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Thursday, July 21, 2011

Homemade Custom Gold Leaf Strat

This is the homemade Gold Leaf Strat that I built this Spring. I remember going to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame about 10 years ago, and saw this guitar... knowing nothing about gold leaf, I wasn't really sure what I was looking at. Now I am.
Fender designed this guitar for Mr. Eric Clapton. The Fender Custom Shop will make it for you for about $6,000. I made it for less than that, and it was a pain in my... wrist. I sought out a custom-wired pickguard that simulates Eric's wiring with Gold Lace pickups and specially designed tone controls... the inside of this thing is like a computer! And the sound is INCREDIBLE because of it. Honestly, this is one of the first guitars I built to sell that I'm actually tempted to keep!!!
I put a V profile Fender neck on- the same kind of neck preferred by Clapton and used both on Blackie and the Gold Leaf Strat. It's beautiful birdseye maple, and I did a vintage amber finish over it. (drooling)
This guitar features ALL gold Fender hardware- not foreign knockoffs, FENDER. Even though these Fender parts are made internationally. IN ANY CASE... this is the good stuff. Bridge, strap pins, neckplate, pickguard, backplate, string trees... and Gold Kluson tuners.
I did a lacquer finish over the body for a sleek, polished look. You can tell from the photographs, this thing glows.













































































































Steampunk SG

So, this is a custom Steampunk SG that I made using a knock off body and neck. Everything is handpainted... hand-worked into place. The pickguard is handcarved wood. The frets are scalloped beyond the 12th fret. It's definitely the best Steampunk electric I've done, and has a bridge position H.S. Gretsch Filtertron with 1 volume and 1 tone. Grover tuners.