Lulu Live & Personal

Dan and Lulu - as captured by Andrea Brown

Ah, I love it when I get to see some fotos of Jooky guitars being used in public, so I was doubly chuffed when Dave, the keeper of The Lulu One sent these through yesterday.

Dave plays in a couple of bands - the rather excellent Gorman and the equally chilly cool Frank's Wild Band a Tom Waits Tribute. And you don't get cooler than that, Lulu must feel well at home.

Anyway, no more blether from me, just check the bands out and let your eyes see the glory of the coming of Lulu.

Incidentally, The first atmospherically beatified foto is by a very talented lady called Andrea Brown, while the others are by another talented happy snapper, known only as David Norris - for it is his name - of Wizards Photography.

Hopefully Dave will pop along and correct all my mistakes/omissions....and of course many thanks to Andrea and David for letting me illuminate my little site with your talented pictureness

Dave & My Lulu - as seen by David Norris

God she's pretty

Dave looking for his sandwiches

Ah, I remember 1974...

Dave counts his strings and wonders why they
are poking out of the headstock

There are a load more of David Norris' fotos on Facebook, HERE if you affiliated...

With All Humility...Ignored

I've said it too many times before, but this little Jooky Crusade is entirely ego-led, and so it is always lovely to hear what the folks who end-up with one of my guitars, through no fault of their own, thinks about it...

I was pretty chuffed then to hear from David, despite the juddering of the journey seemingly jarring the bridge out of kilter..

Anyway, here are a few nice things he said yesterday:

"She's a beauty. ....I plugged her up and had a wee noodle. What
a great array of tones. The Brown Sugar is all Tele twang and the P90
is luscious, warm and mellow - but still with that great attack when
soloing up the neck. I love the middle position as well. I was
surprised when I realised that this sound was being produced by the
P90 since it sounded much more similar to the Brown Sugar, but I like
it a lot. It sounds almost like a telephone band-pass filtered version
of the bridge pup. Deliciously lo-fi. The variety of tones is as
unique as the finish; all in all, a sonic win.

The neck feels great. I also love the ash-tray cover. It'll need to
come off at times for palm-mutes, but when finger-picking it's a great
place to rest your hand and be at ease. This will only add to
theatricality onstage.

I'm very pleased. Thanks a million."

 and today...

"Lulu went to rehearsal today. Lulu excelled at rehearsal today. I think she's going to become my go-to in my current band. I play in a rock band with a pianist and the Lulu sat really nicely on top of the piano sounds in the live mix. Deep win.

The only other interesting thing I noticed tonight is that ashtray covers + high gain = feedback. That surprised me as I probably would have expected the opposite, but maybe it's acting as a wee high-freq resonance chamber since it's open at one end. Again, not a complaint, just an observation. "

 Cheers Dave - I think I've learned a bit along the way too - like maybe loosening the strings before I send guitars isn't sooo very clever :)

It's Lust I tell You

Well, I got started on The Blue Moon One yesterday, but haven't quite finished it, but hopefully tomorrow will see that finally ready to go.

Relight my Fire?

One thing I did manage to do was get hold of an old Gibson mini-humbucker, well it isn't here yet, but hopefully won't be long. So that should nicely pair with the PRS P90 in the Tele-Custom-with-no-name-yet. I'm really looking forward to doing that one, as it is going to be my first attempt with 'weathering' some iron. This is likely to be iron paint made rusty if things work as I hope and the gubbins arrives before my boredom threshold is exhausted. Tis a long cherished dream, about to come true. To rust my own iron, I have simple tastes. OK, I'll call it The Rusty One for now as that word keeps popping up.

The day started well too, as I got a lovely email from a nice chap called Dave to tell me that the Lulu One had arrived and that (thankfully) he liked it. The Stealth P90 and Bare Knuckle Brown Sugar combo was a real winner to my mind (and ears) and Dave agrees, so that is cool, though less pleased that the couriers tender mercies had jolted something or other and he needed to get the Allen key out and adjust the bridge. Really bugs me that. I've lost track how much fun couriers cause. Bleurgh.

But Lulu, that was a beautiful guitar and in a way I'm a tad disappointed as I was hoping he would send it me back... Ah Lulu, me and Jason Orange eh bab?

