Hot Rod Strat (SOLD)
201613
Very happy with the result, i tried this new brand and their sprays are great! I'm not much into red guitars but i like the way it turned out. The colour is between Fiesta Red and Cherry Red. Body is poplar, 3 piece, from GuitarBuild UK plus a Classic Vibe maple neck; all new hardware from Guitars Electric and Vanson, in UK too, Wilkinson tremolo and pickups.
201612
Talk about taking your time! This body was bought like July or August from GuitarBuild UK, and i tinted it with a dark walnut solution right away. For some time i couldn't decide myself what to do with it. I liked the wood grain and i didn't wanted to paint it with a solid colour. Finally, i rubbed it a bit to dull it and take some brightness off, and applied some amber nitro. The rest was my personal mojo.
The neck wasn't easy; taking the poly took 2 days! But it was worth it, the Classic Vibe Series necks are very well built. The final finish was between Amber, Light Amber nitro, and... not gonna reveal it all guys ;)
Why cut the bridge? Same reason why i cutted the scratchplate, i love the finish and wanted to show that raw look on this Tele and this beautiful swamp ash wood grain.
Mr. Scizzorhandx (DELIVERED)
201611Edwards Explorer turned into ESP Custom Explorer by my client, and now friend, Rainer, from Germany. This guitar was finished with Enamel in a light cream colour. The problem was, the primer was... grey. It was not critic but still... On the other hand, Rainer didn't imagined one day he would decide to get it reliced.
The wood on this guitar was very sensitive, so i spent several hours with it on my lap. Bizarre, while working i was thinking of Scorpions all the time, can't imagine why LOL!
Mississippi Bluesman (SOLD)
201610
"Squier neck seeks Strat body for durable friendship" This story could begin like that. One guitar pulls another and the neck that came with the Jim Root Tele body needed a body of it's own. Obviously the neck was from a Strat and wouldn't fit the Tele body properly.
I thought this would be my first nitro painted body, but no. Started to mess around with some vinegar solution to dirty it, and for a moment i thought it was ruined. Fortunately, i was saved by my walnut stain! Ok, now it was dark. After rubbing the heck out of it, i got this worn look that pleased me just fine. A bit of bee wax to get a semi-gloss finish and it was pretty cool. And very smooth!
The cherry on the top was this beauuutiful H-H pickguard i bought in Germany. WOW!! The brown tortoise was simply fantastic over the worn walnut look! The rest? Some reliced chrome hardware for a vintage look and it was done.
Low action, 2mm at the 12th fret, very comfortable, and the tone (to my ears) is a cross between spanky blues and Eddie Van Halen when you crank the gain up. I already knew these PAFs from my latest Telecaster Custom project, and Wilkinson really surprises me.
Client's testimony:
"Alex,
Received the guitar yesterday and checked it out last night.What a cool guitar!!! Way exceeds my expectations!!! Thanks again for working with me and for all of your help. This guitar will be well played and well taken care of.
Best Wishes,
Curt Conroy"
I thought this would be my first nitro painted body, but no. Started to mess around with some vinegar solution to dirty it, and for a moment i thought it was ruined. Fortunately, i was saved by my walnut stain! Ok, now it was dark. After rubbing the heck out of it, i got this worn look that pleased me just fine. A bit of bee wax to get a semi-gloss finish and it was pretty cool. And very smooth!
The cherry on the top was this beauuutiful H-H pickguard i bought in Germany. WOW!! The brown tortoise was simply fantastic over the worn walnut look! The rest? Some reliced chrome hardware for a vintage look and it was done.
Low action, 2mm at the 12th fret, very comfortable, and the tone (to my ears) is a cross between spanky blues and Eddie Van Halen when you crank the gain up. I already knew these PAFs from my latest Telecaster Custom project, and Wilkinson really surprises me.
Client's testimony:
"Alex,
Received the guitar yesterday and checked it out last night.What a cool guitar!!! Way exceeds my expectations!!! Thanks again for working with me and for all of your help. This guitar will be well played and well taken care of.
Best Wishes,
Curt Conroy"
Blackwater Strat (SOLD)
201609
90's Strat, the horns in the body were not exactly Fender shape and the headstock neither, but one hour later the headstock problem was solved, based on a Squier neck shape i had in stock. What would i change on this guitar? The body; the pickups (52, 50 and 48mm spacing - not hard to find), and maybe some 10,5mm vintage saddles would look cooler. I had a tremolo bar already reliced that suited perfectly.
