Quick, Quick and Sloooowwww

Definitely My Old Honey Now

Well, the usual flurry of a morning, as I had completely forgotten to pack up The JoBo One for it's impending journey, so that was what I did, alongside stopping the Daleks invading Portishead by fixing broken Sonic Screwdrivers and drip-feeding coffee to the washing-machine-fixer-upper.

But it is all ready to go, the planet is safe and the washer turns once more (if only at half-speed), so now it is just waiting for a courier again.

There isn't much other news apart from that I removed the scratchplate and replaced the hated speed dials with reflector topped knobs on Old Honey.

Not a lot to do to it, of course, but you have to make these things your own.

Bit More of a To-Do list

The saddest thing is that it is the Lazarus-like The Raspberry Ripple One that I'm playing most at the moment. Maybe it is just because it was one I thought that was gone for good, or because  being able to fix the busted neck twice now makes it feel like it is really mine or something, I don't know, but I really do love playing it. Even if I'm treating it like a piece of precious crystal at the moment.






As for Raymondo, well if the courier comes at a decent hour I'll hopefully be able to sort that out with some perforations later on, which would be nice as I really want to hear that Wide Ranger in action once more. I think I need a Tele in my life again.

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Honey Lingers

Had a nice box arrive today with a nicer guitar in it.

I was quite excited, not sure if it showed.


Thanks to John at JXG for making such a beautiful guitar.

I may have to remove the 'plate and put different knobs on as I have a weird speed dial hatred, but that is just me.

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JXG Guitar Porn

Well, today I am expecting to see the arrival of Old Honey, from John Gill at JXG Guitars up in Newcastle, and I have to say I am pacing the room like a right saddo.

To put that into context, I had a nap while I was waiting for the bratskis to be born (I've always been innately popular like that) so for one so laid-back, this is oddly weird.

As I mentioned John makes some stunning guitars, so I thought I'd pass the time by showing you a couple of them, so you can salivate as much as me. Thanks to John and Hugh for showing me the pretty pictures.

The first time I heard of John and his work was when Hugh (Shugz, of the wiring loom fame) had a Les Paul Jr that I craved in a big way. This was made how they should be made, and I remember being awestruck by the fact that John had used a 100-year-old piece of  mahogany for the body, with every other part and component equally well thought out and handled beautifully. I mean, I think if I had such a piece of wood I wouldn't have the bottle to start to use it, but then John is a master craftsman and I'm not. From then I've been hooked and any mention of his work has got my attention.

And I have to say I love the idea of having a guitar custom made, but if I'm honest with myself I'm not sure I'd ever be able to justify it. I have that thing Hendrix and Clapton and the rest have, where it doesn't matter what guitar I play, it always sounds like me. It is a curse, I realise that.

Unfortunately, it sounds like the me that is a bit shonky and leaden and a bit of a trier rather than a good player. And I always felt that a guitar like John makes, or Feline and Wez Venebles too come to that, would probably be wasted on me.

All of which I hope explains my excitement, as a Gibson Les Paul Studio doesn't scare me, and to be able to get one that John has worked on to this extent - basically remade from the ground up - is as close as I'm likely to get.

So yes, I am over excited and I might just kiss the UPS guy assuming he gets it here in one piece.

But the Old Honey - I promised to describe what John had actually done to it, so I'd better.

Where to start?

Well, John basically took one of the Gibson 50s Tribute Les Paul Studios and turned it into something special. I think that sums it up.

And what he did was...I hear you ask?

Well, it's a bit of a list with astonishing attention given to the details the rest of us wouldn't even think about, but here you go:

1. Replaced the stock Gibson P90s with a pair of Bare Knuckle Blue Notes.

2. Fitted a Bigsby B7. To do this he filled the original stop tail holes with mahogany and maple plugs. Read that again. Mahogany and maple, in the same hole. So that they match the wood. Even though nobody would ever know. Crazily stunning.

3. Removed the Nashville bridge, plugged the holes with maple and then fitted an ABR-1, with a KTS bridge, titanium saddles and long stainless steel studs. So sustain city, methinks.

