Body - Built (2/4)
Sometimes the only way to get what you want is to build it yourself.
This was a box of junk I got on eBay, originally a vintage Convertible. I replaced the front and back with cabinet-grade birch plywood, as the original mother-of-countertop material is no longer available. I rebuilt it as something like a Companion, which is a very rare model. The neck and sides are vintage, the rest is modern.
More: Danelectro Companion Guitar ...
This is an Evets '90s-vintage original reissue, made in Korea. These reissues are actually much better instruments than the originals from the 1960s. While a copper-burst would be more authentic, I like the sky blue better. The newer reissues are even more true to the originals.
More: Danelectro Longhorn Bass ...
Another early build for me - 2010, a reissue Danelectro neck on a built body. The finish is pearl automotive acrylic lacquer. The pickguard is actually clear with a piece of paper under it.
More: Danelectro Longhorn Guitar ...
The body was traced directly off the guitar, finished in very dark brown poly with tan Tolex. The neck is a reissue that has lain around for years. The bridge was originally left-handed, a few minutes with a file and it was right-handed. The double lipstick is switchable series/parallel/single-coil, for some variety. This is my first dry-erase pickguard.
More: Danelectro Pro-1 Bass ...
This pretty little thing is a Harmony H617 Bobkat. The H-bodied series of guitars, originally known as the Silhouette, began in 1963 and ended in 1973. This one is from 1972 or 1973. Harmony built a number of guitars for Sears under the Silvertone name, at first as a step up from the Danelectros, and ultimately replacing them. See the Silvertone 1478.
More: Harmony H617 Bobkat ...
Hollow plywood body with Mighty Mite 34" neck. Graphtech Ghost piezo saddles with a backup soundhole-mounted magnetic pickup, active electronics.
More: Jazzmaster Bass 3 ...
I was so pleased with the bass that I thought I'd try a guitar. This is a little more complicated, as there are six tuners rather than four, but it worked out well. The battery is for an Artec tone control that I wanted to try. More later ...
More: Kubicki Factor Guitar ...
This one went through a long and torturous build process over almost two years. All I can say is don't believe the "advice" you find on talk_ass. However, in the end, it turned out to be a pretty nice instrument.
More: Mosrite Bass ...
The new A500 pots came today USPS a day early - so never say bad things about them. I pulled up the diagram above, heated up the soldering iron, and Presto-Change-o !!! Then I tried to put the pickguard back, and it didn't fit, because, of course. The old mini pots barely cleared the body wall, and the new full-sized ones didn't. So I had to delve back into woodwork and make clearance for them. I had to razor and dremel away about a quarter of an inch, without messing up the 'finish'.
More: Freakenbacker Back Together ...