Original Post Date: November 10, 2008
1980s Flashback Invades Workshop
Sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone. Ok, so maybe that’s not exactly what this story is about, but it’s a lesson learned just the same.
Recently, Kim, our customer service manager walked up to my desk holding a new prized possession—in the shape of a beer label. It was a 1980s vintage Hamer “Miller” guitar. When I saw it I started to laugh, but not for the reason you might suspect.
The Ragin’ Cajun, Darren Wallace, throws down some T-Bone on the “High Life”
Back in the crazy 1980s Hamer supplied Miller Brewing with a series of special Miller-branded guitars. These instruments were intended for use by bands in the brewer’s national live-music promotional campaign. To tell the truth, I thought it degraded the image of our shop, but when it came time to design the guitars I did my damnedest to make them as cool as I could. I took the classic beer bottle label and logo and distorted it into a usable guitar shape—a sort of Gumbyesque double cutaway. The figured maple top was tinted a deep cherry red to emulate the brand’s logo without giving up some of the Hamer mojo that a solid color would obscure. The Miller logo was big and bold and I liked the phrase “high life” so we kept that on as well. Finally, the rest of the guitar was bathed in a metallic gold color, which was not only replicated the look of the beer can, but was a traditional electric guitar color too. The rest of the axe was pretty much stock Hamer fare, with two of our original Peter Green/Gary Moore spec. humbuckers and the classic Hamer sustain block bridge. Given the parameters of the exercise, I felt I’d done a good job. We made a couple dozen of them, and then it was over. Good riddance, I thought. Still, over the years people always asked about them, and reluctantly we acknowledged their existence. How embarrassing.
I’d pretty much forgotten about the whole deal by the late 1990s when I came face to face with irony in its most glorious and humbling incarnation. My friend Jon Tiven invited me to tag along to a sound-check at a Manhattan club one Friday afternoon, but I had no idea what I was stepping into at the time. Jon knew that I was a huge Fleetwood Mac fan, and an even bigger Peter Green fan, so as we ducked into the darkened club my eyes barely had time to adjust before Jon was introducing to Mr. Tone himself. We were at one of the few American appearances of “Peter Green’s Splinter Group.” As Jon made the introductions, Green seemed gracious but somewhat distracted, as though he’d rather be tuning up. That was, until, he heard the word Hamer.
“Nigel!” Green shouted emphatically towards the stage where his band-mate Nigel Watson was standing. Now I thought he was ignoring me completely.
“Nigel” he shouted again, The Miller Guitar! He’s the man who made the Miller guitar,” Now, the man was beaming and pointing at me. Suddenly I had everyone’s attention, and handshakes were had all the way around. Yes, it’s true, Peter Green had, and loved a Hamer Miller Guitar—I could hardly believe the surreal moment. We chatted for a while about instruments and blues and… beer. Then it was time for the sound check, and as Green walked away I began to chuckle. When my chuckle turned into hysterical laughter, some people near me looked at me as though I were going mad. The weight of the irony was full upon me, and I was enjoying the lesson—everything matters. It’s something I remember every time I contemplate a new guitar.
Approach each task as if it were the one that will define you.
Reunited and reconciled. By the way, this guitar sounds incredible.
Posted on November 10, 2008 at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBack (0)
October 03, 2008
It has been a while since we’ve showed any of the Tipton progress, so here’s a little update. Glenn wanted an off-white color so Gary sprayed out a white base coat on the guitar first. Then he mixed and shot two slightly shaded variations using our variant system tints.
I emailed this exact photo to Glenn on the road to get his feedback. Usually, we send the actual samples to our customers along with a form to sign for approval, but in this case it wasn’t practical. We’ll have to live with the color shift from the video monitor.
Glenn liked the yellower version to the left, so Gary went ahead and sprayed out the guitar. Glenn also suggested that we put a sightly contrasting color on the bevels to make them stand out. I suggested that perhaps we didn’t want it to be overtly noticeable, just enough to give the guitar depth under the lights, and he agreed. Gary had the idea to use a little shaded pearl tint powder, so we went with that.
I think it’s looking good—slightly different for Mr. Tipton, but cool nonetheless. here’s the headstock.
Posted on October 03, 2008 at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBack (0)
September 29, 2008
Talladega Pro Wins Hamer’s8th Editors’ Pick Award in a Row
The headline says it all. The guys in the shop are doing exactly what they do best and the acclaim from the reviewers is pouring in. Today they are celebrating yet another Guitar Player magazine Editors’ Pick award—our eighth in a row! GP has reviewed eight of our guitars since 1999, and every one has recieved this award, quite a feat. That’s what happens when great design meets flawless execution.
