JMguitars
New member
Lately I've been very into reliced Strat-styled guitars, initially out of curiousity since some of them had great cosmetics. Having had the chance to play a few, I can vouch that the good sounding ones have a lil' "mojo"; combining good playability with a worn-in feel and an open sounding tone that makes you want to play for days.
The best heavy relic work I've seen is John Cruz from Fender's CS but I have to hand it to Jonathan Wilson of GVCG, who is the only buider I've seen that puts in great relic work on the necks; an area that most relic builders tend to focus less on.
Plus the guy is great with the written language ...
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I am halting production of "S" guitars until further notice, and as a last "swan song" build, I thought long and hard about what the "ultimate" S model would be for me, after building them in all shapes, colors, woods, neck profiles, pickups, etc.
I then compiled a list of specs I would want to meet to make this "dream" guitar, and I met every one of those specs, and this guitar turned out way beyond what I imagined.
I wanted the body to be one piece swamp ash, aged lumber, beautiful straight grain that flowed with the contours of the body; and I wanted it to weigh 2 1/2 pounds.....I wanted the whole guitar, (with Trem) to weigh in at UNDER 6.5 pounds, which with a one piece body, and this grain pattern, is virtually impossible, or at least as rare as a hen's tooth.........did it
I wanted the neck to be a huge slab of dark rosewood, every surface rounded and smooth like the true golden days of these guitars, the profile bigger and meatier than a typical '59, large, but not too large. I wanted it to have hints of flame as seen on the coolest of early examples, almost as if the flame was "by accident", and the tight straight grain of the rock maple not really affected or sacrificed for "beauty". I wanted the profile to be around .930-.940 at the first fret, tapering smoothly up to .990 at the 12th, a nice smooth "C" with comfy sides, easy to chord but giving you something to grab (onto) as you make your way up the neck. I wanted med. Jumbo frets, not huge, but large enough to make bending a joy, 6105's were the way to go. I wanted the radius to be somewhere in between "vintage" and modern, for high register lead work, bends without "fret outs", and 9.5" was the way to do this. I wanted the finish to be paper thin, dry, hard and fast, with that fine line of feeling "nitro", and feeling wood, not sticky, but organic enough that you are still feeling and hearing maple. Did it all.
I wanted to emulate the finest of late 50's paintjobs, with a "medium rare" white blonde, with a pronounced "white burst" effect, but having the darker, smoky hues you see in the very late 50's guitars, heading into the early 60's. I wanted to use "real" high solids Nitro Lacquer, the old -school, illegal kind, none of this EPA quasi-Lacquer, so I went to my source for that, and that's what this puppy is painted in, 100%. I even sealed it in "real" lacquer. This finish is different than say a '57, it's more yellow, and lends itself wonderfully to the painstakingly recreated "Greenguard", and the rosewood slab. I wanted the greenguard to have the subtle aspects of this early volatile material, such as warping, "shrinking", and general wear from years of playing, rubbing, and just existing. Did that. The body finish I wanted to keep paper thin, so that the Swamp ash would resonate freely, and would transfer the vibrations of the wood directly to your body, and the pickups, then the amp. This can only be done by carefully measuring paint film thickness, knowing how thin you can go, and by leveling and buffing the lacquer completely by hand, so you can "see" and feel the finish. Did it.
Other appointments and details I wanted to include in this instrument:
Custom Lollar AL 5 '59 pickups, wound to exacting '59 specs, lightly beeswax potted, and slightly microphonic, so the guitar sounds "alive" when idling. No RW/RP crap, straight vintage CRL 3-way, with a "snap" to the positions. I did this by using NOS CRL springs I have from the 50's, the switch feels amazing, and very sturdy. With the tone circuit I wanted to mimic the true vintage sound that these instruments are capable of, so I procured and used a NOS 50's Wax cap, at .1 mfd. I wanted the sustain and tonal richness of a Cold Rolled Steel Trem block, so I got one, painted it Pale Gray, and aged it. I wanted the tuners to feel tight and snug, with no "play", so I picked through a dozen or so sets and used 6 that are perfect. The plastic parts on these guitars are a big deal to me, I loathe the factory "press molded" look of the modern covers, so I modify my own to gently slope and feel as worn and comfy as real '50's examples. The pickup covers look amazing, the knobs are gently rounded throughout, and the switchtip is the same. Little details like this throughout the guitar add up to what this instrument is: superb.
