''There is nothing more beautiful than a guitar that has played a lifetime of music" BUT...
The expense and increasing worry of gigging with a fragile, multi-thousand dollar vintage instrument makes it an impractical tool for most working musicians. Leaving one on-stage unattended during a break is even risky. And nothing screams "unprofessional" to the audience and other musicians like a mecha
nical breakdown onstage- generally right in the middle of your best solo. It seems an older guitar tends to look cooler as they get closer to the END of their life as a functional instrument. Damage, theft, moisture, just normal playing and wear and tear can be costly for retirement age guitars. For years I enjoyed collecting and playing great used guitars that USED to be found in guitar shops, thrift stores and pawnshops. The only place you'll routinely see cool old guitars are hanging on a collectors wall or in a "museum" guitar store with a mega thousand dollar price tag. You just don't see stuff like that around these days. My personal favorite was "Blondie" - a 6 pound effortless player in white-buttery-blonde paint with porcelain-esque crazing. I imagine it would be pretty expensive to replace now but back then I lugged it to every after school garage band practice and backyard pool party there was. Not cool to do that with a 22,000 vintage guitar! The idea behind my refinishing style is to slightly advance and accelerate the natural wear that occurs over a few years of playing...or just leave them clean and new but all with pure nitro lacquer with NO plastic undercoating. I studied the ergonomic finger wear, the smooth neck edges, rounded frets, weight, crazed lacquer paint and overall vibe. Even the grime, dirt, rot and rust in an attempt to capture that classic feel of Blondie but just on a newer guitar platform. I did omit that loose input cup, sharp saddle screws and the squeal of the microphonic neck pickup. Eventually, I duplicated some dings and wear that old guitar had. It came out close enough to need a few double takes on several occasions. I have yet to see this done CORRECTLY. All too often you see maple fingerboard wear that looks white and just plain looks terrible. These are just my own personal stage guitars and all of them are great players. They are awesome players. From squeaky clean to bar room mean they are all VERY authentic looking. I use the "flaws" associated with Nitrocellulose Lacquer to enhance the natural smooth feel of a guitar neck or beauty of the wood. Some techniques make a guitar feel, react and even resonate as a 50 year old guitar does. Look closely at the pics. Some of the attention to detail may come through. I take pride in the feel and playability that I believe is the very foundation of what makes a great guitar. You will see there is plenty of old school craftsmanship but may not notice the sustain enhancing tight neck / pocket compliments of a CNC router. Feeling is believing and I wish necks could be felt from your computer. They are smooth and very natural. Grabbing a chord is like getting back into your favorite ole blue jeans that have become nicely broken in without being worn out or needing repairs. Most importantly they are reliable and consistent. I like mixing & matching pickups, capacitor values and electrical components to get the best tone combinations for that particular guitars wood and personality in a traditional vintage look. They all have unique traits and differences, but share an obsession to be the best tone monsters you can get from "wood and wire".
