Babylon Dawns

Well, some things take a while here in Jookyland, so typically the worst two offenders - The Babylon Blue and Travellin' Man Ones are both near to their respective new owners donnies.

The Travellin' Man One will hopefully be on it's way again tomorrow, but more amazingly, The body for the Babylon Blue One arrived today and that is now a runner too.

As you can see it is a heavy relic, white over blue, Ricky-esque-ish semi acoustic with a blocked and reversed Tele neck.

Pickups will be a Tele one at the neck and a Gold Foil at the bridge, Ricky scratchplates, Bigsby, Sperzels...blah blah and yet blah one more time.

I'm a leelte overcome.

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Bit More Babylon Going On

Well, the bodies for The Babylon Blue and Scooby Doo Ones should be here next week sometime, so with The Black Russian ready for the final put-together, things are definitely starting to look up.

The Babylon Blue and Scooby Doo Ones

The Babylon Blue One is of course the second of the recent customs I've been talking about. The neck arrived a couple of weeks back, but with the imminent arrival of the body, it is starting to feel a bit more real.

This is going to be an interesting one for lots of reasons, but I'm going to be doing more of a relic job than I normally do and using nitro paints, so I'm quite pleased about that.

I've kinda avoided such things as relics are twelve-a-penny and I prefer distressing things to get a look rather than to try and looked as though they have been dragged behind a No11 around the Outer Circle, so I guess this will really be somewhere in between.

The neck is a nitro finished Tele one, left handed though it will be reversed and it sports block inlays. It was a bit of a gamble because it came from a U.S luthier I'd never heard of before, but the quality is good so it paid off.

The body is one of Jezz's, so I know what I'm getting there and as I say the finish is going to be quite excitingly cool.

As for the rest, we are yet to nail down the pickups, but a Tele neck one seems most likely - a rail probably - and something twangier at the bridge, whether that is a Ricky one or perhaps something like a Filtertron or Wide Range Humbucker, I'm not sure.

The final part of the jiggysaw is whether it has a Bigsby type of tremolo or if we have some other tailpiece.]

But all in all it may sound odd but I think it will prove to be something special - hope Damo likes it anyway.

More generally, with the new web site not a million miles away I think I'm going to be offering to do more customs as they are good fun if they work as collaborations. Maybe it is ego, but I don't do this for the dosh and I'm not really cut out for 'customer service', so this works on both levels. Anyway, if I don't find it interesting it either won't get done or worse it will be half-hearted, so nobody is better off.

I'm such a strop-laden artist...

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Babylon Begins

Well, not that I can do much with it at the moment anywaysup, but I just got some pretty pictures of the Ricky 660 inspired body I got Jezz at Woodroffe Guitars to make for me, that will end up as the Babylon Blue one.

And I do love the shape - always loved Rickies - and making it a semi with a cat's eye slash, only gets better.

Looking forward to this, especially as the neck arrived yesterday too - a lefty Tele neck, obviously.

All good stuff, if I could well, start.

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Babylon Warming Up

Well, not only did I get a couple of lovely bodies today (stop it) I also got a pretty wee picture of what will become the body for Damo's The Babylon Blue One in the nearest of futures..

As you can see it is based on a Ricky 660, but with a lovely eye of cat hole for good measure.

It is going to have a Tele neck - lefty reversed with block markers - and probably a Ricky toaster matched loosely with a Tele rail and some sort of trendy cool flicky switchingness.

I think we can safely call this unique.

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Burn Babylon Burn

Well, I mentioned the other day that there was another custom jobby in the offing, and I'm pleased to say that it is out of the starting blocks now and Damo will get himself a Jooky sometime soon. (I'm as keen on exact delivery dates as ever.).

This is going to be something crazy-good, obviously..

From the top it is going to have a semi-acoustic body based on a Ricky 660, though with a slash style 'hole'. The body is going to have a white over blue, seriously worn finish to it which I think will be fun, as well as a few other touches that will make it individual - not that there will be a problem convincing you of it's one-off-ness when you read the rest of the spec.

As for the neck, well an upside down lefty telecaster neck, with block inlays is the plan, which is probably a bit obvious, but I can do conventional too at a push.

Pickups are TBC but likely to be a Toaster top one at the bridge and some sort of rail at the neck. Controls are also going to be interesting, methinks.

Other than that, not sure whether it will have a Bigsby or some other kinda tailpiece, we'll just have to see on that one, but whatever it ends-up with, I can't but help be thinking that it will be somewhat epic.

And to give it it's due, that will be the lovely bonkers The Babylon Blue One, coming to Damo sometime in 2013.

I could get to like doing these custom thingies, cool.

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