My first LP build - Black and Chrome LP style Guitar.

[RosamondEdge]

This was my first build and there is a story behind it.

On May 18th, 1999 a double-semi truck hit my Toyota Corolla moving at 80MPH. I survived, but my guitar rig did not, and my left hand is now my picking hand. ( the pictures are of the guitar, the actual car in the police lot, and me afterward giving a smile brought to you by morphine and the letter Oooooooo!) I had to switch to playing left-handed guitars, and anyone that plays left-handed guitars will tell you that this creates a problem. Larger stores have three or four, and smaller shops might have one (if you are lucky). Companies might make two or three left-handed models, and I get it; there is not as large of a market for them.

I am a huge U2 fan, and Gibson put out an Edge Explorer Model (a 1976 Explorer), but there was no chance that they were going to offer a left-handed model. Having one made by their custom shop would cost more than my first three cars.

Later, I wanted to build an LP that was up to mt tastes at the time.

Warmoth offered me exactly what I wanted, and  here is the result:

Mahogany Neck and Body (and cap) (all Black/Gloss)
Ebony fretboard (10"-16" radius)
Pearloid trapezoid inlays
SS6150 wire frets.
25.5"scale
Strat pocket
White binding on the neck and body
EMG pickups (81/85)
Planet Wave locking tuners
Nut width: 1-11/16" (43mm)
Chrome hardware
TOM/STP
single battery box

If I remember correctly, the only things that I had to buy outside of Warmoth were:
The Bell knobs (a cute girl sold them to me)
EMG pickups (I was playing heavier music back then)  :bananaguitar:
Pickup surrounds (Aluminum because of the color of the EMGs and my guitar's overall look)

I had no idea what I was doing, and when I upgraded the electronics a few years ago, I could not figure out how it could be wired that way and work, but it did for ten years like that. I have learned a lot over that time, and I am ashamed of some of the mistakes that I made on that build. It was a learning experience and some of those quarks gave it a cool feel and sound.

Thank you! :yourock:

 

[stratamania]

Man, you are lucky to have survived that.

Glad to see someone playing an "authentic" guitar.

 

[bagman67]

Dude, we're all fortunate that you survived. 


And I imagine it must have been therapeutic to take the extreme disruption of having to change handedness and turn it into a guitar-building adventure,complete with missteps and recoveries. 


Thanks for sharing.  For some of us, cobbling together parts and then banging out some tunes is but a diversion - for others, it's a major life-improving activity.  I dare say it falls in the latter category for you, no?

 

[rgand]

You have my respect. Many would have stopped playing. You overcame the hardship and continued on. And, yeah, you were very fortunate to come out of that one.

 

[BigSteve22]

Glad to see you came out of that alive, and still kicking. Must have been quite the task to learn to play lefty.

I sliced my left hand and fingers open on broken glass, took 2 surgeries to put the tendons back together, still can't straighten the ring finger. My biggest concern at the time, aside from having to change professions, was that I wouldn't be able to play guitar again. Thankfully, with a lot of painful practice, I recovered enough that I can still play right handed. Some chords I still can't hit, but I make do.

You have my deepest respect for making it to the other side: Lefty, that is!

 

[RosamondEdge]

Glad to see you came out of that alive, and still kicking. Must have been quite the task to learn to play lefty.

I sliced my left hand and fingers open on broken glass, took 2 surgeries to put the tendons back together, still can't straighten the ring finger. My biggest concern at the time, aside from having to change professions, was that I wouldn't be able to play guitar again. Thankfully, with a lot of painful practice, I recovered enough that I can still play right handed. Some chords I still can't hit, but I make do.

You have my deepest respect for making it to the other side: Lefty, that is!

I am glad that you plowed through and kept going. That kind of injury is as painful as anything, and they heal so slowly. Having to change professions stinks in a lot of ways, but you were able to do it. Playing right-handed is nice, and it will save you a ton of money. If you can play right-handed guitar, do it, do it. Going lefty is not hard if you make yourself do it, but finding guitars and parts gets tricky, but the internet and Warmoth make it awesome.

