Sad Ol' Red

Hot Sex. End of...

Well, I'm still all-of-a-buzz with The Fallen One twanging the night away like a twangy thing, and I'm finding it hard tricky to get away from my latest baby at the moment.

But I am going to have an hour or two today so it will be nice to try and get something else a bit further along too.

As I never quite got there the other day, I'm going to make the red vinyl 'plate and cavity cover for The Black Russian One.

Can't do much more on that for the mo' but at least it will be as far as I can get.

I'd also like to silence the niggles I've got about The Chi Chi One, though until I play it again I can't really remember what they are. I might have sorted them already, of course, and just forgotten. It happens.

I have also got plans for two more uber cool guitars, but I'll tell you more about them when there be something 3D to photograph. Enough of the vaporware for one year.

La la laaa

Introducing: The Fallen One

Well, I got The Fallen One wired up and fettled to dramatic effect. Man, that guitar is sir and wheat (I am still catching up with this young person dialogue). It may even be sick, in some way. Who knows.

What I do know is that Marc from Mojo Pickups has hit the spot on Ye Olde Jazzmaster tone again, which is a great place to be. His Jazzmaster pickups are as good as it gets and the olde stylee wiring loom gets every drop of tone out of the thingies. Cool.

Other than that, the swamp ash body, complete with a dark oak stain and hard wax oil finish is a delight - it just feels old, which is a good thing.

The acid strewn 'plate and reverse headstock look excellent - and hurrah for me, I remembered the Strap Pins and String tree. How much better could things get? Well, I might put a second Tree on, but we'll see what the morrow brings.

The neck is a total joy though. The chap I got it from had it from an American luthier, but he didn't know who, but it is bang on the money for a Jazzmaster and I hate to say this, but it may feel a wee bit better than my own MIJ squeeze. (I whispered that, it is jealous enough with my dalliance with the fallen as it is).

And as I realise this won't hang around for long, I'm making the most of, err, setting-it-up, if you know what I mean. Very technical work that requires a number of hours of total concentration at high volume. Lovely.

I may be slightly excited about The Fallen One, it is hard to tell.

For the record, it is:

1. Two Piece swamp ash Jazzmaster body

2. Maple/Rosewood Lefty Jazzmaster neck

3. A Pair of Mojo pickups Jazzmaster Pickups

4. Mojo Pickups Jazzmaster Wiring loom - Switchcraft switch, CTS pots, PIO Caps, Cloth Wire etc.

5. Acid corroded Bronze and copper finished scratchplate and headstock

6. Mustang Bridge

7. Jazzmaster Trem

8. Lefty Kluson tuners

9. A good old fashioned dollop of love

La la laaaa

WIP: The Black Russian One

Well, Jookytime is going to be sporadically occasional this week, but I was quite pleased to get somewhere with The Black Russian One over the weekend. Teensy steps, but staggering in the right direction.

But what did I do?
I know,
I can see you are curious
bet you can't wait.

Well, as mentioned before it is a rather lovely grained La Cabronita Tele body, which has been stained ebony all over. And very Black Magical it looks too.

From there, it was given a dousing in hard wax oil, quite a few dousings in fact, which finally dried to a hardened shiny shine.

Not being the world's greatest shiny wood fan, I took that back to dulldom using wire wool of a high OOOO value, and then smothered it with some gloopy soft wax which was buffed to a sheen.

Sheen is good, Shine is bad.

I'm sure George Orwell's pigs said that.

As that is looking how I like it, a few roughing up episodes completed the picture and for a change I started with the Strap pins. Shiny chrome they are too, which works goodly well.

Next I put the hard tail bridge on in the right place - nice steel saddles for added zinginess - and I even remembered to press into place some slightly pre-aged trad looking ferrules.

A boy needs ferrules if he is to thrive, or something.

So that is that.

