
Photo 1
We're getting close to the end of our journey. We've aged most of the metal parts on our project guitar, so now let's take care of the output jack, knobs, back plate, and pickguard.
Hello and welcome back to Mod Garage. This month, we'll continue with the aging process of our Harley Benton DC-Junior project guitar (which is a copy of a 1958 Les Paul Junior Double Cut), taking a closer look at the pickguard while aging the rest of the hardware discussed in the last part of this series ["DIY Relic'ing: Harley Benton DC-Junior Electronics"]. If you need a refresher on our aging process for hardware, refer back to "DIY Relic'ing: Break the Shine" for guidance. You can see the parts we'll be discussing today in their "finished" form, aka relic'd, in Photo 1.
1. Output Jack
I'm not a big fan of aging the complete output jack or applying any corrosion to it because it's the transfer point of the signal to the guitar cable. We want this as clean as possible and without any avoidable contact resistance to keep the signal as strong and as fresh as possible. So, aging the parts you can see from the outside is the way to go, meaning the collar, the washer, and the hex nut.
You often see shiny new output jacks on vintage guitars, but why is this? Output jacks don't last forever, and chances are good that a vintage guitar has a replaced output jack that looks new because it is new. If the original output jack is still in a vintage guitar, it's usually dull, often showing some slight rust on the edges of the hex nut. To mimic this appearance, first take off the shine with some steel wool or fine sandpaper as we did before with many other parts. Then use an iron (III) oxide (ferric oxide) liquid to create some patina until you like the result. If you want to mimic some rust on the edges of the hex nut, sand off the nickel until you see the metal underneath—the ferric oxide will do the rest. Just let it sit for soak for a few minutes on these spots.
2. Knobs and Pointers
Photo 2
The top-hat knobs on vintage guitars also usually look shiny and new, but for a different reason. Because the knobs are touched and used very often, they get a kind of self-polishing from our fingers through the years, keeping them shiny with a greasy touch. Have a look at the original knobs of a '58 Les Paul Junior, shown in Photo 2, to see what I mean.
To mimic this, you can use a solvent and rub the knobs carefully with a paper towel, the surface will get slightly dull. Afterwards use a polish for plastics (or simply some of your toothpaste) and polish up the knobs a little bit until you like the result. The goal is to find the right mixture between old and new regarding the look. If you like a more beaten-up look, you can add some light scratches and file down some of the edges.
Photo 3
As you can see in Photo 3 of an original Junior from 1958, the pointers usually look dark and rusty. You can use the same process as aging the output jack to give them an old look.
3. Jack Plate and Screws
If you've been following along, you already know how to age screw heads. Nickel works out much better and looks much more authentic compared to chrome, so it's always a good idea to substitute chromed screws like on our Harley Benton with nickel before you proceed.
The jack plate usually shows some dings and scratches from botched attempts to plug in the guitar cable. You can simulate that by scrubbing off the shine with the steel wool, creating some random scratches with sandpaper, and hitting the plastic with the tip of the plug of your guitar cable while the jack plate is lying on a flat and even surface. If you want the jack plate cracked like on the photo of our vintage guitar, as seen in Photo 3, you can sketch out the cracking lines with a fine X-Acto knife on the back of the jack plate. Afterwards, screw it to a flat piece of wood and bolt on the screws very tight until the line cracks. If it doesn't crack, repeat the process and cut deeper with your knife, then install the output jack by fastening the hex nut very tightly.
If you decided to swap the modern 1-ply solid black jack plate for a more authentic 3-ply plate (black/white/black), some more work is required. On vintage guitars, the white sometimes turns to a kind of "nicotine white" or ivory color. To mimic this color, first take off the shine with some steel wool. Now you need something we haven't discussed before: concentrated liquid stain you can mix with alcohol. This is something we'll need again in the future, but as a basis some alcohol like isopropyl or naphtha works great. You also need a stain mixing cup (a small glass) and a spatula or anything else to stir the mixture. To mimic an aged white color, I like to use a stain in amber or vintage amber. Put some alcohol in your glass and add a drop of the stain, stir it, and see what it looks like. If it's too bright, add another drop of the stain and stir again. If it's too dark, add some more alcohol until you like the color.
