Sold: The Resurrected One

The Resurrected One is a Jookified version of Fender’s La Carbronita Especial, with a number of quirks we like to call our own. We love Teles in Jookyland and the La Cabronita is something that has long caught our eye, so when the chance to do one came along we didn’t need much persuading.

The body of The Resurrected One is made from swamp ash, and we quite simply couldn’t bring ourselves to cover up such a beautiful piece of wood. Instead we did our best to bring the grain out with a hand applied dark oak stain and many coats of a hard wax oil. This makes for a stunning finish we’re all rather chuffed with.

From there we added a pickguard, which we’d chopped from an old Jimmy Reed record, and matched the body with a lovely maple/maple neck with old school Klusonesque tuners.

As for the sounds, well, TV Jones in La Cabs have of course been done before and we wanted something a little raunchier, dirtier and generally likely to be found on the seedier side of the street. But they are an odd size, and so we talked to Marc Ransley at Mojo Pickups, and he agreed to custom wind us a set of his stunning P90 pickups, cut to shape and then went above and beyond the call and turned-up with a set than are quite simply breath-taxingly cool.

Additionally, Marc put together a top notch wiring loom to get the best out of them.

This is probably – definitely – the most understated Jooky yet, and will never be repeated.


*


To be clear, The Resurrected 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: Norma’s Natural Guitar

Electrics: Mojo TV Jookies P90

Guitar Type: Fender La Cabronita Especial

Construction: Swamp Ash Body, Maple/Rosewood neck

Strings: Nickel 10s

Output: ¼” Guitar Lead

Controls: Volume, 3-Way-Switch

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

Serial Number: JGE#61

RSP: £799

Introducing: The Resurrected One

Well, I'm pleased to introduce you to the latest Jooktastic plank, The Resurrected One, which I'm rather chuffed-to-bits with, has to be said.

For the regular viewer (you know who you are in your scabby Y-fronts, eating take aways out of tin trays) it is a kinda response to the wanton destruction of my lovely The B Movie One, in so far as I've re-used Mr Mojo's stunning TV Jones-sized P90s and wiring, and the scratchplate I chopped out of an old record. Think that is about it though.

But the guitar, and it is clearly based on a Fender la Cabronita - probably the coolest thing they've come out with in decades.

The body is a lovely chunk of swamp ash, that has been hand stained (I have the perma-tanned palms to prove it) before getting a good dose of hard wax oil, which is sheeny and beautiful.

The neck is maple/rosewood and tuners at the top are Wilkinson's take on the classic Klusons, but with the sneaky EZ-Lock double holes for super speedy string changes without the usual acupuncture (unless that is just me and Klusons).

Pickups are as I mentioned, Mojo P90s, it is a hard tailed bridge, strung thru for maximum sustainingness and I even remembered the strap pins and right chunky monkeys they are too.

As for sounds, well the pickups nail the sexy raunch of a P90 to a tee - how the boy keeps coming up with pickups this good, I really don't know, but I'm going to keep buying them until he turns into an Asian factory and loses it, like all the others before. Actually, can't see him doing that tbh.

So there we are, my lovely monster and I'm off to get a nice Hiscox case for it before it goes anywhere near a courier.

La la laaaa

Wooden It Be Niiiice

Fallen, so very far

Well, I rang the tech and I'm pleased to say that The Golden Shower One should be completed soon, which is cool.

So why do I feel like a geezer just out of prison after thirty years who finds a shoe repair ticket in his returned clothes, goes to the repair shop and the bloke behind the counter tells him that they'll be done next Tuesday?

But as it isn't today, I guess I'd better get on and make myself another Jooky to play with.

So after yet more prevarication, today is the day I'm going to finally face my demons and get the neck pocket sorted out on The Fallen One.

I've got Marcy Mojo's pickups and loom staring at me on my desk (I say desk, but conceptually it is true, even though they are technically on the floor) and even though the new router is going to be another 28 days (!) I'm going to be brave.

I've put 999 on speed dial, assuming I have the fingers left to press the button.

Hmmm. Might have to praccy with my nose first.

Actually, I just did, and it hurts.

Anyway, before then I've got all the parts out just so that I can remind myself how cool it will look when I finally do it, and I was right to as it is an inspiring looking pile of wood and twisted metal thingies.

As you can see I took the easy approach and fitted the pickups/loom to the scratchplate, the lefty Klusons still need to be found and put onto the neck and generally tried everything for size.

Resurrected, with a few bits missing

Very pretty, so it is just the mundane matter of the neck pocket and drilling some holes for the bridge and fixing the pickup routing hole things. Easy. Simple, especially when you say it quick. I even remembered to order an extra set of strap pins.

So, I'd better be getting on with it then, hadn't I?

Just make a cuppa first, steady me nerves.