L to R: Mike, Enrico, Dave, Tom, Todd, Mark, Collin, Gary, Mike D. and Jamie.
Congratulations to the Hamer crew, world champions and the best builders in the business!
Posted on September 29, 2008 at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack (0)
September 17, 2008
Hamer Guitar Workshop Featured in Premier Guitar Magazine
We’ve worked hard to create great products that bring joy and satisfaction to our clients. Our efforts are acknowledged worldwide by collectors and fans, artists and our peers in the industry. Today is a good day for the guys in the shop as their latest work, the Talladega Pro is featured on the cover of the October issue of Premier Guitar magazine.
Click here to read the entire article
Posted on September 17, 2008 at 07:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)
August 30, 2008
Keb’ Mo’ Visits Guitar Workshop
My cell phone rang early Thursday morning—usually a sign that something needs immediate attention. Instead, it was a pleasant sounding Keb’ Mo’ calling from his tour bus which was headed our way. On tour with Robert Cray, the Kebmeister was playing a few miles away, and wanted to come by the shop to meet the guys. I arranged to pick him up at the venue and off I went. Keb’s been playing Monaco IIIs and a Korina Newport for quite a few years now, so we decided that they could stand a once over as long as we were at it. We grabbed the guitars, collected Keb’s utility guitarist Clayton Gibb and drove back to the shop.
Here are our guests sharing a few laughs over the custom bench with Tom and Dave.
First, we brought the guitars to Todd, who determined that Keb’s main Monaco could use a new nut. The constant use on stage and studio had deepened the string slots to a point where it would be good preventive medicine to put a fresh one on. The job takes about an hour, so in the meantime we all hung out in the shop looking at guitars and talking about “guitar stuff” as well as getting a little jamming in. I got a new Talladega Pro out for Keb’ and Clayton to try, and it took about twenty seconds for Keb’ to decide that he wanted one. Now, I know the man a little bit, and he’s not the kind of person who collects guitars that he won’t actually use; so I took that as a good sign. Clayton seemed to gravitate towards the Newport. He saw one being completed in the Blackcherry finish and couldn’t stop talking about it all day. I think he’s going to have three pickups on that one.
After lunch at Chatterly’s, the only restaurant in our little town of New Hartford, we picked up the guitars from Todd and went back to the Warner Theater for the sound check. The guys had done a fine job—the guitar was working perfectly and the sound check went well.
During the show that night, Keb’ used his red Monaco III for a majority of the electric numbers, including his two “duets” with Robert Cray.
Sorry for the crummy cell phone photo from the side of the stage, but here’s Keb’ and Robert doing what they do best. The Monaco III held its own, sounding great and staying in tune like it should. It was a great show from two brilliant performers and it was good to see everybody and give them a glimpse into our workshop. A good time was had by all.
Posted on August 30, 2008 at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
August 25, 2008
As our last post indicated, you never know when you’ll run into old friends. That was the case again last week when a couple of ours burst back into the frame. A flight case arrived via FedX along with an urgent phone call telling us that Rick Nielsen’s “Gonna Raise Hell” guitar needed some emergency work.
Here, Todd “The God” Gencarella whips the covers off in order to begin his inspection. Apparently the guitar wasn’t staying in tune, and was buzzing mightily as well. Everyting pointed to a locking-nut problem, but Todd still went over every inch before making any repairs.
This guitar, constructed in 1982, has been used nightly to perform the Cheap Trick song of the same name. CT does a couple hundred gigs per year, so after twenty-six years, this guitar has seen its share of abuse. Being locked in trucks, cars and aircraft cargo holds in all sorts of weather takes a toll too. The nitro finish is dried and cracked to the point where it is flaking off, especially at the headstock. The Hamer logo has all but disappeared. As it turned out, the screws holding down the nut had worn themselves permanently loose and the ensuing movements had ground the nut lower and lower until the high strings dropped down onto the frets.
Mike plugged the original holes and drilled new ones while Todd fabricated a new nut platform shim. After reassembly, we put the old girl through some steep dives and blackout-level pull-ups—everything checked out.
As the FedX truck pulled away with our oversize priority package (insured for five-figures) we pondered the idea of creating a “modern” replacement. It may be time to raise a little more hell for old time’s sake.
