don't ask me quite how I managed it, but I grabbed a tender half hour yesterday and had a bit of a zoom and duck with my router.

Some quality time.

Though it isn't getting any easier - I'm still dodging homicidal bits from the old one as the new one arrived and didn't work and is now going thru that whole...
nightmare-service-returns-dept-on-holiday-for-a-decade-this call-cost-
you-£9.49-please-call-again-Buuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrr.
....scenario

But I seem to be coping regardless.

Despite answer fone hell, what was pleasing was that I somehow got the hang of chopping neck pockets out of chunks of wood and after sanding a bit more all slow-glacier-like, the Strat neck I was aiming for somehow seemed to fit.

I actually did 7 in the end, and all turned out well. Though what sort of guitar is going to have 7 necks and no bridge, I'm really not sure. Or look exactly like a plank, come to think about it.

I know it seems daft, but this is the one thing that has been bugging me. I'm quite happy following a template for the body shape (which is useful) and pickup and control routs seem to go well too, but the neck pocket, I don't know, they've been killing me. Sometimes almost nearly possibly maybe in the actuality.

Anyway, when I next get a chance I'll do The Fallen One and we'll be in the quid seats there, and more importantly it opens the door to the Dano/Semis and solid shaped bodies I want to be building.

In fact that is another cause of optimism in The Little Kingdom of Jook, as I have got my head around that side of things too. See, and it sounds daft, but I haven't been able to work out how I should describe the guitars that will be made from scratch so that they are differentiated from the ones made from collected parts (if that makes any sense at all). But now I know and being a bit of a nerd, having the meta data/structure clear makes things easier for me. So I smiles, smiles, smiles.

But I'm going tangentically off in odd directions, so that is for another day methinks.

La la laaa

Getting Beastlier Like

It's All Inspiration - Dah-link

Well, I realise that we're feeding on scraps at the moment, but I'm pleased to say that the daughter's Lightning Dragon took another tumble forward, and now not only boasts a bunch of funny looking lightning bolts, but also has some groovily berouged blobby spot things too.

These have been haphazardly hacked from some vinyl, fixed and then lacquered so that they will stick around a while, which is all pretty cool methinks.

Hopefully today or tomorrow will bring all the parts, so that we can start putting it together, with the only really tricky bit left to face being that we're gilding the scratchplate with 24 karat leaf.

So basically it is going to be tight, but I think we'll have it together by next Monday which is the main thing.

This may seem to be going on a bit, but that is despite the fact that I'm not doing any of it rather than because of it. Anyway, it's always a slow start, stagnatifying in the middle followed by a flourish of a frenetic-yet-oddly-kinetic ending, lets face it.

I am rather intrigued to see how it plays, mainly as I know the scale length is going to be out of whack, but for her to start learning a few chords on I'm hoping it'll be OK. And when she's older and all that, if she is still bothered we can always fit a full-size neck and Bob's your Anty, if you have a family like mine.

So in summary, waiting for the post, as per.


La la laaaa

Starting To Fall Again, What Am I To Do?

Why Does It Look Simple Until I Try It?
Eh? Eh?

Well, I have bottled the Fallen One's routing long enough, and now that Marc at Mojo has sent me a foto of the wired pickguard thingy he has done for it, I really am going to have to get my act together...it would be criminal to leave this baby in the corner, as it were..

Right.
Brave Juice.
I neeeds you.

La la laa

You Can't Read Me

Well, as I write this you can see that I'm getting a bit stir crazy.

No, that's wrong.

As I write this you can't see it at all as I haven't put it onto the site/blogthing yet as it clearly isn't finished at all, so it is silly to say that.

So basically, while I was writing this, I now realise you can't see anything at all, but later, once I've finished it, read it a couple of times, right-clicked on the red-wiggly-underlined-words and tried to remember what it was I meant when I wrote 'Btt2ns', scurried around for a vaguely relevant foto, uploaded it and then finally got bored and published it to the interweb, where it has hung around a while until you happen across it by whatever magic that works, and then you've read this far and realised that perhaps my initial assertion was right and I am in spiky point of factuality a bit stir crazy. Then you may have caught up and generally seen or at least read that it is true.

But regardless of that, stirring crazily I am, and I've definitely got that itch again, and am desperate to get going with all these shonky guitars I have swimming in my head. As ever I have a few to sort out - not quite sure how that happened - but it is all good.

As for meself, the Old China Tokai should show up this week sometime, which is good, but I haven't quite killed off the idea of a Fender (or Squier) Jaguar. I know, I know, it never ends.

In fact the Squier is more likely dosh-wise, and if they are as good as the Squier Jazzmaster I tried the other day, which pickups apart was rather lovely, they should be close enough for the likes of me.

In fact if I bought a MIJ Jaguar I'd no doubt be factoring the cost of a set of pickups anyway, so no big deal. So the Squier it probably might be, unless somebody buys The Fabulous One before that nice Shoreline gold one sells on Ebay. Maybe. But more probably the Squier.

I'm not scared to upgrade things.

That may surprise you.

It does go against the grain to buy any guitar new though, and to be fair that is probably the only thing making me hang back. I feel the same about the Fender Marauder, they just don't seem to pop up too often second-hand. Especially in blue, which I rather liked.

