Favorite Guitar Recipes

[Joe ex PNG]

As a luthier (bass guitar maker) I've come to enjoy mixing up various woods, techniques, hardware, and finishes for maximum tonal variation and astetic appeal. So, I thought I'd share a few of my favorites:

1) "Hearty Home Cooking"- My version of the Gibson EB-1 Jack Bruce played during the Cream reunion. I started with a simple 3/4 sized double cutaway mahogany body and added a full scale glued in bubinga neck with rosewood fingerboard. I then placed a DeMarzio Model 1 bass humbucker in a center position, added an inexpensive bridge, and finished in Tru-Oil. Simple, but with a nice bass heavy tone that causes a nice, natural speaker distortion.

2) "Spicy Fusion" - This dish is a bit more radical: my er... homage to the Warwick Dolphin. I started with a laminate of bubinga and purpleheart for the body, then ran a purpleheart/ pau-ferro neck through the body. Next, I added an EMG passive Music Man humbucker/ EMG EXB circuit, and finished in Tru-Oil. The subtle purple color of the tonewoods is set off by the "smokey chrome" colour of the bridge and tail piece. The perfect spicy slap sound, and still sounds great with a pick.

3) "So-Cal Special"- aka "The Fak-en-backer". A delectable spalted flamed maple body begins this course. The maple/ pau ferro laminate through neck with simple pau ferro fingerboard accentuates the figure of the body, while the 33 1/8" scale length add to the playability. A Chrome Schaller roller bridge and single Seymour Duncan Rickenbacker pickup add brightness both to the tone and apperance. The classic clear nitrocellulose laquer provides a clean finish. Light in looks and bright in sound, it really responds to being picked on.

And I'll provide photos one of these days- when I get around to borrowing a camera.

[HTRN]

Joe, have you seen this? Personally I think it's a bit of overkill for the application, a pantograph machine would probably be cheaper, and easier to use.


HTRN

[Joe ex PNG]

Joe, have you seen this? Personally I think it's a bit of overkill for the application, a pantograph machine would probably be cheaper, and easier to use.


HTRN

They are neat, and if I was a pro, into inlay work, or going to do larger runs of instruments, I'd probably look into it. However, at this point in time a band saw/ drum sander is just perfect.