Other goodies include incredible fingerboard edges, heavily rolled and as comfy as you will ever feel, you will swear you are playing a 46 year old neck, period. The fretwork is something I take great pride in, so I round them the old fashioned way, and finally polish them with jewelers' mesh up to a 12000 grit, so they shine like little "mirrors upon rosewood ". Every detail on this guitar has been tediously tended to, and it shows.
Sound/playabilty:
If you've ever been lucky enough to play a 9 foot grand piano, or a prewar Martin guitar, you've experienced the beauty of sympathetic resonation, the sensation of sustaining notes creating rolling overtones, that make chords or single note passages "ring" and churn in an almost circular pattern. That is what this guitar does. The flyweight hardwood, with no glue seams, and the large rock maple neck, combined with tight tolerances ,premium pickups, and a spot on setup , allow this guitar to sustain longer than any other "S" model I've ever heard, bar none. When you build one this light, it needs a large neck to mate with, and the nut slots /setup become extremely important for maximum sustain, and this has it all. You do not even have to plug this guitar in to realize it, you feel the resonance in your gut when you play it.
This guitar is one of the marvels of my shop and jouney into guitar making, and it's a product of what I call "spatial engineering", borrowing the best from the past, and creating what could only be found in very, very lucky examples.
http://www.songsofjonathanwilson.com/ultimate59.htm
----------
Now check out of the detailed relic work Jonathan has done on his previous creations.
The page contains many photos so bear with the page loading times.
http://www.songsofjonathanwilson.com/GreenwichVillagetemphold2.htm
The best heavy relic work I've seen is John Cruz from Fender's CS but I have to hand it to Jonathan Wilson of GVCG, who is the only buider I've seen that puts in great relic work on the necks; an area that most relic builders tend to focus less on.
Plus the guy is great with the written language ...
-----------------
I am halting production of "S" guitars until further notice, and as a last "swan song" build, I thought long and hard about what the "ultimate" S model would be for me, after building them in all shapes, colors, woods, neck profiles, pickups, etc.
I then compiled a list of specs I would want to meet to make this "dream" guitar, and I met every one of those specs, and this guitar turned out way beyond what I imagined.
I wanted the body to be one piece swamp ash, aged lumber, beautiful straight grain that flowed with the contours of the body; and I wanted it to weigh 2 1/2 pounds.....I wanted the whole guitar, (with Trem) to weigh in at UNDER 6.5 pounds, which with a one piece body, and this grain pattern, is virtually impossible, or at least as rare as a hen's tooth.........did it
I wanted the neck to be a huge slab of dark rosewood, every surface rounded and smooth like the true golden days of these guitars, the profile bigger and meatier than a typical '59, large, but not too large. I wanted it to have hints of flame as seen on the coolest of early examples, almost as if the flame was "by accident", and the tight straight grain of the rock maple not really affected or sacrificed for "beauty". I wanted the profile to be around .930-.940 at the first fret, tapering smoothly up to .990 at the 12th, a nice smooth "C" with comfy sides, easy to chord but giving you something to grab (onto) as you make your way up the neck. I wanted med. Jumbo frets, not huge, but large enough to make bending a joy, 6105's were the way to go. I wanted the radius to be somewhere in between "vintage" and modern, for high register lead work, bends without "fret outs", and 9.5" was the way to do this. I wanted the finish to be paper thin, dry, hard and fast, with that fine line of feeling "nitro", and feeling wood, not sticky, but organic enough that you are still feeling and hearing maple. Did it all.