But there we are, still pacing the floor, waiting for something, always waiting.

Still, young Mr Mojo has done me the Jazzmaster loom and pickups for The Fallen One so once I have routed the neck pocket.... </Eternal Refrain>

And I'm seemingly determined to give the postie a hernia with the amount of parts I'm hopingly expecting to arrive this week from every corner of the pretty-much round-and-cornerless world, but then I have a fine collection of While-you-were-out cards to cash in tomorrow at our dismal sorting office place, so they may have already arrived, but I wasn't here to see them.

So does that mean it happened at all?

(Excuse obvious distractions of unseen trees falling in forests,
do not pass go,
definitely hand over yet-another-£200 etc.)

So there we are. Or rather I am, you only catch-up later, if ever or at all, at all.

La la laaa

Loves Resurrection

The B Movie One - Buggered by UPS
The Resurrection will be ser-weeet

Well, I have sorted a nice body out for The Resurrected One, which should be with me in the next week or so, and as I know that is 'real' now I've given myself permish to start thinking about how to do it.

I need these rules to cower the psychosis.

Well, maybe one of them.

As for what the what is, well, it is a two pickup jobby again, so I'm planning to put one of Mojo's TV Jones-sized P90s in along with a TV Jones or Gretsch 'bucker of some sorts.

Saying that, the pair of Mojo P90s that were fleetingly in The B Movie One (RIP) were a bit special, so I won't rule it out.

As I've gone for another swamp ash body with a sumptuously groovy grain, I'm loathe to hide it, so I think it might be another stain jobby thought perhaps a bit more pronounced than the last time. We'll have to see when the body arrives, I guess. I am thinking that this time is will be a heavier stain rather than just to bring out the grain, with a nice hard wax oiled finish on top. But then, I'm always thinking something.

As for the neck, I've got a lovely rosewood boarded tele one, which I'm looking forward to twanging my way around, and that is about that.

Can't wait to start to be quite honest, and as we're into the final week of bratski-induced-downtime, I hopefully won't have to wait for too long.

In other news, I've sorted out a nice maple/maple neck for The Betty Blue One, so when the replacement bridge arrives from GFS we should be in clover. I've also got a nice set of Klusons (left handed, I remembered) for The Fallen One, as when I tried the Steinberger ones in it they didn't look too hot, to be totally honest, and they felt a tad on the neck heavy side of comfortable. But there we are, we have to try these things.

As for The Lightning Dragon, well, no fotos yet but the lightning is on and the red spots/blobs should be there today with a bit of luck. A light coat of something sticky and lacquer-like should finish that off in time for the rest of the parts to arrive and everything getting put together before the lass returns to school. On target, as planned and I don't want to think about what happened to the budget.

La la laaa

Home Straight Home

Well, back from Holiday-Camp-Hell it is immediately into the final days of bratski holibob, err, Hades and the only thing on the agenda that is likely to happen, is for the rest of the parts to arrive for mar lasses' Lightning Dragon, as that just-has-to-be-done before the week is over.

Left to do on the finish is the addition of red spots/splodges and some golden forks of lightning. These we're cutting from vinyl and then dusting with a lacquer cloud for goodly measurement.

The scratchplate is going to be smothered with gold leaf. I'd got some 24 karat left so that is cool McChilly.

Pickup-wise, I remembered a Catswhisker hand wound PAF 'bucker I'd got in a drawer from somewhere or other, so that is getting a golden can to live in, and should look good and sound pukka.

Other than that it is all Wilkinson tuners and steel blocked trem, with matchingly glistery strap pins and string trees too.

All of which is pretty groovy if you wear shades.



Of course, the parts aren't here yet in the most case, but fingers crissed and all that.

No pressure.
No pressure at all, at all.

La la laaaa

Me Old China

Super Shiny Old China

Well, I've been sat back and ponderously pondering what to do this Autumn, and generally it seems it is going to be about chopping things out of wood, and making strange shapes in a Semi-Acoustically-Danelectro-esque kinda way.

Which is cool, I like that.

So some of those things that have been hanging around on the Coming Onedayish list will finally move forward and life will be simpler, I'll pay my bills on time, plan meaningful activities for the Bratskis and generally become a good an proper citizen.

However, as far as my own little guitars go, I'm going to try and keep what I have for a while, and limit my meandering to pimping the Tokai Les Paul I should get next week sometime.My Old China, as it seems to be known locally. To me anyway.

I think I said before that it has already been pimped to some extent - new CTS pots and wiring, Tokai Mk4 pickups and removing the glossiness of the finish, but I think I'm going to swap the pickups for a Peter Green type of set (I've been looking for a chance to try Mr Mojo's PAFs for a while, and this seems perfect) and I've had a Fake58 Ye Olde wiring loom hanging around for ages, so I might pop that in for the 50s look and feeling. After that, well, we'll see how we go, but I love the way JXG did Old Honey and there are plenty of tips there to try, methinks.

But anyway

La la laaaa

TV Dining For One

Well, I read something the other day friend-of-Jooky Sean had put on Facebook, that reminded me of a long standing wish I've kept for years, only to be spontaneously unveiled with a flourish, in Bm.
When I was a kid I always had an imaginary friend, he/she spoke to me, and yes, I answered back. Tis true. And I realise that it may sound a bit cracked, but sometimes I still do.

