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Guest Luthier Series - Mike Eldred

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  • #61
    Re: Live Chat Now - Guest Luthier Series - Mike Eldred

    Hey Mike!! Great to have you here with us... got a bit of a muso question for you.

    Who was the first guitarist who really got your attention when you were young and made you say "WOW!! I want to do THAT" ?

    And also, is there a contemporary/current artist that still makes you say that or makes you wish you could handle an instrument the way they do?

    Comment


    • #62
      Re: Live Chat Now - Guest Luthier Series - Mike Eldred

      Originally posted by XSSIVE View Post
      Mike, thanks very much for taking the time for us to assault you with random questions hahaha.

      i own a 2007 custom shop Charvel i ordered as a 1 off to my specs which for the longest time was my holy grail guitar, a strat headstock charvel with a "Vintage Eldred Flames" graphic. i was real happy to be able to order a modern version of it with the strat headstock when fender bought jackson/charvel and allowed the use of the headstock. anyway, since the graphic has your name on it do you have any history from your Charvel days about that finish? it's easy for me (a car guy) to assume the flames and the separate panel (for lack of a better term) look of the back of the graphic came from the hot rods and lowriders driving around California at the time you were working with Charvel but was there a specific car perhaps that sparked the idea? or perhaps some hotwheels cars? or am i way of with my guess?

      for those who have no idea what i'm talking about here's my charvel...


      and i'd kick myself later if i didn't sneak in another Charvel question...do you still own any Charvels from back in the day when you worked there?

      thanks again!

      -Mike
      Hmmmmmm....well, first off I asked them not to call it that once we bought the company. It's not right because I didn't really have anything to do with that paint job other than I played one for a while. They did as a nod to me I think, and that was very nice, just made me feel uncomfortable.

      That guitar was the first thing we built for Jeff Beck. Grover knew Jeff liked cars, so he built it as a gift for him. The guitar was hanging in the paint department, and I walked by and saw it had cracks in the body under the finish. I told Grover, we built a new one, and I asked Grover if I could have the other one. He gave it to me, and that's something I played for a while. The guy who painted that was named Ernie Pedregon and he was the best painter I think we had. He's the guy who brought in all that van painting technique.

      the only guitar I have from back then is a neck I made for my Tele. I had to shape 6 necks off of David Gilmour's 55 Esquire and I kept one and put it on my 68 Tele.

      ME

      Comment


      • #63
        Re: Live Chat Now - Guest Luthier Series - Mike Eldred

        Originally posted by BTMN View Post
        Now that Hamer is under the FMIC corporate umbrella, have you ever played a Hamer Daytona? If you ever get to go check out the Hamer shop in West Hartford I highly suggest the visit. Some great cats working there.

        My Daytonas...



        Black one is gone but that Natural is gonna be here a long time.
        Hamers are the COOLEST!!!

        ME

        Comment


        • #64
          Re: Live Chat Now - Guest Luthier Series - Mike Eldred

          Originally posted by gripweed View Post
          I hope I'm not too late...

          Was there anything unusual about the Hendrix Strats you inspected?

          What is the most unusual request you've gotten for a guitar?

          I have a great idea for a guitar I've always wanted built by the Custom Shop, I hope I can afford it one of these days!
          I was a little late myself...Evan called me to see what was up!

          Hendrix: That guitar was bone stock. BUT...there was something about it obviously, because it was the one he played the most. Also, rear pickup was the weakest of the three.

          Most unusual? The Guitar World "Design Your Own Strat" winner. What a nightmere. Aluminum body with chambers holding different colored liquid. We had to bring in The Uber Builder...Scott Buehl. I have a movie with it somewhere. Gonna put it up on the new site soon!

          ME

          Comment


          • #65
            Re: Live Chat Now - Guest Luthier Series - Mike Eldred

            Originally posted by fakiekid View Post
            Hi Mike, its wonderful to see people such as yourself taking the time out to talk to fans/customers. Props to you and everyone at Fender.

