Ive spent 40 years designing this guitar, without really thinking about it. And all my years of experience have gone into building it. Too many relic jobs go too far. Instead of re-creating 50+ years of hard road, they usually come off looking more like they are 50 + 100 years old. While there are a few stains, a couple of dings, some fore-arm wear and the chrome is starting to fade, its all convincingly authentic. Everything, right down to the radius on the body, is exact. While everything here is not period correct, each variance is intentional. Lets pretend we are following a working musician, and watch the evolution of his guitar. His mother had named him Willy, but his friends usually called him Bubba. The press just called him greased lightning. His guitar would be called many things, depending on the mood he was in. Hed picked her up in late 62. Her body was a little on the heavier side for a Tele, but thats the natural variation of the wood. He just got lucky there, cuz that bit of extra mass just made her sustain better! While it performed well, it just wasnt perfect. So he decided to make a few changes. Lots of old guitars have been modded by past owners, forever destroying their resale value or vintage collectability. But Bubba didnt care about those things. From muggy fairgrounds stages in the blistering sun, to smoky dark bars in heart of the city, and in between to the studio as a session musician, he had a job to do. And the guitar was his tool of choice. The only thing important was for it to do what he expected of it. Bubba swapped out the tuners for better ones. He changed the crappy string retainers for some nice rollers. And a good electro-socket jack plate replaced the temperamental piece of tin that came stock. But hed never dream of modifying a neck on his own. Hed order up a new factory-made one, with a slimmer C profile and a flatter radius, for his brand of scorching blues lead. The pickups got changed to some a little hotter. Not so much that they grate on your ears when you get wailing. Just enough to cut through the mix when you dig in. The electronics were no longer original, either. The new pups had required a change in the caps, and the old wiring scheme was simply too finicky to fool with when youre in the groove. The frets are new, now. Hed worn the previous ones down to nothing. He and this guitar had been through hell together, and she deserved some new jewelry, just to show he cared. All in all, ol Bubba did a pretty good job. With a little perseverence and a bit of help from his friendly neihborhood tech, hed taken what was once a decent guitar, even if a little bland, and turned it into a real work-horse which would carry him all the way through his long career. Bubba has gone to his reward now. But his guitar lives on, a testament to his love of playing. All she needs now is a caring home, and a new owner wholl love her like Bubba did, so she can perform for another 50 years or so. After all, thats the only thing shes ever known. Jim from Hell Road Guitars
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 00:30:29 +0000
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