I won't introduce you as (s)he is anything but shy and tends to take over. But the lad/lass is with me always and in lotso ways, that does me good.

I can't say I've ever worried about it, it just isn't the type of thing that you bring up in brightly lit conversation, if you see what I mean.

But saying that, Erik(a) always seems to talk a peculiar sense, and in my teenage years it struck me, that (s)he would have made a great religious leader, and in fact I've always nurtured the dream that one day it would happen.

And unlikely though it sounds, what Sean wrote was that 'when one person has an imaginary friend, we call them mad, yet when many people have one, we call it a religion.'

And that was what I'd always thought, so maybe there is hope yet.

In the meantime, I thought I'd make a guitar in Erik(a)'s honour, which would be half glam-filled glitz and half dour reality, so I'm going to go for a completely new - rather dashingly chic design, sprinkled with faerie dust yet in some way a little bit tawdry and tattered.

So that'll be the TV Dinner One, and who knows, maybe one day people will think of it as Ikonic.

La la laaa

Down In The Ashes of the Jolly Green Giant

Well, as you may have heard me scream, The B Movie One was a bit of a write-off, which was annoyingly bugging and nauseously tear-filled, and to be honest I felt rather cheated and glum. I'd wanted to do a La Cab for ages and despite it being rather understatedly quiet in the acid and paisley departments, I rather loved it.

Anyway, I feel as though unfinished bizzyness must be addressed, and so I'm going to have another go.

This time it might not be quite as subtle, but I think it may well involve some of the Mojo TV Jones-sized P90ness as they were rather stunning and I might even repeat the 7" single pickguard, by way of rememberance.

As for the finish I think a bluey bronze would work rather-nicely-thank-you-verily-much-and-cheers-for-asking, though if I can find a nice bit of wood I might do something with a dark stain on it, we'll have to see.

It's a bit of a putting-things-right, type of thing I guess. Honoring the fallen and all that.

So coming (one day) soon, The Resurrected One.

La la laaa

Shape Sorting Man

Well, one of the things I've always liked about doing the Jooky thing is that it gives me a chance to make bobbins that are a little off-key, something I've always associated with guitars, and generally to mess with the established order of things. I don't claim any originality for this, clearly.

Alongside that of course is the whole re-use/junk modelling thing, and at times it is hard to balance the arty bit with it. It would be a lot easier to just buy a Fender Strat or Tele and do strange things with the finish than it is to source all the parts separately. And it would no doubt be more lucrative, and make for an easier 'sell', but I never set out to be a spray-gun-toting refinisher and I can safely say that there is little evidence that I'm in it for the money.

But I think perhaps it is time to spread my wings a wee bit as the quality of the guitars has improved over time - I know what I want a lot better than I used to, and Marc at Mojo making wiring looms plugs something I was struggling to do, shaky mitts and all, and the fact that he doesn't freak when I ask him to make some weird concoction of a pickup, is better still. So it is all good.

But still I've been tied to the shapes other people have made and whether the bodies are second-hand or luthier chopped (as a lot have been recently) they are still based on Strats, Teles, Jazzmasters and the rest. However interesting they may be.

All of which is why I'm intent on making my own bodies and to try and do a few of my own designs. I've been saying it since I started of course, but the difference is that I think I need to now, if that makes sense. It is going to get stale otherwise and there is nowt worse that a stale idea.

Of course the downside is that us guitarists are a pretty conservative lot - a lot of little c's, I've heard it said -  if it ain't a butterscotch Tele it ain't worth the time of day, but I guess I have to think that somebody might want what I do.

Even if it takes a bit longer for them to move on.

That is the daft thing, I get really stressed if I have too many Jookies around the place and I get upset if nobody buys one within the month it is made, which when you think about it is pretty silly as I get to play them all the time they are here, and mourn them as soon as they have left-the-building

I've never really believed in art-for-arts-sake, though I say it often enough. There has to be a reason in there somewhere, and the only one that counts with a guitar is that it is played and while looking good and cool, makes you want to play it with (hopefully) some sounds that inspire you to stretch yourself a different way. Well, a boy can hope..

As for selling them, well, I have to do that to pay for the next and I've got no hang ups about that. Plus, I only have to get lucky once with my guitars (if quoting the IRA isn't a little odd), and let's face it, I've only ever made them for me, but for other people to play. And that's pretty cool in itself if I can continue to get away with it.

So in summary, I need to change things to keep it fresh, but I like it just the it is. But safe is sooo boring, I can't see the point.

Yours, maudlin-deep of Portishead

La la laaaaa

Sliding Away...

Well, I have to say I'm all flattened deflated at the moment after the hole-cut-backwards-ness of the bridge plate for The Betty Blue One. Whether they send a replacement or not, it is just so annoyingly boring and take-long-time-ish.

I could just use a different bridge I guess, but it isn't as it was meant to be, and that be that.

So basically, Betty is back in the corner again for a while, until my brain recovers.

In other news, despite expectations I have spent some time recording The Fabulous One, but that too has ended in a frustratingly aching heart as the $%^&*& PC crashes every time I press the STOP button on Audacity.