            Will we be seeing any cool Seymour/Fender collabs in the future? Like the old Pearly Gates Plus? Would love to see a Twisted Tele style pickup from Seymour .
            I dunno! Probably! Always fun doing stuff with SD!

            ME

            Comment


            • #66
              Re: Live Chat Now - Guest Luthier Series - Mike Eldred

              Originally posted by J Moose View Post
              Aww man! I already know what I think, I was wondering what YOU think!

              Specifically, I was wondering if you had noticed any trends to either type of system... figure you've probably built & handled more guitars on a technical basis then I've played... which is also not a small number!

              Anyway, next question!

              Are there or have there ever been plans for a 'modern vintage' line of guitars? Take the traditional appointments and refine certain things for the way playing styles have evolved over the years? Thinking of things like a heel cut, flatter radius (12" ?) and pickups with flat or at least modern staggered magnets...



              I had a very low serial number EJ strat which was amazingly great... one of my clients has a real '55 or '56 and it was like the junior version of that guitar... really resonant & so alive and responsive, but after a while all the usual stuff that bugs me about strats started to get to me... like the size of the heel & string balance.

              I realize the Am. Deluxe hits some of those points... but I like the bigger neck with the flat radius, 6-point trem & that sort of thing. I can't be alone there...
              Well, I love the trem we use on the Strat Pro. Two point. It's on my Strat at home.

              Yeah, we are working with Lincoln Brewster on a guitar that looks vintage but has all this cool stuff on it.

              ME

              Comment


              • #67
                Re: Live Chat Now - Guest Luthier Series - Mike Eldred

                Originally posted by Mike Eldred View Post
                I was hired by Grover (his first hire after buying the company) in 1979. I was 18 at the time. Eddie Van Halen had given me the phone number for Charvel's Mfg. because he had bought some parts from them, and I wanted to get a custom guitar made too. I kept driving up there to pay money down on this guitar, and finally asked for a job.

                Randy was a gem. So was his girlfriend. He would come in and I would set up his Les Paul, and I assembled the white and black guitars. It was so tragic when he died. Grover and I were in Lake Tahoe and had just got off the plane when we were told that he had died.

                Jeff Beck had a couple things that we made him. There was a flame painted Strat first, and then he bought a pink Soloist, and then we made him a yellow one. I had to up to the Sunset Marquee to talk to him about neck shapes, Grover just said, "go up there and sort it out", and I went by myself! It was very intimidating.

                The pink bullseyes I think were made for Manny's or Sam Ash, and I think Ojeda bought that there. I can't remember exactly.

                We always installed the Floyds at the shop. Don't remember the first, but I remember the WORSE. Vic Verget sent over a 1956 white blond Strat with gold parts...and a Floyd Rose box. I told Grover no way, but we had to. It was a crime. I should have went to jail for that.

                ME
                Thanks Mike! Interesting stuff! I was told that you actually had that Jeff Beck HRF for a while...
                Just a few more things regarding the EVH CHarvels:
                About same time the Randy Rhoads was being made there was supposedly an exact copy of the black and yellow VHII made. It was fitted with a handmade Floyd rose unit and the same electronics that EVH had on his first one (not just a volume pot only).
                Do you remember assembling such a guitar and if EVH got that one or any other black and yellow Charvels?
                Last edited by jjimi1647; 03-16-2010, 01:57 PM.

                Comment


                • #68
                  Re: Live Chat Now - Guest Luthier Series - Mike Eldred

                  Originally posted by Mike Eldred View Post
                  We do it now on certain models. Hot Nocaster is what we call it.

                  ME
                  Nice, I will definitely look for it. Thanks Mike....
                  -Butch

                  Comment


                  • #69
                    Re: Live Chat Now - Guest Luthier Series - Mike Eldred

                    Originally posted by speed2dirt View Post
                    Hey Mike, thanks for doing this. You mentioned several posts ago a "historical responsibility" to Fender & their legacy. Do you feel this hinders growth and innovation for Fender products? People may not be as accepting of a redesigned strat from Fender as opposed to another company doing the same thing.

