Guitar Creation Syndrome

ash · Post by **ash** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 1:46 pm

No GAS here, but there's a long list of guitars that I have to constantly resist starting to build.

If any of you have GAS for things I have GCS for, maybe we can be co-dependent?

1. Brian May Red Special

This guitar is one of the reasons I started making and playing guitars in the first place. A close replica and a simplified/normalised one would tick the box.

2. Les Paul Prototypes

Before Les Paul even had anything to do with it, Gibson had been experimenting with solid body guitars and they're actually quite different in many ways. Lots of what PRS does are things Gibson had already tried in 1950! From what I've read, the very first one was more or less a small solid-body version of the ES125 - no cutaway, 1 mid-ish P90, either sunburst or cherry red depending on who's telling the story:

Subsequent ones got a Florentine cutaway and two pickups:

Apparently there were 12 pre-production prototypes. I don't know if that includes these ones:

or Mary Ford's hollow ones... One of which ended up with Thin Lizzy on Top of the Pops.

I'd like to build replicas of the non-cutaway and Florentine ones for a giggle.

3. Black Strat

My first exposure to the electric guitar was seeing a black strat with white pickguard in the window of Musical Sounds in Whangarei when I was about 11 or 12. In reality it was probably a Cyclone, but the image in my head is a proper Strat. I need to make one, but preferably not a plain old clone of a stock standard model made by the million. It needs to have munt, mojo and coolness like this one:

I'll post others as I think of them.

Polar Bear · Post by **Polar Bear** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 2:26 pm

I would love to have a BHM with the full trem, so if I miraculously develop a money problem, I'll make sure to give you some of it.

Post by Bg » Fri Nov 23, 2012 2:30 pm

I'd be all over the black strat

I can even supply you with the special mojo relicing sauce... Potent it is.

ash · Post by **ash** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 3:35 pm

I've remembered some of the others. With all this korina and mahogany lying around, some twins are in order:

A korina and a mahogany Junior:

A korina and a blackwood Firebird:

A Korina and a purpleheart Flying Vee:

A Korina and a Cedrella LP:

slash-ed · Post by **slash-ed** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 3:37 pm

FIREBIRD

Vince · Post by **Vince** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 3:39 pm

A moderne would be cool

willow13 · Post by **willow13** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 3:40 pm

that korina LP is the shizz

adrian why do you think korina isn't used all that much??...it is pretty much agreed that it is "the" tonewood yet it doesn't seem to be used a lot

bender · Post by **bender** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 3:50 pm

ash wrote:I've remembered some of the others. With all this korina and mahogany lying around, some twins are in order:

A korina and a mahogany Junior:

A korina and a blackwood Firebird:

kdawg2a · Post by **kdawg2a** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 3:56 pm

To be fair Ash, I got the munted Strat territory covered. Your single pick-up, non cutaway, 125 LP prototype does have me intrigued however....... always loved those guitars/that look.

Daza152 · Post by **Daza152** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 4:52 pm

Love the 'reliced' black strat (can you do that?) and the early version Gibson too build them man, I'll have one of each. Got to win lotto first!

ash · Post by **ash** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 5:11 pm

willow13 wrote:that korina LP is the shizz

adrian why do you think korina isn't used all that much??...it is pretty much agreed that it is "the" tonewood yet it doesn't seem to be used a lot

A couple of reasons, I reckon. No-one has to explain what mahogany sounds like, people just buy it. Even when they call some random pallet wood "mahogany", people buy it without question. Big corporations like that.

Secondly, korina is harder to get in sizes/volumes/discounts that big guitar companies need to make it cost effective.

There may also be other minor production factors, like it's harder to machine smoothly, harder to grain-fill, dents more easily etc. Those things all make it less cost effective.

Vorbis · Post by **Vorbis** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 5:14 pm

I'd be all over a red special, minus the whacked out switching/phasing options and maybe diff pups. I read that the BM neck is a weird profile or radius (or both). The guitar would have to come with authentic brass penny pick.

Vorbis · Post by **Vorbis** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 5:17 pm

The other guitar would be a proper copy of Michael Schenkers Gibson flying V...complete with black/white colour scheme.

sizzlingbadger · Post by **sizzlingbadger** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 5:23 pm

Could you do a build like this, with a bit more forearm relief ?

link to other pics http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TeleCS63R

ash · Post by **ash** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 5:50 pm

sizzlingbadger wrote:Could you do a build like this, with a bit more forearm relief ?

link to other pics http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TeleCS63R

http://www.sweetwater.com/images/guitar ... -large.jpg

Yes, of course. I have one not unlike that in the rack right now.

NZGuitars.com : Filling you with GAS since 2003