I mean, you can't imagine the great art that has already been lost to the world.


As for other stuff, to cheer meself up I've bought a How To Play Slide For Numpties DVD and one of those funny little bottles as a slide (Coricidin Coricidin - bless you etc.)

Now, I can actually play a bit of slide - I used to play along to lots of old Blues records at one time, but I think this autumn I need to stretch my brain a bit, so this can go on top of the pile of other books and DVDs I've accumulated and never used.

But this time will be different.

Really it will.

Honest.

Either that or you'll see them on Ebay next week.

I'm trying to teach myself a little patience at the moment, that's all.

Plus I'd need a new guitar to setup as a slide-box, of course, and those shiny metal resonator would match the glazing of my eyes.

La la laaa

Getting Into Futures, Dahlink

Well, the good news as far as young Betty is concerned is that GFS are rather cool and had sent me a replacement straight away for the mirror-image bridge 'plate before the day was out. Can't say fairer than that, I guess. Maybe there be hope for her future, after all.

Other than Beth, the next week is going to be somewhat distracted and vaporific at best, but I'm getting my head together about what the Autumn will bring, and I think it will be fun.

I think there are two main things that I want to happen (both of which I probably said last year, but I have the ability to forget such things and if you had any kind of attention span, you probably wouldn't be reading this anyway.)

So the votes from the Portishead jury, are:

1. Make some guitars. 

OK, that is what I do at the worst of times, but I really mean make some bodies for guitars. I want to do the Dan Electro/Semi thing, and I want to chop some wood and release the angel within, as it were. I want to have a Teardrop, 620 and a custom shaped one by Xmas.

There, ambition.
Specific.
Measurable.
Oops.

2. Make less guitars. 

I've sort of somehow averaged 2 guitars per month over the last couple of years and felt all the way that I'm slacking. Which to be fair, most of the time I have been. But I'd like to half that to have more time to do the woodwork thingy. So that'll be 3-per-month, then, I expect.

And that be that.

La la laaa

Bigsby Style (Slight Concern)

Well, I was so excited to be getting one of those lovely GFS Vibrato and Bridge Combos, it looked exactly what I needed.

But putting it together, I don't know, I mean I'm no expert and everything but...

Something just looks a little wrong somehow.

Heh ho

La la laaa

Ooah, Betty, I Can Feel...

Well, top excitement today as I got a lovely card pushed thru the door telling me that my chunky trem and bridge - for The Betty Blue One - had arrived from far flung lands.

Not quite requiring so much of a cheery hearthed welcome was the £9 customs charge, and the £8 the Royal Mail are charging me for the privilege of not bringing the parcel to my door, but there we are. I was half expecting it anyway.

So I can hopefully go and get that and do a bit of stuff with o'er Betty, though of course that was the point when I realised that I haven't got the girl a neck yet, which is a bit of an oversight.

I really must check that though, as I was sure I did have - maybe I've used it, wouldn't be the first of times. I still haven't heard the Mojo Tele P90, of course, so there is a hint of bubbly excitement, I have to admit.

But still, be nice to get closer to finishing something, it seems like forever since the last time.

On the back of such promise, I dug the body out of it's hiding hole, gave it a quick dust and dazzle and I have to say it is a bit of a wow-lit stunner. The walnut burr looks rather gorgeous pretty, and I am loving that it is tattered and torn so that you can see the corroded bronze beneath.

The shaved edge binding (I'm making up meaningless terms to make it sound good, today) also works for me in a big way, and the back is dee and vine. Like a Parisian window as seen by Monet after he'd been on Les Meths. Lovely.

If only the girl had a neck, it would be perfect.

How many times have I said that before?

At least in those Ruby Red Pimpernelistic dreams of teenage.

I know it is sad to get excited about tiny little small steps such as this, but there we are.

La la laaa

Rainy Day in Slo-Mo

Well, another rainy day here in funtown, and I seem to be at a bit of a loose end.

I've started making some sort of sound file for The Fabulous One, but then knackered my headphones and the PC speakers, so I can't hear what it sounds like (though I have a fair idea in truth, and I expect you do too.)

Plus of course, Minecraft, Roblox and YouTube seem to limit my access to PCs and laptops on rainy days at the best of times.

Elsewhere, The Old Gordo finally got picked-up today (that's the sound of a stupid heart breaking) and I decided against the Steinberger tuners for The Fallen One as they seemed a fair bit heavy, so I've gone for a set of Klusons instead. Even remembered to buy lefty ones, most impressed with myself.

As for the tale of the incoming, well nowt has arrived as yet, but I probably wouldn't get much done at the moment if it had, so Key Sarah as they said in ancient Latinland.

Can't remember if I said, but I do seem to have acquired a Tokai Les Paul. It is a Chinese or perhaps Korean, rather than an expensivo Japanese one, but that is OK, I have no hang-ups about such things.

America, China, Korea, Manchester London, they're all foreign to me.  But the Tokai - it has already been pimped a wee bit, having the Japanese Mk 4 pickups fitted, CTS pots and all that, brass nut (not good for chilly monkeys or mornings) and the shininess has been rubbed away so it looks nice and sheeny instead. Not that I've seen the sheen yet, but there we are.

