Some of the Family Pics

Some really beautiful wood there! Even the '89s have some nice figuring in their necks - bet they're pretty in person. All the others are gorgeous, of course...

Thanks ES. The 89s are 35th Anniversary CS Strats with Lace sensors and ebony boards. The 93s are a CS matched set, number 50 of 50. They are definitely better looking in person as I’m not a good photographer.
 
I don't have a group shot but if you can pardon my poor photographic skills, here's what's currently loved.
In no specific order or ranking...
27329
U.S. made Peavey Predator AX in unmolested condition.

27330
U.S. made Peavey Patriot, that's had the Hackmaster triple massage.
Three rail pickups mounted in Duncan Triple Shot switching pickup rings.
Three separate volumes and a master tone with a push pull to flip phase on the middle pickup.
27331
Gibson Firebird Zero that's also gone thru some changes.
Sparkle silver paint job, triple humbuckers with neck & bridge pickups wired thru 3 way switch, separate volume for middle pickup.
Master tone with push pull to flip phase on middle pickup and a Bigsby B5.

27332
Chibson Lester that has been massaged as well.
Full copper shielding, Frampton wiring where neck & bridge pickups are on one set of volume & tone pots, along with the 3 way, and the middle pickup is on the other volume & tone.

27335
Epiphone Coronet.
Was a two humbucker guitar when I got it. Made some changes to this one as well.
One rocking dog ear pickup with a hidden dummy coil activated with a push pull that effectively kills the hum without squashing the tone that much.
Oh yeah, it was begging for a Bigsby B5 too.

Now, all the above guitars have been acquired thru horse trades, gear swaps and even downright theft from our very own eSGEe.
See a pattern forming?

The next one eSGEe bought from me in a moment of mental weakness for me.
I needed some cash too...
I reacquired it some time later in another gear swap
27337
1959 Harmony, lovingly restored & refinished by yours truly.
I literally acquired this guitar in pieces. Neck was off, fretboard was missing, top was cracked, back was off.
A month or so of my magic and it came back to life as a real beauty of a jazz box.
Now electric, the volume & tone pots are under the pickguard.
27338
Pure stealth.

27339
Gibson Les Paul double cut.
Had been converted to triple P90's but a strange force came over me forcing me to convert it back to it's original glory.
But, it too has a hidden dummy coil that squelches hum without squelching too much tone. Not to mention that sexy B5.
This one has been a favorite since the day I got it.

27342
Dean biscuit bridge metal body resonator. Piezo & mag pickups.
Unmolested for the most part, except a compensated bone saddle that I made for it.
It seems that I have reached a photo limit, so this will be continued in thread# 103.
Please stand by...
 

Attachments

Last edited:
Now to continue.
27343
Taylor 312CE.
Great guitar. Bought it new in 2000

27344
Horrible blurry pic of Taylor 354CE 12 string. That's my dog Charlotte in back.

27345
Mid 70's Epiphone. Been with me since 1979. One of my first hack jobs.
Inspired by John Lennon's bed in electrified acoustic. Dog ear P90 bone nut, saddle & my first refret job done in the 90's.

27348
Gibson SGJ. A neat animal that's had quite a transformation. Gloss overspray, went from two humbuckers to three Lollar P90's
Full pickguard to hide the Humbucker routes, Bigsby B7, roller bridge.
Plus the benefit of a 24 fret maple neck.

27349
Gibson 61 reissue. Added middle pickup, Bigsby B7, roller bridge, Frampton wiring.
One that I'll never sell.

27350
1998 PRS Custom 22. Trio of Lollar Imperial humbuckers, 5 way rotary switch, middle pickup is added with a push pull.
Master volume & tone.

27352
Rhino's Strat.
This one belonged to a friend of mine Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt, that was a founding member of the 70's band Captain Beyond.
I bought his guitar after he passed, that I had seen him play for the last 15 years of his life, from his girlfriend Tracey.
Much to my surprise she brought me the guitar, strap, amp, wah wah, cables, etc... Rhino's complete rig.
The guitar is a partscaster that Rhino put together years ago.
It's seen its share of mods, as Rhino was a tinkerer as well.
I've left it as he did, with the exception of a string change.
Amalfitino pickups, Stetsbar and plenty of mojo.

Hope this was an enjoyable read.
 

Attachments

Now to continue.
View attachment 27343
Taylor 312CE.
Great guitar. Bought it new in 2000

View attachment 27344
Horrible blurry pic of Taylor 354CE 12 string. That's my dog Charlotte in back.

View attachment 27345
Mid 70's Epiphone. Been with me since 1979. One of my first hack jobs.
Inspired by John Lennon's bed in electrified acoustic. Dog ear P90 bone nut, saddle & my first refret job done in the 90's.

View attachment 27348
Gibson SGJ. A neat animal that's had quite a transformation. Gloss overspray, went from two humbuckers to three Lollar P90's
Full pickguard to hide the Humbucker routes, Bigsby B7, roller bridge.
Plus the benefit of a 24 fret maple neck.

View attachment 27349
Gibson 61 reissue. Added middle pickup, Bigsby B7, roller bridge, Frampton wiring.
One that I'll never sell.

View attachment 27350
1998 PRS Custom 22. Trio of Lollar Imperial humbuckers, 5 way rotary switch, middle pickup is added with a push pull.
Master volume & tone.

