Ganga Game-on

They Cut Them With Their Metal Knives
Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Well, it has taken a while but sick children, flood warnings, roof-ripping Gales and general pestilence apart, I am finally going to start on the Ganga6 Jooky Jrs tomorrow, as well, it is about time and slightly overdue even by my standards.

And if you can't remember what these are, I won't be surprised or throw chalk at you, as I'm not sure I can really remember meself.

So from the top, the idea is to make six guitars that all have the same spec but stay utterly unique by having completely different finishes.


The Gangas are all based on a streamlined Tele body, some are alder others ash, and the back and sides will all be walnut stained which always looks rather good. I've listed the finishes before but they are all Jooky faves, rusty iron, corroded copper and bronze, Mother of Jooky pearl, paisley and gold leaf'd.

Each will have a single bridge pickup, one of Mr Mojo's finest Teisco-stylee Gold Foils, and some Mojo wiring for long-term uncomplicated and predictible motoring.

The necks are some lovely Strat ones that have already been levelled, frets polished, nuts cut and woody bits stained and Tru-oiled and waxed which is rather deevine, and may even boast tuners. I know, they have it all.

As for the rest, well the final Midget Gem in the jar is an especially made scratchplate which will set it off a treat.

I also mentioned before that these will be available to pre-order at a cheaper price and as it happens three have already gone, the Gold Leaf one, and two others that I can't remember at the moment and genuinely can't be arsed to look at, so if you do fancy joining the fray, it might be wise to give me a tinkle bell. £599 now or £749 later, I think I said. (Note to self, you'd better check).

So tomorrow, I start with the body staining. or fake tanning as it is known locally, as I look kinda like Jooky Essex by the time it is done and from there it is party on.

So anyway, the Ganga6, gammon.

La la laaaa

Thinking Junior

Well, other than everything I never finished in the old year, the new year will see a couple of customs (more on those later) and general sloth plus the top of the list for me in the little kingdom of Jook is to get the first set of Juniors together and out there in the form of my debut Ganga6.

As I'm sure you'll remember, the idea with these is to make a set of six guitars of one spec, but with different finishes. Each set will be different, but fun nonetheless.

As for my first Ganga6, it is going to be rather cool, with each guitar...

1. Being Tele shaped in a vaguely La Cabronita way

2. Having a Strattish neck

3. Having a Hard tail bridge

4. Boasting a rather cool and unique scratchplate you-cannot-buy-in-the-shops

5. Having a quite wicked Mojo Gold Foil pickup at the bridge

6. Hiding a groovy top notch Mojo wiring loom under the hood, and

7. Tuners and Strap Pins to taste

As for the finishes, well this is where it gets to be real fun, as each of the 6 will have a different one..so:

#0101 - Gold Leaf
#0102 - Rusted Iron
#0103 - Corroded Copper
#0104 - Corroded Bronze
#0105 - Time Stained
#0106 - Paisley

Each of these beauties will come in a lovely hard case with all the usual bobbins that I forget right now.

As for prices, they are likely to come in at a silly cheap £749 each, but for the first time we'll be taking pre-orders at a stupidererer £599 including delivery to your UK doorstep if you stump up before they are finished. It's over to you from there.

And when will these delights be done and dusted? The aim is to have them sorted by the end of March...

No, really. I promise.

And of course these are as ever total one-offs and will never be repeated, as that would be sooooo very boring.

The Ganga6, finally happening, I am so excited.

La la laaaa

Ganga Style

Well, The Lingering Honey one is hardening off, and hopefully will be together-again next week sometime. I've got something spesh likely for the scratchplate as a finishing touch which should be cool if it comes off.

So being a chap of little brain, I am wandering on to something else and hopefully getting on with the first Ganga6 of the Jooky Juniors.

I can't remember what I've said before, but the Juniors will be released in sets of six, each set having a different body shape, and each individual guitar having a different finish. It's a lot simpler than it sounds.

Anywaysup, the first run of these will be based on a Tele shape, though with more of a Les Paul Jr feel, as it will feature a single Mojo Gold Foil pickup at the bridge, a Strat neck, simplistic controls and again a groovily custom scratchplate, again if that comes off. I want these to be cut down, cheap and trashy yet exquisitely beautiful, so obviously I am the man for the job.

And more to the point, I have sorted the bodies and necks and everything else can follow from there.

I've become a leetle over-run with enquiries about Custms at the moment, which is nice yet perplexing, so apologies if I am a leetle slow on the replying or the uptake, come to that.

La la laaa

Heading In A Direction

Well, one of the things I've spent ages agonising over, over the last few months is headstocks. I know, I really should get one.

Why? You may ask, if you are truly so bored, and I guess it is because with my new look at the worlde of Jookiness, it seemed a good idea to have my own headstock shape. But it is really tricky to think of something original that doesn't looks pants or just different for it's own sake, and so I haven't got so very far.

In fact as far as the Classics and Customs go, they will usually have licensed Fender necks, so I'll go with the flow on them, but I still want them to stand out to some extent, so I have been playing around with alternatives in other ways. And basically, I think I have crackled it now, as I know what I'm going to do.

And in the end the answer was quite simple. The Customs will now have a bronze painted headstock, whilst the Classics will have copper. The Juniors, well they will be a little different but probably matching the body. And to really capture the vibe I am going to leave them unfettled by finish so like a statue they will corrode over time and generally look pretty cool I think.

I should really show you a foto, of one or two I prepared earlier, shouldn't I?