I'm thinking that I will probably get a nice SG at some point for 'bucker duties, but figured I'd get a cheapo Vintage LP or SG to tide me over, but this popped up and, well, there we are. I'm going to see if I can keep it for a whole month as it will make a change.

Other than that I've been sketching some body shapes I will one day get around to trying to make and failing dismally at. It seems a bit of a waste to just copy existing ones if I get the hang of it as that, err, kinda goes against the grain in lots of ways.

La la laaaaa

Just Liking That

Well, birthday parties and piles of discarded wrapping bobbins are over for a while, so it is back to awaiting the postie and her magical sack, in which all my parts seem to have disappeared.

Blip.

Just like that.

It is in truth going to be a sparse kinda time over the next fortnight for one reason or another, but I do seem to have somehow acquired a  Tokai Les Paul to fill the gap the Gordo has left (which makes no sense whatsoever Chris, I realise that.) But when that will arrive, I haven't got a clue or even two.

I am planning one or two little wrinkles though over the next few days, as I think I'm going to start The Hartlepool One, even though finishing it probably won't be for a fair old while.

In the end I am going to remain true to my indecision and do two bodies, one a Teardrop based shizzle and the other a Ricky 620 inspired shazzle. If I can't find a way of swapping them mid-song, they may even end-up as two different guitars, if they end-up as any kinda guitar at all. So it will perhaps be Hartlepool and Grimsby, or maybe Stirchley.

Long overdue, your Stirchley, methinks. Though how to capture essence d'Charidee-Shop, d'Balti and d'Brothel, I'm really not sure.

As for the Lightning Dragon, we need to sort out a gold lightning bolt, some red polka dots and a picture of a dragon from somewhere, which could be fun. Must remember to get some water slide paper.

Other than that, I'm going to break a habitual life and do a little recording of The Fabulous One, as to be honest I am loving the tone of it. So I'll apologise for that in advance, but if you a guitar player it will no doubt make you feel good about yourself. Even if the opposite is true of me.

But anyway...batteries to fit, broken toys to take back to shops and outlaws to feed. It's a Rock 'n' Roll life in Jookyville.

La la laaa

Somewhat Religious Overtonal Undertones

Trying to remind myself what I'm meant to be doing

Well, I gave The Fabulous One a bit of a tweak and a lot of a play this morning, and I have to say that I think I may be in love. Again.

I know, I'm fickle like a fuckle in a fackle, but Jesus loves me and at the end of the day, what else truly matters?

Least he said his name was Jesus.

Odd though, I never figured him coming from Bratford.

As for other stuff, well, not a lot of building for the next week or two due to family bobbins (unless I sneak something in here or there, know what I mean?) But I have got high hopes of some parts arriving and introducing some dim light into the shadowlands of my tawdry little life.

I also tottled up all the wood I've acquired, but never quite gotten around to using, this morning, and I think I have enough to either build a good dozen guitars (or perhaps one good guitar and a lot of partially finished,  yet subtley damaged piles of scrap), or maybe a small ark.

So I really am going to have to at least try to think about making a start or something.

Anyway, the week ahead is dire, the one after equally so, and then, well, whatever.

I hate Sundays

I do think I should make a nice ash Telecaster though, that would be a good thing.

La la laaaa

I Don't Know Why, I Love You

But I Do

Well, I am in my usual state of flux around here. The Fabulous One has turned into a bit of a dream and I can't quite seem to bring myself to leave it be. It has a real Ric sound to it (OK, I know the Mojo Toaster pickup might be influencing this) and the neck is just lovely.

And, and, and...

*sigh*.

Elsewhere, obviously my pondering of my own three guitars the other day got twisted in my bonce, as I seem to have shifted between trying to work out what pickups I'd want in the Old Gordo, to shoving it on Ebay and flogging it. And I'm a little shell-shocked as I really don't know why, I loved that guitar.

I do seem to have this deep-seated need to kill the things I love, or at least get rid of the guitars I like, not sure why it is. Probably low self-esteem or an even lower boredom threshold.

For the first time in eons, I have a meagre three guitars in the house including The Fabulous One, which as ever is on the block. And the Jazzmaster and Old Honey are looking at each other a bit twitchy like.

Of course with the Gordo gone (can't believe that I can write that so flip) I am indeed humbuckerless, which might have to be filled by an SG or Les Paul of some description. Saying that I've been casting glances at the Squier Jaguars, but inside I know I won't like it as much as my Jazzmaster, so then I feel 'why bother'. But maybe one of those Jaguars they did a while back with two humbuckers could be a decent compromise. Hard to say, innit?

Of course I could just get my act together and make something with 'buckers, but then it is just another turn of the wheel, and...there we be.

But anyway...

La la laaa

Re-Introducing: The Fabulous One, All Over Again

Well, OMFG I have to say that The Fabulous One, with it's new neck and lovely manly tremolo is a bit of a revelation.

Don't get me wrong, I loved it's first incarnation, but with the lump of iron nailed on, it has more sustain and a zingier tone all around.

The neck is a lovely shape-in-the-hand too and has a working truss rod, which you have to think of as a good thing.

