gpuma Posted April 3, 2014 Posted April 3, 2014 It was the end of july 2013, 7/23 to be exact. Katy, my wife and I, brought our kids to daycare and drove 2 and a half hours to 225 Parsons Street. I was about to order my first custom ordered guitar. It had to be special, it had to be personal. I cannot even remember all the crazy options I thought about: from crazy wood choices to crazy pickguards such as this: I had brought Katy with me, hoping that she would convince Marv in doing some of the crazy ideas I had. However once the conversation started (the first sentence by Marv was this "Hi Gio, I still build these guitars but I do them simple, no crazy stuff"), I found that instead of bringing an ally with me I had brought Marv's ally with me. She just wanted me to be reasonable and we all got a big laugh about it. What a great day, she even brought me to have lunch at Hooters on the way back home! I mean... what a wife!!! In the end I thought that special really means special to me. So I figured that the guitar had to be a tribute to 2 of my greatest loves: my wife Kate and my hometeam AS ROMA. AS Roma wears the traditional colors of the city: with the yellow being really "goldish" but sometimes you would see variations toward orange: The idea was then to have the mahogany part with a burst to that red while the center maple stripe had to be yellow/orange After I chose the color I asked Katy, who is a graphic designer, to develop a logo that would represent her name: I thought it was brilliant, for Kate. So that had to be my custom TRC. Other features I specified were: Ebony board with blocks. The blocks are supposed to be a continuation of the middle stripe Master Volume/ Master Tone wiring. Raw and simple. Jack on the rim. I know barrel jacks do not have a great reputation but I had one for 25 years on my STAT with no issues and besides I'd rather replace the jack once in a while, other than seeing that weenie sticking out of my guitar every day, and besides aesthetic considerations, the jack on the top is just not a good design IMHO. Burst on the headstock as well Lollar Firebird pick-ups Wooden control cavity cover
gpuma Posted April 3, 2014 Author Posted April 3, 2014 These are the first pics I got: OMG Wrong Fret Board???? No it was there just for show, not glued Deciding the location of the controls: Going to be sprayed:
Vanschoyck Posted April 3, 2014 Posted April 3, 2014 That's going to be great. I think you were wise with your option picks.
fxdx99 Posted April 3, 2014 Posted April 3, 2014 What a great narrative, Gio! Your mindset on what you were thinking, the decision process, the meet at the factory. Wonderful - it looks great and you must be extremely excited.
DavesNotHere Posted April 3, 2014 Posted April 3, 2014 A prima vista bella! Wonderful story and photos Gio. I know exactly how you are feeling right now. Congratulations.
gpuma Posted April 3, 2014 Author Posted April 3, 2014 ETA: wednesday 5/9. Longest week of my life. Thank Goodness that is a typo ETA 4/9 Nice! Got your hardware options sorted out? Standards Chrome HW. Heritage installs Mini Grovers on the H-357. They are fine with me. The minis rings are going to be chrome as well.
volhoo Posted April 3, 2014 Posted April 3, 2014 This is so cool - I love the whole concept, and being a graphic designer myself, I love the logo that K8 made for you - way cool. Can't wait to see it all done - I am sure it will worth the wait. I waited forever for my custom build, but that guitar is truly amazing to behold and play. Cheers.
Spectrum13 Posted April 3, 2014 Posted April 3, 2014 Thank Goodness that is a typo ETA 4/9 Standards Chrome HW. Heritage installs Mini Grovers on the H-357. They are fine with me. The minis rings are going to be chrome as well. OK that makes sense. I thought an italian week was 7 days and we use your calendar.
ScottNaylor Posted April 3, 2014 Posted April 3, 2014 Tottigoal and I lupi would be proud! Lots of music ahead. Enjoy!
big bob Posted April 3, 2014 Posted April 3, 2014 It's even better when it's built not "to your specs" but just for you !
gpuma Posted April 4, 2014 Author Posted April 4, 2014 The best part? I have two daughters... They need a tribute guitar too, don't they? ;-)
bolero Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 wow that is a pretty amazing guitar, congratulations!
rockabilly69 Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 It's no secret that I love Firebird style guitars, and that 357 is looking GREAT!!! The woodgrain and the burst on the neck are awesome! Congrats on a beauty!
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.