Burns Trisonic pickups - Yum

I also took delivery of the Jag/Jazzy body and neck I mentioned the other day, which are a nice surprise as I thought they would be a bit ropey, but quite the opposite is true. The neck in fact looks hardly played at all. I shouldn't be surprised, but when I hear the words 'Stuck in a cupboard for forty years as a project I never got around to completing' my brain instantly translates into 'Played to death then left in a muddy field full of Hereford Heifers and shat on a lot'.

But no, though old the guitar is in really top notch condition, and better still is really made of wood not ply. I think it'll be fun to do.

Anyway, I have a great finish lined up for that baby and if I can get the dosh together am planning on treating meself to a set of handwound Burns Tri-sonic pickups, which should be something a bit 'wow' and not a little 'Groovy'. They looks rather nice too, not that that ever influences me at all...

So Tired, Tired of Waiting..

Well, I may have mentioned it (whinged like a bairn) once or twice before, but I really do have a deep loathing for the time I spend waiting for couriers. Don't get me wrong, I quite often go to the post office, but that is a pain too in different ways (f'rinstance, our local post office won't take parcels that don't fit thru a window in their internal door. They used to open the door, but these days no. Naturally guitars in boxes and cases won't fit thru and so I have to go to a different village and use there's. Which is in a precinct and means I have to lump the box, not the easiest with a walking stick in t'other hand. So couriers seem the perfect answer, until you have to wait for them.

Today though one has already been and delivered the case for The Lulu One. Why I didn't have the case sooner is another tale I'd rather think not about - two cases in fact, but another day. Anyway, that showed-up, and Lulu is nuzzled with her tag and 'handbook' as you can see, and it is DHL I wait for now so that she can go to her new home.

I'll miss the old girl.

Other than that, and I feel better to 'share' my pain, I tidied-up The Futuristic One and wired everything except the pickups. I'm waiting for the ones I'll be using to arrive as after my own goal with 'The Originals' I've gone for some other Gibson ones that fit the era. (A second set, as I realised that the ones I'd put in were actually Wilkinson's and not really what I wanted to use.)

OK, my brain is addled today, and worse my PC is dying on it's feet too - so if anybody wants to swap me a nice laptop for a guitar, just give me a shout. I like Macs, but Windows is OK too...any takers? Nahh, didn't think so.

As for other things to do while I'm waiting, well, The Beaton One I mentioned yesterday - the Strat with the coat of many colours, has gone together remarkably easily. In fact I keep waiting to hit 'the wall' and something dubious happen to make me cry. I almost feel guilty about it going so well, I mean this is all meant to be part art after all, and it doesn't feel right not to include a wee bit of suffering, does it?

Pictures to follow when the PC lets me.

Other than that, I think it will be a weekend off as far as Jookydom goes

Sold: The Lulu One

About The Lulu One

The Lulu One is a first for the Emporium, featuring both one of our beautiful, ‘trademark’ paisley finishes, and a ‘Lulu Copper Top’ finish that has been corroded. All of which is protected by first coats of acrylic and then nitro lacquers.

The guitar is of course based on the early pine bodied, maple necked Fender ‘Esquires’ with it’s black scratchplate and single pickup at the bridge aesthetic.

Tuners and bridge are both Wilkinson takes on traditional parts and work perfectly, and the ashtray bridge cover over the brass saddles is pure class.

As far as the pickups go, there is a Bare Knuckle Brown Sugar pickup at the bridge which easily nails all of those classic sounds from early Rock ‘n’ Roll, thru to Keef and Britpop, Indie and beyond.

All however is not quite what it seems as rather than stick to the single pickup template, we have included a ‘Stealth’ pickup under the scratchplate.

This is a P90 soapbar taken from a PRS SE "One" guitar, and it adds a whole new range of tones.

The middle position on the three-way-switch gives an out-of-phase/cocked wah type of tone that is beautiful to play with. In fact that as a starting point for the rhythm, jumping to the Brown Sugar at the bridge for a solo that really cuts through,  is an awesome combination.

