What Guitar Project?

I have a pair of Schaller Golden 50 humbuckers that I've been sitting on for...oh, about 10 years. Phase switch, coil tap, all the fun stuff. Looking for a quick n dirty little guitar project, so I figure I may as well whack these pups in something. So...what should they go into?

Looking for suggestions on vintage, oddball or just plain cool guitars built to take these 'buckers. I don't mind a little routing, but I don't want this project to get too out of hand (right...) so bonus points for anything that's already got the right size holes. I wouldn't mind having another Les Paul-type guitar, and I really like the looks of beat-on 'relic' LPs. I'm not averse to a '72 Tele replica, though I already have something Tele-ish in my stable, and I'll be building another Franken-Tele soon, so probably want to go a different direction. Not at all averse to weirdo orphan vintage stuff, but I'm not coming up with anything with big humbuckers.

I also have a mahogany/rosewood Warmoth Strat neck destined for another project (the same Tele build to which I alluded previously), but I wouldn't mind sticking it on something to screw around with, then taking it off for its final destination.

I like big guitars, weird guitars, vintage guitars, beat-up guitars. I'm not a shiny-new-off-the-rack kinda guy.

Whaddaya got for me?

I'll sell you my fake paisley Tele if you are interested.

I don't recall what the pickup pockets were shaped like, but IIRC ditchdigger has some sort of old Vox hollow or semi-hollow I recall as having been quite a bargain for a nicely-playing and pretty guitar. A Typhoon, perhaps? Could have been a random deal.

A quick google suggests a not-so-quick-and-dirty price for the first example I turned up, but...

I almost picked up a Gretsch G3161 (thin hollowbody with cat's eye cutaways) recently for $400. I gather the stock pickups aren't one of their strong points (not Filtertrons). I passed because reviews said they were feedback-prone and let's face it; I'm a punk, and my guitar playing consists of distortion and semi-rhythmic thrashing about.

Hondo Paul copy?

Something hollowbody.

Or go to your nearest junkyard and pick out the coolest hubcaps:

This era Harmony Stratotone make fun projects

Built like a danelectro but plywood instead of masonite. They can be dirt cheap on craigslist.

This style of Kay or Harmony built plywood archtops are pretty much useless unless you add pickups to them

Makes for an awesome rockabilly/hillbilly/blues appropriate machine.

My own proclivities would have me looking for vintage harmonys, some vintage Kays (overall I feel the harmonys were far better guitars) and their store branded versions like silvertone, old Kraftsman..ect. Or the italians like 60's Vox and Eko stuff.

My modded Vox that Ransom eluded to. It was just a cheap crappy guitar when I bought it cheap.....but that was 20 years ago It is vintage now.

I've got a '73 Gibson L6-S I'd be willing to part with. The L-6S is shaped like a Paul, built like a Strat, and it has a cool 6-position pickup switch that does al kinds of funky stuff with in-phase, out-of-phase, etc etc. to give a real variety of tones. Somebody already replaced one of the pickups, so it's not QUITE original anyway. I have a PDF of the original wiring diagram that comes with it.

Mine looks like that except it is the painted red version, and the chrome on the tailpiece is bad. Maple neck.

mtn wrote:

I had one of these Kay/Silvertone things a while back. Hadn't thought of duct taping a gold foil to it though.

Ditch, I really dig that Vox. What did you do to mount the 'buckers? Cut holes, add a mounting ring, call it a day? I have a soft spot for Harmony archtops (my main guitar is a '64 Harmony Rocket H59), so I could see at least the neck pickup finding a spot in one of those.

I may need a solid body, though...

Duke wrote: I've got a '73 Gibson L6-S I'd be willing to part with.

Ooh. LP shape, bigger body - I like. What are you asking for it? (Feel free to PM me.)

I was really looking hard at jap copies in my recent searches. If you stay away from ebay, there are some deals out there. I've seen a lot of tokai, aria pro, and Ibanez LP and SG copies come up on CL.

Often much better build quality than the usa made originals.

^^ I'm honestly thinking along these lines. Beating the hell out of a Jap copy LP is oddly appealing.

Especially the early Tokais have a reputation for being at least as good as "the real thing", so that might be the way to go.