As I am basically waiting for parts for the rest, the only thing I can do today is make a nice red vinyl pickguard out of my Television 12-incher. I have in fact superglued my Pinko-Commie Red Star onto a flat topped Tele knob, which looks good but may not prove to be the most practical.

I think I'll have to think of something else as while it looks cool, it is quite tall, and sharp of cornery spike. We'll see how it looks at the end though.

Other than that, the only job I really want to do today is fit the new switch to The Fallen One and bathe in some Jazzmasteryfilled goodness.

All good tack

Speaking of which, with the terminal demise of The Golden Shower One, I may in fact be welcoming an old Jooky back into the fold as my one-and-only-keeper. More on that if I can make it happen, but I have to say I'm a little excited at the prospect, so fingers crissed.

La la laaaa

Drug of the Nation

Well, I managed to give The Black Russian One a good hard waxing yesterday, if not a lot else of a Jookified nature and that is looking pretty good, if I say so meself, which clearly I do, so that was a thingy well thung, if ever I've seen one.

*Breathe*

I've also tracked down a Television 12" made from red vinyl, that criminally, I am going to carve up into a pickguard for this baby. That should work I think, and as I am now the proud owner of a genuine (apparently) USSR cap badge with a lovely red star on it, it should match quite perfectly assuming I can manage to make a knob out of it, rather than out of myself, as per.

Other than that, I still have some parts to sort out, with an ebony 'boarded Tele neck perhaps top of the list, but they are hardly unheard of so....

Other than even more than that, the new switch for The Fallen One arrived so I'll hopefully get that fitted and some strings on the beast over the weekend. It's been a long time coming but I'm already pacing metaphysically and expanding my mind metaphorically and doing other stuff too while I await a bratski-free moment or nineteen.

So again, nothing much finished this week - though The Chi Chi One is, I guess, if I can overcome my niggles, but all good stuff nonetheless.

La la laaaa

Putting the ZNW1P1 into Cornell-Dubiliers Chiclet / Phonebooks

Well, we're into school holibob hell once more, so progress a la Jook is going to be slow-to-non-existent for a week or so, but I'm hoping I'll get at least The Fallen One sorted once the new switch arrives, and maybe push a couple of other things along too.

I do live in Hopeville, Portishead, of course.

One interesting thing is that I snapped-up a lefty Strat body the other day, it arrived this morning, and I'm seeing this as a bit of a holibob project, as #1 son is keen to do only our second ever Kylie's Cool Guitar, and in the vein (vain?) of The Beano One from all that time ago, cover it with a comic book or three.

As to what comic, well that is TBC, but as I have a little bundle of lippy single coil pickups I picked up from somewhere or other once-upon-a-long-ago that appeal to him, they might be appearing. I don't actually like Strats much in terms of three single coils, but the aesthetic of the lippy toobs just about pacifies me.

It also gives me a good excuse to try one of Mojo Pickups' Strat looms complete with his rather be-aged looking caps.

I have to admit, I keep looking at this foto of his proper 50s style one and feeling a tingle.

I know it is getting sad, but I am loving the look of his vintage caps (that feels weird saying that), the Red Tigers in The Chi Chi One are stunningly cool - like little fireworks - but I've always loved the big clunky vintage Strat ones, even if ZNW1P1 isn't exactly a name that tongue-trips itself into your sub-conscious.

Oh, they are known as Cornell-Dubiliers Chiclet / Phonebook styles, that's easier to remember.

I know a couple of people were surprised when I started using Marc's looms on most of the guitars, but I think over time I've realised that I don't in fact have to do everything and that it makes a lot of sense that if someone else can do bits of it better than I can (and given my shaky mitts and general clumsiness, that is definitely the case here) I should use the best person I can find's talents appropriately. I'm secure enough, I can even wear pink shirts without worrying. I don't, but I could if I had one.

The advantage of course is that Mojo Pickups also make these super cool capacitors that give the vintage vibe like nowt else, but there we are.

