edwardsand
Joined: Jun 29, 2018
Posts: 771
|
Posted on Jul 04 2020 03:50 PM
Finally I'm getting around to posting some pics of this parts project I have been working on for years: the Frankenmaster. I don't even know when I started on it, but it was probably six or seven years ago, and I pretty much finished it about 6-9 months ago.
I liked the idea of a Mustang shape body with a Jaguar/Jazzmaster trem (which I've seen various examples of out there), so that's where this ended up. It began with a black 1976 (or 1977) Musicmaster body, and over time it evolved and I changed just about everything on it two or three times. I tried at least 6 or 7 different pickups, and it's had 3 necks and at least 2 pickguards. So I finally finished with this configuration, which includes mostly Fender parts plus Dearmond pickups.
|
SandBug
Joined: Feb 22, 2016
Posts: 442
California
|
Posted on Jul 04 2020 04:08 PM
Dayum! Too cool. Love it, everything about it.
|
Redfeather
Joined: Jul 30, 2016
Posts: 887
|
Posted on Jul 04 2020 06:19 PM
Sweet guitar! I do find the Mustang shape more attractive than the Jaguar shape.
Did you have any clearance issues with the Jaguar vibrato in that thinner body? I put a Jag type vibrato into my Mustang plate and found that the spring was bottoming out on the body so I just cut a hole all the way through, which I'll cap like Danelectro does on those "Dead On" guitars.
|
edwardsand
Joined: Jun 29, 2018
Posts: 771
|
Posted on Jul 04 2020 06:26 PM
Thanks, Sandbug.
Here are some more specs:
The body, as already noted is a 76 or 77 Musicmaster, which means it is an ash body with a Fender polyester finish. I don't believe people much dig those polyester finishes, and they certainly don't wear the same as a nitro or polyurethane finish. But I don't think it does anything to the tone, and I decided to leave it in the kind of beat up relic condition it started in. I even let my kids try to scratch it up a bit. The only thing I added was the tiki sticker I got in Hawaii.
The neck is an Allparts JGRO, so 24" scale, 7.25" radius, and vintage frets. I had to do all the finishing, etc. and painted the headstock black. I used Minwax wipeon poly for the finish, added a TUSQ nut and Fender (or Gotoh?) repro Kluson style tuners with split posts.
|
edwardsand
Joined: Jun 29, 2018
Posts: 771
|
Posted on Jul 04 2020 10:52 PM
I didn't have any problem with routing to fit the Jaguar vibrato - I measured beforehand to make sure. The body was thick enough. Some guitars are too thin, like the Squier Bullet HH Mustangs, but others are fine.
|
MichaelK7
Joined: Jul 01, 2018
Posts: 106
NYC
|
Posted on Jul 05 2020 11:52 AM
That is cool, and will definitely stand out from the crowd 
— Deal with reality, or reality will deal with you.
|
edwardsand
Joined: Jun 29, 2018
Posts: 771
|
Posted on Jul 05 2020 01:25 PM
More details:
Fender AVRI Jag/JM trem (new)
Fender Jaguar switched and switchplate (new) - wired for 3 pickups, like the Cyclone III
Fender Mustang/Cyclone control plate (new)
Switchcraft jack (new)
Knobs: chickenhead (new), tophat knob is vintage from some unknown guitar - these type of knobs were used on a variety of guitars that had Dearmond pickups, so I expect they were made by Dearmond
Pots: 500k, probably CTS (new)
Fender Mustang bridge (new)
Pickguard custom made by Pickguardian based on vintage Musicmaster II pickguard (new)
Bridge pickup: Dearmond 2000 (aka Dynasonic) reissue (probably used when I bought it) - the pole adjustment screws had to be cut down to fit in the body because they were too long to fit. Sounds really good - a bit beefier than most Fender single coils, but still have some good bite to them.
Middle and Neck pickups: vintage Dearmond single coils. These are very rare, and were made for Martin to be used in the 12 string version of their GT-75 guitar ca. 1967. Very few of those guitars were made - I've seen claims of under 10 or just 20-something, which is hard to verify, but it's likely there were fewer than one hundred made. I got these off ebay as New Old Stock complete with a wiring harness (for a really good price). I love the look of these pickup (with the cutout "M" for Martin) and they sound great. I believe the coil is basically the same as the Dearmond gold S grille pickups and their diamond design, though the cover is like the dynasonic in being flanged out at the base and have about the same dimensions.
|
Redfeather
Joined: Jul 30, 2016
Posts: 887
|
Posted on Jul 05 2020 03:54 PM
Now we need sound samples!
|
ForTheLoveOfIvy
Joined: Jul 20, 2020
Posts: 9
|
Posted on Jul 23 2020 05:27 AM
way to go with the Dynasonic!!
Last edited: Jul 23, 2020 05:29:12
|
Toneschaser
Joined: Jun 14, 2012
Posts: 462
Ohio!
|
Posted on Jul 24 2020 07:46 AM
|
raylinds
Joined: Jul 05, 2019
Posts: 141
|
Posted on Jul 24 2020 09:02 AM
I love unique guitars and Dearmond pickups, so a big thumbs up!
|
edwardsand
Joined: Jun 29, 2018
Posts: 771
|
Posted on Jul 24 2020 12:08 PM
Thanks! I've got several other Dearmonds of different types sitting around that I may eventually use for other projects.
And I've been very happy with the Dynasonic - it gets me some good Link Wray tone, and is also good for garage/punk type stuff, as well as surf sounds.
ForTheLoveOfIvy - I like your username - I'm a member of the FB group.
|
iLuvZombieGirl
Joined: Jul 26, 2020
Posts: 19
Atlanta,GA USA
|
Posted on Aug 01 2020 03:21 AM
What a looker! Good job on your creation bro!
|
January Birthdays 