Alternatively, what about an Explorer or Flying-V shaped one? Bodies and necks for those are usually not much further than a look at the Warmoth cattle dog away.

alex wrote:

Duke wrote: I've got a '73 Gibson L6-S I'd be willing to part with.

Ooh. LP shape, bigger body - I like. What are you asking for it? (Feel free to PM me.)

+1, the same goes for me.

alex wrote: Ditch, I really dig that Vox. What did you do to mount the 'buckers? Cut holes, add a mounting ring, call it a day?

Routed out the top and sunk'em in. The thing only had a single coil in the neck originally. It went microphonic after 3 years of steady gigging so it was time.

alex wrote: I have a soft spot for Harmony archtops (my main guitar is a '64 Harmony Rocket H59), so I could see at least the neck pickup finding a spot in one of those.

I LOVE rockets. That baseball bat of a neck and oh those DeArmonds. An H59 has three doesn't it?

This 40's Harmony catalina was rescued from the dumpster

The top was separating from the sides, The truss rodless neck was a noodle and badly needing a reset and to add insult to injury someone holesawed a soundhole in the solid spruce top

I removed the top, rebraced it for electric use, patched it, reglued it and added a cutaway. Removed the crumbling fretboard, planed the neck flat and added a truss rod to it before making a new cocobolo fretboard with a gibson 24.75" scale length. A couple of dog eared P-90's and some grovers finished it off.

I like hacking up guitars

EvanB wrote: I'll sell you my fake paisley Tele if you are interested.

Tell me more...

ditchdigger wrote:

alex wrote: I have a soft spot for Harmony archtops (my main guitar is a '64 Harmony Rocket H59), so I could see at least the neck pickup finding a spot in one of those.

I LOVE rockets. That baseball bat of a neck and oh those DeArmonds. An H59 has three doesn't it?

Yessir, three of them bad boys, and the middle one is out of phase, so you get a surprisingly jangly Strat-ish sound. My general technique is to run them all on all the time, and blend as I see fit with the individual volume knobs.

I love this damn guitar. Rescued it from languishing under a bed, in no doubt its original case, with the strap, coil cord and pick it was probably sold with. The back has diagonal hash marks in the finish where the rubber on the cord reacted with the finish from laying on it for so long. Damn shame. Now it gets played out just about every weekend, and it's been on two records. I only want to put on some better tuners, and maybe play around with a beefer tailpiece off a later model for a slightly thicker tone.

Your work on that Catalina is seriously impressive and extensive. Hell, you probably would have had an easier time starting from scratch. But bless you for saving that old thing.

EA-250? Since I have one, I have a saved search on ebay, and it seems like once a month or so there's a disassembled project that comes through, and usually sells pretty cheap.

alex wrote:

EvanB wrote: I'll sell you my fake paisley Tele if you are interested.

Tell me more...

Here is the thread I started a while back. Shoot me an offer if you are interested. http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/guitar-appraisal/35143/page1/

I don't even play guitar, and i want that paisley tele just so i have an excuse to learn.

That thing is so awesome it hurts.

Check the Ed Roman body blank page.

Take your pick.

ditchdigger wrote: I like hacking up guitars

Hmm... interested in hacking up another one? I have an old Harmony arch top in pretty much original condition I bought from a co-worker for $20 a couple of decades ago. It looks great, but that aforementioned noodle of a neck won't stay in tune worth a damn for longer than half a measure. The only thing I've done to it (I think...) is swap in some old Gibson tuners I had laying around. My old bass player had a shop try to tune it up a number of years ago, but they really couldn't do much with the neck.

I'd love it if someone could install a proper truss rod and a good fretboard and maybe a decent pick-up (currently has a surface mount style pick-up at the neck position that has so little output it's worthless).

BoxheadTim wrote: Alternatively, what about an Explorer or Flying-V shaped one? Bodies and necks for those are usually not much further than a look at the Warmoth cattle dog away.

When the OP said big, vintage, and weird, Flying V was the first thing that came to mind. Sorry, no leads on a project one.

phaze1todd wrote: Check the Ed Roman body blank page. Take your pick.

I hate you for posting that.