DIY Jack Daniels Barnwood Telecaster Build

After years of disregarding the Telecaster as the troglodytic brother of the sleek and superior Strat, it finally hit me why the Telecaster has remained popular for over 50 years.  Trimming down the glitz of a tremolo and a middle pickup (which I always ignored anyway) leaves you with a utilitarian tool that gets you back to the fundamentals of playing with less maintenance and distracting thing-a-majigs.

Inspired by this minimalist vision and this bourbon-infused aesthetic from "Big D Guitars", I decided to build my own Jack Daniels Tele... on an extreme shoestring budget, as usual!  Looks pretty good for about $40 and some barnwood, doesn't it?

Spray painting an enamel burst finish guitar (the right way)

The guitar business is one deeply entrenched in a sort of mysticism surrounding the "right" paints for the "right" sounds, and what's "right" is inevitably old lacquer or some even more cancerous alternative.

But if you're reading this, you probably already knew that - my SEO isn't terribly great so you'd have to be looking long and hard for someone so charming and modest, or at least devoid of snooty preconceptions about guitar paint.  On to the helpful part!

A bit of jazz improv / Lightswitch Strat demo

Some mediocre (but perhaps slowly improving?) jazz improv, focusing on the tension of flatted fifths and major sevenths, and demo-ing the sights and sounds of the fabulous Sparky.

Different color wires exist for reasons

         At the end of the Lightswitch Strat build, I described the unusual wiring schematic and the incessant ground hum problem it faced - a noisy ground that became unbearably noisy when you make contact with any of the metal parts.  Why could it be so bad?

Incredibly Cheap String Instrument Challenge (ICSIC???)

           Okay, I just made up the part about it being a challenge, but it seems like you can just throw "challenge" after any noun and have it become an internet phenomenon, so who knows? :P

           The challenge, such as it was, was to make an electrified string instrument surpassing all previous records of cheapness.  Cost: $0.  Maximum cost if the parts were bought new? $5 (ish).  Mission accomplished!

Lightswitch Strat build

          If not mojo, it's certainly got... well, something.  A Home Depot light switch for one, a $30 neck and a scrap body for two more.  I really enjoy these builds where there design is fluid and the only goal is to make it sound alright and play nice for cheap, and this certainly fit the bill.

DIY Semi Hollow 335 Guitar Kit Build Part III

After all the woodworking and finishing is done, only the hardware, electronics, and setup remain!

Guitar Transformation Pics (Before & After)

"Blondie" - Scrap Partscaster

There's something eminently satisfying about a good "before and after" shot of something that you've worked very hard on.  

With that in mind, I find these pictures extremely satisfying, and hope that you too will find it at least a little bit cool, and that I may assert dominance by demonstrating some degree of luthiery competence :p

"Sienna" - 335 Kit

More after the break:

DIY Semi Hollow 335 Guitar Kit Build Part II

With the body sanded and prepped, it's time to break out the dyes and oils.  Prep for eye candy.

DIY Semi Hollow 335 Guitar Kit Built Part I

Warning: in-depth walkthroughs and lots of pictures ahead!

I recently bought my first unfinished guitar kit online and have been working intensely on it over the past couple days, now it's time to go back and evaluate what worked and what didn't, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and help you decide if one of these kits is a good idea for you as well.

Typically the first advice more experienced guitar builders give is to not cheap out on the initial parts and the wood.  Oops.  $100 semi-hollow from eBay?  Challenge accepted.

More Frankenstrat build photos

Because it's pretty.

"Beat It" Solo

My less-than-perfect cover of the solo from "Beat It" by Michael Jackson and Eddie Van Halen.

This was a really difficult solo but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.  This was also my first demo of my handmade Frankenstrat replica so check that out if you haven't already!

Building an Eddie Van Halen Frankenstrat Part 2 of 2

If you haven't seen Part I: The Painting yet, go ahead and check that out first: if you have, now's the time to check out how this fantastic Frankenstrat turned out for only about $100.

"Blondie" the B-Stock Partscaster

As my third Partscaster build, this has been one of my favorite transformations from a pile of leftover junk into a surprisingly nice playing guitar all around and a pretty unique build from the paint to the wiring.

How to Paint an Eddie Van Halen Frankenstrat Guitar

My latest project guitar has been hugely interesting, trying to recreate a 10 year journey of one of the most famous guitars of all time.  Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstrat is famous for its complex and semi random design, but isn't too terribly difficult to make if you know what to do.

New Project Guitars

          Two and a half guitars I picked up as material for some new projects.  At least one Frankenstrat in the works at the moment, and a blank slate for another project afterwards.  Lots of pics of the works below!

"Reel Character" handwound Stratocaster pickup coil tapping demo

Some attempted jazz-fusion improv as a demo of the tapping tones of my new "Reel Character" Strat bridge pickup.

First "Reel Character" Custom Pickup

          After finally getting all the minimum necesary supplies, I was able to put them to work winding my first cutom pickup - a Strat single coil bridge with coil tapping!
*If you haven't seen my inordinately popular post about the "Reel Great" guitar pickup winder, you can find that first here: http://mattwins.blogspot.com/2016/06/how-to-build-guitar-pickup-winder-from.html

          Wait - a coil tapping single coil?  Heresy!  Fully handwound?  I'll show you how it's all done, and if you don't mind squandering a couple hours of your hard-earned life and risking your sanity by winding a mile of copper wire thinner than a human hair, you too can achieve the same results!

My extremely advanced high-tech workbench featuring state-of-the-art... okay it was about $30 for everything.

Rob Chapman Rig Competition

My submission to the indomitable Monkey Lord's competition to write a riff using only the first four frets.  I only found the competition two days before the deadline so it's rushed and sloppy, but nevertheless has a good variety of creative riffs that I hope you enjoy!

Strat Gilmour switch wiring mod neck / bridge pickups tone

My first video demo of my Strat's tone after modding the wiring, it has an excellent clean tone in my opinion with the neck and bridge pickups in parallel.  It keeps the crisp response and high register of the bridge mixed with the stronger lows and bell tones of the neck pickup, and I just don't care all that much for the mid pickup in general.

How-to customize the Strat wiring