The strings seem 'firmer' too, which works for me as well, and the roller bar on the trem gets the best out of the bridge, which is a nice bonus.

I really wish I'd recorded a before and after kinda thingy, but you're perhaps glad I didn't, but I'm well impressed and not a little relieved.

I've got a new guitar to play again, lovin' it, lovin' it and generally, well, lovin' it.

Which is good as there isn't a lot else to report.

We've got to the usual waiting-for-parts sitch as far as The Lightning Dragon goes, and there is no immediate chance of routing The Fallen One or doing anything else much that involves cutting stuff up into chunks.

So there we are, I'd given up hope of finishing The Fabulous One, but you never can tell.

So maybe, a bit of a strummy afternoon, after all...time to dust off those Smiths' licks (OK, Smiths' lick) and Byrds and Beatles tricks.

The Bo-o-y With Tracey Thorn In His Si-i-de...



La la laaa

Sold: The Fabulous One

Back in the olden days, Fender built a series of semi-acoustic guitars called The Coronado. It was idiosyncratic to say the least, it gave feedback at even the lowest levels and tastefilled styling seemed a thing of the past. They were lovely.

Fast-forward many years, and here in Jookyland we think it is time for a revival, but obviously with a few twists of our own.

The Fabulous One has a name to live up to and man does it. The body is pure Coronado apart from the thought-filled addition of a centre block to tamp down that feedback. It has been finished on the top with our home brew acid concoction being applied lovingly to a copper finish. This gives a beautifully 3D effect that will appeal to the whole family and doesn’t need silly glasses.

The back has a different corrosion, with again acid being brushed onto metallic paint, with bronze being the one to get tatty on it.

Around the edges is a quite messy paisley ‘faux binding’ that sets it all off.

As for the pickup, well Mojo Pickups have wound a prototype based on something toaster-like that captures all the jingo jangle you’d hope for and so much more.

Other than that it has a Ye Olde Horshoe Tremolo for all those Bigsby-esque shimmers and warbles, a pressed metal bridge – lovely and Dano-esque – Grover tuners and a top notch Mojo wiring loom.

All together this is a complete attention grabber to look at and a slice of something truly Fab when you play it.

*

To be clear, The Fabulous 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 the road to the Wirrall. 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: Pam’s Baywatch Bronze, Lulu’s Copper Top

Electrics: Mojo Toaster Pickup

Guitar Type: Fender Coronado

Construction: Semi Acoustic body, maple/maple neck

Strings: Nickel 10s

Output: ¼” Guitar Lead

Controls: Volume

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

Serial Number: JGE#55

RSP: £799

Today This Could Be Fabulous Yet Again

Well, I'd just about decided to keep the trapeze tailpiece on The Fabulous One, so I re-fitted it, put the strap pin back on, dropped a couple of E strings on, got everything lined-up neat and tidy and was generally feeling quite happy with myself, when ...typically...
the horseshoe of a trem arrived.

So, as I really do quite fancy using it, today I will be attempting to unpick all of the above and fitting it.

Now, I've never set one of these things up, and I have never even changed a string on a Bigsby so this could be fun with a lower case ferr.

And with the next couple of weeks going into holibob-OD I'm verily conscious that today is the day this has to be done if I am to be in with a hope of getting to play the thing anytime soonish.

So that's the plan, for what it is worth- Gammon.

La la laaa

Treacle-Stomping Daze

Now THAT'S  what I call paint dribbles

Well, yesterday was a bit of an odd day.

Got the body of the Lightning Dragon done - looking vaguely battered, chipped, dribbly and scrappily scraped.

It seems red polka dots are the plan now, so I need to work that out, but generally - we're on target.

Going good.

Likely to succeed like a toothless canary.

Sorted.

As for the trem for The Fabulous One, well that was another no-show so I got a bit bugged about that, but maybe tomorrow, maybe today. It would be nice if it was this week.

But anyway, polka dots, not quite sure how that will be accomplished, but where the is a will and all that.

As for other things, I am really going to have a go at the Steinberg tuners today, and if circumstances permit, I may even find meself cutting out some shapes from my lovely planks of wood.

Well, you never know.

It all has that familiar wading thru treacle feeling again at the moment.

La la laaa

This is It?

3 Steps To Satisfaction
Step 1: 90s MIJ Jazzmaster

Well, I am suitably covered in yellow paint, my boots glow in the dark and I have breathed in far too much sanded-lacquer-dust for antibody's good, but the Lightning Dragon has come along nicely so I feel like I've done something good for once.

Proper parenting, innit?

Doing something you want to do and claim it is for the little bratskis.

Other than that, I put the Mustang bridge on my Jazzmaster, and have fallen in love with it all over again.

It just feels right when I play it and I've come to a worrying point in my life where I'm really-quite-happy-thank-you-very-much with my guitars and don't actually even imagine needing any more. I'm there, the GAS tank is empty. Done and dusted and generally sorted in and out

Most weird. I honestly don't think I need any more at all.

I've got my (cheesy) 3 Steps To Heaven all at my feet.

Or rather I will have when I sort the Old Gordo out, but that is going to happen soon methinks.

Just as soon as I decide on the pickups.