OK, getting sidetracked, but you can see what I mean. The fact that the parts and wiring is goodly top-notch and means I have minimum soldering to do makes the guitars better than I could, and that is the point of it all., if there really is one

But there we are, in summary, The Marvel Us One, coming one day probably possibly maybe.

La la laaaaa

EDIT: For the chaps who were asking where to get Mojo Pickups' looms, he has some listed on eBay at the moment Here.

Just keep your hands off the pedals, I've got my eye on them...

Fancy For A Black Russian

Well, bit of a shonky day in Jookyland yesterday and not a lot got done.

Instead I retracted into vaporwareville and decided what to do with that pretty lump of swamp ash I mentioned.

As you may have noted it is another la Cabronita body, and despite planning to give up on such things for a while, I intend to stain it somewhat and generally make it pretty. OK, perhaps a bit bashed around the edges, but it's thirty years now, we're all allowed to look a little wind swept and well, damaged.

Why 30 years?

Well, I fancy doing an 80s kinda thing and giving this the ebony stained coffee table look and marrying it with plenty of shiny chrome seems to fit the bill.

For that authentic Glasnost leit motif, I've got a nice USSR red star cap badge which I hope I'll make into a knob somehow, and have a vague plan for the 'plate that is so vague I can't remember where I put the bit of paper I scribbled it onto in the middle of the night.

Other than that, I'm thinking it will either be a pair of Marcy Mojo's TV Jones-sized 'buckers or one of those and a similarly svelte P90. Just not quite sure which yet.

As you can see, I made a start on the staining if nowt else.

So there it is, The Black Russian One, coming one day soonish with a fair wind at my back and the walls coming tumblin' down.

La la laaaa

The Apathetic Serial Killer

Oddly Unmentioned La Cab,
As Seen Earlier Today

Well, it has suddenly dawned on me that I only have 48 hours until the next bratish holibob commences and Jookytime disappears in a flurry of spindrifty smoke, so I guess I need to think about what I can actually finito for once.

From the top, The Fallen One awaits a new switch which will hopefully arrive today. That would be nice to finally play as it has turned into another Homerish thingy.

The Chi Chi One is still bugging me slightly and I can't quite put my finger on why, so I need to spend a while with that and tweak like only a tweaking tweaker tweaks.

The Bergasol One needs parts, so that is fine.

The Travellin' Man One now has a rather lovely neck, but I am still missing other parts.

Actually speaking of Homer, sheesh.

There have been shorter sieges and wars.

79 million births, 74 million deaths and two days of British Summertime since I started that one.

In fact I've often thought that I could have become a really successful and undetected serial killer, but for my lack of application. I don't know why I mention that.

As for chopping wood for The Pearly Dewdrop and Hartlepool Ones, well that is out the window until school's back as I have got distracted elsewhere again.

Oh, and then there is another Tele/La Cab which is what I'll probably start today, thinking about it, that I have not mentioned even just-once before now.

So you wouldn't have been able to help me at all with my list with such a gap in the knowledge's corner.



See, it is happening again, but on the plus side, think how many lives it saves.

So today - Fallen switch, maybe, Anonymous Tele, probably, sorted yet unlikely.

La la laaaa

WIP: The Bergasol One (Slight Return)

Well, bit of an odd day, what with waiting for couriers, having a guitar lesson and generally scurry, scurry, scurrying all the way home.

In between though, I did somehow get The Bergasol One as far as I can, and jolly nice it looks too.

I'm really sadly proud of the way the corroded bronze has turned out, and the Fender bridge and cover set it off to a tee.

Lovely.

Obviously, that goes on the list of waiting-for-parts, but if I've done what I can, there is no point in worrying.

My therapist told me that.

or maybe my Nan, bless her.

La la laaa

Sex On A Sticky Stick

Well, I wasn't best pleased. The re-wired (paint scratched) loomified 'plate for The Fallen One arrived back from Mojo-land. I got all excited and instantly plugged it in and was rather gutted to see the three-way-switch wobbling like one of #2 brat's teeth.