It took a few months to learn how to play again, and you have to read chord charts like you are looking through the back of the neck (as if it were clear). The crash was two weeks before HS graduation when I was 17, but I bought a Left-handed strat on my 18th that fall. I know what you mean by changing professions, and that can be hard. The injuries that I received from that crash kept me out of the US Air Force Academy because I was not combat ready (like a 4F - classification). I am a Grad student, all of these years later, but it took years to heal.

You have my support man.

 

[RosamondEdge]

Man, you are lucky to have survived that.

Glad to see someone playing an "authentic" guitar.

It is an "authentic" guitar.

Although, "authentic" is a strange word. Growing up in the desert, it was used a lot to describe salsa on TV ads, and hearing it in other contexts makes me hungry for Mexican food.

 

[RosamondEdge]

Dude, we're all fortunate that you survived. 

And I imagine it must have been therapeutic to take the extreme disruption of having to change handedness and turn it into a guitar-building adventure, complete with missteps and recoveries. 

Thanks for sharing.  For some of us, cobbling together parts and then banging out some tunes is but a diversion - for others, it's a major life-improving activity.  I dare say it falls in the latter category for you, no?

Thank you.

It sure does fit into the later. I had a little strat that I took everywhere with me, but after a few years, I needed something that would take my playing farther. I was able to get my hands on a Mesa/Boogie Triple Rect, and I needed something with much more signal, but the only way to get one was to build it. That project and search took me a few years, but that LP style guitar is where it landed.

I am saving some money, and I plan on building a little guitar shop in two years from now.

It was a great therapy to strengthen my right hand and to get my left arm moving, and my doctor thought it was a great idea. Once I was able to play a few chords, it got much easier.

It is great to be alive, and playing guitar gives me expression and an outlet. I might not ever be in a band that will tour the world, and that crash kept me out of the US Air Force Academy, but I am a grad student, and I am married to a wonderful woman that I would not have met otherwise. I ended up at a small religious bible school [near my doctor's office and the hospital], and there were a lot of people helping me to recover and relearn how to walk and write again.

I take a lot of inspiration from Rick Allen of Def Leppard because he kept going after losing an arm, but he is "the thunder god." Toni Iomy is another one that I looked up to like that.

Now, I know this will sound funny, but I also took inspiration from Bob Dole (yes, Mr. third person himself, LOL). He has an injured hand like mine. That is why he usually had a pen in that hand (look at older videos of him), and it is why he fell off that stage in 1996. He had an injury like mine, but he became a US Senator and almost President. Life is not over, and there is a lot of music to play.

 

[RosamondEdge]

You have my respect. Many would have stopped playing. You overcame the hardship and continued on. And, yeah, you were very fortunate to come out of that one.

You are right; living is good.

 

[rauchman]

Wow, the Force was with you in that accident.  Glad you made it!

Also, very cool guitar.

 

[BigSteve22]

Having to change professions stinks in a lot of ways, but you were able to do it......

Thanks Brother, but I wasn't very as clear on this point. I was seriously concerned that I might have to, but in the end, I didn't need to switch up. I had a little trouble re-qualifying with the AR-15 and 870 that year, but I had almost 10 months to heal before hand. In the end it all worked out and I was even able to keep my instructor status. Playing guitar was pivotal in my recovery, and it still is. If I don't play, my hand gets all "crunchy", joints crack, tendons ache, really stiffens up.

Sorry for the confusion....

 

[Logrinn]

Thanks for sharing this story. I also want to chime in and say like the other Warmothians here that I’m glad you survived that crash. And I’m really impressed that you made the switch to playing left handed.
It must be really frustrating for all lefties out there with the lack of stuff available.
A good thing companies like Warmoth exist that offer so many lefty options.
I also agree on your Les Paul - it looks great!
ccasion14:

 

[ragamuffin]

Looks great!

 

[Rick]

Actually, he should report in and tell us how's he doing.