Step 2: Prematurely Aged Les Paul Studio

So, theoretically happy this week at least, whilst fully accepting that I need a Tele to call my own and maybe a La Cab, another Jazzmaster and one of those Squier Jaguars if I can't stretch to a MIJ one, and a Danelectro Wild Thing, and a Firebird, a Les Paul Traditional, a Vox Teardrop, a Ricky 360 and a 620, a Gibson 335, a nice big orange Gretsch with a P90 at the neck Cochran-style, and probably a Strat in case somebody pops around and wants to borrow a guitar.




I quite fancy a 12 string too, but have to ask myself, would I ever use it?

But generally, I think I'm there.

Though I quite like the look of those Airline thingies too, now I come to think about it, and maybe a sitar, a nice mandolin, an Explorer and a Vee as they are pretty cool and I'd love one of the orange Epiphone Wildcats and a Nighthawk and a hand filled with Eastern European things with lots of buttons and switches for when I get bored and need some inspiration.

Obviously, the Les Paul Jr with a single Dogear P90 goes without saying, so I won't bring that up.

But anyway, I'm generally happy.

Step 3: Battered to Funk Gordon Smith

Other than that, the trem didn't arrive for The Fabulous One, which is annoying, but the funky Steinberg tuners for The Fallen One did, though how the hell you fit them I really don't know.

A job for tomorrow that one, methinks and I've found a  How-to-Fit-Them tutorial on the Stew-Mac web site, so that is OK. Or would be if I could ever follow instructions..

I do have to accept that I really am going to have to cope with some woodworking-pain if I'm going to get on with much else, which is a lickle annoying as it isn't what you'd call holibob-compatible. Hmmm.

But anyway, I've got some Spacemen 3 to murder

While I look at the National and Dobro web sites...

Terrahabit

La la laaaa

Of Fallen Dragons and Fabulous Jazzmasters

Well, the back of The Lightning Dragon is a satisfyingly obscene day-glo yellow, and after a bit of work has some nice crazing here and there too. It has had some lacquer as well of course, but will have more after Phase Deux, whatever that proves to be.

The front gets the treatment today, so that's cool, if not a mellow,
yellow.

In fact I got side-tracked and we have started the spraying already, a few coats in fact. Obviously we aren't looking for pristine here, more of an anti-OCD approach, so the crazing was lovely on the back and we've ladled the stuff on like custard so we have all manner of gloopirific runs down the side.

As for the rest of it, well it is going to have a 24 karat gold leafed scratchplate and all of the hardware will be golden too, if I remembered to order the right stuff.

As for the day job, well the headstock and scratchplate of The Fallen One got lacquered and are pretty much done, and today with a bit of luck and a fair wind at the back, the trem for The Fabulous One might arrive as a finishing touch.

I really want to get this sorted and fettled as it is starting to bug me, hanging around, eating all my chips, winking at the Ukuleles; all actions unbefitting of a civilised house guest.

To try and focus my befuddled brain, I thought I'd plonk together The Fallen One to try and inspire me to sort out the routing for once and ever more. I'm pretty chuffed with the way the 'plate looks against the walnut, though that should end-up a tad darker methinks.

So today - it will be slo-mo-a-go-go, but I should get the front of the yellow peril painted  if nowt else and I've ordered a new router, so things might be on the up soon enough..

Oh, and I treated my Jazzmaster to a nice old Mustang bridge, so that can go on too. Lovely.

La la laaa

No Particular Place To Go

The Golden Shower One
AWOL For 12 Months Now

Well, The Old E One got a final strum, or forty, before it got packed and ready for the courier. (I've changed brand from UPS to TNT as I don't think they have stomped one of my guitars yet.)

So today involves a little of the usual waiting.

It suddenly struck me earlier, that it is nearly a year since I dropped The Golden Shower One into my local tech for a bit of raised-fret attention.

I was going to sort it out myself, but figured that this would be quicker. Since then I think I have had 78 different guitars. I'm not sure what this says, other than perhaps I should give them another call.

I rang a month or so ago and they said they would be doing it soon, so I suppose I shouldn't complain.

As for other stuff...

1. The Fabulous One: Waiting for the trem to arrive. Everything else is done that can be done though.

2. The Betty Blue One: Waiting for a neck and the trem from the US of A

3. The Fallen One: Waiting for me to grow a couple and do the routing. Other than that it needs pickups/wiring, tuners and strap pins, finishing etc. All of which will crowd me and point fingers soon enough.

4. The Travellin' Man: Finished the lacquering and need to chase-up the parts.

5. The Lightning Dragon: The back is painted, but we ran out of paint, so I have the do-I-nip-out-and-risk-missing-the-courier / stay-in-and-do-nothing- while-the-courier-does-a-no-show dilemma, we all know and love.

Other than that it is waiting for parts. Oh, I came across an IronGear teSLA SHark pickup yesterday, which will do nicely I think. Clever naming that IronGear crowd. Subliminal, even. Nice.


And that is about it. I've obviously not started the others yet, as they are better left said. Some things are.

La la laaaa

On the road again...

Bye Bye Old E...

Well, The Old E One is travelling south to it's new home, so once again I'm Jookyless, and feeling inspired to get my act together.

