Perfect Mirror of Jimi Hendrix's Monterey Guitar !!

[stratamania]

Especially as you state the player can make it sound good in any case, if he is only going to play it a while and then burns it Monterey style,  what does it matter that it is basswood versus alder?

I like Jimi Hendrix a lot myself but going to these lengths for a tribute act of any artist, perhaps it is a cultural thing or something but I don't get it.

 

[2zee]

Especially as you state the player can make it sound good in any case, if he is only going to play it a while and then burns it Monterey style,  what does it matter that it is basswood versus alder?

I like Jimi Hendrix a lot myself but going to these lengths for a tribute act of any artist, perhaps it is a cultural thing or something but I don't get it.

Very true, Jimisen would be able to crank out Jimi's sound whether the body was basswood or alder. As a matter of fact he probably wouldn't care which it were to be. However, to match his longing to have a mirrored Monterey strat it's my ego that wants to bring it down to the specs as well.

Also I should have clarified that through planning on this build, Jimsen has decided that he would want to keep this guitar for his live performances and for the guitar sacrifice he'll use a different guitar.

Thus, I've decided to make every effort to make this the perfect mirror.

 

[stratamania]

Ok, personal pride in doing the job I do understand. Makes sense, if he is going to keep it too.

 

[2zee]

[Jimi Project 02]
Firstly, I'll start by inspecting and cleaning the neck

I've polished the frets and lightly sanded the fretboard with #1500.
Also rounded the frets and neck edge.

Just by doing so, this Fender Japan would have better playability.

Created a new nut from scratch.
Used TUSQ XL as this would withstand heavy tremolo usage due to the nature of the material.

As I've made this precisely to match the nut groove, had to use a clamp to place it in.

I've re-assembled this and kinda thought I could add some spice to bring this to a real mirror which Jimisen is being particular about.

Since I'm gonna be refinishing the headstock, I might as well do the whole neck so I'm sanding all the finishes off.

It might look like there's still some finish left, but these are dents. If I were to sand to the extent of removing these, the sense of grip would change.

The finish on the neck was pretty thin, but even by removing that thin finish I can tell the difference by gently knocking on this.

Jimi's Monterey start is said to be a '64 model. But judging from the head stock spaghetti logo, I wonder if the neck was swapped upon purchase or was a non-standard build to start with.

Watched Jimi's live video numerous times to decide on the logo placing.

Placed it close to the string guides and perfectly mirrored the original.

With Jimisen's approval, imitated Jimi's handwriting and added this guitar's name and build date on the neck joint.

Now I just need to add an extra think layer of tinted clear finish.

Personally, I think the reverse logo on a reverse head gives it a nice pun.

<Original blog from Feb 10th 2017>
http://avici.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-329.html

 

[Cagey]

NIcely done!

 

[stratamania]

Yes nicely done indeed. Look forward to seeing more of the work in progress pics.

 

[2zee]

NIcely done!

Thanx!!

 

[2zee]

Yes nicely done indeed. Look forward to seeing more of the work in progress pics.

Thanks! I'll be going into more detail from the next post onwards

 

[2zee]

[Jimi Project 03]
Now we're ready to paint the neck.

I've brought the neck to "JERRY'S Auto Restoration" a repair workshop I'm a regular at.

We've toned the clear with a tint and applied a coat.

wasn't able to get much tint as I expected, but I'm looking for a thin coat rather than the color so I'll leave that as is.

Can't really tell from the photo, but the coat is so thin that the thickness of the decal is very much noticeable.

According to Nakamura from JERRY'S this is approx 1/3 ~ 1/4 of what would be applied on a car.
He also added that if needed he could go another 1/4 of what is applied currently.

This coat is thinner than a thin lacquer finish(even with the sealer coat included)
From personal experience I believe(may just be credulity) that a thin and physically hard coat is the best, have had Jimisen check this and got his approval.

I've also had Nakamura help me tone the red and green paint to match this color.

This is the only image I can find of the actual Monterey strat.
There are images of the strat in action at the live show, but that's colored with the stage lighting which would be deceiving in what the actual color would be.

So...this would be the correct color.

Nakamura toned the colors with no sweat. Watching him tone colors makes me always wonder how many colors he sees in the paint that he creates.

So here we are with these color. They look just like colors from the '60s with an additional taste as if they had change over time applied.

