Making Something Your Own

It has been going on since time began... a caveman gets his first toga, and has to make it his own. So he modifies it to suit his taste. Trouble is, there is always a few cavemen who later become famous...er.. rock stars, and so the legacy of making something your own goes forward. SRV (Mr Vaughan) had his 'Lenny' Strat, given to him by his wife. He cut out an old piece of inlaid wood and implanted it into his Stratocaster™. John Lennon had his scrunchie hat, worn low and off to one side (circa 1965, around the time he made Help™ ). Brian Setzer had his Gresch 6120, with Black Cat, Horseshoe and Yellow Skull stickers on it (self applied). How about all those who remained in happy obscurity (and never became RFM... Yes, RICH, FAMOUS and MISERABLE)?. How about the guy who finished off (literally) the 1953 Sparkle Green Tele I bought 6 years ago. I got it for five thousand dollars.... However, it was mint... totally original, apart from being totally refinished in someone's garage with sparkle green paint... the type that never totally comes off. I used to play that guitar with my eyes closed... (the fretboard was luckily unsprayed). It felt just like it should have... a 1953 Tele... with your eyes closed. The guy who sold it to me told me said it was '... a totally original 1953 Tele, without case... that some idiot has covered in the most ugly green paint'. The store even included a modern form-fit case for me to go with it... boy... I wish I had never sold that guitar..it was worth more then, and a lot more now. But someone (other than Kurt Cobain) painted it, in a moment of inspiration, even though he probably had little or no skills in a paintbooth... but you see.. I don't think Brian Setzer had experience decorating with stickers either. So what are we to do? My solution... leave your guitars alone... if you need one with a humbucker, trade for one. If it sounds too good to trade, then add the humbucker... but please, don't paint it sparkle green.

Jonathan's Details....

Jonathan at GVCG (Greenwich Village Custom Guitars) went to excruciating details to get his guitars exactly period-correct. As mentioned earlier, my guitar tech informed me that he had removed the surgical rubber grommets under the bridge pickup, since they were outdated. He replaced them for me with more modern springs, which he said were more gig-friendly. He meant well, but for MY taste, I believe whatever is there in a period-correct early 60's Tele, should NOT be updated, unless it makes it unplayable. Thing is, those rubber grommets looked just like original's I've seen off REAL Tele's from that period. Jonathan also hand machined most of his bridge parts (if not ALL of them, apart from the bridge itself). Cloth wiring is obviously period correct too... just in case that has any effect on vintage tone. I just got another pair of his Tele pickups (which he still makes), and they are covered in a wonderful layer of vintage dirt... and also have wonderfully intact cloth wiring. He apparently marked his guitars in hidden places, to avoid confusion with actual Vintage Strats and Teles, and to avoid crooks selling them as such. He even used 100 % nitro paint, which is apparently illegal now. (My investigation into this is still on-going... Leo shot early Tele's with 'thinned' nitro. I don't know if this affects what painters refer to as the paint being 100% nitro solids, since the thinner does evaporate... mostly). In any case... GVCG's are obviously easily as exactingly made as Masterbuilt Fender Guitars... only thing is though... they are as hard to find as an honest electrician... but they are out there (both the guitar and the electrician... maybe together).

How to Buy A Guitar on EBay....

