Ace Flibble
Hero Member
- Messages
- 865
So, sometimes we plan a build out carefully, love it for a while... then realise what we wanted all along was something totally different. Sometimes we take guitars apart and are left with a neck or a body or some pickups that are good and need a home but just don't have one. Sometimes we simply move on.
So, this:
Has become this:
This first one isn't so drastic; the neck is very different, but the hardware simply changed colour, the Warmoth poly finish got stripped and swapped for my own nitro and the pickups were changed for similar ones but with the wires for 4-way switching. For those wandering, the new neck is one piece of rosewood (apart from the walnut skunk stripe & plug), 24.75" scale with a thick V-to-C profile, 12" radius, Jazzmaster headstock, 6150 fretwire, modern narrow dot placement and rolled fretboard edges. Yes, it's not a Warmoth neck. I know, I know. But Warmoth simply don't offer the options I wanted, so off to Musikraft I went. Honestly, I've never been a brandwhore, so to hell with it.
Easily my favourite guitar now. Nothing plays better and it sounds exactly as I wanted it too all along. Kind of odd that when I started playing guitar I hated Telecasters so much, but now it's my main axe. The Warmoth body is as light and resonant as it's always been, the Musikraft neck is a thing of sheer beauty and the whole thing sounds both clearer and heavier than anything else I have, not to mention has sustain the likes of which I've never found before even on actual 50s Ls Pauls and Telecasters.
And this infamous glam rocker:
Has become this dirty grunge machine:
This second one is obviously a more drastic change; it's inherited the neck from the first Tele (they look similar, because I couldn't fit the headstock into the shot; but it IS the one from the first Tele, the original purpleheart one is simply in my parts drawer now), the paint's be stripped entirely and replaced with clear tint nitro (who knew Warmoth's showcase bodies with solid finishes would have such nice wood underneath?) and the electronics have been changed from custom purple DiMarzios to custom white EMG X-series pickups. That is actually the very first matching pair of EMG 60AXs to have been made and sold. The neck suits this body and its intended uses as a down-tuned rhythm machine much more, since this one is 25.5" scale rather than 24.75" conversion as it had before, and the new paint is a little bit of genius on my part - misted on at all stages and never buffed, but I used two whole cans like this, so it's a very tough finish but still not thick enough to dampen vibrations and it's never going to turn properly glossy, it's got a permanent half-gloss which is glorious on a wood like alder which isn't totally plain but doesn't have a lot of figure either.
Best thing is the pickups. I can not stress enoguh how good the 60AXs are. Even if you normally go "actives? Bah!", try the 60AXs. They are nothing like other active pickups, but they are still capable of doing everything the usual EMG 81 & 85/SD Blackouts do. The '60' winding makes it clearer than the EMG 85 and a wider frequency response than the 81, but the alnico magnet stops it being a harsh pickaxe like the normal 60. The 'X' denotes the updated preamp, which gives more headroom than the one Blackouts have while keeping the same output and even lower impedance and noise levels as regular EMGs. In short, they are more responsive and transparent than any other active or passive pickup can be, whilst still having zero noise and you don't lose definition no matter how long your cable runs are. Imagine P-90s but perfected, and that is the EMG 60AX. I'm in the process of converting all of my humbucker guitars to use them now.
An that, kids, is how we satisfy our GAS without spending another grand every time.
So, this:
Has become this:
This first one isn't so drastic; the neck is very different, but the hardware simply changed colour, the Warmoth poly finish got stripped and swapped for my own nitro and the pickups were changed for similar ones but with the wires for 4-way switching. For those wandering, the new neck is one piece of rosewood (apart from the walnut skunk stripe & plug), 24.75" scale with a thick V-to-C profile, 12" radius, Jazzmaster headstock, 6150 fretwire, modern narrow dot placement and rolled fretboard edges. Yes, it's not a Warmoth neck. I know, I know. But Warmoth simply don't offer the options I wanted, so off to Musikraft I went. Honestly, I've never been a brandwhore, so to hell with it.
Easily my favourite guitar now. Nothing plays better and it sounds exactly as I wanted it too all along. Kind of odd that when I started playing guitar I hated Telecasters so much, but now it's my main axe. The Warmoth body is as light and resonant as it's always been, the Musikraft neck is a thing of sheer beauty and the whole thing sounds both clearer and heavier than anything else I have, not to mention has sustain the likes of which I've never found before even on actual 50s Ls Pauls and Telecasters.
And this infamous glam rocker:
Has become this dirty grunge machine:
This second one is obviously a more drastic change; it's inherited the neck from the first Tele (they look similar, because I couldn't fit the headstock into the shot; but it IS the one from the first Tele, the original purpleheart one is simply in my parts drawer now), the paint's be stripped entirely and replaced with clear tint nitro (who knew Warmoth's showcase bodies with solid finishes would have such nice wood underneath?) and the electronics have been changed from custom purple DiMarzios to custom white EMG X-series pickups. That is actually the very first matching pair of EMG 60AXs to have been made and sold. The neck suits this body and its intended uses as a down-tuned rhythm machine much more, since this one is 25.5" scale rather than 24.75" conversion as it had before, and the new paint is a little bit of genius on my part - misted on at all stages and never buffed, but I used two whole cans like this, so it's a very tough finish but still not thick enough to dampen vibrations and it's never going to turn properly glossy, it's got a permanent half-gloss which is glorious on a wood like alder which isn't totally plain but doesn't have a lot of figure either.
Best thing is the pickups. I can not stress enoguh how good the 60AXs are. Even if you normally go "actives? Bah!", try the 60AXs. They are nothing like other active pickups, but they are still capable of doing everything the usual EMG 81 & 85/SD Blackouts do. The '60' winding makes it clearer than the EMG 85 and a wider frequency response than the 81, but the alnico magnet stops it being a harsh pickaxe like the normal 60. The 'X' denotes the updated preamp, which gives more headroom than the one Blackouts have while keeping the same output and even lower impedance and noise levels as regular EMGs. In short, they are more responsive and transparent than any other active or passive pickup can be, whilst still having zero noise and you don't lose definition no matter how long your cable runs are. Imagine P-90s but perfected, and that is the EMG 60AX. I'm in the process of converting all of my humbucker guitars to use them now.
An that, kids, is how we satisfy our GAS without spending another grand every time.
