The first guitar I made was in high school wood shop - mostly because I had to take a shop elective, so while everyone else made picture frames, I made the body for this guitar. Interestingly enough, I took no measurements and had no idea about even how to go about making a guitar, I just forged ahead on instinct. I only had a Les Paul at the time, so to make a bolt-neck body with no plans was gutsy. This is probably why the guitar came out so long and thin, but I think it came out pretty good. It's still amazing to me that a neck fit on to the guitar. This photo is from 1983 after it was completed the first time. Chris Larson at the Loft (above Bozotronics in classic Fremont, Seattle) fitted the neck and bridge and made the pickguard. As you can tell, it is a very slim flying V made out of two pieces of walnut and is called the "Trocar" or "V-Bird". It has a solid wood neck that looks like rosewood, but I'm not sure what it's actually made of, but the fingerboard dots look like maple. The guitar uses banjo tuners and has 3 pickups and 3 concentric volume/tone controls. The output jack is a strat style and mounted on the side. I eventually found an old bass case that fit the very long and slim form of this axe. It is currently disassembled, but I hope to get it back together soon. (not for sale)
This was an Aria Pro II Cardinal that I heavily modified. Both photos were taken in 1983 before and after the final paint scheme. You can probably tell that Eddie Van Halen's first guitar was an influence. I added to the EVH paint scheme with holographic stickers. The guitar was originally a matte brick red color, and the first version of the finish was silver with black electrical tape that I left on - and yeah I didn't even bother to take out the electronics for the silver paint job either. The Cardinal originally came with two pickups and all the controls that go with that, but you can probably tell that there was only one pickup and one volume control in this photo. The neck pickup cavity was covered with black cardboard with a holographic sticker cross - home made of course.
The third guitar I made was a scroll guitar in 1983, and this is when this photo was taken. The design was based on a stratocaster shape, but it didn't end up looking very much like a Strat. Chris Larson of the Loft shaped the guitar for me out of the ash strat body and ended up swearing to me he'd never do anything like this again. :) After iterations of different finishes (natural then gold, then a weird psychedelic job with flourescent paint), this guitar is being rebuilt as I refinished it in 1999 with swampy green color and a nitrocellulose top coat. This was really the first "Z" guitar, as I finally used silver Tibetan Om on the black headstock. It was built using the neck from the now destroyed Aria Cardinal. (not for sale)
(no photo exists) The fourth guitar I designed was in LA in 1991 and it started out life as a pearl pink Hamer Scarab bass that I bought for $100. I stripped off all the finish and modified the body to something resembling a subtle Thunderbird then put a basic clearcoat on the natural mahogany and sold it to another guy named Sean for 3 times what I paid for it. (sold)
In 1995, I designed this one. It's called the "Yin Yang" from a particular kind of incense I was into at the time and also because the incense box had a metal Yin Yang emblem that was later affixed to the headstock. It has an old Warmoth mahogany strat body with a newer Warmoth reverse Explorer neck with no markers and fat frets. It has two pickups - a Seymour Duncan 1/4lb Strat and a Fender Gold Lace Sensor. It also has a Fender modern vibrato a volume and tone and a 3-way and phase switch and a pickguard made by Mike Lull. I initially only had finished this guitar with Danish Oil, but later this turned out to be the first guitar I ever finished in nitrocellulose about 3-years after it was originally built. It's got some of the best qualities of a Stratocaster and a Telecaster and it's a really great guitar for surf music. It lives in an 80's Charvel case. (not for sale)
In 1998, I bought a Rickenbacker 230 and modified it by taking out the horrible stock pickups and replacing them with some vintage Mosrite pickups instead. Of course this also meant getting rid of the original circuit board that was in the control cavity (far right photo) and replacing it with standard guitar wiring. The photo in the center was after the guitar had been stripped of it's pock marked black poly overcoat and refinished in blue with a very light coat of nitrocellulose. Later I added a Bigsby,a roller bridge and blue knobs (photo on right). (sold)
In 2000, I bought an Epiphone Les Paul Jr. It was TV Yellow and I decided to refinish it. After I spent some quality time with a heat gun and a scraper, I found that the guitar was made of at least 15 pieces of wood with some very poor veneer on the top and back. Disgusted, I looked for alternatives - and I eventually settled on some grey fake fur and a can of 3M spray adhesive. My Mom even lent her expertise in fabric handling with this one! Hello ZZ Top! :) (not for sale)
In 2000 I took a cheap Ibanez GAX-70 and turned it into a Roland synth controller with a GK pickup. Of course I had to add some cool stickers I had been saving and I filled the former pickup cavities with a couple strange Japanese anime action figures I bought from Tower Records (RIP) in Seattle. What remains of the original guitar electronics are completely non-functional and there for looks only - someday I'll remove them and cover the holes with more stickers. (not for sale)
In 2000, I bought a Fender "50's" model Telecaster and used it to recreate a pristine version of Jeff Beck's Esquire he played when with the Yardbirds. Almost everything has been replaced from the stock Fender - really only the neck, tuners and control hardware remain. The pickup is a Fender Nocaster reissue, the pickguard is from Chandler and made of bakelite, the bridge is on the old school tip with brass saddles and a Fender Custom shop bottom plate, the body is a featherweight one piece swamp ash from USA Custom Guitars and finished in a translucent Mary Kay by Roxy Guitars. I added the ashtray bridge cover, but that's only for looks- I take it off when playing it. Most the screws on the guitar were also changed from phillips to slotted types, just like the original Esquires. Of course I also had to add a Dakaware bakeline switch knob as well. It lives in a brown Fender case with an old-style flat metal Fender amp logo attached. (not for sale)
In 2002 I designed and built my version of a Fender Musiclander using a korina Warmoth body and neck with ebony fingerboard and 6120 frets. It's called the "Double Dorje" and features a metal Double Dorje headstock emblem which glows under blacklight. I finished it in amber danish oil and then nitrocellulose. The pickups are Dearmond 2K's and it has a Fender vintage style vibrato, Kluson tuners, ebony control knobs and a Jazz Bass control plate and a pickguard made by Mike Lull. (sold)
In 2003 I finished modifying an Epiphone Electar 10 tube amp. It is a great amp, but the original cabinet was just black and generic, so I broke it out of it's original box and installed it into a small wicker table. I then replaced the stock speaker with a Jensen 10" "Mod" model and made the sides and speaker grill out of roll up shades and bamboo skewers I bought from Cost Plus which I dyed and fitted using glue and much patience. (not for sale)
In 2007, I modded an Epiphone Dot Studio 335-style guitar. I first changed the tuners and hardware from black to chrome. I then added an LP-style pickguard and a vibrato from a 70's Conquerer guitar - including the probably the longest vibrato arm anywhere. (sold)