I guess the boot print on the box should have given me a clue that it had had the courier stomp treatment.

It sounds great when you hold it in place, but it limits the old fingering somewhat, it has to be said.

Actually that wouldn't affect me too much.

But anyway, I carried on waxing The Bergasol One and will do more when the top is dry. I am rather impressed as it looks stunning.

This may just be my opinion, of course, but there we are. If I'm being honest, nobody else's counts anyway.

Other than that, I played with The Chi Chi One's nut, and that is better. I think it was snagging slightly before which is annoying. Nowt worse than a snaggy nut. But it is slipping and sliding away now like there is no tomorrow.

So that was good, apart from that I spent far-too-much-time playing dodgy rock riffs on the extremely sweet sounding PAF, before hitting the P90 and launching into ear-splintering solos.

Well, in my head anyway, The pickups sound fantastic, and I really need an SG with a pair of these PAFs in - like now - but I'm getting by.

Obviously there is more set-up to do before I put it on the block (ahem.)

So today, more waxing, more strumming and I have my first guitar lesson since 1989, which I have a feeling will be chronically embarrassing, but there we are. We are none of us too old to learn.

la la laaa

WIP: The Bergasol One

1. Sanded Ash - Nice Grain

Well, tis indeedy early days, but I'm quite pleased with how The Bergasol One is coming together, so I thought I would share with the group.

As you can hopefully see, I started by staining the swamp ash body a lovely shade of bleu, which looks pretty and fine to me.

From there, the top was given lashings of bronze beer err paint.

I wanted this to be quite thin so that we'll still get to see a hint of grain through it here and somewhere over there, somewhere nice and yet it be too soon to find out whether I pulled that off or not.

Next step along this little journey, was to corrode a good portion of the bronze. I dripped it so that it runs over the edges, but that can retain the bronziness, it is the top I wanted to get a nice blue dilapidated hue.

2. Bluely Stained Back

So back to the house acid which I applied a little different this time as I wanted a more natural - sculpture like - corrosion, so I used a little spray head thing out of an old Fruit Shoot bottle, and it has come out really well.

I did the headstock to match which worked nicely.

I don't know,  it happens, just sometimes, rare, but occasional like a table - things just go right.

Nowt to do with me, just a wrinkle in the cosmos.

As for what is next, well I'm going to hard wax it all over which will account for a few days I expect.

After that I have a Bakelite esquire 'plate, a proper Fender bridge and a list of parts on their way.

3. Bluely Stained Front

As I said Marcy Mojo is doing me something special in the pickup dept. and one of his amazingly cool Esquire looms to bring it out of itself good and proper, which is all groovy as per.

He's already done the loom, so we'll have to wait and see what the chap comes up with pickup-wise.

This is going to be pretty and groovy all at the same time. I just know it.

Other than that, The Confused One is on it's way, so I'll give that a final twiddle and some chunky new strings before waiting for couriers once more.

The Chi Chi One is niggling me, so I think I need to do a bit of something there too.

Oh and the returning pickups, wirting and plate have just arrived from Mojoland for The Fallen One, so that will hopefully go back together again, too,

All fun, has to be said.

La la laaaa.

4. Bronze Smothered Front and Drippy Sides

5. Acid Sprayed Frontage

6. Acid Sprayed Headstock

7. Corroded Front With Added Wax

Introducing: The Chi Chi One

Well, I'm pleased to introduce you to the latest of the little Jooky brood, The Chi Chi One, with it's 70s stained and waxed natural body, big headstock and lovely, lovely, loveliness.

I'm quite pleased, I have to admit.

From the top, it be:

1. A beautifully grained 2 piece swamp ash body

2. Maple and Rosewood, big headed neck, 12" radius and D of shape.

3. Tuners and trem are Wilkinson, a big steel block sustains zingily and tuning is solid.

4. Scratch and control plates are made from an old BB King record, for a touch of the La Cab about proceedings

5. Pickups are handwound by Marc Ransley at Mojo Pickups, and are a 'bucker sized P90, which is raw and pure sex, this is joined by a stunning sounding PAF Humbucker at the bridge that is jaw-droppingly cool. I don't even want to talk about the middle position as it quite literally has everything.