Here it is folks... free advice, but it isn't bad just because it's free... well, guess it's five minutes of your life, and a little electricity. Up until now, I have bought about 10 guitars on EBay (also sold 8 guitars on EBay). In the beginning I just winged it... all I looked for was a PERFECT FEEDBACK SCORE OF AT LEAST 200. We know God takes care of idiots, and is on their side (generally)... so I actually got 3 great guitars, that were as described (ie. no 'empty' insides, and Chinese humbuckers in a '73 Les Paul). That is my RULE #1. Then I got a set of '63 Strat Pickups. He had the little do-dad that measures the ohms on each one, and they all looked like they were alive in the photos on the listing. I got the pickups, and three months later I found out that one was dead. Was it bad luck? Mishandling in transit? Or did the guy lie... RULE #2: MAKE SURE THE GUY YOU ARE BUYING FROM ACTUALLY KNOWS WHAT HE HAS. It is no good if he or she is honest, if they are an honest fool. Somewhere around gutiar #7, I got a really nice sounding, down-to-earth EBayer, selling an '88 PRS Standard. He said in his ad "Some people drill out the sweet switch and mess with the electronics... but this baby is original, totally original...man." He passed the first 2 RULES (over 200 feedbacks, 100 percent rating, and had bought and sold many high-ticket guitars). Guess what? It had a 20 cent Radio Shack 'Sweet Switch' in it (Radio shack makes one that looks really close), and the hole had been drilled out. I wrote to him about it, but he kept lying. Even when the guy I sold it to, and also myself, wrote to him... he went into denial. (I ended up covering MY puchaser's lost $$$ myself... bad Karma will certainly be after the guy that sold it to me... but I am not wishing it on him). He had never got bad feedback, because he had 'held feedback' as ransome (on his end), pending the buyer leaving feedback and just moving on from the whole thing... in fact, I don't think he EVER left feedback for me. So... RULE #3... MAKE SURE THEY ARE IN THE GUITAR BUSINESS... EITHER AN ON-LINE STORE, OR AN ACTUAL STOREFRONT. For instance, I have dealt with a guy called tuneOmatic, and he was strait up with me. (There are others like him that are honest). So, 3 rules-for-the road, to avoid sadness... Happy New Year!

String Me Up

I started with a nice set of D'Addario .09's on my PRS in 1986. Boy... I really loved those .09's. Then I found out that Rich Robinson used .095's... so I went to them... I also became a blow-hard... telling everyone that they were the best of both
.09's and .10's... and in the middle too. Once hand strength has been built up though, it seems to be good advice to go
higher, unless you REALLY need those .09's (for bending notes)... but even then, this doesn't necessarily make all that much sense. I currently play .10's (.10-.46) Fender Vintage strings. I was thinking of moving up to .11's... and eventually .12's. Stevie Ray usually played .13's, and then detuned. (This actually gives you more ooumph to your strings, and then allows you to ALSO bend that string more easily... because of detuning.. sort of like having the cake and eating it too). I asked my Luthier whether I should go for .12's... his answer... "either .09's or .10's are what the guitar is 'set up' for". I didn't question him, or necessarily understand his answer, but went with the .10's. I found my answer last night though in a Fender Stratocaster book... the NUT is filed for strings in the range of .09 to .10 for the high 'E'... and anything bigger probably will require filing. Without filing, you will probably get binding of the string and also 'pinging'. The book mentions a touring musician, who would start with .09's on tour, but by the end of the tour, he would be setting up and playing .13's... (as his hand strength adjusted on tour, I guess). This drove his tech nuts (literally), since he had to get out the file, and work on all the nut's on all the guy's guitars. So string me up, but unless I want .13's.. and will detune... AND plan on permanently filing my nut... Hey, stay down to earth on string gauges.