View attachment 27352
Rhino's Strat.
This one belonged to a friend of mine Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt, that was a founding member of the 70's band Captain Beyond.
I bought his guitar after he passed, that I had seen him play for the last 15 years of his life, from his girlfriend Tracey.
Much to my surprise she brought me the guitar, strap, amp, wah wah, cables, etc... Rhino's complete rig.
The guitar is a partscaster that Rhino put together years ago.
It's seen its share of mods, as Rhino was a tinkerer as well.
I've left it as he did, with the exception of a string change.
Amalfitino pickups, Stetsbar and plenty of mojo.
Some sweet axes there. Always kinda wanted a Corvette; I have a PRS Starla that sort of hits a similar spot.

Great that you've got Rhino's partscaster!

That first Captain Beyond album is one of my all-time favorite records. Used to play a song from it with my first band when the album was new.
 
Nice looking guit how does she do as a well worked instrument, I am sure you have a firing solution on pup choices?
Thanks Mitch, It has a voice all it's own. The pickups are called Megatrons.
Had to find one for the middle, as it came as a two pickup guitar.
From what I have learned, they're ceramic magnet and reasonably hot, also only available on the Corvette.
That made finding one a stroke of luck.
They also handle gain well without mudding up.
 
Some sweet axes there. Always kinda wanted a Corvette; I have a PRS Starla that sort of hits a similar spot.

Great that you've got Rhino's partscaster!

That first Captain Beyond album is one of my all-time favorite records. Used to play a song from it with my first band when the album was new.
Funny you mention the PRS / Corvette connection.
I had similar thoughts.


Rhino was a real character. Glad I got to know him.
These pics are from one of his last performances at Aces Lounge in Bradenton Fl.
Image result for pictures of larry rhino reinhardt with posse

27391
 
Thanks Mitch, It has a voice all it's own. The pickups are called Megatrons.
Had to find one for the middle, as it came as a two pickup guitar.
From what I have learned, they're ceramic magnet and reasonably hot, also only available on the Corvette.
That made finding one a stroke of luck.
They also handle gain well without mudding up.
Thanks Hack I appreciate the reply.
I do believe you have a very coustom aproach to the mods you preform
 
Thanks Hack I appreciate the reply.
I do believe you have a very coustom aproach to the mods you preform
Thanks Mitch, I try...
30+ years as an equipment mechanic / fabricator has left me in a good place tool wise.
And the desire to create has been with me all my life.

If I can visualise something in my head, I can make it.:dood:

And with a pal like Adrian, tempting me constantly with all the gear he whores up...
Well, lets just say I won't get bored anytime soon.
 
Funny you mention the PRS / Corvette connection.
I had similar thoughts.


Rhino was a real character. Glad I got to know him.
These pics are from one of his last performances at Aces Lounge in Bradenton Fl.
Image result for pictures of larry rhino reinhardt with posse

View attachment 27391
Yeah, you're lucky to have known Rhino. RIP Larry.

I too considered the Corvette vs PRS dilemma and decided to go the PRS route. I love the look of the Vela but that bridge was kind of a deal breaker for me. Went with a Starla (core model, this was before the S2s came out) and have been happy with it. Definitely a somewhat Gretschy flavor to its tone. The humbuckers have rod magnets and split quite well. Good blues or rockabilly guitar. Not as visually striking as the Corvette of course but it has a look that I can dig. Sort of like a Les Paul Special's upscale cousin. US made, PRS quality, and a nice thick neck that plays beautifully.

Something about PRS necks just seems to suit me perfectly. I've got several pattern regular, two wide-fats, the Starla (technically wide-fat also but it's hand carved and feels a bit different), and a DGT which feels even bigger because it has larger frets. None exactly the same but they all feel great in the hand. And of course they all play wonderfully, though the oldest is way overdue for a fret dress after serving as my #1 for more than three decades. I have a fair number of guitars but if you don't count the vintage axes, many of my top favorites are PRSs. The necks have a lot to do with that.

Not a fan of the Bigsby trem myself; I held out for a Starla with a stop tailpiece and eventually got a Duesenburg Les Trem to put on it. Then I wound up using the Les Trem on one of my Firebirds instead. One of these days I'll get another for the Starla, or swap it over from the 'Bird. But for now, Starla has no trem.
 
Forgot about this old gem I use sometimes for slide. 1962 EKO

rDdKRTV.jpg
 
Forgot about this old gem I use sometimes for slide. 1962 EKO

rDdKRTV.jpg

Cool axe! Eko made some weird ones; I've got an oddball too - it's gold sparkle on the front and silver sparkle on the back. Same unusual fretboard inlays, and what has to be one of the world's ugliest headstocks.

27728

My other Eko is a Kadett III, a quasi-Strat that actually has a great neck. It was $99 brand new on eBay about five years ago. Nice lively guitar - lightweight, plays great, and with some decent pickups installed it sounds pretty good too. Got a brass trem block for it but never put it in; not certain I really want it to sound any warmer.

I sometimes wonder if this model could be a discount sleeper gem or whether I just got an unusually good one by blind luck. Never played another; for all I know most of 'em could be dogs. I kinda dig the body shape actually.

27731

27730
 
Cool axe! Eko made some weird ones; I've got an oddball too - it's gold sparkle on the front and silver sparkle on the back. Same unusual fretboard inlays, and what has to be one of the world's ugliest headstocks.

View attachment 27728
Silver sparkle on the back. Cool. Mine has Mother of Toilet Bowl. Some weird chipboard looking fibreglass. Sustain like a banjo, thus the slide work.
 
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