Posted on August 25, 2008 at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack (0)
August 19, 2008
It’s always nice to reconnect with old friends; especially when they share the same passions. So I was stoked to see my old buddy Mark Elias, who dropped by on Friday as he was passing through the area with his wife Pam. Originally from Chicago, Mark was often a guest in our Arlington Heights shop, where he fueled his early guitar habits. Back in the day, Mark worked as a photographer for Associated Press, but he also loved guitars and automobiles.
Nowadays, Mark is a respected photojournalist who specializes in the automotive field; writing for magazines and online publications such as Leftlanenews.com, Motor Trend, Car and Driver and Autoweek. Here’s a couple of his shots, starting with a one-off Iso Grifo built in Italy with a monster Corvette motor.
And one of my favorites:
Mark’s latest assignment was to field test the newest Mercedes BlueTEC ML320 starting in New York City. You can see where this is going—somehow, this time he’s managed to cram all of his obsessions into one trip. Naturally, as soon as he left Manhattan, Mark aimed the big Benz straight for New Hartford.
Upon arrival at our little enclave, our guests were treated to a tour of the Hamer workshop. Much to Mark’s delight, Pam was really fascinated and impressed with all the handwork and artistry involved in making our guitars. I could see the wheels turning in Mark’s head. After meeting everyone and sampling some guitars, it was time for lunch and a demo of the new Mercedes. The drive into town is only about a half mile so I couldn’t really tell much, but Mark assures me that I’d love to own one! The fare at Chatterly’s cafe is surprisingly world-class for a sleepy little town smaller than the size of your average shopping mall, so our guests left satisfied and primed for the rest of their trip. Here’s a shot that Mark took just down the road:
I was sorry to see our friends leave so soon, but there’s always more work to do in the workshop.
You can read about the trip here.
Posted on August 19, 2008 at 09:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
August 14, 2008
Guitar Real Estate: One For the Price of Two?
We’ve all heard the expression “less is more,” and often times that’s right on the money. Here at Hamer we’ve been fans of minimalism since day one—often creating instruments that are more versatile than their basic layout would imply. Other times, there is a solid case for using more to create less. So it was for a recent custom order Korina Standard model with a two-piece “chevron” body. The extreme width of this guitar necessitates the use of two large slabs of African limba, culled from a single board. On very rare occasions, we procure a board that is wide enough to produce a single piece body, and the extra cost is appropriately higher. There is a third option, that uses up even more real estate, and that is the “chevron” configuration.
We’ll probably never find a board wide enough and thick enough to do a perfect bookmatched and chevroned body, so the next best result comes from the use of a board that is wide enough to have been a single piece body—only long enough for two.
First our man Enrico lays out the pieces cut from the single board, and finds a similar grain pattern for each half by eye. Then he lays the clear body template out and marks the outline for rough bandsawing.
In this shot you can see the direction of the grain in relation to the centerline of the instrument. You can clearly tell how large the board must be to accommodate the length of the “wing”.
The angle of the grain is the same as used on the flying V design, only with a V the boards can be narrow—which is why it was done that way back in 1958. It’s ironic that our guitar mimics the V’s look but achieves the exact opposite in terms of material yield. The fun part is that something so crucially important to the guitar is something that might not occur to the casual observer. And that’s the kind of detail we like best.
Posted on August 14, 2008 at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
August 12, 2008
More Glenn Tipton Guitar Progress
A lot has happened with Glenn’s guitar in the last few weeks, so we’ll try to catch up. We decided to keep the traditional “GT” headstock on this model, and because Glenn wanted bevels on the body we thought that the headstock should echo that too.
After Mike sketched the first draft, I put a logo overlay on the headstock to see how the whole thing would look. When we saw the overall effect, I thought that the bevel was too large. It really dominated the headstock as opposed to being a flourish like the ones on the body; so we reduced the mass of the bevel to suit the overall theme. It’s important to think of the instrument as a whole rather than a collection of individual design ideas because no matter how much you like them all, if they don’t work together the design fails.
Satisfied that we’d balanced things out, Mike proceeded with the woodworking using a sander, file and a scraper. Then it’s just a matter of prepping for the paint room where we’ll pick it up next time.