*

To be clear, The Lulu 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 pleasant evening stuck in the Cavern Toilets. There will genuinely never be another guitar like this and past experience suggests that it won’t be around for long.

Technical Stuff:

Type: Leona’s Groovy Guitar / Lulu’s Copper Top

Electrics: Bare Knuckle Brown Sugar (Bridge), PRS SE One P90 Soapbar (Hidden at the neck)

Guitar Type: Fender Esquire/Telecaster style

Construction: Cloth over wood, corroded coipper lead. Pine body, maple neck

Strings: Nickel 10s

Output: ¼” Guitar Lead

Controls: Single Volume, Single Tone, Three-way Switch

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

Serial Number: JGE#29

RSP: £499

SOLD, Sorry - it got snapped up....

Switching Frustration

Well, yesterday was another day gone out of my dwindling supply on kidless moments, and it was a little frustrating to be honest.

Firstly, The Crowley One seems to have a dodgy switch. Now I've triple and quadrouply checked my soldering and for once my shaky mitts aren't to blame, and after working out how to use a multimeter for such things, it seems that the switch is itself knackered.

Really annoying.

So I've ordered a replacement and I'm now waiting for new switches for both it and The Blue Moon One.

Thumbs-are-a-twiddling as I type (which may excuse the spelling).

Other than that I have started to gold leaf The Old Burny One. This is the '80s Burny Les Paul I've been talking about for aeons but never quite gotten around to sorting out. It is lovely though, and I'm doing something. Which makes me feel better about the world.

I'm going the craqueleur route for the top to give it a crazy paved look, and then nitro lacquering it so that it will age further as time goes by.

It's what I did on the Crowley One and that looks crazy (a tee and a hee).

Other than that, I've had a rethink on the Old Burny in terms of pickups. I'm going to go with a P90 plus a PAF, as they are my two faves and it will give the most tones I can squeeze out of it. Well, the most I like anyway.

Here's a couple of fotos of the nearly done Crowley One, and a couple of the Lulu One, because I just lurrvvee her, so.

I got those, waiting-for-the-postie blues...

Here's Lulu ...

Rolling Along

Well, rather typically my soldering iron went up in smoke - third time this year - and so I've not got around to finding a replacement or doing The Blue Moon One. Slack, I know.

Anyway, instead, I've given The Crowley One a couple more coats of lacquer and played lots of twangy things on The Lulu One. Which remains lovely. So all in all quite a lazy day.

I almost  bought a Gibson SG, but it wasn't meant to be - though I did get hold of an SG neck and body combo which I'll be Jookifying in the near future I expect, so all is well in the SG direction.

I'm at that point again where I have lots of ideas, but am missing key parts for the ones I want to get on with now. For instance, I am still short of a neck for The One One, missing out on at least four occasions on Ebay, and the design for the body I'm still not 100% about. It is going to be leaf over fabric as with the Lulu One, but which leaf and which fabric...I can't quite decide. We will see though and at least I've got pickups for once.

One I am ready to 'do' is The Burny One as I have all of the parts (actually still need a bridge but that is easy) and also know exactly how I'm going to do it.

But nagging at the edges of my brain, there is something holding me back (as with the Crowley One before) and I'm not sure what it is - though am begininning to trust the feeling. It may just be it has taken too long and I've lost the interest/impetus/excitement, or it could be that there is a better idea bubbling under somehere. Or perhaps I've just got bored. I don't know.

Anyway, better get a soldering iron, that'd be a start wouldn't it?

Oh and if anybody wants to swap something Jooky for something SG-like, give me a shout...

Introducing: The Lulu One

Well, I'm pleased to be finally able to introduce you to The Lulu One, finished, playing like strawberries and clotted cream and sounding awesome.

For those of you that have followed the saga, this has being going to have many forms since I picked up the Pine Tele body all that time ago, but it really was worth the wait, even if there was a last minute twist, just to keep it interesting.

From the top it is a Tele, Pine bodied, maple necked. Wilkinson split Kluson tuners - which I love. A proper old school Tele Ash tray bridge complete with a proper Ash tray cover.

Speaking of hanging around  at the bridge, there is a quite exceptionally cool sounding Bare Knuckle Brown Sugar pickup nestling beneath the chrome.

