Introducing: The Tickled Pink One

Well, I'm pleased to introduce to you, the rather rarefied and gorgeously pretty of spirit, The Tickled Pink One. A guitar that is destined for great things as it travels the country, clutched by musos-a-plenty and generally bashed and picked, twiddled and tapped, arpeggioated and strummed, and all in a great cause.

But first the basics, it is:

1. A Jookified homage to the Fender La Cabronita.

2. It has a swamp ash body that has been hand stained and hard waxed, with a delight-filled pink ribbon fabric top, thru which the lovely ashy grain peeps at you, coquettishly. This has then been bashed and battered, scraped and burned before suffering the final indignity of being pierced with a selection of rusty screws. And who hasn't had a night like that?

3. The neck is a rather lovely maple/rosewood job, with relicked Wilkinson tuners at the top and an aged plate and screws nailing it to the body at the other end.

4. The scratchplate is roughly cut from a 1960s Beatle record - 'All You Need Is Love' for the completists among you - which itself has been well screwed too.

5. The pickup is totally lush, being a P90 in a TV Jones size, that was handwound by the maker of the finest pickups within these shores, Marc Ransley at Mojo Pickups.

6. The wiring loom is again made by Marc Ransley, and features a one-off PIO capacitor that is bright pink and branded with the Tickled Pink One name.

7. Around the back the control cavity cover has been chopped from a plastic box, is a bit wobbly and features dish washer instructions that probably should now be ignored. Why, you may ask, well it is so you can see the pink cap by simply glancing down and moving your belly to one side. (Speaking for myself anyway).

8. To finish it off, a hard tail, thru body stringing and some glitzy Gretsch knobs make it look very-much-the-guitar-around-town. With the DR Handmade Neon Pink strings providing a certain something. (I can't quite imagine what at the moment).

As for sounds, well it may just boast a single pickup, but this has all the P90 grit and growl you'd hope for, yet cleans up beautifully, twanging like a twangy thing with a touch of reverb and generally being super cool and groovy.

And there it is.

Of course The Tickled Pink One is about a lot more than being a cool guitar, as it is destined to be auctioned for Breast Cancer Care next February, and is travelling around these shores through the clutches of some fine guitarists and maybe one or two that aren't very good, but have their heart in the right place. (That'd be me then).

So The Tickled Pink One, coming to a town near you, very soon.

La la laaaa