Recipe

Just read about how Jonathan Wilson used original cloth wiring in all his guitars...we don't know how many he built, working out of his apartment in Greenwich Village. He seems to have been a real stickler for authenticity, in a way nobody else has ever been, in the Boutique Guitar manufacturing scene. Is this a factor? I just bought a Monroe Guitar, as I mentioned, and he makes concessions to modern times... graphite nut, mini-schaller tuners (that actually keep the strings nicely in tune, and are micro-adjustable). Also a Gotoh bridge... so, which is better? Cloth wiring, and original 50's electronics... or concessions to modern times? What is all boils down to is 'What gives older guitar's their mojo?'. What's the recipe? Here's my guess (since we all have one): Take 2 parts wood, 1 part nitro paint, 1 part pickups, and 1 part expectation... and finally, the main ingredient...2 parts gifted luthier. Total 'parts'...7 parts.... so wood accounts for about 1/3.... you can do the rest of the math. Did I include old electronics....? No... Why? Because other than the pickups, I don't feel the current electronics are much different...(unlike tube amps vs. solid state). It's NICE to think that inside that guitar is original looking electronics... just in case the 'Doc' pulls up in the DeLorean and takes you back to 1959....but other than that, it's still less of a factor than the expectation....