Oh, and it was always going to be an Esquire so it has an Esquire plain black scratchplate.


As for the finish, well I've talked about it plenty, but the body was covered in a lush gold and green paisley. This is on the sides and back and really is one of the nicest I've used so far. As for the top, well the paisley there has been covered with copper leaf, which in turn has been attacked with various acids and the copper has been eaten away in parts and generally tortured so that the paisley is exposed and is coquettishly peeking thru. There are also some lovely blue traces of copper sulphate (I believe, and if my recollections of chemistry sets in the late '70s is any way a guide) which set the damage off proper-like.

This mixture of fabric and corroded metal leaf is a first for me in so many ways, and it is something I'll be revisiting in the near future as it is very effective.

As for the sounds - I was really looking forward to having a play with the different variations of the Esquire wiring - over the years there have been many kinds of 'mods' to get more from a single pickup - but in the end was a bit frustrated by it as basically it didn't seem to add a great deal to get excited about.

I know, you wait for ever and then your Xmas pressies are shonky. But instead of moping I decided to get stealthy and hide a lovely P90 soapbar, out of a PRS SE One beneath the scratchplate.

Now, I didn't really know what this would sound like - I'd asked around and the general feeling was that it would be too far from the strings to work proper-like, so in truth I was expecting to be trying a variety of higher powered 'buckers and the like until something cut thru nicely, but lowly and beholden, I'm really rather chuffed to say that it sounds great.

Better still the middle position gives a phasey/half-cocked-wah type of sound which is just gah. (Which was the only Esquire 'mod' that had impressed me, as it happens.)

So there we are. I need to get it set-up proper-like as the action is a touch low, but it plays great, sounds brilliant and just looks the pooch's peanuts.

Lulu, we love you, and like the best of divas, you were well worth the wait.

For the record then:

Pine Body
Maple Neck
Wilkinson 'Split Kluson' tuners
Wilkinson "Ash Tray" Tele Bridge with Compensated Brass Saddles
Bare Knuckle  'Brown Sugar' Bridge Pickup
PRS SE One P90 Soapbar, Stealthily Hidden Neck Pickup
Esquire Pickguard
Paisley Finish
Corroded Copper Leaf Top

Makes Me Want To Shout

Well, there will be fotos and blurb tomorrow, and a formal introduction no doubt, but I'm really chuffed to have finitoed The Lulu One today, and in so many ways it is a real leap forward.

The 'mixed media' approach of the corroded leaf on top of the fabric finish looks far better than I hoped (to my eyes anyway) and all together it feels like a proper old guitar. Not in a foney relic way, just the choice of old school Tele parts - the bridge and maple neck.

I changed direction slightly in the end as far as the 'sounds' go, which was one of those inspirational things that actually come off in a really cool way and I have to say I can't keep my hands off the old girl.

It makes me want to shout, what more can I say?

As for non-Tele bobbins, well other than starting the Nitro spraying of The Crowley One, Lulu took over, but was worth the time spent.

Tomorrow though, I'm going to have a change of direction and have a go at gluing the neck on the Busted Epi. I've had a few practises sans glue, and everything seems to go into place quite nicely so it is loin-girding time and with a dollop of good fortune, hopefully it will be a painless experience.

Well, fingers-crossed.

As to what happens to it, assuming the neck ends-up straight, I can't really allow myself to think about it too much in case I jinx things, but I am half-tempted to do something splodgy with paint, a la Stone Roses, but then that's been done too many times before. Or I could be radical and keep it stock and just play it, that would make a change.

Heh ho for the open road...

Double Vegetation

Just needing Wire & Strings....Lulu Baby

Well, things have started well this week for once, apart from the broken Lulu neck of course. Luckily, a replacement had appeared from the keeper of the Post Office flame only minutes before, so a ready alternative/life-saver was to hand.

It proved to be inspiring anyway, as feeling a bit miffed about the whole episode I put the guitar together with the exception of soldering the pickup and output jack thing in. It looks wicked, I'm pleased to say and the new neck feels all dreamy. So maybe 'It was meant to be' as me gran used to say.

That was yesterday anyway, and today, hopefully I will finally wire up The Blue Moon One and The Lulu One too, so there we are.