Now, more of my part of the work, drawing the patterns to the pick guard.
The only reference I have are the live vids from the Monterey Pop Festival.
No concrete info on how and with what this was drawn.
So gotta use some imagination...  from his dominant hand, the situation this was drawn, penmanship, drawing habit, etc.
Gonna work to make this the "thorough mirror"

Dress rehearsal's done. Now we're hitting the show!

...well I can't mess up after having a pro readying these paints for me....

<Original blog from Feb 16th 2017>
http://avici.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-330.html

 

[Logrinn]

Wow, that's really meticulous. Nicely done! :icon_thumright:

 

[stratamania]

This thread is coming alive 2zee, thanks for posting.

 

[2zee]

Wow, that's really meticulous. Nicely done! :icon_thumright:

Thanks for checkin in! I'm happy you see this in that way as I've put in alotta effort in this strat

 

[2zee]

This thread is coming alive 2zee, thanks for posting.

Thanks stratamania!
I've still got 12 more posts, and I'll make sure to keep the momentum goin!!

 

[2zee]

[Jimi Project 04]
Time to start painting.

While penciling in the draft, I went through imagining the stroke order.
Also thought of how he's painted with his dominant hand and habits that would have had in his penmanship.

For example, the heart mark in the middle.
If one were to draw this, it would usually be in 2 strokes.
Starting from the top center and drawing both sides, one by one.

But from the photos of the Monterey strat, it can be seen that he used at least 3 strokes for this.
As the image above is a mirrored image, the order will be flipped but
- first starting from the bottom right up to the curve
- probably applied more paint and started from where he left and drew the 2 bumps above and pulled down to the bottom from the left-hand side
- however, he probably was not able to draw this second stroke as he imagined, he started from the bottom and drew back up on the left-hand side to cover up for this

...seems like an awkward way to draw this.

When you mirror this process, it may make more sense.
Also, this might also prove evidence for Jimi being right handed when writing.
Looking at other parts of this painting, the brush strokes don't seem to be of a left-handed person. 

Like for this heart mark, it can be seen that a right handed person positioned the guitar horizontally(neck to the right) and drew this in the stroke order as mentioned above.

Also, it has been said that this was drawn with a manicure brush. Observing the painted outcome, it looks to be painted with a sturdy flat brush which does match with the rumors about using a manicure brush. 

After adjusting the round brush head to a flat and rather stiff one, tested and altered different brush width and brush volume, have decided to go with this.

This kind of cumbersome and time-consuming process is what I believe would make this the "perfect mirror".

As I am right handed, it does make it very difficult to do a mirror of a right-handed painting. But I've managed to paint it by changing the angle of my grip depending on what I'm drawing(which is a pain).

I've taken an image capture of the live vid and horizontally flipped it to compare and finish the details of this.

I've been looking around on the web for similar works, might be just me, but I believe I've done a better job than any other replica work of this guitar. Well...I guess if a real artist did it, they do a better job tho....

And now to add color which Nakamura toned for me.

Usually I guess one would do the color first and then add the black lining. However, judging from the images it seems to be that Jimi probably drew the lines free hand and then added color. Thus, I shall follow.

Painting green in a blotched manner, red with in a scraping manner.
This is because from the vid, the red parts seem to show gradation which is probably due to the difference in thickness of the paint.

Depending on the part I've layered it with the black lining to smear the image, other places I've left lightly to show some weightless feeling. I've judged this from the vid as there is no actual reference that for this under proper lighting.

Also, this is one thing that all of the other replicas miss. The curved conical shape beside the middle pick up is always left without color. However, looking closely at the vid you can tell that this is painted with green.

Just imagining if someone not used to use manicure were to paint this, he'd probably not realize the need of drying the paint before the next coat and would apply the next coat while the original one is wet. Thus, decided to add brush marks to represent this kind of painting manner.

So, this is the finalized pick guard.

Working on this project I've been searching the web for replicas of the Monterey strat, but most of them are an "hommage" or a "Monterey feel" kinda production. Some of them claim to be a "perfect Copy" but are at a poor level that you can tell the difference in first sight. Even regarding the color, I doubt that any of these took much care in thoroughly determining with the evidences left in the present. If there were anyone that did their homework to such extent, I would love to have an extended chat regarding Jimi's Monterey strat.