Won't take five minutes
.
Lovely

**** Musicless Interlude ****

Well, I have to tell you. First of all I started putting The Fallen One together, never quite got as far as the router, but pretty close. Closest yet, has to be said. Didn't quite turn it on, but it was a close thing.
I might have.

Then the neck arrived for The Resurrected One, but not the rest of the parts I'd been waiting for.

So no Jookies to play (as the Austria-bound-duo are both en-package) but all of a sudden I can do something about it.

So tomorrow could simply put, be amazing.

I might even brave the router. I've got 999 on speed dial, did I mention that?

Did I?

Did I?

La la laaa

WIP: The Resurrected One

Well, I know I should have been finishing The Betty Blue One today, but I got a little sidetracked with The Resurrected One, and what can I do? Only humanish after all.

Anyway, the finish had all set very nicely, looks simply deevine, and so I transplanted the bits from The B Movie One I had decided to use. Not a lot in fact, just the Mojo P90 pickups and wiring and err, the scratchplate I'd cut out of an old LP. But it's the thought that counts when it comes to resurrections, let's face it.

Other than that, there are only a few jobs to do to finish it...

1. The neck needs to arrive and to be nailed to the body. I've gone for a rosewood boarded one,

2. I need to find some screws to fit the pickups as I destroyed the ones I'd previously used,

3. I need to connect the pickups back to the loom, and

4. Obviously I need to get some strap pins, as I'd already grave-robbed the B Movie's ones for young Betty Blue.

No respect, no respect at all.

So basically, assuming the neck shows up I may actually get both The Betty Blue and Resurrected Ones finished this week. Seems unlikely, I know, but it is a time of miracles.

Oh, and lovely to see that Mr Mojo is the first to donate to The Tickled Pink thingy. Cheers Marc. :o)

La la laaaaa

Resurrection Two

Well, OK. It has been a slow start, a quiet middle and we're hitting the end-of-the-week at an alarming pace, but I am feeling quite pleased this morning, even if it is a bit of a scrappy victory I'm savouring.

What put the smile on my mush?

Well, I finished the staining of The Resurrected One yesterday and got a couple of coats of wax oil on the back, and this morning all the stinky pain, light headedness and need-for-a-new-carpet, almost seem worthwhile as it looks divine. No, it looks stunning. I should never undersell such superlatively laden beatification.

I have to admit, I did wonder here and there about the colour, but it looks as though it has worked out, and hopefully I'll get the front done by the start of next week too.

As for the rest of the bobbins, well I'm going to transplant the Mojo P90s and wiring loom from The B Movie One, and probably the vinyl scratchplate too. Along with those there is a nice rosewood boarded neck on it's way, which is cool and groovy, and there we will be in cloverland.

I know I shouldn't say this, but I think I might have to keep this one (ahem).

In other news, school has interrupted the flow de la Dragon de Lightning, but Friday we should finish it off, which I'm looking forward to as the only thing worse than a stuttering start is a stutteringly stultified end. Plus I can't stand the nagging. Actually, she has totally lost interest and it is me doing the nagging, but there we are.

My Old China should be here Friday now, apparently, so that is something to look forward tutu.



I've been thinking about amps and have kinda got it down to a Vox Night Train (the full fat one) or maybe a Vox AC15. Either would be lovely, but I'm going to go and find somewhere that has them and try them before I buy for once. I know, any more of this maturity bobbins and I'll be shaving my chest.

But back to my wire wool and waxing oil.

If I only had a chamois.


La la laaa

St-St-St-Staining...

If you think this looks a right mess...

Well, I started staining the body for The Resurrected One, which I think will look proper-good.

I've gone for a dark oak colour, which should be nice-yet-stunningly-mega-brill, though spilling the can everywhere killed productivity somewhat as stain
err,
stains,
apparently.

It stains everything.
It stains the table.
It stains the carpet (really should have not done this in the living room).
It stains full-stop.

I wasn't best pleased.

And have black hands.
Like a mirror-image Black and White Minstrel.

Anyway, bit more to do on that today once I've found a rug to hide the black patch in the carpet and for a few days to come I expect, and in between the drying and sanding, I might as well get on with something else.

As my aim at the moment is to get The Fallen and Betty Blue Ones fettled, they seem an obvious target. I need to do a bit of clearing before I can routal, so I'm planning on digging out Betty's neck and seeing what else I need to do to put her together. I am verily intrigued to play with the bridge, and as it's the first time I've tried one of Mr Mojo's Tele P90s, better still. So Betty, I want you done this week. There, how cool is that. Decision made.

In other news, The Lightning Dragon is pretty much done - so a proper introduction to that sometime soonish, and I'm expecting my Old China, Tokai Les Paul to arrive anytime even more soonerish.

I'm going to break the habit of a lifetime and try it for a while before I start replacing bits. I'm not expecting much - in fact have already nurtured a grudging-scavengers-remorse before it even gets here - so I'm hoping for a pleasant surprise.