Posted on August 12, 2008 at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
August 11, 2008
Guitar Makers Get Airport Display
Hey, a cool thing happened and I just thought I’d share it with you. As I mentioned, I just got back from a vacation, and as I passed through the airport terminal in Hartford, I saw a display that had been set up of our guitars. It was in the state’s Connecticut Artists Showcase, which makes pretty good sense to me because I think of our builders as artists.
Of course I knew it had been done, but I didn’t go to the opening ceremony or whatever they call it and had honestly forgotten about the whole thing. So when I walked through the terminal and saw the display for the first time it took a second to sink in.
It’s pretty cool—in addition to about a half-dozen guitars, there are pieces of wood and guitar parts strewn about in the case along with chisels and other guitar making tools. Our web-guy Scott and Frank Rindone had made up some posterboard blow-ups of the our catalog with photos of the guys in the shop and it looked great.
I had my wife take my picture in front of the display, just like a tourist! Now that’s culture!
Posted on August 11, 2008 at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
August 08, 2008
After having a wonderful vacation in Northern California I returned to our shop to find things humming away as usual. The shop is filled with so many projects, I didn’t know where to point the camera first. Todd solved my problem by directing my attention to the set up room where our Baggs-equipped Newport was just being finished.
The acoustic electronics package had gone in without any fuss, thanks to Todd and Mike’s careful pre-planning. The parts went in exactly where they had been mocked up, so our biggest assembly hurdle was cleared without incident. In this shot you can see the stereo/mono selector switch resting nicely, just below the surface of the top. The controls are for magnetic volume, magnetic tone and the third knob controls the acoustic output. The large toggle functions as normal for the humbucker selection, while the small one engages magnetic or acoustic.
Overall, the guitar looks very classy with a matte lacquer finish and the acoustic sound is easily accessed and is quite good. It makes the Newport an even more versatile instrument without cluttering up or complicating the controls. The matching headstock (note the ivory string nut) and bound f-holes really complete this guitar. The guys even went so far as to make a matching matte finish truss rod cover!
I’ll have more things to show after I clear a few items off my workbench and return some phone calls and emails…
Posted on August 08, 2008 at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
July 14, 2008
Talladega Pro Guitar in the House
Finally, after three years of waiting in the wings, the Talladega Pro guitars are moving through the shop. The original Tally concept took a turn early on, and morphed into the guitar that we unveiled at the 2007 winter NAMM show. That guitar (known as the Talladega) has been in demand and has carved its own niche in the marketplace as well as the history of Hamer as a uniquely conceived and well-executed guitar.
So now, after the Talladega has established its own identity, it is time to meet the original concept, the Talladega Pro.
This version is distinctly different in ways that are both easily noticeable and subtle as well. The most obvious changes are the addition of two more controls and the use of a toggle switch on the upper side. Although the overall dimensions have remained the same, the body is thicker to concentrate more mass near the bridge area. This, coupled to a one-piece wraparound bridge gives the Pro a deep, solid fundamental. Once again we worked with Seymour to match the humbuckers to the guitar. They’re lower output, with plenty of articulate highs, just like the original PAFs heard on those classic recordings by Peter Green, Clapton, Kossoff and Bloomfield. I wanted this guitar to be a humbucker-powered tone machine for players who play 25.5″ scale guitars, so the scale remains the same as the original Tally, as does the comfy (and familiar) “V” shape on the neck.
Sorry for the tease, but I’m still working on the “Road to Talladega Part 2” story—that will go into plenty of detail for all you spec-freaks and inside-story buffs out there. Until then, here’s another look.
Talladega PRO Specifications:
Body
Ivoroid Bound Mahogany
Top: hand Carved Figured Maple
Neck:
Ivoroid Bound 3 Piece Stressed Honduras Mahogany
Fingerboard:
Rosewood
Bridge:
TonePros Aluminum Wrap-Around
Scale Length:
25 1/2″
Fret Dimensions:
Hamer Wide Oval: .100″ x .050″
Neck Shape / Thickness
’56 V Shape, 1.680″ at Nut
Inlays 9 Victory (genuine pearl)
Neck Joint Oversize dovetail
Neck Pickup Custom Wound S. Duncan Humbucking (PAF based)
Bridge Pickup Custom Wound S. Duncan Humbucking (PAF based)
Electronics 2 Vol, 2 Tone, 3-Way Selector
Capacitors Sprague Orange Drop
Tuners TonePros Keystone
Headstock Overlay Ebony
Nut Type/Width Genuine Ivory, 1.650″
July 09, 2008
At this point in the build, Mike and I were talking about the positioning of the controls on the body of Glenn Tipton’s guitar, and we needed some clarification from the client. Glenn’s original plan was for both a volume and a tone control, along with a three-way toggle. The last drawing we had showed only a single volume and a toggle, so we had to make a decision. Rather than guess, I got on the cell and called Glenn on his.