6. As this has a 70s Fender vibe, and all they seemed to do back then was try and convert Les Paul players, Mojo also did me a special twin volume, double tone wiring loom with audaciously big massive Red Tiger caps, CTS pots and everything else you'd hope for. I was always dubious about Paper In Oil caps making that much of a difference, but I'm a convert, even if it is just because they look so £$%^&* cool.


And there it is, The Chi Chi One, plays like a demon,
sounds like a brothel,
looks like an evening in a sauna.

Lush.

La la laaaa

The Only Way Is...

Well, another day another donut, as we say in the little kingdom of Jook, and today, whilst waiting for pickup rings a la Chi Chi, I am going to be turning the air blue.

For today I start the bodywork of The Bergasol One, and I am looking forward to it.

First up, will be a thorough sanding and smoothiness-inducing shake of the wire wool brush.

From there the back and sides will be stained a hue of blue.

A blue hue it will be if I do it wrong as well..

If that dries in time (so probably not) the top will get a good old fashioned bronzing with super fast tanning err, bronze paint. It is like Strictly around here most days, you couldn't and wouldn't imagine. Shouldn't, probably too.

And once that has had a couple of coats and is dry, I'm going for a subtle yet pretty much smothered coat of home brew acid to bring out the bluey green in it's eyes.

Once all that is done, it will be stabilised and generally coated with hot wax .

So maybe more of an Essex thing really. Perhaps it should have been Basildon not Bergasol, I never thought about it enough, clearly.

Of course detailed plans like this are important, yet may have no doppelganger in reality. May indeed contain nuts, or not, as tastes go or indeed may change over time.

Or the posty might turn up with my Boss GT8 which will mean days of fretting over parameters before the inevitable Ebay listing come Monday morn..

La la laaaa

On The Sidelines Again

Well, another sick child stops play today - I swear they conspire - but I'm in limbo until the pickup rings arrive for The Chi Chi One anyway, and as Marcy Mojo has entrusted The Fallen One's innards to Herpes, there is nothing doing for a couple of days there either.

It was nice to see Rob over the water in Maesteg introducing The Tickled Pink One to some friends yesterday Here, and I was intrigued by the semi-acoustic, so asked him about it. I wasn't sure what it was - a 339 or maybe a Dot or something. It looked nice anyway, and I was thinking the usual...maybe...

Only then did it dawn on me that I had sold it him. (ahem).

Slightly emb, has to be said.

One thing I'm spending a bit of time on at the moment is having a plot and a plan for the new year. I want to change things a wee bit (again) as it keeps life interesting and well, because it keeps things interesting. That is it really, truly and however madly.

I'm not deep though, never call me deep.

One of the things will be to have a proper web site and maybe (shock and awe) allow people to pre-order guitars. I know, it'll never catch on. Actually, I'm still not sure how that would work, so we'll have to see.

Also, there will be oodles lots of other really cool stuff that I can't mention here, mainly as I haven't worked it out yet. Though obviously it will be pretty amazing stuff and you will be able to say you knew about it first. You will be so verily popular, get invited to parties, drink to excess and wake-up with another chap's wife and there we are.

I think that sums things up quite nicely.

La la laaaa

WIP: The Chi Chi One

Well, the postie delivered some bundles of fun, and I managed to get on with The Chi Chi One.

As it stands all that is left is for me to put the La Cabish 'plate on, fix the neck to the body and wait for the correct - flat - pickup rings to arrive so that I can replace the uppy-downy ones I put on before I noticed they were wrong.

Strings might help too, of course.

I also went for different knobs, though they might change again before I finish. Takes a lot of contemplation does your knob selection, apparently.