This is my standard of a "perfect mirror".

Well...I do understand that this is an instrument, there is no need to be stubborn in getting all the nitty gritty details. But I wanna go to this extent to bring the best that can be done for a person that I respect truly.

<Original blog from Feb 20th 2017>
http://avici.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-331.html

 

[Cagey]

Incredible attention to detail. You missed your calling - you should've been a counterfeiter  :laughing7:

 

[stratamania]

Yes very detailed. Well done.

 

[2zee]

Incredible attention to detail. You missed your calling - you should've been a counterfeiter  :laughing7:

You know, I think so too...lol
But honestly, I think building guitars would be more fun than drawing money. Don't you think?  :toothy10:

 

[2zee]

Yes very detailed. Well done.

Thanx :icon_thumright:　Coming up next is the hardware!

 

[2zee]

[Jimi Project 05]
Well, as I work on this Monterey strat project, things don't progress as expected.
Finding the ideal parts, modifying parts to match what is ideal...etc. etc....

While I struggle through this endless ordeal, I've decided to go see Jimisen to show him the body color and pickguard. 

The image above is the color mixed to match what is said to be "fiesta red", seen on the existing fragment of Jimi's Monterey strat.

This is not toned from Fender's current fiesta red.
According to Nakamura(JERRY'S Auto Restoration), the Monterey strat is not what is known as fiesta red. Rather, is close to Dakota red.

As I met up with Jimisen at his live house Ikebukuro Adm, we closely checked on how the toned color displays itself under the stage lighting and confirmed it comes extremely close if not perfect to what seen on Jimi's vid of the Monterey Pop festival.

We also checked how the pickguard changes how it displays under stage lighting.
Jimisen gave me thumbs up on the outcome.

As I've finally been able to resource some hardware, lemme show you what I've readied for this axe.

For the pickups, I've got Lindy Fralin's Woodstock '69.
As they're known for great replacements for vintage pickups and as seen in the image, lefty pole pieces used for a righty pickup... can't get better that this for a mirrored Monterey strat!!

I gotta say that these musta been made for Jimisen...lol
I did think of getting true lefty pickups, but rather than venturing to the oceans of god knows where'd I end up, decided to go with this reputable brand.


Now to the circuit.

As Jimisen uses lefty potentiometers, I've chosen CTS250K lefty vintage.
I didn't know that these were called L(efty) potentiometers till I looked for one. As in Japan, these are referred to as C-curve potentiometers.

For the capacitator, I just happened to have Montreux's Retrovibe Cap “F66”.
Although this may have some effect on the sound, I've chosen this from the dates that this was used by Fender.

I've set up an OAK switch and the parts mentioned above on a shield plate as seen in the image.

Regarding this circuit, I've set it up for some flexibility in setting the tone.
I guess it's a recognizable mod for you builders out there.

Now to the most rare hardware for this episode(well... at least I think of it that way...)

Callaham Vintage S Model Strat Bridge Assembly! Can't beat this for a vintage strat replacement bridge.
Seems like the lefty Vintage S model are a limited production I couldn't find em in any online store in the States, but luckily found one in a shop in the UK.


Well, as seen above I think I've pretty much used high-end hardware.

However, it doesn't mean you get good sound just by gathering costly hardware as a strat is all about the hardware choice and the skill of balancing and fine tuning the components.

Moreover, a strat can have any hardware replaced and still be a strat, even if you change the neck or the body.

SO, even if this strat that I'm building ends up being a POS, I can still repurpose it if I get the right parts balanced in the right way.

I've already told Jimisen "Whether the looks of this guitar matches you're criteria for what you're looking for, if the sound isn't to your expectation... please consider using a different guitar."

Still... what I'm aiming for is a strat that is perfect in the looks and flexible in sound setting to bring ease for the owner smashing his sound out to the crowd.

This is my reasoning in the choice of hardware I've made.

Again, the pressure is on me. Using these topnotch hardware and making sure I balance this correctly to produce a fully satisfying strat for Jimisen.

It's a challenge and at the same time it's the fun part in building an axe with a reason behind it.

<Original blog from Mar 1st 2017>
http://avici.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-332.html

 

[rgand]

Your attention to detail is truly outstanding. You honor both the original Jimi and the new one. This is a fun thread to follow.