Fender's John Cruz on Making Pinkburst Project Guitars, Basses, and Amps
Master Builder John Cruz from the Fender Custom Shop in Corona, California, first
met Jay Jay French at the Winter 2007 NAMM show. He was in the midst of conversation
with co-workers outside the Fender booth when the guitarist approached him.
“Jay Jay walked right up to me and joined in on our conversation,” says Cruz. “He was
telling me about this wacky dream he had about having a pinkburst guitar custom built
for him. He said he had a huge array of Gibsons but really had not had a great Fender
to add to his collection—especially with the left-field specs that he was thinking about.
He wanted a Telecaster in a hot pink color with a cherry-red burst around it. He wanted
most of the appointments that were on all of his Gibsons to be present, as well. He
sent me his Gibson Les Paul to use for reference, which helped a lot in getting the color
right. I told him, ‘Your sick dream is my pleasure.’”
TKL Cases – All Pinkburst Project guitars come with a custom TKL case adorned with the Pinkburst Project
logo (the one shown here holds a pinkburst Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul), and a Red Monkey Pinkburst
Project leather guitar strap in pink, white, or black.
The guitar was finished in February 2008, and by that time the Pinkburst Project was
under way. “I remember this guitar sounding incredible and really did not want to see
it leave my hands,” says Cruz. “Jay Jay received the guitar and was
very excited about
the whole vibe. He started showing it to other musicians and manufacturers, who were
blown away and really wanted to be involved.”
Next was the custom Stratocaster, which Cruz describes as “My favorite guitar in the
world. Jay Jay wanted the same appointments as the Tele to be present. It really seemed
weird to be putting trapezoid inlay on a Strat, but we are the custom shop, where your
dream is our specialty.” French’s next request from Fender was a ’75 Jazz bass. “He chose
that because he had a real ’75 and loved the way it felt, sounded, and played.”
The last guitar was a Gretsch G6120. “I really do not build Gretsch guitars, but I spoke
with our Senior Master Builder, Stephen Stern, about what I was doing,” says Cruz. “He
said he had a cancelled order for a 6120 in his area that needed a home. It just needed
to be finished up with detail sanding, and then to be painted and built.”
With the Gretsch complete, Cruz thought Fender had come through on everything
French wanted. Then came the final request: “Jay Jay said, ‘I gotta have matching amps
to pair with all these guitars.’ I said, ‘Dude, you’re killing me.’ So I spoke with [thenartist
relations manager] Alex Perez about his quest and he was glad to help out. I got
to see these beauties right before the chassis was installed. They stood out like a sore
thumb. The women here at the plant fell in love with them, as did everyone else. They
all knew I had something to do with this project and have since not looked at me the
same way. Thanks, Jay Jay, for tarnishing my reputation!”
Cruz looks back on the two-and-a-half-year undertaking with great pride and some
humor, but he also has quite a heart for the cause and obvious admiration for French’s
efforts and determination. “The whole idea gave me a great feeling about what this
long-haired, Twisted Sister-vest-wearing, thug-looking guy was up to,” he says. “I hope
whoever gets these babies will enjoy them as much as I did putting my all into them.”