Guitar Info

Here's a very fine looking guitar from our friend Andy Stone. I'm sure he wouldn't mind me saying that his Les Pew and Rocket Bass were both rather rustic looking (which is not a bad thing), and an entirely different kettle of fish from this beauty. As before, I'll let Andy tell the story:

I built this guitar at an evening adult education class in 2002-3, the course was called 'Stringed Instruments'. It took me about 18 months just working on it a few hours a week. It was the first neck I built.

It's my own design and has a one-piece ash back (it's rare to find a one-piece ash guitar) routed out both sides leaving a central block to minimise feedback (335 style) and a book matched maple top, a set neck with an ebony fingerboard, Schaller hardware and Kent Armstrong pickups, and it is strung the Rickenbacker way round.

The body shape is from a Gretsch White Falcon and is the same size as I scaled it from the scale length. It's always stayed pretty well in tune, it's only problem is that it's a bit on the heavy side. When I initially cut into the block of Ash it revealed a split, and as I couldn't completely hide it I made it into a feature by filling it with wood from Brighton's West Pier that I bought stuck on a greeting card made by some enterprising soul just after the concert hall fell down! I feel I have a little local history embedded in the guitar now.

Sound? BIG!