Sure enough, the last drawing was correct, so we could proceed with one control hole. I rang off with Glenn and we marked the locations immediately.
A few hours later, Mike has cut the neck pocket and fitted the neck to the body of the guitar. He’s added the bevels on the body, and now it’s time to do the neck blending. The first step is to draw out the blend line on the instrument. The idea here is to provide good hand access, retain the maximum amount of joint for good energy transfer and create a pleasing visual transition.
After Mike and I take a couple swipes at it we get a good line, so it’s time to park the guitar in a vise and get after it with a pneumatic drum sander. The grit is very coarse, so Mike takes it easy, just hogging off the major real estate. In this photo you can see the wood flying off the sander past Mike’s shirt—always wear eye protection!
After the sander, Mike does the final smoothing with a file and then with sandpaper. After about an hour, it’s looking good.
Glenn was stoked about the progress, and said that he was on his way to a photo shoot with his vintage Hamer Phantom GT. At this rate, the guitar will be in the paint booth soon. We’ll come back to this project then.
Posted on July 09, 2008 at 08:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
July 07, 2008
Hi everyone, welcome back! After a nice three-day break for our nation’s birthday, we’re back at it again. A few posts ago we took a look at Mike prepping a Monaco guitar for abalone purfling. He’s had a chance to cut and insert the shell strips around the guitar’s perimeter, and is now making the miter cut at the cutaway.
He glues and inserts the last piece of abalone then tapes it down to dry. When the adhesive has set up he can go ahead and mark the point where the miter will happen.
Then, after laminating the two black strips of cellulose binding to the last piece of abalone shell, Mike cuts the matching angle.
Here he is doing a dry fit test of the parts before gluing the last piece into place.
On the next bench, Tom is doing much the same thing to the neck. Here, he scribes the binding channel with an Xacto knife. This is to eliminate any chance of tear-out when he uses the table shaper to rout the channel.
This is a clever little precaution he takes—it’s necessary because the way we do our paint leaves no margin for error. We run our color coats up to, but not over the binding blend line. The practice of going past the line with the paint allows mass produced guitars to use wood putty to fill any of the tear out or gaps, but we don’t like the way that looks.
We’ll check back to see how this one turns out later.
Posted on July 07, 2008 at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
June 30, 2008
With all the projects that we have going on at any given time, it’s hard to spotlight all of them here. After all, we’re guitar builders not webmasters. Here’s one job that’s been in the shop for a while.
Right: Back in the day… Glenn Tipton and Jol Dantzig in the studio during the recording of Judas Priest’s “Turbo” album
It’s no secret that we’ve worked closely with the boys in Judas Priest for over two decades; every album and tour since 1984 has bristled with Hamer-tone. Since one of our readers asked, I’m going to jump the gun on a special post series that we’ve been holding close to our chest.
After talking to Glenn Tipton over the course of a few weeks, and receiving the basic idea for his new guitar, Dave set to work building a mahogany neck with a curly maple fingerboard. We’ve elected to use the old “six on a side” Hamer headstock shape, because it matches Glenn’s other Hamers, and goes more with the feel of this guitar.
The scale is 24.75″ and it calls for block inlays. We selected some nice chunks of “black” pearl and cut them into rectangles. Here, Tom has routed the pockets for the pearl and is gluing them in.
Then, based on the outline provided by Glenn, Mike starts to rough out the body from a mahogany blank. In this photo he’s placed the neck over the body to get the cutaway, pickup and bridge locations locked in.
We’ve collected all the parts we need, including a NOS (new old stock) original Kahler from the ’80s. Mike will create templates for routing, and then do the pocketing on the pin router. There’s a few bumps in the road, but we always figure it out in the end. Stay tuned for more…
Posted on June 30, 2008 at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
June 25, 2008
First Photos: Earthen Talladega in the Sun
If you’ve been following the construction of our twenty-five, Earthen Maple Talladega guitars you know we’re getting to the final stages. Indeed, as soon as Mark was finished with number 22 I took it outside to snap some photos to share with all of you.