Relic Guitars

Jay Munn Guitars (http://www.jaymunnguitars.com/)is another guy who will in his case actually relic YOUR guitar, to fit YOUR playing, as if you had played it for the past 40 years. He sums up well on his home page why relic guitars might make sense. As you know, I have been indecisive about whether relicing a guitar (beyond neck feel) actually makes any sense. I just admitted to my friend Rob that I indeed had 'fallen off the wagon' a short while ago. I had contacted the Music Gallery (a big Fender Custom Shop Dealer), regarding making me a Jagstang (like Mr Cobain's). I wanted one made in the good old USA. I wanted it in 'Blackie' black, with an aged, well worn neck feel. Then I let it all hang out... I added that they should distress and age the guitar with everything they could throw at it in the custom shop. (This would have been one b*tchin' guitar). The custom shop contacted Mr Cobain's girlfriend, but since the 'contract' for them to produce Jagstang's had expired, my idea was (for unstated reasons), not going to be allowed. BUT... I had asked for 'relicing' on the body... does this really make a difference? Whenever there is some new trend...it is hard, at the time, to tell if it is an artistic trend, or a 'collector' trend sometimes. Keith Richards and Andy Summers are playing reliced guitars (to replace their old ones on tour). What's the use of beating up a perfectly good NEW guitar? Mr Munn sums it up on his website....to quote... "...If you're a manic vintage guitar guy like I am, you know that there is something incredibly cool about a heavily-played, well-worn guitar.
The neck feels great in your hand - the worn body contours fit your body. The guitar takes on a character and a personality". I am still on the fence (or on and off the wagon on this one)... but if REAL vintage instruments are going to cost thousands and thousands of dollars, it may be what we are all looking for.

Variac

I just read an article in VGM (Vintage Guitar Magazine) about Variacs...they are used to drop the voltage down from the current modern voltage of up to 130 volts, to the more 'old fashoined' voltage of 115 volts (or lower). The VGM info says that once you get below about 80 volts, benefits are lost. When I ordered my rebuilt Variac from the rebuilder in Van Nuys, I mentioned this to him. He was very familiar with what variacs are used for by musicians, including EVH ... he said you can actually 'dial in' lower voltages, and get great results with either your authentic vintage amp, or a newer tube amp. He told me that the mistake is to go to 'higher' voltages, which should be avoided. I will be playing around with the variac and reporting back...

Sparkle Dunebuggy

Before I get to my new variac I just ordered (rebuilt, from Van Nuys CA)... How about legal powers? I just saw a pricey Pre Lawsuit Scott Lentz S-type guitar on ebay... it is listed as 'resonant, spanks and sings'... and has pre-lawsuit mojo...I know GVCG's are surrounded in the same mystique... the mystique of something elusive, now illegal, and possibly possessing above-average powers (because of the first two items). Every GVCG made was technically 'pre-lawsuit', so has these powers. So do some PRS guitars we all see listed on EBay (as pre-lawsuit), also the Lentz guitars just mentioned, and also an extremely short run of Keith Richards Telecasters that were possibly made by Fender a few years ago. I saw one of the Keith Tele's (with humbucker of course), and (yes)... it was listed as resonant, spanking, and singing. Is it the mystique, or is it just our imagination, that these guitars supposedly are better than others? And let's not forget the most famous Pre-Lawsuit guitar ever... the Fender Broadcaster. Maybe it's like the guy I knew with a sparkle dunebuggy in high school... there were guys with other (more sexpensive) cars, but it was always the guy in the sparkle dunebuggy that had three or four hot blondes riding with him.

Next Up... EVH & Variacs

Fire Test

Your house is on fire... your girlfriend is throwing all her new Victoria's Secret™ underwear into a trash bag to carry out, and you, naturally, think about grabbing a baby...the electrical kind. Which one? Tuner to your head... right now... WHICH ONE?!?!? Whichever one that guitar is, it's now "Fire Test" your #1 (yeh, like SRV's #1, only yours). So you bump the case down the stairs, pretending that once you get this guitar out and away from the house (and any risk of fire damage), you WILL be back to help her with some of the furniture, photos and Gammie's Bowl collection. You come back in the front door... the East Wing is still burning... what's next? How about getting ONE more out... WHICH ONE?!?!?!? THAT is your number 2 (like SRV's #2, only yours). You yell to your girl "I am going upstairs to see what I can grab..."... your heart beats... you just need to get out that front door with #2, without being caught by her, like a deer in headlights, holding a guitar case close to your chest, your scared, beady eyes aware you have been caught. The rest can burn, Right? NO! Darn it! NOTHING musical can burn... if time allowed it, the last thing out will be your cables and gig bags. Meanwhile... Gammie's bowls are definitely a gonner... unless they come after the gig bags...