As for other things, I've had a rethink about the finish on The Bergasol One and am going to give the  back and signs a blue stain and hot wax finish, before the bronze goes on top. Going to be a quite a colourfilled wee Jooky which will make a change. Remember colour? I used to make colourful guitars once.

In other news, as The Golden Shower One is still AWOL, I've decided I should keep one of these Jookies for a while. I am a very lot in love with The TV Dinner One, so it might be that, but then...who knows. how to choose between your kids? I don't know.

La la la

Falling In Lurve Again

Well, the postie let me down with parts yesterday, but hopefully today will be the day that boxes flow thru the letterbox (I have a big, rather damp, letterbox) and I can get a few things finished.

One bit of good news was that Marcy Mojo has diagnosed the noisy Jazzmaster problem - and yep. I had done something daft, and hadn't quite cleaned some of the copper paint away from the switch hole. I feel rather guilty about that, kinda dumb - dodgy painting stops play, as it were.

Still, when that comes back The Fallen One will be good to go, which is rather nicely triffic, methinks.

As for what to do today, well I'm having a plot about things at the moment so I need to do some research and number crunches and other exercises.

Other than that I'll be playing Old Honey, I think as I have been neglecting it recently.

Until the postlady knocks twice (the bell needs new batteries), anyway.

La la laaa

Inching Toward Hartlepool

Obviously, A bigger chunk of wood might be in order

Well, things seem to be tickling along quite nicely at the moment, I've started chopping the wood for The Pearly Dewdrop One, and the others are all moving in the right direction.

In fact the only one that is niggling a wee bit is The Hartlepool One, which in some ways had overlapped Pearl, being made of wood and Teardrop of shape.

So thinking about it, I still want to have a go at a Semi-acoustic/Danelectro type of thing, but I think I'm going to instead make something that is more of a Rickenbacker 620 instead. Which of course is another guitar I've always wanted but never had the money/being able to justify such riches, so this is as close as I am going to get I expect.

So by way of an update/re-engineering/volte-mush, The Hartlepool One will now be:

1. A Semi-acoustic 620 shape

2. Strat neck with big headstock

3. Finished in Copper - maybe leaf, haven't done any leafing for a while.

4. I might as well make a Ricko-like 'plate out of a Byrds record while I'm at it.

5. I guess the obvious pickup(s) be Mr Mojo Toaster-tops, but I'll have a think about that as I fancy trying a pair of his Filter-trons or even a full sized Wide Range jobby. Dunno yet, but I'm not trying to make a Ricky as such, so it is nice to mix things up a wee tad.

6. And that is about that.

I think I will be going for a solid centre block for the neck and pickups to be joined to, which makes for a sturdier tub in many ways, though I am really tempted to have the top split into two with one half being hinged, but maybe that is asking for trouble. Though it would be a handy place to keep me sarnies, so who knows. Of course if I got it right I could make it so you can swap different body shapes on to it, but I might be wandering in the vale of De Quincey-type folk at this point.

La la laaa

Lumbering

Well, tis going to be a slow day today as Bratski Numero Uno is ill and floppy and hogging the remote controls...so my planned continuance of the wood chopping (hahaha) is again out the window.

Instead then, I'm conducting a deep audit to discover just what parts I'm missing for the Coming-one-day-baby-maybe guitars, which are piling high once again.

Speaking of which it has suddenly dawned on me that I actually have three guitars for sale, can't quite remember when that last happened, and if:

1. I finish The Chi Chi One this week, and

2. I remember to send Mr Mojo the Jazzmaster loom  I've cocked-up somehow and he laughs at me and gets it back to Jookyland again and I finish the guitar all shamed of rose face, I might be in the unprecedented land of having, well what's that? Four or maybe five.

It isn't that I'm worried, in fact given that I downsized my own guitars to a paltry deux, it is really quite a pleasure, but it's funny how it happens. Though not verily funny really.