I walked out the shop’s back door and took a few steps towards the Farmington River that rushes past our lunch table. By the side of the cascading water, I gingerly placed the guitar next to a tree and fired off a few snapshots. As I peered through the viewfinder, I had the same thought that many of you will have after seeing these photos; how soon can I get one for myself?
Each one of these guitars is distinctly different. The unique grain and mineral streaking makes certain that you’ll never mistake your guitar for any other. Everyone who has played them in our shop has remarked about the clear, crisp top end and warm bottom. The combination of the mineral-laced tops with a mahogany neck gives these twenty-five guitars a special tone.
Here’s a nice touch, the individual series numbers are laser etched into the lacquer (but not the wood like the serial number) to protect and confirm the originality of the finish for future collectors.
As much as I hate to see ’em go, I can’t wait to hear from the new owners and hear the music that they make.
Posted on June 25, 2008 at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack (0)
June 20, 2008
Earthen Talladega in the Home Stretch
Today found Mark buffing and wiring one of the twenty five Earthen Talladegas. It’s a good thing they’re moving along, because we just got word from the NAMM show in Nashville that most of them were sold by mid-day.
Mark has already spent about three hours sanding the lacquer down to a fine grit—taking care to block all the surfaces flat with a hard pad. Then it takes him about an hour to do the final polishing. We use a 4 inch wide wheel that spins about 1100 rpm, with a fine abrasive compound. Then he’ll move to a second set of wheels to glaze the finish and seal it.
After buffing, Mark shields the control cavity with a nickel-based conductive paint that we import from Belgium. It costs a ton, but it’s the best there is—that’s why we use it.
Then it’s over to the assembly bench for hardware (another hour) and onto the wiring bench to hook up the electrics. In this photo, Mark is stripping the old-school, cloth insulated pickup wire before making all the connections. The legendary Sprague “Orange Drop” tone cap is clearly visible on the soldering mask that protects the back of the instrument from tools and hot solder splatter. We’re using lead-free solder to keep in line with worldwide environmental practices too. It won’t be much longer before I can play-test this one and snap some photos to show here.
Posted on June 20, 2008 at 02:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
June 18, 2008
Earlier in the week we gave a tour of our shop to a group of musicians who work day jobs selling guitars. As you might imagine, they were very interested, and excellent listeners too. Although they were here for a good long time, it occurred to me that it’s impossible to even scratch the surface of what we do. This is never more apparent than when training an new member of our team, no matter how experienced they might be.
Here’s Todd explaining the nuance of pickup alignment to our newest “apprentice” Colin Green. Eager to learn, Colin is a Reberto Venn graduate (but don’t hold that against him) and he’s continuing his education with one of the best. Todd is a veteran of two decades in the guitar building business, and there’s a lot of knowledge to download in this situation. It can be an overwhelming situation, being thrown into the deep end of the pool, but Todd knows how to encourage raw talent; so we’ll leave them alone and see what’s going on at the opposite end of the room.
On the body bench, Mike is applying multiple-ply binding to a Monaco. Here you can see the stepped channel for the inner and outer binding strips. Each layer is laid up separately which keeps them from distorting when bent around a tight corner like the horn of the cutaway. On this guitar, there will be a purfling of mother-of-pearl between the two thin black stripes, so for now, Mike fills the gap with a layer of teflon material. That keeps the gap uniform, and the strip can be removed after the main binding has cured.
After a day of curing, the filler strip is pulled out, and Mike can start to glue in the pearl pieces, one at a time. In this picture you can see the way it’s laid up and taped snug to the body. The f-hole has already been bound with two pieces of ivoroid as well. This is going to be a beauty—we’ll stop back in a few days to see the pearl going in.
Posted on June 18, 2008 at 08:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
June 11, 2008
Night Falcon Bass on Stage at Last
My email inbox has been filling up with messages from Jack Blades who has nothing but raves for the Newport “Night Falcon” bass. Whew!
Jack says the sound is thunderous, and the FOH tech is loving it too. Apparently the new config has rendered all Jack’s previous basses obsolete, so we’re talking about building a spare… ASAP.
I’m thinking Orange with flames… what do you think?
Addendum 6/13/2008, email from Jack Blades:
[Dude]
This Blades Night Falcon Bass is the best sounding bass I own! Rivals my sunburst 84 Hamer Blades bass in all categories, but the most important one is attitude: How dare Hamer and Jol Dantzig have the audacity to make such a beautiful beast!
I am so glad they did.
All the best from the road,
Jack