This reader made his own fusion of the Telecaster, Jazzmaster, and Stratocaster.
Name:John Huston
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Guitar Model: Frankenstein Jazzcaster
I call this guitar the "Fender Coward."
The neck, bridge, and control knobs are from a Fender Deluxe Nashville Telecaster I purchased new in 2004. Once a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails was installed in the bridge position it became my best-sounding guitar. However, unlike my other guitars, I struggled with frequent broken strings, particularly the A string. At one point, I had my guitar tech install graphite bridge saddles, hoping they would help alleviate the breakage. Alas, nothing seemed to work.
I chalked the breakage up to the attack my right hand was making with the stringsāmost of my other guitars have arm and rib contours, while the Tele does not. I went back to my guitar guy and asked about sanding down the body, Jeff Beck-style. At the cost he estimated, I could instead afford to buy a custom Warmoth body. So that's what I did. I chose the "Jazzcaster" body (Jazzmaster shape/weight, but cut for Tele neck pocket and guts) and chose yellow, my favorite color.
Photo by Meredith Goldberg
I later had the guys at Chicago Fret Works install a Rio Grande Bastard P-90-style pickup in the neck position, along with a "super switch" between the volume and tone knobs. This allows me to activate the neck pickup at any time, giving me the all-important ability to choose the bridge-and-neck combination that I couldn't otherwise with a 5-way selector and three pickups. I also installed new white-knob, 15:1 gear ratio tuners.
It's taken a bit of a beating these last couple years with my band, Stomatopod, but I love this guitar. It's the perfect combination of Telecaster (bridge and string height from the body), Jazzmaster (shape and balance), and Stratocaster (the middle pickup gives me oodles of sonic diversity).
Send your guitar story tosubmissions@premierguitar.com.
[Updated 9/22/21]
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EBS introduces the Solder-Free Flat Patch Cable Kit, featuring dual anchor screws for secure fastening and reliable audio signal.
EBS is proud to announce its adjustable flat patch cable kit. It's solder-free and leverages a unique design that solves common problems with connection reliability thanks to its dual anchor screws and its flat cable design. These two anchor screws are specially designed to create a secure fastening in the exterior coating of the rectangular flat cable. This helps prevent slipping and provides a reliable audio signal and a neat pedal board and also provide unparalleled grounding.
The EBS Solder-Free Flat Patch Cable is designed to be easy to assemble. Use the included Allen Key to tighten the screws and the cutter to cut the cable in desired lengths to ensure consistent quality and easy assembling.
The EBS Solder-Free Flat Patch Cable Kit comes in two sizes. Either 10 connector housings with 2,5 m (8.2 ft) cable or 6 connectors housings with 1,5 m (4.92 ft) cable. Tools included.
Use the EBS Solder-free Flat Patch Cable Kit to make cables to wire your entire pedalboard or to create custom-length cables to use in combination with any of the EBS soldered Flat Patch Cables.
Estimated Price:
MAP Solder-free Flat Patch Cable Kit 6 pcs: $ 59,99
MAP Solder-free Flat Patch Cable Kit 10 pcs: $ 79,99
MSRP Solder-free Flat Patch Cable Kit 6 pcs: 44,95 ā¬
MSRP Solder-free Flat Patch Cable Kit 10 pcs: 64,95 ā¬
For more information, please visit ebssweden.com.
Upgrade your Gretsch guitar with Music City Bridge's SPACE BAR for improved intonation and string spacing. Compatible with Bigsby vibrato systems and featuring a compensated lightning bolt design, this top-quality replacement part is a must-have for any Gretsch player.
Music City Bridge has introduced the newest item in the companyās line of top-quality replacement parts for guitars. The SPACE BAR is a direct replacement for the original Gretsch Space-Control Bridge and corrects the problems of this iconic design.
As a fixture on many Gretsch models over the decades, the Space-Control bridge provides each string with a transversing (side to side) adjustment, making it possible to set string spacing manually. However, the original vintage design makes it difficult to achieve proper intonation.
Music City Bridgeās SPACE BAR adds a lightning bolt intonation line to the original Space-Control design while retaining the imperative horizontal single-string adjustment capability.
Space Bar features include:
- Compensated lightning bolt design for improved intonation
- Individually adjustable string spacing
- Compatible with Bigsby vibrato systems
- Traditional vintage styling
- Made for 12-inch radius fretboards
The SPACE BAR will fit on any Gretsch with a Space Control bridge, including USA-made and imported guitars.
Music City Bridgeās SPACE BAR is priced at $78 and can be purchased at musiccitybridge.com.
For more information, please visit musiccitybridge.com.
The Australian-American country music icon has been around the world with his music. What still excites him about the guitar?
Keith Urban has spent decades traveling the world and topping global country-music charts, and on this episode of Wong Notes, the country-guitar hero tells host Cory Wong how he conquered the worldāand what keeps him chasing new sounds on his 6-string via a new record, High, which releases on September 20.
Urban came up as guitarist and singer at the same time, and he details how his playing and singing have always worked as a duet in service of the song: āWhen I stop singing, [my guitar] wants to say something, and he says it in a different way.ā Those traits served him well when he made his move into the American music industry, a story that begins in part with a fateful meeting with a 6-string banjo in a Nashville music store in 1995.
Itās a different world for working musicians now, and Urban weighs in on the state of radio, social media, and podcasts for modern guitarists, but he still believes in word-of-mouth over the algorithm when it comes to discovering exciting new players.
And in case you didnāt know, Keith Urban is a total gearhead. He shares his essential budget stomps and admits heās a pedal hound, chasing new sounds week in and week out, but what role does new gear play in his routine? Urban puts it simply: āIām not chasing tone, Iām pursuing inspiration.ā
Wong Notes is presented by DistroKid.
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PG contributor Tom Butwin takes a deep dive into LR Baggs' HiFi Duet system.