B-bender Blonde Blackguard Partscaster

[lqdsnddist]

I like to build guitars, and I’m not ashamed to admit I love doing heavy relic style guitars, though I know they aren’t everyone’s taste. I try to do it in a well done and somewhat authentic manner, IE, I don’t take a belt sander to a poly finish lol. Thin nitro, lots of hours, tinted clear coat, aging parts in my humid Florida garage all summer etc. kind of fun to learn techniques and try to come up with my own as well.

Excited to share that I just put the neck on my latest project, a blond blackguard 54’ style tele....

At first glance it probably looks like any other black guard style, save for a few slight additions that might catch the eye.....

Flip it over though and it’s apparent it’s got a B-bender on full display! Never had one before, or even played one, so can’t wait to finish getting it built up and try my hand at some pedal style licks.

Been working on this one off and on (mostly off) for nearly a year so excited it’s nearing the finish line

 

[David Houck]

Nice!

 

[unix-guy]

Did you use a vintage belt buckle on the back?

 

[lqdsnddist]

Did you use a vintage belt buckle on the back?

Probably only about a early 90’s era buckle if I’m honest, along with some less than stellar paint spraying skills, and it’s like 40 years happens in 4 minutes lol

That’s the real beauty of relics.... get a little fisheye in the clearcoat, sand thru trying to fix a little orange peel etc? On a proper job it means maybe having to start over.... with a relic it just it’s a spot to give it a little nudge with the top of a cymbal stand and no more painting error

 

[Muad'zin]

I strongly think that relicing guitars is, well, kinda ridiculous. And if you want a neck that's well worn then maybe it shouldn't be coated in paints, lacquer or varnish. But if its your thing, go for it. I only did a relic job once, on my first ever guitar built. Not so much to mimic an old guitar, but more a very old artifact that had seen heavy duty action for thousands of years. I even used a metal grinder to simulate some claw marks, like a demon had taken a swipe on its surface. I think most of the dents and nicks I made came from rolling the body across a paved children's playground.

 

[lqdsnddist]

I strongly think that relicing guitars is, well, kinda ridiculous. And if you want a neck that's well worn then maybe it shouldn't be coated in paints, lacquer or varnish. But if its your thing, go for it. I only did a relic job once, on my first ever guitar built. Not so much to mimic an old guitar, but more a very old artifact that had seen heavy duty action for thousands of years. I even used a metal grinder to simulate some claw marks, like a demon had taken a swipe on its surface. I think most of the dents and nicks I made came from rolling the body across a paved children's playground.

“Relics” seem to be getting common in lots of aspects of consumer products these days. My wife just picked out a new bedroom set, and it’s this kind of distressed “driftwood” look, that they called the “coastal collection”. Looks kind of old and weathered.... cost lots of money though maybe I could of gone to the thrift shop and found some old end tables for $10 lol...

Likewise blue jeans... good luck finding a pair of even colored, stiff denim. These days they all have been washed 100 times to “break them in” have some wear marks etc. Seems to be what the consumer wants...

In the guitar hardware market, Stewmac, etc all have relic parts along with chrome, nickle, gold and such. If people weren’t buying this stuff they wouldn’t be producing them I don’t think....

Maybe something of a generational thing too.... I remember in the 90s, working at a guitar store, where we’d sell guys guitar polish, a pad you can put on the back of the body to prevent buckle scratches etc, and guys bought all these adds one. Guitars had fancy inlays, gold hardware, perfect paint jobs and it was soemthing you kept nice. I also remember everyone buying car “bras” for the front end, so you didn’t get chips and stuff, though it looked kind of silly having this vinyl cover on the front of your car, but they sold tons of them for a while.

I don’t think I’d want a non-relic guitar these days. I was playing my Black Strat yesterday and smacked it against a mic stand, total accident, not part of the process lol, but it did put the smallest dent into it.... if that guitar was perfect, and I spent countless hours buffing and polishing to a mirror finish I’d be devastated that my “perfect” guitar wasn’t perfect anymore. Since it already had some light wear, I didn’t really care, which is nice.

 

[Muad'zin]

“Relics” seem to be getting common in lots of aspects of consumer products these days. My wife just picked out a new bedroom set, and it’s this kind of distressed “driftwood” look, that they called the “coastal collection”. Looks kind of old and weathered.... cost lots of money though maybe I could of gone to the thrift shop and found some old end tables for $10 lol...

Likewise blue jeans... good luck finding a pair of even colored, stiff denim. These days they all have been washed 100 times to “break them in” have some wear marks etc. Seems to be what the consumer wants...

In the guitar hardware market, Stewmac, etc all have relic parts along with chrome, nickle, gold and such. If people weren’t buying this stuff they wouldn’t be producing them I don’t think....

Maybe something of a generational thing too.... I remember in the 90s, working at a guitar store, where we’d sell guys guitar polish, a pad you can put on the back of the body to prevent buckle scratches etc, and guys bought all these adds one. Guitars had fancy inlays, gold hardware, perfect paint jobs and it was soemthing you kept nice. I also remember everyone buying car “bras” for the front end, so you didn’t get chips and stuff, though it looked kind of silly having this vinyl cover on the front of your car, but they sold tons of them for a while.

I don’t think I’d want a non-relic guitar these days. I was playing my Black Strat yesterday and smacked it against a mic stand, total accident, not part of the process lol, but it did put the smallest dent into it.... if that guitar was perfect, and I spent countless hours buffing and polishing to a mirror finish I’d be devastated that my “perfect” guitar wasn’t perfect anymore. Since it already had some light wear, I didn’t really care, which is nice.

Actual battle scars are perfectly alright. Guitars are tools to be used, not dainty objects to be treated like glass. Each scar, like on a person, should tell a story. Except relicing doesn't tell any stories, it's just......., stolen valor in my opinion.

I think I forgot to say in my first post that that B-bender takes a hell of a chunk of wood out of your guitar. Is it fun to play with or is it more of a one trick pony?

 

[lqdsnddist]

Actual battle scars are perfectly alright. Guitars are tools to be used, not dainty objects to be treated like glass. Each scar, like on a person, should tell a story. Except relicing doesn't tell any stories, it's just......., stolen valor in my opinion.

I think I forgot to say in my first post that that B-bender takes a hell of a chunk of wood out of your guitar. Is it fun to play with or is it more of a one trick pony?

Interesting with scars, as is real scars, there are folks who purposely scar themselves for what is essentially aesthetic purposes, much like a tattoo..... so you can have real scars, but I guess without good stories to go with them lol

Regarding the bender, so far it seems pretty cool.... if you don’t use it, then it plays just like anything else, even could load the string normally. With the bender, you can bend it any number of steps, so it’s kind of cool to raise it a 5th, or hit the chord with the bender engaged and then release tension. It’s not 1/10th of what you can do with a proper pedal steel guitar, but at the same time, it does make some pretty unique sounds you couldn’t otherwise achieve very easily.

I looks really cool I think too. I just like the very mechanical nature of it, and how it’s on display under the plexi cover. Not a must have guitar for anyone I don’t think, but certainly something unique to add to the collection

 

[Muad'zin]

Interesting with scars, as is real scars, there are folks who purposely scar themselves for what is essentially aesthetic purposes, much like a tattoo..... so you can have real scars, but I guess without good stories to go with them lol

Those people are daft too. Nobody looks better with tattoos or scarification. Just worse. And I say this while having a tattoo myself. What a stupid mistake, but at least I thank my lucky stars I got something intelligent, not some middle of the road skull, tribal or some quote to make you look intelligent. I think they are the ultimate middle finger that one could give to your future self. I think this looks cool now, damn the consequences later!
Think about how stupid you used to be as a teenager, do you really wish to live for the rest of your life with irreversable decisions you made at that age? And for those of you readers who still are teenagers, don't worry, things will get better for you.

Regarding the bender, so far it seems pretty cool.... if you don’t use it, then it plays just like anything else, even could load the string normally. With the bender, you can bend it any number of steps, so it’s kind of cool to raise it a 5th, or hit the chord with the bender engaged and then release tension. It’s not 1/10th of what you can do with a proper pedal steel guitar, but at the same time, it does make some pretty unique sounds you couldn’t otherwise achieve very easily.

I looks really cool I think too. I just like the very mechanical nature of it, and how it’s on display under the plexi cover. Not a must have guitar for anyone I don’t think, but certainly something unique to add to the collection

Interesting. That sounds like something I should explore in a future guitar build.

 

[lqdsnddist]

Had a few folks messaging me questions about what a B-Bender sounds like, and as I'm still quite the hack at it, here are a couple of great intro video's showcasing the sound and techniques from some really good teachers. I've watched them each countless times already lol