5150 build.

This was a week ago and I have started the relic job and assembled the guitar to judge the overall look.
I will definitely be working on this on and off for weeks. Sometimes I will need to disassemble it but here is a start.
Going for a late 84 look with a bit less wear this time.
IMG_2565.jpg
I have almost nothing to go on for the back at this time as the table had just come off and there is no big sanded patch of sanded wood.
 
Then between Farm Aid and 5150 tour the paint went off the back.

I think you can just make out the paint is on in this clip.
And off in the video clip from 5150 tour above .
Between 20 and 35 seconds in you get a view of the back with the paint on.
This is the best I can find, it gives me an idea but hardly anything to work from in detail.
I want a picture after the table came off and before he sanded it really to copy it. But I may only end up with things like these.
 
Last edited:
What did I learn ?
This guitar is the biggest rabbit hole I have ever gone down, not because it's particularly hard to replicate but because the information out there is so variable and FACTS are non existent . The conclusion I have come too is George Felice did paint it but he is not saying what with or how( and I have asked him). The colour was most likely GMwa7753 as Kramer was using GM paint and that is the only vermilion available at the time from them (1982 onward.) The white is just basic white .BUT they could have painted it with rattle can lacquer (it's bad enough) then who knows. Paul Unkert only did the neck conversion, scraping off the finish on the fingerboard and sanded it off the back so badly it affected the profile. Nobody knows (remembers) or is saying who put it together ( my guess would be Ed took the parts and put it together himself based on the build style) . The pickup was a broken JBJ (straight from the guy who has it now) the tuners are OEM Gotoh M6 copies, the Floyd is one of 800 Hanson metalwork stop gap FRT5's ( straight from the man). The neck is ESP could be a converted strat but the timeframe says beak is more likely. This was Ed's favourite sounding guitar right up to the Wolfgang.

The biggest problem; the body wood . I have now made them in basswood ,poplar and swamp ash and just on the acoustic sound alone I say it's not swamp ash. Yes the forensic sample but how can I be sure that I am getting the truth because EVH even say on their website that 5150 is basswood. I thought poplar when I handled it but it could have been basswood under the dirt. I never for even a moment thought swamp ash. Scott (Musikraft) says it is basswood categorically and he has played and seen it far more and more recently than me. There are two arguments for swamp ash and they are; 1 the open looking pours in the forearm contour and a spalt mark visible under the missing paint near the pickup and the forensic sample (if I trust the story) . The grain visible on the back is nothing like swamp ash.

The case for basswood; Scott says it is and he knows what he is talking about . Ed had just spent time with Allan Holdsworth and he had just had a bunch of Charvel made in different woods and liked basswood the best. All of Ed's guitars after including one made to replicate the tone of 5150 are basswood (and they had it to work off.)

And finally poplar ; Kramer used it at the time for all Pacers and 5150 is a Pacer. Non of Eds Kramers are made out of custom parts but they are all built from things in the facility. Kramer couldn't actually custom make things without having them built out of house. Ed would expect to have a guitar built in the same day and no custom parts exist in any other Kramers that where put together for Ed.
My opinion now, I think I was probably right in the first place with poplar but basswood is possible too.
The thing that struck me about 5150 was it was light and sounded really good unplugged.
My swamp ash replica sounds good but a bit more like a vintage Telecaster that you would ever imagine It also has a two way rod (which is not right from a tone standpoint.)
I will replace the body on my Mk 1 of this with a basswood version, super light sell the Musikraft body (painted in nitro) and keep the swamp ash relic and probably paint the final version NOS. This final version will use the first Musicraft neck because it has a single rod and will use a 3lb 3oz body . The latest and completely accurate LCG version not available when I started this. I will refinish the head to match the new body use new hardware and a vintage CCJ pickup or a Wolfgang. Then this will be over.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom