Sold: The Mysterio One

Where do you start in describing a guitar like The Mysterio One?

Well, it is based on a Fender Telecaster, has an Alder body and Maple/Maple neck, but after that things tend to go a bit haywire.

For a start it is an Esquire, in that it has only one pickup. Nothing new there, apart from the pickup in question which was wound by the Magician that is Marc Ransley at Mojo Pickups is Hot, Hot and Hot.

Based on his usual Broadcaster this has all the tone but plenty of oomph to spread the word.

To give a few options, the pickup has been coil-tapped and Marc has put together a wiring loom specifically for this guitar that will give three great tones when you are playing. Maybe even when you aren't, it is that good.

From there we get to the finish, and man what a finish it be. The body was stained to give the impression of an old panel with the top of this being given an Abstract Expressionistic  treatment that is way and beyond a hand brim-filled with splatter. This is textured and 3D in every sense and is stunning to be beholden by.

The bridge is a Wilkinson cut down ‘Shorty’ Tele style for a stripped down look that the guitar probably needed and all in all it is a total joy.

Wondering what the metal work at the Wondering what the metalwork at the back is?

Well, it isn’t a weird Bigsby, this is so much cooler as it is a Hipshot B-Bender with Drop-D flicky switch and a G-Bender thrown in for good measure. Until you’ve tried one of these things you really haven’t lived – I am a total convert – and apart from the obvious country, this is fantastic if you are looking for textures that you can’t normally find.

All-in-all, a crazy good guitar with extras that’ll take you places you really didn’t imagine you’d ever visit.

Magical.

*



To be clear, The Mysterio 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.

*** SOLD ***

Technical Stuff:

Type: Patsy’s Painted Guitar

Electrics: Mojo Hot Broadcaster, Esquire Loom

Guitar Type: Fender Telecaster

Construction: Alder body, Maple/Maple neck

Strings: 10s

Output: ¼” Guitar Lead

Controls: Volume, Tone, 3-way-switch

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

Serial Number: JGE#71

RSP: £999

A Rose By Any Other Name - WIP The Mysterio One

Well, it needs a bit of a set-up, and I seem to have mislaid the middle position somehow, as it is tres diminutive, but I'm nearly there with The Mysterio One and it is really rather lovely.

As you can see from the fotos I got some strings on today, and generally it plays beautifully, so I thought I'd do a quick WIP.

The fleet of eye among you may notice that the fotos show my mistaken first attempt at the stringing where I managed to neglect to put the strings thru the right holes (the B Bender doesn't work very well when you do that - you might want to note that down for future reference), but when it is done properly, it works like a dream and sounds twangtastically groovy

I mean I'm not much of a country player, but even I can pick a few notes then bang the bar with my leg and sound like I could change my name to Dwight or Gram.

So there we are, I'll do a proper introduction tomorrow I expect.

Other than that, I had an annoying day again - one of those where people ask me to sell them a guitar, but put a Fender sticker on it first. I mean, I love Fender guitars, but my name isn't Fender and I really can't see why I would want to do that. It'd be a bit sad or desperate and while I'm both a lot of the time, I like to 'sign my work', so like it or lump it. Jookies they be.

It's not as if there aren't enough Fenders in the world already is it, and I'm sure their Custom Shop would happily take your money so stop bugging me. I'm not hurting anyone.

La la laaa

WIP: The Mysterio One

Well, apart from a lack of strings, I seem to have got The Mysterio One fettled and fawned like fauna in a, err, strong breeze. And I have to say that it is looking crazy good...and I can't imagine there is anybody that wouldn't concede I am at least half right.

As the spec has somewhat changed, let me talk you thru it...

From the top it is an alder bodied Tele that has been coloured to looked like a time-stained painting panel thing, and then attacked with all due ferocity with some acrylic paint. I used to paint a lot  (and sell them, believe it or not) and this is kinda a retrospective of my Dragon Period.

From there we add to the little mix a super hot, hot hot Mojo Broadcaster pickup, along with a custom Esquire loom Marc has put together that coil-tapps the pickup in one of the positions so that it is only hot, losing two hots in the process, though still hot by normal standards.

It is a warm thing, with a notched thermostatic selector switch, that is perhaps a simpler way to look at things.

All of which was pretty much the original plan (if there ever was one), but as I acquired a weird and wonderfilled Hipshot B Bender with Drop D thingy, this seemed the perfect place for it.

Now, I can see this taking a bit of getting used to, but I'm sure it will be worthy of the effort.

So all-in-all, it is nearly there now, though I am expecting to have fun-a-plenty with the set-up, and it is, after all is done saying, your run-o-the-mill, basic, hand painted Esquire with a brace.

Simple really.

La la laaaa

Another Year In Parody

Well, 2013, who'd ever thought I'd still be wrecking perfectly respectable guitars in the name of art, although to be fair there will  be none of that kerfuffling until next week.

And I deliberately avoided doing an end of year review or a list of unlikely resolutions, as at the end of the day I like doing this and what else is there, really? I never keep them, so no point worrying.

Saying that, there will be a few changes - I'm going to do more custom jobs if people want them and more off the wall stuff if they don't - and I think I might finally do a proper web site in the interests of clarity and professionalism (ahem). but other than that and a few tweaks to how things look, it will be much the same in truth.

As for the immediate future, well, The Frou Frou Fox One is closest to being finished, so that is top of the list until some custom parts arrive, and The Seaside One will probably not be too far behind as indeed will The Mysterio One.

Speaking of which, Marc at Mojo Pickups  had put some fotos of the pickup and wiring for this baby on FaceBook the other day, and it is destined for a super hot Broadcaster type bridge pickup, which instead of the usual Esquire capacitor induced shenanigans will instead have a coil tap or split or something in one of the positions, taking it from a whopping 13K down to 10K (whatever that means). That is a bit of a first and I'm looking forward to chugging along on that baby. He is a clever sock int-he?

In fact there will be a bit of a flurry of a catch-up in the first few weeks and as I'm trying desperately to not wind myself up if I have more than the odd Jooky around the place it will be an early test of my resolve. We shall see anyway.

In other news the ill-advised Strat has gone with barely a flicker and there should be a Jaguar on it's way here soon too, and no doubt leaving shortly afterwards. Have I already said that? I forget. I'm also going to make my dream Jazzmaster in the new year and KEEP IT. So be warned.

But I babble, and nobody needs a babbler at this time of the day.

Happy New Year then and remember,

Jesus loves you,

It is a beautiful and crazy special thing to discover in your life,
that can fill a void and make you warm inside..

Beautiful and fulfilling,
that is,
unless you are in a Mexican prison.

La la laaa

The Mysterio Portishead Shroud Morning

Well, I don't really want to go on about it - I would hate to bore you any more than normal - but things moved on further still with The Old No.7 One yesterday, and I really feel I should share with the group.

As I got the back to a stable position somehow, and verily nice I think it is too, I moved on with alacrity to the front and repeated the trick. As it happens, sleep deprivation obviously helps, as that looks pretty good to me too, though if you look carefully I'm sure you can see the imprint of the body of Christ. The Portishead Shroud, pity we already had a name for this one.

Still a fair bit to do over the next few days, but it feels like a guitar all of a sudden, which is probably a good thing, as I'm sure Paul mentioned he wanted one.

As for the other bits, well Marc at Mojo pickups is sorting the pickup and wiring loom - I lurve Esquires, I probably haven't mentioned that before - and there is a nice Fender traditional bridge and ashtray cover too. In fact the only thing I forgot was the string thingies that plop in the back, the Louis's.
Ferrules, I mean.

All of which means Allparts taking decades to have a traditionally cool neck was getting annoying, so we're going for one from Warmoth instead, which is pretty good letsbefacinit.

The nice thing is that this means that we'll have a few weeks to play about with the extras that are going to increase the cool quotient lotsly much.Tidy nice.

Elsewhere, I mentioned The Mysterio One but forgot to put a foto up. Now tell me that isn't a little belter. Must sort a neck out for that too. Hmmm. A theme, I can feel another theme coming on. Get me the theme cream, somebody.

There was something else too,
I just can't remember what it was.

I need sleep.


Oh yes, I had a lovely ebony 'boarded neck arrive for The Black Russian One, so that is a tidy step forward all by it's ownsome self.

La la laaa

Electric Kool Aid Scripturenating

Well, I got the bridge and Esquire plate onto The Mysterio One, and jolly cool it looks too. I know it won't be for everybody, but I love the texture of the paint as well as the colours, not sure why that is.

Though I remember spending a lot of time looking for Electric Kool Aid around the newsagents of Stirchley a lifetime ago, and failing miserably. Even worse when I went looking for Benny Tubes, but there we are.

Newsagents of Stirchley, that sounds quite impressive. Like Beasts of England, or maybe not.

Anyway, speaking of trippy kinds of things, I found my latest favourite band today on Facebook (of all places) when I heard the debut single (are they still called singles these days, poppin' pickers?) in the shape of 'WAR on Love' by The Scriptures, which is rather stunningly cool. And Kool, come to that.

It is a trippy, faintly Shoegazery type of thing which appeals to the Cocteau Twins, MBV, Ride, Chapterhouse, Slowdive lover in me. Ah, the Slough Festival of '89 (maybe), glorious stuff.

Not that it is aping such things, but there are definitely echoes of the best of it, and it is going around my head big time.

You can hear it Here on the band's page, and it is well worth a listen among the tumult of daily life, methinks. Oh, and buy it if you like it - £1 for chrissake, got to be worth it so chaps like these can carry on making such glory. Benny Tubes, or no Benny Tubes.

La la laaa

New Year's Resolution 2012: A Strategic Review

Well, as you can hopefully see from the foto, my New Year's Resolution for 2012 that revolved around not starting a project until I have finished the previous one, hasn't exactly gone too well.

There is a teensy bit I could perhaps improve next time around.

And that doesn't include a few more that are in the frozen wastelands that is my garage.

Hmmm.

Looking at them though, I am totally stymied as I either am waiting for parts or haven't got my head together well enough to find them, so I think that may well be the job for the day.

Order a hundred-weight of Strap Pins and anything else on the list.

Necks might feature quite prominently by the looks of things.

Still as a wise man recently told me, it keeps me out of trouble.

One thing though, and it is a plonk together with random old parts in the pickup dept. but I am verily pleased with the way The Mysterio One has turned out, though I've put a Big Boy Tele bridge on and I'm not sure whether to go for a shorty chopped down one instead.

Decisions, decisions.

What is a poor boy to do?

La la laaa

WIP: The Mysterio One

Well, back to the pain-filled-pleasure that is Jookification today, and I could do nowt but go hell-for-rayon with The Mysterio One.

I think I said I'd already stained and waxed the body to give it a rough, old wood look, with the idea being that when I painted the acrylic on top it would give the impression of an old panel painting and more to the point make thecolourfilledness of the top all the brighter..

It's actually ten years since I did much painting and I've really avoided doing it on the guitars for lots of reasons, but mainly because I wanted to start anew as it were, but this was fun, so who knows, maybe more will happen sometime.

Anyway, as time has passed I've done my paint thing, and will be going in heavy with an ageing varnish later to complete the effect, and Fanny's your uncle and all that.

You can probably tell that the paint is quite thick and textured and I'm rather pleased with how it turned out, which is pretty cool as I rarely am. I don't want to get all puffypratic, in the words of the Housemartin, but it is based on Swift's A Tale of a Tub, but then that is probably obvious.

As for other stuff, well the year is running out so I probably need to plot and plan a wee bit and see what I'm capable of finishing this this side of shonky-jumper-and-pants-time and what is more likely to get shunted into next year.

But not today, for today I sleep.

La la laaa

Pearls a Swinger and Nína Tryggvadóttir

Well, with a bit of luck I'll soon be back to my Jooky ol' ways, and top of the agenda is to put a bit of colour in the cheeks of The Mysterio One.

I've already gone for a rough stain and wax, back and sides, but for the top I've got this image of a 'riot of colour' or perhaps 'a right mess', depending if I can remember how to do such things.

I want it to be textured and 3D both in looks and nature and generally vibrant and something else I read on the back of a postcard once that described the abstract expressionist movement, Pollocks and all. I know this has been done to death, and I don't want to dribble paint, so we'll see.

I always prefered Nína Tryggvadóttir anyway, but maybe that is because she died just after I was born and I can, even though at the time only a few months old, remember exactly where I was.

In a cot as it happens.

And I seem to remember that the Times gave a typically poor obituary - Icelandic Communists rarely get a good one, of course -  and that I was so enraged I thought then that one day I would make a guitar - maybe even 44 years later - and take her work as my inspiration. Not that my painting of the guitar will look anything like her work, I'm far more, err, free-willed, you'll understand, but I hope to capture the feeling of focussed desolation she brought to it.

As for the rest, it is an Esquire again and Marc at Mojo Pickups is pondering something different on the pickup front, so that is cool. I am going for a chopped Tele bridge as I seem to have one available unexpected-like, and I think it really must have a neck. You can take things too far, after all.

Other than that, waiting for parts is the usual tale, but it would be nice to finally play my Teardrop sometimes soon - Pearl is a swinger, after all.

La la laaaa

It's a Mysterio

Well, with a bit of time on me hands, I can't help but feel that it would be nice to do something a little more colourful, to shake of the Wintery Blues and other SAD thingimumbobbins. And as I seem to have acquired some lovely acrylic paints, I thought I'd paint a vulgar picture on a delish and light of weight Tele body that has also recently come into my possession.

I'm going the Esquire route again, as basically I love them and I suffer from a lack of imagination at the best of times, and in truth I am addicted to the cocked wah position Mr Mojo puts into his Esquire wiring looms. Sometimes that is enough.

Rather than a Tele pickup though, I'm going to see what he can come up with and maybe something a little different, we'll have to see. Saying that, The Bergasol One sounds enormous which is a grand thing, so maybe a hotter Mojo broadcaster could end-up on my wish list once more.

I guess I'm thinking this will be a little bit psychedelic in truth, and that isn't a bad thing to be for The Mysterio One..

La la laaa