As for the Crowley One, well that is drying and will then be fine sanded (I don't actually know if that is what you call it, but it sounds like I do so we'll keep it) and then given a good dose of protective lacquer. I'm going to use nitro on this as I want it to age nicely, being as it has had such a good start.

Other than that, the search is back on for a neck for The One One, as I have everything else I need (not sure on the finish yet, but will be soonish, I expect.) but not a 22 fret maple neck after the one I ordered turned out to be a fret short of a solution.

Oh one thing as far as The Pink Panther One's departure went, I got a part-ex which is a 1978-1980 Shergold Neomarauder (or something). This is a lovely old British guitar, and only 40 of them were made, so that is going to be cool. It has already been modded, so there is no instrinsic historical value to consider, so it should be fun, fun, fun.

Julian Cope plays Shergolds, which is cool. I like Julian Cope...



Anyway, the day is young and I'd better get me iron hot and pokey.

Lulu With a Broken Neck

Enhanced Cornering Ability

Hmm, this isn't meant to be a twitter account, but breaking news in Jookidom is that I managed to trip over.

Not an amazing insight into my life, it has to be said.

And the fact I was carrying a guitar neck at the time, well that  too isn't unusual.

However, I landed (guitar) neck first onto the stairs somehow and then amazingly didn't get impaled on that lovely piece of maple when the headstock broke off - the headstock connected to the neck that I was about to put onto The Lulu One.

I guess blood would have been impressive as a finish, but somehow I don't see me fixing this headstock back on somehow...even when my tube of Titebond arrives

Anyway, it would make more sense to bleed over the Crowley One really, I guess.

Ho hum

WIP - The Lulu One

Well, a bit of sun and things go nice all of a sudden, and better still I even managed to grab a few hours over the last few days to get a trot on as far as The Lulu One goes.

As you can see in the plonked together WIP shot, the body is now lacquered, the neck now fits and generally we are getting somewhere...

It still needs to be wired up, the nut needs to be fitted and all manner of other stuff, but right now it looks pretty cool to me.

I'm not sure the fotos catch it proper-like, but the copper leaf looks different depending on the angle you look at it, which is cool.




Where it has been eaten thru on the top, the paisley looks exceptional, as it does on the back and sides of course.

I know this is quite a leap in many ways, but it feels like a great guitar already and I can't wait to hear the Bare Knuckle Brown Sugar at a decent volume...

Well, and there we are.

Hopefully it will be completed in the next couple of days.

Speaking of which, The Blue Moon one just needs soldering too, which I want to do tonight or tomorrow given half a chance...

Heh ho and on we go..

Continuing Journeys In Paisley

Well, I've started to lacquer the Lulu One, and I must admit I was a wee bit worried about how to ensure that I didn't lose the lovely copper sulphate lines where the copper has been eaten away to show the paisley beneath. I searched around a while and couldn't get any useful hints anywhere so I kinda decided to just go for it and do very, verily, very light coats.

The first one was a bit fraught but hopefully that will have sealed it a bit and subsequent ones are 'away' from the copper, if that makes sense. Fingers crissed, but so far I seem to be getting away with it.

I can't quite believe how well this worked, and the guitar is probably the most stunning I've ever seen (OK, I may be biased, but honestly - it is seriously cool in 3D). I was feeling bad about covering the pine - I had half a mind to give it and the neck a very light lacquer and leave it like that, but I am really pleased I didn't. I'm kinda fighting a natural tendency to dive in a and rush to finish it, as I'm kinda scared that if I even look at it wrong I'll screw it up and never be able to replicate it (not that replication is my kinda thing - but this time, I'd really want to.)

As you may have guessed then, I love the effect, and if I can pull it off I think this will be a helluva-striking-piece-of-guitarwork. Hmmm hmmm and a Hmmm.

Other than a bit of lacquering though, I can't see too much going on around here for the next couple of kiddy-caring weeks, but we'll see.

One thing I was pleased about was that I managed to pick up a set of Fender Custom '69 pickups, which are meant to be uber good. I'm thinking these will either go into the speckled Strat body I showed you the other week, or maybe even into the pinky purple Jaguar body I've got - the matching body to The Blue Moon One - The Pink Panther One, that's what I was going to call it, I remember.