4. A Complete rewire to 50s spec (braided wire, CTS pots, Russian PIO caps etc.)

5. Changed all of the plastic apart from the jack plate and TRC. Bareknuckle P90 covers, Fatboy switch tip etc. The rear control plates have been replaced with brown ones, tuner buttons with aged Kluson replacements and then for goodly measurement, a new unbleached bone nut and a fret dress. Attention to detail, or what?

6. Oh, and the original flat finish has been buffed and then relicked, the guitar being set-up for 11s.

7. It is even coming in a custom made Hiscox case to cope with the Bigsby ( the normal LP ones don't fit, of course.)

Now forgive me, I can get a bit excited about stuff and despite my obvious ineptitude at times i do get a bit anal about the Jooky finishes. You wouldn't believe quite how many you don't see because I haven't got them right. Well, maybe you would.. But getting back to John, using both mahogany and maple plugs in the same hole, to match the body/top is an incredible attention to detail. I can see just from that, John is a top notch builder, though you only have to look at the guitars he has built to see it yourself.

But I need to get back to my looking-thru-the-curtains and pacing.

I wouldn't want to miss the courier.

That would be hell with a fan heater.

Laters dearies.

La la laaaa

Oops, I Did It Again

Old Honey - Masterwork from JXG Guitars

Well, my big plans for the week have kinda fallen into ashes, as I forgot that today was destined to be AWOL day, and I've just realised that the school holibobs start on Thursday evening rather than Friday. So I've lost two days of my final five already without really trying.

But there we are. I'm still hopeful that I'll get The Raymond One fettled and hopefully The Betty Blue One veneered before the week is out. Well, you never know.

In other news, I've got a nice lefty Jazzmaster neck on it's way, which should be fun for The Fallen One, and I seem to have acquired another, err, Les Paul Studio.

* cough *

I know, I know.

This one is a bit different though, as it is fairly new - 2010 - and is one of the 50s Studio Tributes they did for a while. So it has a lovely big neck, rosewood board, isn't too heavy as they have removed all the pulp and pips (I'm convincing myself that is a good thing) and boasts twin P90s. If this wasn't enough, I'm getting it from the luthier John Gill of JXG Guitars fame, and it is one he has done an amazing job on, basically, upgrading everything in and out of sight, adding a Bigsby and giving it a relic job based on Neil Young's Old Blacky. As this is a Honeyburst finish though, it has been rechristened, Old Honey, which I like so that can stay.

It should be here on Wednesday anyway, and I'll do a proper introduction/specification list then, along with a lot of genuflection and general gibbering.

John's spec is crazy tyop notch:

Gibson Les Paul Studio 50's Tribute in honeyburst. Original 2010 Limited Edition
Bare Knuckle Blue Note P90's (alnico IV magnets in bridge)
Bibsby B7 fitted (stop tail holes filled with mahogany/maple plugs)
Converted to ABR-1 (nashville holes plugged with maple), KTS bridge with titanium saddles and long stainless steed studs, double wheeled.
Full rewire to 50's spec with braided wire, CTS pots, Russian PIO caps, 0.022 bridge and 0.015 neck.
All plastics replaced apart from jack plate and truss rod cover. Bareknuckle P90 covers and Fatboy switch tip.
Brown rear control plates. Tuner buttons are aged Kluson replacements.
Allparts Speed knobs, one has broken so was replaced, it's a slightly different colour just to be upfront- all part of the relic fun!
Fret dress and unbleached bone nut fitted.
Finish has been buffed and medium relic'd except for heavy pickwear. The neck is unrelic'd.
Hiscox Liteflite Pro case, custom made to fit the bigsby.
Set up for 11's
 

If you haven't come across JXG before, there are some examples of his work on his web site Here, and I'll see if I can find some fotos of a Les Paul Jr he did a while back which would make Gibson's Custom Shop hang their heads in shamefilled shamedness.

So that is rather exciting.

As I am now offish poorhouse brassic, any offers for The JoBo, Old E and B Movie Ones would be very timely, and my old battered Gordo might have to go too. Such is the life of a poor little chap of slender means but big ideas..

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