Duck Copy

Posted on February 13, 2014 by mattICT in Rebuilds | Leave a comment

LDG ‘Duck’ Stratocaster

Winter 2007 – Christmas 2009
PERSONAL COLLECTION

Model Name: LDG Stratocaster duck2
Color: Olympic White
Body Material: Alder
Body Shape: Stratocaster
Body Finish: White Nitrocellulose
Neck Style: 70’s CBS style headstock, oiled finish
Neck Shape: Modern “D”
Scale Length: 25.5”
Fingerboard: Full scalloped maple
Fingerboard Radius: 9.5″
Number of Frets: 21
Fret Size: Medium
Full-body String Nut: White Plastic
Nut Width: 42 mm
Fingerboard Inlays: N/A
Side Inlays: White dot
Neck Plate: 4-bolt custom ‘LDG’ design
Pickup Configuration: S-S-S
Bridge Pickup: Unknown Single Coil
Middle Pickup: Unknown Single Coil
Neck Pickup: Unknown Single Coil
Controls:

Master volume
Tone 1 (Neck pickup)
Tone 2 (middle and bridge pickups)

Pickup Switching: 5-Position blade:

Bridge only
Bridge & middle
Middle only
Middle and Neck
Neck only

Bridge: 6-Saddle vintage style tremolo
Hardware Finish: Nickel/Gold
Tuning Machines: Vintage Kluson style
Pickguard: 3-Ply white
Control Knobs: Aged white plastic
Switch Tips: White
Unique Features:

Fully scalloped fingerboard
Custom designed ‘Lee Daniel Guest’ neck-plate

My first project; my brother Lee had been a fan of Yngwie Malmsteen’s since the early 90’s and we had both talked and dreamed about one day having enough money to buy one of Fender’s signature models featuring a fully scalloped fretboard. A scalloped fretboard like Yngwie uses is incredibly difficult to source on a retail guitar for less £1,000 so I decided to build my own ‘Partscaster’. The ‘Duck’ tagline refers to Yngwie Malmsteen’s original Strat copy which he scalloped himself in the late 70’s. The headstock of this guitar had a Donald Duck sticker and the nickname reference is generally used.

Sourcing components primarily through eBay, this was my first experience of creating a working guitar on a tight budget that played like a pro. I was a little green at the time and so I bought a second-hand, ready wired scratch-plate and just connected the jack-plug.
I commissioned the production of a unique neck-late featuring the owner’s signature and Nordic hammer design.

Plays very well, it’s let down slightly by the stock-pickups however. It would definitely benefit from a set of DiMarzio YJM Fury’s.
The neck, which was sourced from China, is very thick and is an acquired taste but excellent for big bluesy bends.

Muninn

Posted on February 12, 2014 by mattICT in Bespoke, guitars, portfolio, projects | Leave a comment

Raven Projects : Muninn (1 of 2)

Spring 2012 – Spring 2014
SOLD

Model Name: Muninn
Color: Anthracite
Body Material: Swamp Ash
Body Shape: MG/CR Raven
Body Finish: ‘Clear Wudtone’
Neck Material: Rock Maple
Neck Style: 3×3 Headstock, oiled finish
Neck Shape: Modern “C”
Scale Length: 24.75”
Fingerboard: Tear-drop/full scalloped maple
Fingerboard Radius: 10″
Number of Frets: 22
Fret Size: Jumbo
Full-body String Nut: Black graph-tec
Nut Width: 42 mm
Fingerboard Inlays: N/A
Side Inlays: Black dot
Neck Plate: N/A
Pickup Configuration: HB-HB
Bridge Pickup: EMG HZ4
Middle Pickup: N/A
Neck Pickup: EMG HZ4-A
Controls: Master volume, coil-splitting push-pull
Pickup Switching: 3-Position blade:

Bridge only
Bridge & neck
Neck only

Bridge: 6-Saddle, twin-pivot modern style floating tremolo
Hardware Finish: Black
Tuning Machines: Gibson ‘Tulip’ style
Pickguard: N/A
Control Knobs: Black speed-knob
Switch Tips: Black
Unique Features:

Custom abalone headstock inlay
Tear-drop’ scalloped fingerboard from frets 1 – 11
Fully scalloped fingerboard from frets 12 – 22
Coil-split function, changing humbuckers to single-coil
Machine-thread neck insert for neck-mounting
Fender locking strap buttons
Treble-bleed wiring modification

Originally planned as a single, unique design and build, I managed to get a good deal purchasing the timber and ended up with two Swamp Ash body blanks.With two potential builds, I decided to theme along the lines of Norse mythology primarily as I wanted to create a transparent black, natural finish that would enhance the figuring of the Swamp Ash grain, but also because it seemed cool. The inspiration for this colour effect was a Raven’s wing, so I decided to theme the builds as Odin’s Ravens, Muninn (memory) and Huginn (thought).The body design was the result of many long hours in consultation with Chloe, aiming for a contemporary mix of Les Paul and Super-Strat body styles whilst keeping our own unique twist. The right horn was finished with a bevelled edge for a sword-edge like emphasis and was cut deep to allow easy access to the high fret area.This guitar was designed to look and feel sharp and edgy, and so I felt it needed a very fast action. The scalloping process was arduous but worthwhile, and has resulted in a super-slick experience, excellent for both 80’s style shredding and hard SRV style blues-bends. Frets 1 – 11 have been scalloped to a tear-drop profile to allow easier bar-chord playing, while frets 12 – 22 have the more traditional full scallop made famous by artists such as Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai. High output passive pickups have been used to give an appropriate darkness to the sound, whilst keeping smooth tones in the Humbucker configuration. Pulling the Volume knob up into position splits the coils resulting in single-coil configuration, for a sharper more vintage sound.

” Huginn and Muninn Fly every day

over the mighty earth.

I fear for Huginn that he may not return,

yet more I fear for Muninn.”

– Odin, translated from Old Norse