Yes. I never got a chance to ask you about that guitar. Didn't want to talk gear in my limited time with everyone. So... what's the story?

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

It's inspired by my '86 MIJ Fender Contemporary Strat. I remember walking into a music store full of these in '87-'88, and fell in love at first sight - but then, I was really into metal at the time! Here are the two I've since acquired:

For some time now I've been considering putting together a traditional Strat featuring this look, and once the Cossacks reunion had been agreed on, I thought it was the right time. I wanted a really good Strat but didn't want to spend a ton on it, so I made a plan for the parts I'd use and started monitoring eBay. The color I wanted was this gray metallic that is formally known as Pewter by Fender. This finish was introduced for the Contemporary series (which was basically Fender's answer to the Charvel super-Strats of the '80s), but then was picked up by Eric Clapton for his signature Strats and I believe offered since the beginning until just two years ago. I was able to find a mint and super-light US-made 2014 EC body in pewter on eBay, its final year of production, which turned out to be just fantastic.

The next step was the neck. I knew I wanted a neck with a painted headstock, in black. Well, being a fan of the Contemporary series, I knew how great those Japanese necks were, and they came with a black painted headstock. So, I started keeping an eye out for those, and sure enough, an '87 neck came up for sale which was a bit banged up on the back (later filled in and smoothed out by my guitar tech) but which has a deep, rich dark-brown rosewood board, something I had hoped for - both of my Contemporary Strats also have very dark rosewood fretboards. Not so easy to find today, unless you're willing to pay a LOT - and I definitely DIDN'T pay a lot for this neck! It has jumbo frets which aren't my favorite, but they're OK. It's a VERY thin neck with a 12" radius, a metal neck, but very straight and stable, handles my 12s without any problem, really comfortable to play, and sounds great. I put some Schaller locking tuners on the guitar, and the main elements were in place!

It was time to start thinking about the hardware and the electronics. I decided on the Callaham vintage-style bridge, as well as basic Fender hardware:

I got a single-ply black pickguard (mean!), then started thinking about pickups. I've been curious about 'boutique' scatter-wound pickups for a while, and thought this was a great opportunity to pick up a set and try them out. I started scouring various Strat forums for opinions on the best boutique pickups, and of course that's a giant rabbit hole! But as I was reading about all the various boutique pickups, one builder, previously unknown to me, started coming up that really captured my attention: Rocketfire Guitar - and I thought, well, if I'm going to have a Space Cossacks guitar, it really SHOULD be powered by Rocketfire pickups!!! I decided on a set of his Total '60s Strat pickups. They're not cheap, $300, and there was a waitlist, but I thought I'd shoot the owner Nick an email. I read that he gives nice discounts to players whose music he likes (even unknown ones), so when I contacted him I sent him some links to the Madeira's music. Lo and behold, he responded immediately and wrote the following email:

"Woah! Super high energy and inventive. Great writing and playing.
I knew about old school surf but didn't know something like this existed. Thanks for the link! Great music! Very tasteful and enjoyable to listen to.
As far as pickups, we can ship whenever you'd like. Also, I just flipped through your site, I'll be glad to knock the price of the pickups down to $240 instead of the normal $298. I can tell you've done your homework and not only that but love what you do! Excellent work my friend."

Well, this really made my month, as you can imagine! So, I was all set with the pickups! I also did some research on the volume and tone pots which I picked up from stewmac.com.

Once I had most of the guitar together, I took it to the fellow that takes care of my guitars at Elderly Instruments in Lansing, Scott Gierman, had him wire up the whole thing and set it up the way I like it. There were a few unexpected issues that came up - a static-y pickguard, prominent B-note overtones at the bridge, and then the trem not staying in tune (Scott had to completely disassemble it and put it back together to fix it), which necessitated a couple of return trips, but I finally got it exactly how I wanted it just a week or so before the first Space Cossacks shows.

The guitar weighs 7 lbs on the dot - VERY light! Extremely resonant, with a neck you can just fly on, stays in tune just great now. The pickups sound fantastic, too! Possibly even slightly lower output than most of my other pickups (Seymour Duncan Antiquity Surfers, Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pros, Fender Pure Vintage '65s and '57/'62), but very sensitive and detailed. Do they sound BETTER than those other pickups? I'm honestly not sure. I have yet to do a direct A/B comparison, but they're definitely great pickups.

Anyway, I absolutely LOVED playing this guitar for the Space Cossacks reunion shows! I'll have to use it again soon. But I finally got the guitar I've been wanting for at least the past 15 years. And it's NOT for the traditionalists!

There you go, Noel! That's the full story. Probably a LOT more than you wanted to know!

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube

Thanks for the run down Ivan. I was wondering about this guitar from all the recent pics! I love the grey metallic/pewter color (I'm not even a metal guy).

-John

The Seatopians 2017-
The Seatopians on bandcamp

Thanks very much, guys! I'm very glad you're diggin' it! Josh, you're absolutely right about all the things you mention! It is very satisfying. Re: charcoal frost - I was really interested in that color a few years ago, especially when I got into the new American Standard Strats, and that was one of the colors it came in, surprisingly. As you surely know, it's a mid-'60s Fender color but a rare and unappreciated one. Well, I stopped by Sweetwater in Fort Wayne returning from Indy one day to check one out in person. I have to admit that I was underwhelmed by its appearance in person, so if you haven't yet, I would advise you definitely try to check one out in person yourself before you get a guitar in that color. (Instead, I ended up falling in love with the Jade Pearl Metallic finish, and soon after bought an AmStd in that color, which I love to this day - such an inspiring guitar, both playing- and looks-wise.)

Brian suggested that I should call the above guitar Gunmetal Express, after the Space Cossacks song, and I think that's a SWELL idea! I shall do that - glad to introduce Gunmetal Express to the world!

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube

Well this is damn cool.

One suggestion... black screws?

Hauntingly cool Ivan. Two thumbs up.

ed

Traditional........speak softly and play through a big blonde amp. Did I mention that I still like big blonde amps?

Very Cool Ivan! The black pick gaurd and pup's look great with that finish

https://www.facebook.com/coffindagger
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DannySnyder wrote:

Whew, I thought from the post title you may have joined a minstrel show.

It's definitely unfortunately-evolved terminology...

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube

Sweet looking combo! It's certainly a pair that you don't see everyday.

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Very cool Ivan! Glad you're digging the pickups! Love mine!