My first grandson just turned 1 year old. He's always been fascinated by George, so for his birthday I built him a ukulele, George Junior. He loves it.
I've always been a huge Beatle fan. I grew up it that era. The quality of their music puts them into a whole different category. It never gets old. They also produced such a huge amount, in a very short time. I was always fascinated by the equipment they chose to use. Particularly their guitars. Now that I can build my own, I can have those guitars. My version of them anyway. I'm working on a tribute guitar to honor each Beatle. (John is in my head. A white 325)
I just finished George.
George Harrison had a lot of great guitars. I chose to do a version of his 12-string Rickenbacker. I wanted to incorporate as many touches involving George and what was important to him as I could. He had lots of interests and was an interesting guy. I'm impressed with the quality of the man too. I think he was a very good man. Very courageous, innovative, and a seeker of truth. I've been fortunate to have found much truth in my life.
Building a 12 string involved some challenges. I'm really happy with how it turned out. It plays and sounds great. I'm really proud of it. This is not for sale. This one's for me.
Rickenbacker genius on the headpiece design. Rickenbacker is a very creative company. Their design for the tuner placement on an electric 12-string really is great.
Tough to find tuners to fit though. Mini Schallers did the trick.
George Harrison had a lot of great guitars. I chose to do a version of his 12-string Rickenbacker. I wanted to incorporate as many touches involving George and what was important to him as I could. He had lots of interests and was an interesting guy. I'm impressed with the quality of the man too. I think he was a very good man. Very courageous, innovative, and a seeker of truth. I've been fortunate to have found much truth in my life.
Building a 12 string involved some challenges. I'm really happy with how it turned out. It plays and sounds great. I'm really proud of it. This is not for sale. This one's for me.
Rickenbacker genius on the headpiece design. Rickenbacker is a very creative company. Their design for the tuner placement on an electric 12-string really is great.
Tough to find tuners to fit though. Mini Schallers did the trick.
inlay:
white pearl teardrops on the fretboard for "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
white pearl sun at the nut for "Here Comes The Sun"
white pearl Om at the 12th fret.
abalone and pearl lotus blossoms on the truss rod cover and at the corners of the body
ebony Himalayas behind the tailpiece
white pearl mountaintops
sparkly pearl, white and brass epoxy G, H on the mountains
white pearl in the tailpiece by the "J"
gold pearl moon behind the mountains for "Here Comes the Moon"
7 headed Hindu horse in the pickguard, white, gold pearl with abalone. 41 individual pieces. That took a while.
A few hand built ebony pieces:
*tailpiece surround
*pickguard
*pickup rings
*maple body and neck
*bookmatched curly maple top with ebony and cottonwood middle stripe
*ebony fretboard
*gold hardware, pearl and ebony tuner buttons
*flatwound Pyramid strings. They're amazing!
The finish is Saffron orange nitrocellulose lacquer. I love this. When I was trying to decide on a color I thought of that beautiful orange that the Buddhist monks wear. I'm a very religious guy and I have great respect for other religions. George loved Hinduism and Buddhism. The color looks so good with the gold hardware. On the back I did the British flag by using different amounts of orange tints in the lacquer. The body is bound in black-white-black plastic binding.
This is my best guitar yet. As it should be. George said "with every mistake we must surely be learning", and I make lots of mistakes.
white pearl teardrops on the fretboard for "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
white pearl sun at the nut for "Here Comes The Sun"
white pearl Om at the 12th fret.
abalone and pearl lotus blossoms on the truss rod cover and at the corners of the body
ebony Himalayas behind the tailpiece
white pearl mountaintops
sparkly pearl, white and brass epoxy G, H on the mountains
white pearl in the tailpiece by the "J"
gold pearl moon behind the mountains for "Here Comes the Moon"
7 headed Hindu horse in the pickguard, white, gold pearl with abalone. 41 individual pieces. That took a while.
A few hand built ebony pieces:
*tailpiece surround
*pickguard
*pickup rings
*maple body and neck
*bookmatched curly maple top with ebony and cottonwood middle stripe
*ebony fretboard
*gold hardware, pearl and ebony tuner buttons
*flatwound Pyramid strings. They're amazing!
The finish is Saffron orange nitrocellulose lacquer. I love this. When I was trying to decide on a color I thought of that beautiful orange that the Buddhist monks wear. I'm a very religious guy and I have great respect for other religions. George loved Hinduism and Buddhism. The color looks so good with the gold hardware. On the back I did the British flag by using different amounts of orange tints in the lacquer. The body is bound in black-white-black plastic binding.
This is my best guitar yet. As it should be. George said "with every mistake we must surely be learning", and I make lots of mistakes.
Dave builds awesome guitars and has just completed another one! (Beautiful work on "George" Dave I can't wait to see it!) It is easy to join and follow the blog which gives lots of insight to his beautiful projects. So if you are a musician, listener or just appreciate great craftsmanship check it out. (He is too modest to toot his own horn so I will). If you can Imagine a guitar that is perfectly fitted and matched to its owner/player Dave can build it!
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