Anyway, parts listing - I think I'm covered on The Chi Chi One, need a few more for The Travellin' Man and Bergasol Ones and the others it is more about chopping the wood. Which I obviously can't do today. Michael Finnigan and all that.

La la laaa

Coming Doon: The Bergasol One

Well, getting side-tracked despite the steady progress of The Chi Chi One and some mucho satisfying chopping of the wooden variety, I snapped up an intriguing Tele neck and Bakelite Esquire scratchplate, then went on a snaffling trip and found myself a nice Tele body, Fender Trad bridge and some other bits and pieces.

I have fancified doing a nice Esquire with a Bronze top for quite a while, so this is going to be it.

I know I'm doing lots of Teles at the moment, but there we are.

I like Teles, no harm in that.

They can't arrest you for it.

Not like wearing a shellsuit, after all.

I did fancy this to be a wee bit unusual though, so I've asked (challenged?) Marcy Mojo to come up with something 'different' and perhaps worryingly he is going to.

I like surprises though, so that is cool.

So that is going to be The Bergasol One, coming one day soonish.

Probably maybe.

La la laaaa

WIP: The Chi Chi One

Well, off topic I realise, but I finally started chopping the wood as far as The Pearly Dewdrop Goes,  but more on that next  week when I get going for real on the routering.

Instead, I thought I'd show you  my WIP as far as the lovely The Chi Chi One goes.

Still  awaiting Wilkinson  steel blocked trems and the like, but I've got a nice Strat neck, finished waxing the swamp ash  body, plonked and soldered the Mojo PAF and P90 pickups and wiring and when the other parts come we'll be in clover. Red Tigers and all.

Oh, and I  went for a La Cab-esque pickguard made from a nice old record again. BB King got chopped this time, but I can't imagine he'll mind too much. Still got to burn some screw holes and then attach it, but it looks nice and I'm pleased.

So waiting now for trem, pickup rings, strap pins, tuners and trees, a neck plate and screws and that is about it methinks.

Not a lot if you say  it quicksmart.

La la laaaaa

CH-Ch-Ch-Chopping Dew

Apologies to viewers experiencing this foto in hippylovevision

Well, as I seem to have finally caught up on everything I can catch myself up with, today is destined to be chop-a-piece-of-wood day, as I am going to get my act together with The Pearly Dewdrop One.

As this has had a variety of speculative specifications over the months of dilly and dare I say dally, it is probably best to re-iterate..

It is starting as a nice chunk of alder, though it may well end up as either a chunk of ash or korina, depending on how many goes it takes me to get it right.

It will be of a similar shape to the classic and classy Brian Jones famed Vox Teardrop.

It will have a nice big headed Strat neck, maple/rosewood.

It will have a single P90 Dogear pickup and groovy wiring loom courtesy of Mr Mojo.

The body will be bronzed and acid drizzled to taste.

I shall probably find an old Rolling Stones record and make a little scratchplate out of it, for old langs syne.

And it is as simple as that.

Oh, it will no doubt be liberally doused with a pint or two of my AB rhesus monkey negative.

Today is the day, more than all the other days I thought would be the day but weren't.

Other than that, The Tickled Pink One has now gone on to Cardiff for a few days, which is cool. It feels like we're getting somewhere now..

Tidy.

La la laaaa

Sold: The Confused One

The Confused One is a guitar that has already lived a couple of lives. It has been battered and scratched, torn and stamped on and with a final indignity has been attacked with acid. You have to feel sorry for it.

For the record it is a swamp ash bodied Telecaster Esquire with La Cabronita tendencies. The back and sides have been stained and finished with hard wax oil. The top attacked with a good measure of active iron paint, which dribbles beautifully over the edges. This in turn has been subjected to our Home Brew Acid, which has caused it to spectacularly rust in blooming oranges and browns. To finish off hard wax oil has sealed the top (and also dribbled messily over the sides and onto the back.)

It is fair to say, if you are looking for pristine, this truly isn’t your kettle.