La la laaaa

Free The Ganga6

Well, one good thing about having nowt I can do at the moment is that I get to think a bit more...and today's thoughts have been thunk in a Junior kind of direction.

I mentioned (many times) before that as well as doing the posher Customs and Classics, I also wanted some cheaper plug 'n' play dirty and deep down guitars that will be hot sexy hot and fundamental fun - the Jooky Juniors.

I'm sure Paul Reed Smith feels the same way. (watch the comments, he is a regular reader, of course (ahem.))

But what I haven't sorted in my little brain is what these should be.

I know they will be a single pickup - maybe a P90, or more likely a Gold Foil or having played the Mojo Mosrite inspired pickup in The Sappho One, that too is a seriously cool option.

As for the necks, that I know too - initially something trad, later something more like home (it takes a while and I'm never good at waiting).

But the body, what will the body be like? You see I have all sorts of ideas, but can't choose between the blighters, and so I thought, well why should I?

So instead, I'm going to go for gangs of six (gangs of four would have sounded better, of course, but what the hell), and by that I mean that I will make six of one body shape and that will be that, and then the next time something different again. And these little Sixers, will all still be unique of course, each of the six will have a different finish and no doubt be groovy on it.

These will be:

1. Gold Leaf
2. Rusted Iron
3. Corroded Copper
4. Corroded Bronze
5. Corroded Aluminum/Copper
6. Paisley

And that will be fun, fun and a bit more fun. Wonder if I   can get the first Ganga6 done by Crimbulmus?

Would be kinda groovy...

La la laaaa

Juniors Wailing

Well, I've been thinking longly and, well, hardly about how the Jooky Juniors  will turn out and I've come to a conclusion that is rather crazy, but I think might just work if I develop the bottle to do it.

You'll remember, as it is very, very important, that the Juniors are Phase Deux of the whole Jooky Resurrection, and won't see day's light until the new year.

Oh, I didn't mention that before? No matter.

Anyway, I'm aiming for January for these, and have been going around in circles trying to decide the details.

What I do know is that they will be a single pickup jobby - probably a Mojo Gold Foil.

They will also have a neck. I know that for sure. A long neck with frets.

I also know that they will have an extra-especially-cool headstock. (The Classics and Customs will have Standard ones though somewhat Jookified).

I even know that they will all be boasting Rusty Tops of some sort.

In fact the only thing I don't know is whether the body will be a Dano-esque construction, or a single piece of wood. And until now I didn't actually know what shape it will be.

I mean, I'm going around in circles - should I go for an Offset? A Teardrop? Do I find some old obscure Eastern European effort and rip it off...or Gord Forbidden, do I come up with something off the wall and unique. And once I got to the last bit, well, it was always going to be.

And so I've come up with a design (though still not sure whether it will work or how it will be made), and I think it is do-able in theory. But have I got the bottle? I've never basketed my eggs like this before and it is a little worrying.

So I think I need a prototype, to just see how it goes. Whether it works. So maybe that's what I'll do tomorrow. maybe I will.

La la laaa

The Future Sound of Jookyland

Well, I've mentioned a few times that I've spent the summer dreaming-it-all-up-again, and I think I am just about there now. Just the insignificant and boring, trifling even, part where I make it happen, to do.

Hmmm.

As the regular reader will know, over the last few years I've constantly changed the way I do things - initially it was all about 'found art' and recycling, then a mixture of old and new parts and more recently new parts with the quality of these improving all the time. And I'm really happy about that, although I must  admit I still enjoy finding parts and seeing what I can make.

Anyway, going forward I have been trying to find a way where I can co-habit these splintered and diverse needs (psychoses?)  and I think I have finally developed a plot  and a plan. And the plan that I've plotted is that from the Autumn, I'll split Jookyland into three or four provinces, each of which are not at all designed for customer satisfaction or desire, but instead aimed solely at making me a happier person. I am nothing if not utterly self-absorbed and selfish, let's face it. If I was trying to please you and make money I'd spend my waking hours turning out Butterscotch Teles. And I'm not a butterscotch type of chap.

So, Jookyland is devolving, although still under the dictatorial boot of yours truly, which is of course how all good devolution works.

So how will it look?
I'm glad you asked as I was talking meself into a corner. Well, it is pretty exciting as I see it being:

1. Jooky Customs
These are going to be the cream of the gold top, and will be limited to a few 'types' or god forbid, styles.

I will be making these to order from the best possible parts, all of course with stunningly cool Jooky finishes.
This will be the first thing you see appear as I make some examples in September and October and open an order book of all things.

2. Jooky Classics
These will be the old school Jookies and I will make them as and when I feel like it, from whatever parts come to hand. There won't be many but they will be fun, for me if nobody else.

3. Strappado Bodies
I really liked doing these and they went down well, so I'm going to aim to have a few of these available at any one time. I love the idea that people can make their own guitar with a Jookified finish and they are fun to do of course.

4. Jooky Juniors
This is still being planned at the moment, but I  want to do something cheaper and trashy and superbly cool and this will be it. I love the whole lo-fi thing, and Danelectros and Airlines, Mosrites and the rest are all supremely cool, and I think a series of Jookies in that vein would be lovely to be beholden by.

So will this happen?
I'm glad you asked that too, but yes, I think it will. There are other things changing too - the mythical web site to support and explain all this is nigh on done - and generally I think it is about time that the whole Jooky doctrine on life and love got a bit easier to understand.

So there we are. That might make no sense at the moment, but it is what has been driving me m-m-m-mad for months and at least now that I've said it, it will force me to get on with it...

La la laaaaa