On The Bench Now

These are the projects I have on the bench right now. Ranging from familiar, classic designs to the off-beat to some custom designs that I'm developing. Where available, I've included pre-vis renders.

Candy Apple Red and Trans Blue Strats

These Strats are made with the look and feel of a 60's spec Fender but are made with basswood bodies and maple caps. The necks are flame maple with Peruvian rosewood fretboards.

Sprayed over a brilliant silver metallic base coat, their Candy Red and Trans Blue finishes have a stunning iridescence.

Carved Top Custom

This is a new signature model that is exclusive to CCG. It's made with a chambered Honduran mahogany back and bookmatched quilted maple cap. The unique body profile allows for a different take on the carved top. Finishing touches include faux binding on the body, quilted maple binding on the neck and matching quilted maple headstock veneer. Also included in the design are wraparound bridge, and body mounted humbuckers.

Photoshop mock-up

And the current state of the build.

Here's a short video clip of the top after a wash coat...beautiful nature at work.

Watch

Gretsch Inspired Carved Top Custom

This model is inspired by the Gretsch Jet, arguably one of the most iconic guitars to date. My approach to honoring this classic is a departure but still offers plenty of Jet vibe. The body is chambered Honduran mahogany. It also features a mahogany neck, Peruvian rosewood fretboard and headstock veneer.

The chambering greatly reduces the weight of this 13.5" wide beast.

Capped with a beautiful bookmatched flame maple top, it features a carve that's somewhere between the Jet and a Les Paul. The carve will be framed in white/black/white binding which ties in nicely with the white binding on the fretboard.

White Tiger Strat

Another build based on a timeless classic. This one is made with an basswood back and bookmatched flame maple cap. The finish on this one will be ambitious. Dubbed The White Tiger, this one will have solid white back and sides and a bleached, figure enhanced top.

This build also features a highly figured flame maple neck and pearl dot inlays.

The electronics scheme on this one is somewhat unique. It incorporates 2 master volumes. One volume (500K) controls the bridge humbucker. The other (250K) controls the single coils. The tone is a master and is wired into the circuit at output so it controls all 3 pickups. The standard 5-way blade switch has been replaced with 3 on/off/on switches allowing on, off and phase reverse for each of the 3 pickups. This offers pickup combinations not available with the standard switch.

It's ready for bleaching and finish!

Mahogany Mockingbird

Throwing back to the days of Neil Geraldo and his work on the early Pat Benatar records where he championed the offset guitars of BC Rich, this design is one that you either love or hate. I happen to love it!

With specs and data extracted only from photographs, I constructed this one of solid Honduran mahogany with a Peruvian rosewood fretboard. The body appears to be thinner than most set neck guitars but it's actually 1.75" thick. This is due to it's flat top. I went for a clean look with no binding on the fretboard and the headstock sports a wide grained rosewood veneer.

Doing away with the clunky, heavy bridge of the original, I decided to string thru the body and arrange the top ferrules in an arch that accents the curve of the body's upper bout.

CCG Custom

This is a flat top version of the custom at the top of the page. It has the same unique body profile but with a flat top. Also made of Honduran mahogany, the chambered body is topped with a bookmatched flame maple cap which will feature faux binding. Flame maple binding on the fretboard and matching flame maple veneer round out the details.

Les Paul Jr Inspired Double Cut

Inspired by the Les Paul Jr, this one is made of Honduran mahogany with a bookmatched flame maple top. To use a single humbucker and maintain a substantial neck joint, the neck tenon was cut flush and tucked beneath the top. The body is unchambered and weighs a good bit but this one will have unbridled humbucker punch and sustain for days. Faux body binding, matching flame maple binding on the fretboard and maple headstock veneer finish this one nicely.

CCG Custom with a Twist

Another CCG custom but without the "hook" in the body profile. The 3-piece body is inspired by the signature 3-piece back of the Martin D-35 acoustic. Here, it's constructed from walnut with flame maple stringers bordering the tapered middle section. A set flame maple neck and bookmatched walnut headstock veneer are also included.

The bookmatched top is made of tightly figured fiddleback maple, reminiscent of the petite figure seen on many violins. The edge of the top will be finished natural to form a faux binding.

Vox AC4TV Cabinet Conversion

This is a custom cabinet conversion for a 4 watt Vox amp. The original package was a small 10" combo. This conversion makes a small stack that looks classy but has a bit of attitude. A larger 12" Eminence Lady Luck speaker gives this little rocker a fuller voice and produces plenty of that classic Vox chime.

The cabinets are made from 3/4" spalted flame maple with stringers of flame maple sapwood. The speaker baffle is 1/2" pine that's only anchored to the cabinet on two sides. This lets it react to the speaker so it doesn't over dampen it's movements. The grill and face plate are trimmed out in hand-cut flame maple quarter round.

Stereo Signal Switch

Working in the studio as both musician and technician can be a huge roadblock to creativity. So, I designed a simple stereo switcher that will let me switch the stereo output of my effects processor to any or all of the amps in the studio. It's a 2 in, 6 out setup with LEDs top and bottom indicating left or right assignment. It can feed up to 6 mono amps. This box lets me keep all of the amps connected and all I have to do is power up the one(s) I want to use.

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