Other than the finish, there is a single Gretsch Filter’tron at the bridge with all the expected twangy goodness, and a specially made Mojo Pickups Esquire wiring loom which gives three tones from the single pickup. The neck one is a total joy.

Other than that it is aged Wilkinson tuners and neck plate, a cut down Wilkinson Tele bridge for the thru body stringing and Ye Olde Witches Hat knobs for style and elegance.


*


To be clear, The Confused 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 pebbled beach at Portishead. 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: Cilla’s Rusty Iron Guitar

Electrics: Gretsch Filter’tron, Mojo Esquire Wiring Loom

Guitar Type: Fender Telecaster/La Cabronita Style

Construction: Swamp Ash body, maple/Rosewood neck

Strings: Nickel 10s

Output: ¼” Guitar Lead

Controls: Volume, Tone, 3-way-switch

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

Serial Number: JGE#64

RSP: £799

What Be In That There Box Thens?

Well, I love waking up to the annoying tap of herpes at the door, but when they deliver shinynew stuff, I'll forgive most things.

Today they were especially welcome as they were delivering tidings of comfort and joy from Halifax, in the shape of Mojo goodliness.

So what have we got?

Firstly there are a 'Bucker-sized P90 and PAF, that will be going into The Chi Chi One. Can't wait to hear them and the only surprise is that I haven't tried either of them before. Most odd.

To go with these is of course a goodly smart wiring loom, SG style with a pair of Mojo's Grey Tigers looking classy.

Other things, as if that were not enough, well there is a lovely dogear P90 and matching loom for The Pearly Dewdrop One which I have tried before, so I know that will sound stunningly cool.

So today, I need a bit of tweak time with The Confused One as the string tree exploded last night and (literally) hit me 'tween the eyes. Not bad from ten yards. So that is top of the shop.

Assuming I get that done, I think it is time to chop some wood. I've not got parts to complete anything else,so...

Lovely.

La la laaaa

Introducing: The Confused One

Well, after mucho dubious delay, I'm pleased to introduce you to The Confused One, half Telecaster, half La Cabronita and a smidgen of rust and twangy goodness to see you right.

From the top, it is:

1. A Swamp Ash Tele Body, that has been stained and waxed, before being viciously attacked with a pot porri of active iron paint, a good couple of cupfuls of the house home brew acid to make it rust and drip, and then a nice hard wax finish.

2. A rather fetching maple/rosewood neck, soft C of shape and 14" of camber.

3. Strung thru stringing with a hard tail bridge.

4. Traditional Esquire wiring courtesy of Marc Ransley at Mojo Pickups - with a tweaked neck position that is dee and vine.

5. A Gretsch Filter'tron pickup at the bridge...

..and there we are.

As for how it plays, well it twangs like a good 'un, scrapes it's teeth across your chest with a touch of dirt and generally gets well creamy when a bit of fuzz kicks in.

The action is low and fast (even with me playing it) and it is a lovely weight.

All in all, I'm really rather chuffed with it, even if I still can't quite tell you what sort of guitar it be.

La la laaaa

One String On My Confusion

Well, I never quite got as far as I had hoped with The Confused One, but I should finish it tomorrow now that the tuners and neck are in place and all that is left is a bit of a set-up, strings and string trees.

Can't wait to hear what the Gretsch Filter'tron sounds like with Mr Mojo's Magic Esquire Wiring, but it looks pretty good in a meaty macho kinda way.

The bratskis got their fotos took along with screaming classmates and The Tickled Pink One, and I had a farewell twang or three with the old girl before I passed her on to Simon this evening. All good stuff, has to be said.

As I can see light gathering, I dug out the wood and templates for The Pearly Dewdrop One which once the Confused are enlightened is officially next-on-the-list.

It's going to be good, I can just tell.

And I am never wrong.

Probably.

Of course the fact that Marcy Mojo has sent the pickup and wiring gives me a kick in the right direction too.

La la laaa