That is going to have a nice pink paisley finish, and I like the idea of Stratty pickups in it, so these could be they. I have also got some Hot Texas Strat pickups coming too though, so we'll have to see how I feel when I get that far
.
Speaking of pickups, I've also been thinking more about the Wizard Novatron pickup I mentioned the other day, and I have got an interesting idea for the Strat I plan to put it into (once I've got the dosh to buy it, of course). What I'm thinking is that I would like to try and find a nice way of capturing a sort of rusted iron look. I know there are paints that are ferrous and I'm sure there will be a way. I've always loved the rusty iron man sculpture in the middle of Birmingham, so maybe that sort of effect would be good. We'll see, and maybe it would be more appropriate on a Tele than a Strat anyway.

Ah, so many ideas so little likelihood of completion. Still, tis the thought that counts, apparently.

But, another day of waiting for a courier beckons....

Degrading Lulu Gracefully

Well, the courier never showed-up, rather annoyingly.

But what can you do?

I love the fact that they say that you can't report a missed collection until after 5pm,
which oddly is when they
shut
for
the
day.

On a brighter note, my gracefilled degradation of The Lulu One's copper top amazingly worked a treat.

Hopefully you can see that the copper has chaotically corroded away, leaving some lovely blueness - copper sulphate? I had a chemistry set once - as well as allowing a few glimpses of the quite delightfilled golden paisley beneath.

I'm well chuffed - just hope the blueness doesn't get washed away by the lacquer next week.

Heh ho

WIP - The Lulu One

Step 1 - Find a Girl and Cover her in Paisley

Well, another day of waiting in for a courier to show up (or not - depending on which way the breeze tumbles), I've carried on a bit with the Lulu One.

Following on from yesterday, as you can see I have completely covered the pine-of-loveliness body with my golden paisley. Bloody good it looks too, and to be perfectly honest I was severely tempted to just lacquer it like that and be done with it, but I've taken so long to get around to doing Lulu that I couldn't give in there, now could I?

Step 2 - Cover Her With Copper

Anyway, I have a master plan for this one, and it would be a shame not to at least try it out.

And that is the key to The Lulu One - I really don't know how it will turn out. Haven't got a clue. Zilch and nada. Uncharted shark infested paddling pools, is where I find meself hopping to and fro.

But I have hope and as step one was to paisley it up, so step two is obviously going to be for me to cover the top in copper leaf so you can't see the paisley at all.

Makes sense, eh?

Well, that I did and very coppery it looks too.

So is that it?

Step 3 - Pour Acid On Her Like Tears

Nope, by jimminy, there is a final flourish that will either make you gasp and go 'wow' and  generally wiggle your ears in admiration, or it will fail dismally and all the effort and planning will become a waste of time (and we have so little, each and every one of us, so we need to make all our arrows count. I learned that on a course once.).

Step 3 then was to slightly rough the copper up in a few places, and then drip and drop a secret mixture of magical bobbins in liquid form onto the copper front.

Why would I do that?

Well, the idea is that it will artificially age the copper leaf so that it 'patinates' and goes funny colours. Better still, and this is the whole point, it will in places, hopefully dissolve patches of the copper entirely so that (roll of trumpets, fanfare of elephants on balls)...allow the lovely golden paisley to show thru.

Well, that is the plan/hope/dream and I haven't got a clue as I type this and wait for the magic copper burning elixir to do it's stuff, whether it will work or not.

Step 4 - She goes to pieces, basically

It could end-up horrible, and in truth I don't know how the grain filler on the fabric will react to all of this elixir-ing either, so we will just have to see. No flames yet though.

(Maybe I should have lacquered the fabric first, I don't know Hmm.)

Still, as you can see in the final foto of the day (it took me a while to get around to posting this) it has started to work. Have to see what it looks like tomorrow, I guess..see if any paisley is making an appearance thru the front door.

But that is the best part innit? Taking a chance and seeing if there is any magic to be had, any hold in them there gills.

And on that fishy note, I'll go back to my waiting. I'm sure the courier will arrive, sometime.