It looks nice, which I guess is something.

Have to say it seems odd to be getting a whole guitar, it's been a while.

Oh, and I've scavenged an attenuator, which is a first for me, and as it apparently means that I can have a louder valve amp without being lynched by neighbours and loved ones, I guess that means I am on an amp hunt.

I like my Mustang and no doubt will keep it, but it would be nice, wouldn't it? I kinda miss the hiss.

But, the attenuators, I actually got two - one 8ohm and the other 16ohm - not really sure why - are made my Martin at MJW Amps, so I'm presuming he knows what he is doing even if I don't.

But what to go for?

They only handle upto 20W, so I'm thinking an Amp + small Cab kinda thing. I could go for another Blackheart as that was cool, or something Voxy perhaps. Never been a big Marshall fan, so Fender or Vox style I guess.

Any suggestions?

It's so long since I needed a bigger amp I really don't know what is out there anymore.

La la laaa

Of Resurrection and Tinnitus Cured

Well, can't quite believe how quiet it is here today, minus the drone of Spongebob, constant requests for squash and I don't know what else.

Too quiet, perhaps. Maybe I should do something.

And luckily, my first day of freedom has been punctuated by the arrival of the body for The Resurrected One, which if you remember is the Elvis Comeback Special of a guitar I thought I'd make in memory of my dearly departed The B Movie One.

Oddly UPS brought the body without breaking it. Not quite sure how they managed that.

Anyway, lovely it is too, and I am seriously considering whether to give it a similar finish to the B Movie One, as it is equally pretty.

Narrr. Can't be doing that.

Anyway, it is a two piece chunk of swamp ash, and the plan is to give it a stain and hard wax oil finish. From there it will either have the original Mojo P90s Marc made for me - TV Jones size and lush - or something else like TV Jones or Gretsch pickups. I don't know in truth.

I have a nice rosewood boarded neck on it's way too, and there we be.

Other than that, today is a bit of a finish off sort of thing, methinks.

La la laaa

Loves Resurrection

The B Movie One - Buggered by UPS
The Resurrection will be ser-weeet

Well, I have sorted a nice body out for The Resurrected One, which should be with me in the next week or so, and as I know that is 'real' now I've given myself permish to start thinking about how to do it.

I need these rules to cower the psychosis.

Well, maybe one of them.

As for what the what is, well, it is a two pickup jobby again, so I'm planning to put one of Mojo's TV Jones-sized P90s in along with a TV Jones or Gretsch 'bucker of some sorts.

Saying that, the pair of Mojo P90s that were fleetingly in The B Movie One (RIP) were a bit special, so I won't rule it out.

As I've gone for another swamp ash body with a sumptuously groovy grain, I'm loathe to hide it, so I think it might be another stain jobby thought perhaps a bit more pronounced than the last time. We'll have to see when the body arrives, I guess. I am thinking that this time is will be a heavier stain rather than just to bring out the grain, with a nice hard wax oiled finish on top. But then, I'm always thinking something.

As for the neck, I've got a lovely rosewood boarded tele one, which I'm looking forward to twanging my way around, and that is about that.

Can't wait to start to be quite honest, and as we're into the final week of bratski-induced-downtime, I hopefully won't have to wait for too long.

In other news, I've sorted out a nice maple/maple neck for The Betty Blue One, so when the replacement bridge arrives from GFS we should be in clover. I've also got a nice set of Klusons (left handed, I remembered) for The Fallen One, as when I tried the Steinberger ones in it they didn't look too hot, to be totally honest, and they felt a tad on the neck heavy side of comfortable. But there we are, we have to try these things.

As for The Lightning Dragon, well, no fotos yet but the lightning is on and the red spots/blobs should be there today with a bit of luck. A light coat of something sticky and lacquer-like should finish that off in time for the rest of the parts to arrive and everything getting put together before the lass returns to school. On target, as planned and I don't want to think about what happened to the budget.

La la laaa

Down In The Ashes of the Jolly Green Giant

Well, as you may have heard me scream, The B Movie One was a bit of a write-off, which was annoyingly bugging and nauseously tear-filled, and to be honest I felt rather cheated and glum. I'd wanted to do a La Cab for ages and despite it being rather understatedly quiet in the acid and paisley departments, I rather loved it.

Anyway, I feel as though unfinished bizzyness must be addressed, and so I'm going to have another go.

This time it might not be quite as subtle, but I think it may well involve some of the Mojo TV Jones-sized P90ness as they were rather stunning and I might even repeat the 7" single pickguard, by way of rememberance.

As for the finish I think a bluey bronze would work rather-nicely-thank-you-verily-much-and-cheers-for-asking, though if I can find a nice bit of wood I might do something with a dark stain on it, we'll have to see.

It's a bit of a putting-things-right, type of thing I guess. Honoring the fallen and all that.

So coming (one day) soon, The Resurrected One.

La la laaa