So... here it is!

Now, WHAT it IS, is this:

1. Take a custom-made Tele Thinline body, ash with a birdseye maple cap, routed for a pair of humbuckers and the old Tele Custom control layout, made by Sherman Tate of CST Custom Guitars.

2. Add a pair of Gibson "patent number decal" humbuckers, custom rewound by James Wagner.

3. Develope a new twist on the "Jimmy Page Signature Model Les Paul" wiring scheme which uses four push/pull pots, just to get another couple of settings - call it TWENTY TWO!!!

4. Just because I have one laying around, let's add a Gibson/Kahler vibrato bridge...!

5. SHAKE VIGOROUSLY!

Actually, I had this body laying around in the closet for a year or two, waiting for a little inspiration...

As stated in the LP/JP wiring page, I got involved in a forum discussion of the Jimmy page Signature Model Les Paul wiring setup. Intrigued by the challenge - I LOVE a good puzzle - I came up with a slight variation of said wiring scheme, and then just HAD to try it out on SOMETHING. Well, a look at the control cavity on this beast and you can see why I figured it was a NATURAL!

I also have a locking nut for it, which I will probably install once I feel I have all the "test runs" completed. I have a Gibson/Kahler vibrato bridge on my way-whacked Les Paul Custom, too, and I think it's one of the better designs.

Just look at the SIZE of that control cavity! It was practically begging, "Custom-wire me, PLEASE!"

While cruising the 'Net, looking for pups, I found James Wagner's Custom Hand Rewind site, a cat who repairs and custom hand-rewinds pickups. Hey, I have a pair of old Gibson "patent number decal" humbuckers, dead, in my parts bin... Why not have him take a whack at rewinding those?

Take a whack indeed... A few weeks later I was returned a neck pup with an impedance of just over 10 ohms, and a bridge pup with a whopping 14 ohm resistance! James wires his re-wound humbuckers with four-wires out and a drain, making it easy to realize any kind of diabolical wiring scheme you could come up with, always a dangerous situation when I'm involved with the custom wiring of a guitar!

From looking at the resistance numbers, I expected these pups to be a bit louder than they are... (My next project will be trying a couple of different magnets in them. I've heard tales of swapping magnets making a BIG difference, and it makes sense to me. For that experiment, I have purchased some All-Parts "Alnico 5" magnets from Black Rose Customs, and I want to try those out with these coils. I'll let you know how it turns out...) BUT, anyway...

What these pickups DO have right now is lots of harmonics and character. They're so sparkly in full humbucker-mode they almost have as much character as single coils. The neck pups is as sweet as you'd ever want - and the bridge pup, inspite of its high impeadence numbers is BRIGHT BRIGHT BRIGHT! When coil shunted, the neck does a swell Strat neck pup and the bridge just screams "TELE!" I couldn't be happier with these pups for this guitar - well maybe a little happier - can't wait to try out the new MAGNETS! Have to get a little baseline "ear-experience" with 'em first, so I will be able to perceive the difference...

*******

So, five years later and I still haven't really played this axe. It's just too fugly in person... I've moved on to my ES-333 for all the tricks in this bag, and I guess this axe as been relegated to the life of a character in the freak show display. How sad! Oh well...