Sold: The La Cucaracha One

The La Cucaracha One is a complete one off, being based on a reverse Jazzmaster body it begins as unusual and with a Mother of Jooky Liquid Pearl finish, it quickly blasts off toward planet unlikely.

Three lipstick pickups and a Mojo hand wired loom (using the best CTS pots, Oak Grigsby Switch, cloth covered wire, PIO caps and Switchcraft socket) give a stunning array of tones from the obvious jangle thru to rock and electric blues.

Hardware is solid, with a Wilkinson tremolo complete with a solid steel block for zingy sustain, Wilkinson tuners, Gotoh strap pins and a beautiful, CBS style maple/rosewood neck, with medium frets and 9.5” radius for the modern chap or indeed chapess.


All in all, this is a stunning looking guitar that plays beautifully and nails all of the classic tones.




*


To be clear, The La Cucaracha 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.

*** GONE ****

Technical Stuff:

Type: Bab’s Pearly Queen

Electrics: Lipstick Single Coils, Mojo Wiring loom (CTS pots, PIO Cap)

Guitar Type: Reverse Jazzmaster

Construction: Alder body, Rosewood/Maple neck

Strings:     10s

Output: ¼” Guitar Lead

Controls: Volume, Tone

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

Serial Number: JGE#78

RSP: £999

Introducing: The La Cucaracha One

Well, in the spirit of ersatz dreamy psychedelia dripping faux memories of Carnaby Street, I am pleased to introduce you to the latest of the Jooky brood in the offset and quite backwards of shape, The La Cucaracha One.

And what a star the wee thing is.

Starting with a reverse Jazzmaster-esque body, it has received a stupid cool finish with contrasting scratchplate.  Just to be awkward, I went for a right-handed CBS-Style Strat neck with a lovely dark rosewood board.

Adding some perzazz are three rather dishy and shiny chrome lipstick pickups, strung together with a top notch Mojo Pickups handwired loom (all good CTS pots, Oak Grigsby Switch, PIO caps and Switchcraft socket etc.)

Other bits are a zingy steel blocked Wilkinson tremolo and aged tuners, and just to annoy all the Jazzmaster owners who look everywhere for white Witches Hat knobs, a set of those too.

How does it play? Well, the action is low, I have a set of tens on there and it is dreamy. Soundwise, we are in everything from Blues to Hendrix to Stevie Ray Vaughan and of course a bit of jangle on tap if you want it. For special occasions like.

So there we are, The La Cucaracha One, groovy as funk.

La la laaaaa

Zoomba Zoombababa

Well, I still need to do the soldering, but just about everything else is ready as far as The La Cucaracha One goes, and it is looking jolly striking I must say.

(OK, maybe strings and a setup will help a wee bit too. And a few screws, looking at the scratchplate.)

As for other stuff, The Old No.7 One got collected at the second attempt and is now stuck in a layby on the M5 somewhere, but will hopefully put a smile on Paul's face tomorrow sometime. It took a while, but hopefully it will have been worth it.

The only other news is that I was so impressed with the neck for Old#7, that I'm acquiring a traditionally cool one piece maple one for The Chimera One instead of the originally planned ebony boarded wonder. I know, decisive am we. It is another Monster Relic one from Mr Mojo himself's stock of all things cool and relicked so at least I know it will arrive.

But anyway, there we be...

La la laaaaa

Sun In The Sky

Well, it was such a relief to finally finish The Old No.7 One for Paul, that I thought it might be good to pick a single guitar this week that I will attempt to finish and maybe it will help me catch-up.

It's a thought, give me that at least.

So as I have most of the parts for it, I figured The La Cucaracha One might be a good candidate, not least because the sun is out, the surf is risin' and well, it is cheery colourfilled, and that is good enough for me.

As to what is to be done like, well, I have the Mojo wiring loom, I've got some lipstick pickups somewhere I can dig out, I've got a neck, the Wilkinson bridge/trem thing should arrive tomorrow, I've got some white witches hat knobs, and I even have tuners and strap pins.

So really, it is just a case of putting it together.

And then I am in Surf Safari heaven.

So there we art. This weeks special model.

La la laaaaa

WIP: The La Cucaracha One

Well, it still needs a time or three to harden off, but I couldn't resist a plonk-together as far as the La Cucaracha One goes as I'm really rather chuffed with how it has turned out.

As you can see the back is a Venus d'Silo meets rabid wormery approach which I do so love, whilst the front is a Monet-esque nod to Gruel Britannia with a Pete Townsend jacket 'plate.

From there we will have a nice set of lippy pickups, Marcy Mojo is doing me a groovy loom and the real neck and tremolo will arrive sometime, I'm sure.

That was it anyway..

La la laaaa

Liquid Pearl in the Half Shell

Well, a lump of clay bought enough time for the pickguard for The La Cucaracha One to get a liquid pearl finish, with 14 layers of gloop coming together rather beautifully.

This has taken nearly a week, but it has paid off and I think looks rather cheeky in a Pete Townsend jacket kinda way.

The body is WIP too and though I don't want to come over all Daniel X. Boyle (that would be awful, clearly), it has a definite Gruel Britannia vibe going on...still quite a way to go on that, but hopefully it will be finito'ed by Easter - it is a time of miracles after all..

As you obviously remember (as I am sure you are taking notes), The La Cucaracha One is a reverse Jazzmaster type of thing, La Boracha influenced, though more from the Charvel side of the tracks than Fender, and is destined to have three nice lipstick pickups peeping thru this 'guard. I also have a rather lovely neck on the way for this that should set it off a treat.

But the clay needs firing now, so a toodle and a tootle and a pip and a pop

La la laaaaa

La Cucaracha

Well, it's an odd thing, but I don't think I have ever made a red Jooky, and I don't really know why. Though I've never liked red Strats either, possibly because of Hank Marvin, but more probably because they remind me of the Bontempi guitar my brother got when we were kids that I was really jealous of, which I got an orange church organ thing instead.

Maybe that is it, maybe I am that sad and shallow.

But whether it is therapy or not, I have decided to make a red guitar - and I want it to be quite surftastic, so it'll have lippy pickups and be somewhat offset in form. I've got a love/hate thing going on with the reverse Jazzmaster 'Boracha' things, but I want this to be more coming from the Jackson/Charvey Surfcaster site of the road.

We'll see anyway. I'm thinking red Mother of Jooky/fairy dust sprinkling will be a nice touch, for The La Cucaracha One, when it finally arrives, maybe one-day sometime probably.

La la laaaa