Although, of course, I've fitted the new maple neck on The Fabulous One and just need to get that set up and fettled and see how it looks. I decided in the end to go for the Horseshoe tremolo, so I've removed the tailpiece and moved the Strap pin back into the middle, which feels better as far as my little-known-OCD goes.

Obviously I gave it a bash with  a hammer for good form too. You can't get too carried away about it all, of course. So once the trem arrives, it will be pukka and sorted. Lovely.

Hopefully that will be finished this week, which is nice.

Other than that, I've sourced all the bits 'n' bobs for The Betty Blue One, so it is just a case of waiting for them to show up and I still need to grow-a-pair and rout the neck of The Fallen One as that is pretty much ready to go otherwise too.

So basically, it is the same as last week, with one less guitar to trip over and a few more parts to wait for.


La la laaaa.

Getting Fab All Over Again

Well, a bit of Morning Glory saw The Fabulous One, get a new neck fitted, with the original Grover tuners (nice rusty screws in place - check) and raring to go.

Hopefully the posty will bring me a boxload of new strings and I can get it proper fettled and play the thing all over again.

I'm glad we've ended-up with a maple boarded neck, it was originally meant to be that way but naturally I dithered and changed my mind a few times on the way.

Better still it is straight. (It's the little things in life that make me smile, like Oompa Lumpas and Ronnie Corbett.)

As for the remains of the day, it'll be over to the Dragon's Den for a bit of Hi-Vizzy yellow on the Lighting Dragon.

Masks and goggles have been arranged as have surgical gloves and Dad's old T Shirts - so they will be fully protected from the nasty niffs.

I still haven't organised the pickup I'm going to be using, but all the other bits 'n' bobbins should be here soon enough, so that isn't top of my list right now.

But there we be..ending the week with a flourish, I like that

La la laaaa

Another Day, Another Neck

Well, not a lot done again today, apart from picking the paint for my lasses Lightning Dragon - High visibility yellow, naturally. Nothing understated around here.

I did get the new neck for The Fabulous One though, and it is quite lovely.

I went for a Maple/Maple job this time and the finish is lovely and smooth, like silk it is. I'm really going to have to put that right.

So the old neck is off and I'll swap the Grover tuners across tomorrow. It is slightly wide for the neck pocket, but better that way than too loose. I'd forgotten how much fun this guitar is, that Toaster pickup from Mojo is stunningly cool sounding..

I am still in two minds whether to replace the tailpiece with a horseshoe tremolo or not. The tin bridge takes a bit of care at the best of times so I'm wondering whether the trem would be a step too far or not. Maybe I'll just get the neck on tomorrow and see how it is with the tailpiece and go from there.

Blimey that almost felt grown-up and proper organised and methodical-like.

La la laaa

Fallen In Love Again...

Well, The Fallen One now has a corroded headstock to match the scratchplate and if I ever get some lacquer I can finish them off, which is cool. The Steinberg tuners will hopefully be here this week too, so at least the top end will be sorted out.

I did manage to have a wee praccy as far as the neck pocket goes, as I haven't tried one in ages, and that turned out well, so with a bit of luck (and peace and quiet for half 'n' hour) I might well get it sorted out today or tomorrow or maybe even next Wednesday. Which would be nice as I want to get on with starting the finish, as it were.

While I am into the routing side of life I thought I would also make a start on the centre 'log' for The Hartlepool One. I've cut a chunk of Korina especially, so getting the neck pocket sorted out would be a really good start. Not that I have too many expectations for the first few goes, but starting it would feel quite majorly cool. And that's the kinda guy I am. Blisteringly cool. (Ahem).

I must admit, in the R&D lab of my little brain, The Hartlepool One is turning into more of a Semi-Acoustic than a Danoelectro, which is a worrying trend toward something or other.

La la laaa

Her Name is Betty, And She is Jooky

Her Name Is Betty,
She's Kinda Kooky

Well, couriers come and couriers go, where the parcels end up...etc.

I think you know the rest.

But fair play to them, both UPS and TNT collected when they were meant to and the place looks a whole lot emptier now. And (forgetting the in-need-of-a-resurrection The Fabulous One, which I've taken apart), I am once more down to a single Jooky The Old E One, and rather lovely it is to play too.

So I'm not exactly upset about it.

The pickguard for The Fallen One has finished corroding and just needs some lacquer, which is cool, and speaking of lacquer I ran out, so need to sort that out so I can finish The Travellin' Man One too.

And further speaking of which, I'm going to chop a scratchplate for that today, I think and also paint the headstock of The Fallen One to match it's scratchplate, which I should have done at the same time but forgot, clearly.

I am human, it may surprise you to know.

As for other things, I've organised some wooden board stuff for The Hartlepool One, I went for a couple of types in different thicknesses as it is all a bit of a voyage-of-discovery, as per and I couldn't make my mind up as per also-like.

Without getting too far ahead of myself, I might actually try a couple of these until I get the hang of it, when I will obviously stop as there won't be any point any longer.

Other than even that I've got that itch now about The Betty Blue One and can't wait for the trem thing to arrive in a letter from America. Oh and the neck from Pontefract, which sounds less exotic but they make cakes out of liquorice, and how much better is that than Mississippi Mud Pie?

Other than all of that, it is back to waiting, always waiting

La la laa