I wanted to emulate the finest of late 50's paintjobs, with a "medium rare" white blonde, with a pronounced "white burst" effect, but having the darker, smoky hues you see in the very late 50's guitars, heading into the early 60's. I wanted to use "real" high solids Nitro Lacquer, the old -school, illegal kind, none of this EPA quasi-Lacquer, so I went to my source for that, and that's what this puppy is painted in, 100%. I even sealed it in "real" lacquer. This finish is different than say a '57, it's more yellow, and lends itself wonderfully to the painstakingly recreated "Greenguard", and the rosewood slab. I wanted the greenguard to have the subtle aspects of this early volatile material, such as warping, "shrinking", and general wear from years of playing, rubbing, and just existing. Did that. The body finish I wanted to keep paper thin, so that the Swamp ash would resonate freely, and would transfer the vibrations of the wood directly to your body, and the pickups, then the amp. This can only be done by carefully measuring paint film thickness, knowing how thin you can go, and by leveling and buffing the lacquer completely by hand, so you can "see" and feel the finish. Did it.
Other appointments and details I wanted to include in this instrument:
Custom Lollar AL 5 '59 pickups, wound to exacting '59 specs, lightly beeswax potted, and slightly microphonic, so the guitar sounds "alive" when idling. No RW/RP crap, straight vintage CRL 3-way, with a "snap" to the positions. I did this by using NOS CRL springs I have from the 50's, the switch feels amazing, and very sturdy. With the tone circuit I wanted to mimic the true vintage sound that these instruments are capable of, so I procured and used a NOS 50's Wax cap, at .1 mfd. I wanted the sustain and tonal richness of a Cold Rolled Steel Trem block, so I got one, painted it Pale Gray, and aged it. I wanted the tuners to feel tight and snug, with no "play", so I picked through a dozen or so sets and used 6 that are perfect. The plastic parts on these guitars are a big deal to me, I loathe the factory "press molded" look of the modern covers, so I modify my own to gently slope and feel as worn and comfy as real '50's examples. The pickup covers look amazing, the knobs are gently rounded throughout, and the switchtip is the same. Little details like this throughout the guitar add up to what this instrument is: superb.
Other goodies include incredible fingerboard edges, heavily rolled and as comfy as you will ever feel, you will swear you are playing a 46 year old neck, period. The fretwork is something I take great pride in, so I round them the old fashioned way, and finally polish them with jewelers' mesh up to a 12000 grit, so they shine like little "mirrors upon rosewood ". Every detail on this guitar has been tediously tended to, and it shows.
Sound/playabilty:
If you've ever been lucky enough to play a 9 foot grand piano, or a prewar Martin guitar, you've experienced the beauty of sympathetic resonation, the sensation of sustaining notes creating rolling overtones, that make chords or single note passages "ring" and churn in an almost circular pattern. That is what this guitar does. The flyweight hardwood, with no glue seams, and the large rock maple neck, combined with tight tolerances ,premium pickups, and a spot on setup , allow this guitar to sustain longer than any other "S" model I've ever heard, bar none. When you build one this light, it needs a large neck to mate with, and the nut slots /setup become extremely important for maximum sustain, and this has it all. You do not even have to plug this guitar in to realize it, you feel the resonance in your gut when you play it.
This guitar is one of the marvels of my shop and jouney into guitar making, and it's a product of what I call "spatial engineering", borrowing the best from the past, and creating what could only be found in very, very lucky examples.
http://www.songsofjonathanwilson.com/ultimate59.htm
----------
Now check out of the detailed relic work Jonathan has done on his previous creations.
The page contains many photos so bear with the page loading times.
http://www.songsofjonathanwilson.com/GreenwichVillagetemphold2.htm
this search engine is definitely more power than the old one!
