The 2018 CCL Deco Custom, in all its Pelham blue glory.
This reader solicited the help of his friend, luthier Dale Nielsen, to design the perfect guitar as a 40th-birthday gift to himself.
This is really about a guy in northern Minnesota named Dale Nielsen, who I met when I moved up there in 2008 and needed somebody to reglue the bridge on my beloved first guitar (a 1992 Charvel 625c, plywood special). Dale is a luthier in his spare timeāa Fender certified, maker of jazz boxes.
Anyway, we became friends and I started working on him pretty earlyāmy 40th birthday was approaching, and that meant it was time for us to start designing his first solidbody build. If you stopped on this page, itās because the photo of the finished product caught your eye. Beautiful, right? The 2018 CCL Deco Custom: Never shall there be another.
Old National Glenwood guitars were my design inspiration, but I wanted a slim waist like a PRS and the like. We used a solid block of korina to start, routed like MacGyver to get the knobs and switches where I wanted them. Dale builds all his own lathes and machines (usually out of lumber, yāall), as the task requires. This beast took some creativityāitās tight wiring under that custom-steel pickguard. Many were the preliminary sketches. Four coats of Pelham blue, 11 coats of nitro. Honduran mahogany neck, Madagascar ebony fretboard with Daleās signature not-quite-Super-400 inlays. He designed the logo; I just said, āMake it art deco.ā
We sourced all the bits and bobs from StewMac and Allparts and Reverb and the like, mostly to get that chrome look I so adore. Graph Tech Ratio tuners, Duesenberg Radiator trem (had to order that one from Germany), TonePros TP6R-C roller bridge. The pickups were a genius suggestion from the builder, Guitarfetish plug ānā play 1/8" solderless swappable, which means I have about 10 pickups in the case to choose from: rockabilly to metal. And both slots are tapped, with the tone knobs serving as single- to double-coil switches. I put the selector on the lower horn to accommodate my tendency to accidentally flip the thing on Les Paulsādefinite lifesaver.
Reader and guitar enthusiast, Cody Lindsey.
Dale offered to chamber this monster, but I said what doesnāt kill you makes you stronger. It weighs in at 11 pounds, if itās an ounce. We carved the neck to match a ā60s SG, so itās like the mini bat you get at the ballpark on little kidsā day. Easy peasy. 1 11/16" nut, 25" scale, jumbo frets, just 2 1/8" at the 12th fret.
Delivery in its lovely, hygrometer-equipped Cedar Creek case actually happened a month or two shy of my 41st, but hey, you canāt rush these things. We ended up with a studio Swiss Army knife; it does a bit of everything and does it effortlessly. A looker, too. Dale didnāt spend his career doing this kind of thingāhe was in IT or some suchāand I imagine heās winding this āhobbyā of his down these days, enjoying retirement with a bottle of Killianās and a lawn chair at Duluth Blues Fest. But this guitar will live on as a marker of his skill and otherworldly patience. It sits at the head of the class in my practice room, welcoming any visitors and bringing a smile to my face every day. And Dale, my friend, Iāll be 50 before you know it....
Cody requested that Dale design an art deco logo for the guitarās headstock.
Watch PG's John Bohlinger take a swing at handshaping an acoustic neck. Plus, learn how Martin's master craftsman reverse engineers the company's gold-standard profiles from their most-heralded instruments.
Instrument design manager Rameen Shayegan leads Bohlinger into the Martin Custom Shop where he gets a crash course in how their team makes neck shapes that are snowflakes. However, the talented crew also divulges how they explore guitarcheology by reproducing some of the neck profiles that are on their most-iconic instruments within the Martin museum. This is one of the process that helped create the company's popular Authentic Series.
Watch the full factory tour here.
Introducing two new models handmade in Savannah, GA, the Voyager Standard and Voyager Custom.
Voyager features interchangeable pickup and control modules, which swap in seconds, onstage and tool-free, without the need to mute the amplifier. This eliminates the need for a player to bring multiple guitars to a gig or session in order to access a range of tones, making it ideal for players who perform a variety of styles. Its unique breakaway control module ensures the player can customize their control setup to suit their preferred pickups and playing style.
The Voyager Standard features a solid Ash body with colorful finishes such as Crimson and Obsidian. It is available with either a hardtail bridge or a JM-style tremolo with a roller bridge. The Voyager Custom is available in a range of attractive woods including Walnut, Cherry, and Sapele Mahogany with a Curly Maple top. In addition to a selection of hardtail or tremolo bridges, players can choose from a 25.5ā scale length for tight attack and pronounced treble, or a 25ā scale length for a slightly warmer tone and slinkier bends.
Features
- Maple neck with a slim and ergonomic Asymmetrical C-Profile
- Selection of stock modules featuring Seymour Duncan pickups
- Gotoh tuners and hardware, and electronics from CTS, Switchcraft, and Oak Grigsby
- Sleek custom body carve with several options for wood, including Ash, Walnut, and Cherry
Voyager Modular Guitar Sizzle Reel
The Voyager Standard starts at $1599.99. The Voyager Custom starts at $1799.99. Each includes one pickup module and one control module. Additional pickup and control modules start at $199.99. Custom options are available. Voyager Modular Guitar is available from the shop at reddickguitars.com.