Amber Jean (SOLD)
201608
Long story; i had this Tele neck from Paul that arrived along with the Les Paul. The same guy that finally didn't bought the LP had also a problem with the Telecaster he bought before, the neck joint was not very "Fenderish". I worked on it, and i really liked the final look. Now i needed a body to go with it...Over "LeBonCoin" there was a Jim Root Telecaster selling along with the hardware, a Squier Strat neck and a Deluxe pickguard. The body was kind of routed for the new pickguard, but that rear cover didn't look very vintage. Well, let's call it "Distressed" instead of "Relic then.
When i was about to spray her, the can was at the end and it started to spit; i lost my mind there! After some days of hard work, i finally liked the result.
Now i needed a name; i'm not a fan of Jim Root, all that amber... hmmmm, let's see... "Jean" sounded right to my ears! First time using Wilkinson PAFs, great tone, punchy and full of harmonics, really cool choice! Somewhere between Nuno and Van Halen.
Page '59 (SOLD)
201607
My first refund concerning my friend luthier Paul Tully's work.A client that bought a Telecaster also wanted a Les Paul, but in Butterscotch Blonde. A lot of work, money invested, and he wasn't pleased. She was ready and he wanted more wood showing... I proposed him a full refund and some weeks later i asked Paul to send me the guitar, so i could sell it. The guitar was cool looking, but odd at the same time... a BBlonde Les Paul... you don't see it every day.
As i was looking at her i could tell there was a flamed maple top underneath the chosen colour. One day i decided to risk it: let's see what lies beneath! A bit scary but exciting at the same time. Two days later i was very very pleased to see that the original Cherry Burst (i managed to get rid of the red) turned into a cool honey flamed maple top! A bit of Amber nitro on the sides to get a Lemon/Amber/Honey Burst finish, and WOW! With the cream plastics, man, i only could think of Jimmy Page's Les Pauls, although they're darker, like a Tobacco Burst thing.
Meanwhile i gave it a bit of my mojo; reliced the headstock a bit more, applied some nitro all over, gave the cream binding a more aged look, new vintage tulip tuners, a neck pickup cover, and she was ready to go! Really good looking guitar! Very low action, just love it!
Mrs. Harley (SOLD)
201606
It started a bit as a joke. I found this body and neck together sellling cheap, mainly because the body is plywood and I thought: "nothing much to loose, at least i can use the neck". But the thing is that the body, with a thin finish, got very nice for a poly finished guitar. I had one tremolo plate and some saddles left, the neck had some vintage tuners already, no need to buy a great amount of parts, so, i went ahead. The pickguard and cover are not that vintage style, but they look pretty cool though. Very pleased with the result!
The US:G (DELIVERED)
201605
New order!
Client wants an SG reliced, found the right base to do it: Tokai USG 43 Limited Edition, used. Chinese, but still, pretty cool!! And you know what? It turned allright! No nitro colour used this time, only nitro clear coat and some more wood tints i bought. Great action, didn't expected that the playing was so good after all!
'76 Strat (DELIVERED)
201604
Second Strat, an order from a client named François! Oops, it seems that "The Texas Blonde" is going to have to wait... Fender original neck, 70's headstock, original pickups, etc... but the body isn't a Fender. PLUS, he was like burned or something. There were some marks like something very hot was put over it. Well, perfect reason to relic it LOL!
The Texas Blonde (SOLD)
201603
My first Strat.
Based on a "Watson Bluesmaster" Stratocaster - i don't know much about it - but the guitar surprised me a lot with it's low action!! I had as much pleasure as i had with my first Tele. Really cool project! "Elementary my dear Watson!"
Cabronita Bastarda (SOLD)
201602
One Squier Telecaster Affinity, my first Tele. Really loved to do this project! It was all conceived when i ran to loose some weight, in my head. I didn't earn much, but i learned a lot on relicing while doing it.
The DoubleKut (SOLD)
201601
Second Ibanez, a doublecut archtop model, found cheap. The problem was (once it arrived), the headstock was broken. Well, i did my best...
The finish was really hard, i had it on sale a first time, and a few weeks later, i had already finished my first Telecaster, i worked on it a bit more, and then, yes, i finally liked (very much) the result :)
Ibanez RG505 (SOLD)
201600
This Ibanez was in a very bad condition. I bought it 125€ to make something out of it. Strange... a reliced Ibanez RG. It did come out allright, not spectacular, but i liked it. And she was sold 2 days after i finished it. It played very well, as most japanese Ibanez.
The fact i sold it quickly made me think that i could start my own relic projects (again), instead of only selling Paul's reliced guitars on the web and in France. So, there you have it, the guitar that started it all!