You can get such stains in almost every luthier supply store. I like to use ColorTone Concentrated Liquid Stain from StewMac. After you finish your mix, take a Q-tip and wipe some of the liquid onto the white layer of your jack plate. Let it dry for a few minutes and watch the result. If it's still too bright, repeat the process. If it's too heavy, use some alcohol to wipe some of it off. You can also use this mix on black plastic parts if you want to mimic some stain spots, with excellent results. Lastly, we use the same mixture of dirt, dust, and ashes that we used for the plastic buttons of the tuners ["DIY Relic'ing Tuners, Part 2"]. I use a mixture of the contents from my vacuum cleaner bag, spiced up with some ashes from my open fireplace. Use your fingers to wipe some dirt onto the white part of the jack plate. Now, how does it look?
I use a mixture of the contents from my vacuum cleaner bag, spiced up with some ashes from my open fireplace.
4. Back Plate and Screws
The back plate of the original '58 Les Paul is a piece of solid black plastic that is held by two screws, and our Harley Benton stays true to this original formula. For the two screws, repeat the process from the jack plate screws. The back plate on vintage guitars usually shows some light scratches, along with some deeper scratches and little chips caused by belt buckles. To mimic this wear, first break the shine with some steel wool, add some random scratches with sandpaper, and use a small chisel or maybe one of your belt buckles to add some deeper scratches and little chips.
By the way, the bottom of the back plate on our Harley Benton is "shielded" with a thick piece of self-adhesive aluminum foil, but it's not connected to ground in any way, so it's pretty useless. If you want to add some shielding, connect it to ground so it can work as it should. There is no shielding inside the cavity of the Harley Benton, same as on the vintage Les Paul. The black color inside the Harley Benton is only black paint but no shielding paint. If you want some shielding in the cavity, go for it, using copper foil or conductive shielding paint.
Congratulations! After you've worked on all these parts, they will look similar to what I did while writing this column for you, as seen in Photo 1.
5. Pickguard
In the last step for today, let's have a look at the pickguard, including the screws. Our Harley Benton comes with a 3-ply (black/white/black) pickguard, so the aging process will be easy: You can simply follow the process from the jack plate. Pickguards usually show scratches from contact with a plectrum, so I recommend using a guitar pick to put some typical scratches on it. Take care of the direction of the pick during this process so it will look authentic afterwards.
Photo 4
If you're fine with the stock pickguard, you're done for now. The original Les Paul Juniors never had such a pickguard—if they came with a black one, it was always single-ply solid black. Such pickguards are available, and you can swap it if this bothers you. The typical and classic look with a TV yellow Junior guitar was a celluloid tortoise-style pickguard, as seen in Photo 4, which is an original '58 Les Paul Junior.
The old celluloid material was semi-transparent, and the early pickguards had wonderful, rounded edges. The fake tortoiseshell material available today is not transparent in any way, and far from replicating the beauty of the original material. There is a fantastic substitute material called Tortoloid, but it's only available in very thin sheets for acoustic guitars. The only way to come closer to the original would be to use a clear Lucite pickguard and to cover it with a sheet of self-adhesive Tortoloid, or to try to find some of the original celluloid material in the right thickness.
Photo 5
To give this guitar the classic look, and because I love these pickguards very much, I decided to make one for our Harley Benton, using an NOS blank celluloid piece from the '50s, which I got from the Roger Rossmeisl workshop in Berlin. I still have some of these blanks for such projects and working with real celluloid is a pleasure and pain at the same time. Look at this material compared to the stock pickguard in Photo 5.
Photo 6
I think it's a big difference. To get a feel for which you prefer, you can see the different pickguards on the project guitar in Photo 6 and Photo 7.
Photo 7
That's it for now. In the next part of this series, we'll work on aging the fretboard and the headstock. But before this, we'll return to guitar mods in the next issue.
Until then ... keep on modding!
- The DIY Relic Job—Fantasy or Reality? - Premier Guitar ›
- DIY: Relic'ing Metal Hardware - Premier Guitar ›
- DIY Relic'ing: Break the Shine - Premier Guitar ›
Wampler Pedals releases the Brent Mason signature ReWired pedal.
