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Gavin -
Awesome! I, like you, have come to prefer the Strat Trem, but still have an
aesthetic weakness for the offset-body guitars. From the specs you gave, this
sounds like a really excellent, excellent guitar, something that Fender's custom
shop would have slapped a $4,000 price tag on, and some guitarist would have
fallen in love with it and gladly paid the price!
Your craftsmanship looks totally professional - and your color-scheme and
graphics were so cool, when I first saw the photo, I yelled out "YESSSSSS!!!!"
Way Way cool, that guitar looks like the ultimate "keeper". I'll bet it plays
like buttah, too!!
Bruce D
Gavin Ehringer <> wrote:
Way cool dude - must have been a great project to work on.
G: IT was! Sorry so late replying, am on the road to California in my
car.
Care to elaborate on choices you made, that deviate from a standard JM:
the strat trem, the single circuitry, short scale, maple board, no
pickguard? What was because of easthetics, what because of ound or
playability, and what out of financial necessity, or parts you just had
lying around? I'd like to know, which doesn't necessarily mean I don't
agree with your choices of course.
G: Sure. The project was inspired by the Fender Custom Shop surf
guitars of the last few years. Knowing I could never afford one of
those, I decided to design and build my own. I practiced the paint on
two previous Made In China Strats, both of which I sold later on eBay.
I wanted an off-set waist Fender body, but really prefer the Strat
trem. All the hardware, really, came down to personal preference. I
used the Strat control layout because it was easy for USA Custom
Guitars to route, and I am accustomed to it. But I really wanted
Jazzmaster pickups, so they went onto the face. I did a lot of research
on wiring guitars, but finally settled on the vol./vol./tone scheme I
found on Seymour Duncan's site 'cause it was simple, which appealed to
me.
The rear control panel/lack of pickguard was purely easthetic - it was
how the Fender Surf Guitars were done. I did one Strat clone with a
white face and white pickguard, and got satisfactory results. But you'd
have to match the guard and the face-paint, which would have been
impossible with that Vintage White (really, Tapioca Pudding!)
Playability was mainly a consideration in the neck. That's why I went
with USA Custom Guitars. The alternative scale got me halfway between a
Jaguar and a Jazzmaster/Strat scale - allowing me to go up a string
size without making it harder to play (I usually use 10s, but this is
strung with 11s for more tone). USACG also does compound-radius necks -
this one starts as a classic old-school 7.5 inch radius, then gently
transitions to a 9" radius. IT was, however, a '60s "C" shape neck
contour, just like the Jazzmasters of that era. USACG necks "fall away"
ever so slightly from the 12th fret, making them easier to bend strings
high up. I don't know of anyone else who does this!
All of the parts were new - I spent right around $950. But to get a
guitar this pretty, exactly as I would have ordered it from Fender,
makes it a bargain.
> good thing the design got away from your surfboard. the risk of
> embarrassing yourself by walkin on stage with a surf board is
> acceptable, but imagine paddling out into the ocean on your brand new
> custom JM - ouch
>
> WR
.
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