Brent Mason’s career as a session guitarist spans over five decades, making him one of the most recorded musicians in history. His unparalleled talent has graced more than 1,000 albums, playing with and contributing to chart-topping hits from icons like Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Vince Gill, George Jones, Dolly Parton, Blake Shelton, Shania Twain, and many others. A Grammy winner and Musicians Hall of Fame inductee, Brent has also earned twelve Guitarist of the Year awards from the Academy of Country Music, two CMA® Musician of the Year titles, and was named one of the top ten session guitarists ever by Guitar World magazine.
Brian Wampler’s journey with Brent Mason began way back around 2004, when he’d make weekend trips to Nashville just to watch Brent play. Inspired by Brent’s incredible talent and effortless touch, Brian set out to craft a signature pedal that would become the cornerstone of Brent’s sound. The Overdrive channel perfectly captures Brent’s iconic rhythm tones, offering everything from crystal-clear light dirt to a punchy, muscular Overdrive. The Distortion channel screams with rich harmonics, making it ideal for solos - whether used on its own or stacked with the Overdrive for maximum impact.
An Iconic Tone, Reimagined
With two fully independent circuits, the ReWired gives you access to both classic Overdrive and powerful Distortion channels that have been tweaked to Brent’s exact specs. The Overdrive side is perfect for rhythm and Chicken Pickin’ - built for warmth and maximum clarity, staying true to Brent's iconic sound. The Distortion channel is a perfect lead tone and offers a weighty “British” Plexi-like punch. The ReWired also features an order switch that allows the stacking direction to be changed on-the-fly without the hassle of changing cables.
Dual inputs and Outputs
The ReWired can be connected with a single mono input and output cable, just like a regular guitar pedal, or you can connect each channel independently (very useful when used with a loop switcher!). You can even connect a pedal in between both channels - try adding a compressor or an EQ if you want to sculpt your tone further.
Fat Blends
The ReWired incorporates our unique “Fat” circuit control onto each channel as separate knobs. This allows you to dial in just the right amount of low end thump and presence into your rig - helping tame big speaker cabs or enhance smaller ones. The Overdrive channel also has Brent’s signature blend control, allowing you to tune the amount of drive to your liking.
ReWired - for ALL players
This is not a guitar pedal to be bought and put in a case and admired - but with its exclusive new Prime Silver finish (a nod to Brent’s infamous ‘67 Telecaster) and custom graphics we wouldn’t blame you if you did. The Wampler ReWired is designed to be at the heart of your rig. It sounds great with every guitar and amp we’ve tried it with and covers so many genres of music with ease. It comes with Wampler’s standard no fuss 5 Year guarantee and is built from the highest grade components to withstand the rigors of practice and gigging for years to come. The Wampler Brent Mason ReWired Signature Overdrive and Distortion - Rewire Your Sound Today Built in the U.S.A. with high-grade components selected for superior sound and response, premium finish and controls Dual Independent Overdrive and Distortion channels Independent Level, Gain, Tone and Fat controls for both channels, Blend Control for Overdrive channel Channel Order switch with two pairs of Input and Output jacks Power draw: 35mA at 9V and 40mA at 18V. 9-18v power jack - DC supply only, do not exceed 18v DC, battery Included Includes Limited 5-Year Warranty Dimensions: 5” x 4.5” x 2.4″ (88.9mm x 114.3mm x 58.0mm)
The Wampler ReWired carries a street price of $279.97. For more information visit https://www.wamplerpedals.com/
The body shape of this 6-string seems surprisingly ergonomic, but that perception changes when you hold its neck!
Originally priced at $25 and tagged for the student market, this guitar built at the Kawai factory sounds surprisingly good, but its neck is a “husky” fit.
Recently, I celebrated a birthday—and let me tell you, after 50 I just feel thankful for a shot at another day. I’m at the point in life where I wake up with injuries, like random bruises or sore joints after a good night of sleep. What the heck! As part of being over 50, I find it necessary to keep up on my vaccinations and health things, and in my recent travels, I was surprised to learn that so many people have a birthday around the same time as me. It started with various phlebotomists, doctors, and nurses. Then it continued with people at work and social media messages. I never really thought about it before, but I did some research and, in fact, more babies are born in September than in any other month! My birthday is October 6, but according to my dear mom, I was two weeks late (as usual).
And so it goes that I pondered this proliferation of Virgos and Libras, and my hypothesis came into focus. Were we all the result of our parents’ Christmas and New Year’s celebrations?! I have to say, there was a camaraderie discovered among my fellow party babies when I presented my findings to them. Now, being born in the early ’70s also had me thinking of the culture of the times. Hippie life was fading as young people started to realize they had to get a job, and alas, long hair and beards were being replaced by staid 9-to-5 gigs that could slowly suck the life out of you. So, given the cultural mores of that era, I thought that this month I should write about the Sorrento Swinger.
“Hippie life was fading as young people started to realize they had to get a job.”
Born around 1967—maybe in September—these Swingers hailed from the “crazy” design period of the Kawai Co. Kawai produced some of the coolest guitar designs from 1967 to ’69, and there were some very creative guitar designers there on the job. Kawai had poached some of the finest employees from the wreckage of the Shinko Gakki factory (Pleasant, Intermark, etc.) and through the purchase of the Teisco brand. In this era, Kawai usually used three different standard pickups and they all sound great, plus the units are always wired in series, which is just awesome.
For a 25-buck, Japan-made guitar from the ’70s, the Swinger has an elite-looking headstock—and, on this example, most of its tuners.
Now, the Swinger (and similar Kawai-made guitars) came from an era where U.S. importers would order small batches of instruments that were often unique and extremely gonzo. The guitars might have been destined for medium-sized music stores or direct-order catalogs, but whatever the case, the importer usually gave the guitars names. In this instance, it was Jack Westheimer who featured this model as an “exclusive” design. In Westheimer Corporation catalogs from the time, the Swinger carried the A-2T model name (there was another one-pickup model called the A-1) and sold wholesale for $25 in 1967! As the catalog mentioned, these were “priced for the teenaged trade.” This particular guitar featured the Sorrento badge, and was sold through some sort of music store that’s probably long out of business, but all the Swingers were the same.
The Swinger’s large mahogany neck (sans truss rod) is robust and beefy in all the nicest ways. Like, when I was a kid, I was considered a “husky” fit. That’s this neck: husky! The striped pickguard is a Teisco holdover and the controls are as simple as it gets. Two knobs (volume, tone) and two pickup selectors is all there is, but the beauty is in the body. That lower bout is shaped like some sort of 1969 lounge chair. The strap pin is totally in the wrong place, but the big bottom swoop is worth it. Yep, the Swinger was ready to bring in the dawn of the 1970s, but alas, the guitar came and went in a blink.
Hand-built in the USA, this pedal features original potentiometer values, True Bypass, and three unique modes for versatile distortion options. Commemorative extras included.
This limited-edition pedal is limited to a 1,974-piece run to commemorate the year of DOD’s start, 1974. The original OD250 put DOD on the map as “America’s Pedal” and continues to be an industry favorite today. Each pedal will have a serial-numbered Certificate of Authenticity, a commemorative laser-etched pedal topper, several commemorative guitar picks, and multiple commemorative stickers.
Hand-built in the USA, the DOD OD250 – 50th Anniversary Edition pedal boasts Gain and Level controls using the original potentiometer values and tapers giving the control knob the feel and range that DOD enthusiasts love. A three-position toggle switch features the OD250’s classic “SILICON” mode replicating that original sound. The “Ge/ASYM” mode uses a vintage Germanium diode for asymmetrical even-harmonic distortion. “LIFT” mode cuts the diode clipping from the signal path allowing for a clean boost or even a dirty boost when the vintage LM741 op-amp is clipped at higher gain settings. The DOD 250 also features True Bypass to maintain the integrity of your guitar tone.
This limited edition OD250 is outfitted in a stunning metal flake gray finish with classic yellow screenprint in a callback to the original OD250 of the 1970s. An etched aluminum badge on each unit commemorates this occasion. The DOD OD 250 – 50th Anniversary is ready to take its place among the historic DOD pedal lineup.
When John Johnson and “Mr. DOD” himself, David O. DiFrancesco set out to make DOD Electronics in Salt Lake City, Utah 50 years ago, they had no idea how enduring their legacy would be. Now 50 years later, DOD Electronics continues to be at the forefront of pedal technology. The DOD OD 250 – 50th Anniversary Pedal is an exceptional testament to DOD Electronics’ long–standing success.
Retail Price: $250.00
For more information, please visit digitech.com.
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