                    Also, there was a recent thread voting on Fender vs G&L. The results were pretty even with no clear-cut winner. What are your opinions of G&L compared to Fender products, throwing all biases aside? A quote from the thread stated "One is Leo's original and the other, people say, is Leo's perfection." Do you feel this is accurate?
                    Not at all. We are constantly growing and being innovative. It's what we have to do. Look around.

                    When I say historical responsibility, I mean that people are writing about Fender all the time. They did in the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's etc., and they are writing about us now. It doesn't hinder growth and innovation, it forces it!
                    We HAVE to push the envelope. Not only on the guitars and basses, but amps too.

                    As far as people "accepting" a redesigned Strat from Fender, that is their choice. Like I said before, there are LOTS of builders out there making a very nice guitar, and in some cases it costs less than a Fender. If you like it, you should buy it. All good. Very few people buy one guitar.

                    Fender vs G&L: That isn't something we are concerned with at Fender, and (personally) doesn't make sense to me as a player. It seems...I dunno...bizarre to compare two companies just because they were founded by the same guy.

                    ME

                    Comment


                    • #70
                      Re: Live Chat Now - Guest Luthier Series - Mike Eldred

                      What kind of stuff do you look at to give you fresh ideas?

                      Do you ever have ideas that you want to do, but think no one but you will like?

                      Comment


                      • #71
                        Re: Live Chat Now - Guest Luthier Series - Mike Eldred

                        Mike,

                        Thanks so much for taking the time to so do this, and thanks to evan for having you!

                        I'll be as quick as possible...

                        Of all the celebrity owned guitars you've had in your hands, which was your fav...which stood out the most for whatever reason.

                        Also, of all the pro's you deal with and have delt with who is the hardest on their instruments?

                        Last...any chance Fender would ever release a coffee table book or something like it loaded with pics and fact of all the celeb instruments you guys have built and/or rebuilt?? I woudl pay good money for that!
                        If you just read a post by The Guy Who Invented Fire please understand that opinions change, mind sets change and as players our ears mature...not to mention our needs grow and change. With that in mind, today I may or may not agree with the post you just read!

                        Comment


                        • #72
                          Re: Live Chat Now - Guest Luthier Series - Mike Eldred

                          Originally posted by Proverb-Man View Post
                          Mike,

                          Do you feel like the instruments that are most often requested through the custom shop drive the direction of what production line instruments fender is offering? Also, are the instruments most often build by the CS unique in some way to the instruments offered by Fender; or is it that most people/artists are just looking for a higher quality instrument with more attention to detail?

                          Thanks for joining us today, it's great to have a someone from a shop as well known and respected as the Fender CS join us for a Q&A. Have already thoroughly enjoyed reading all the answers.

                          -Jordan
                          Yes, what we do in the CS usually ens up on the regular production. That's kinda why we were created.

                          The way we build is different from the regular production. The machines and techniques are more of the original methods, and therefore take more time. Construction is different as well. There isn't a "higher quality" per se, just more personal attention to detail. Components, detail, and time. That stuff adds up.

                          ME

                          Comment


                          • #73
                            Re: Live Chat Now - Guest Luthier Series - Mike Eldred

                            Originally posted by J Moose View Post
                            One more question, cause I gotta get back behind the console & likely won't be able to check in again...

                            Given that you've been on the other side of and played & toured as a musician at a fairly high level, could you share any stories from that experience? I personally love the hairy ones where it all seems to be going wrong & then ends up being so right! But whatever... anything truly memorable or mesmerizing tales from those days that you can actually write about?

                            Thanks again!
                            The Worse:
                            On tour and we had a day off in Rhode Island. we were scheduled to play a 1,000 seat hall the next night. The night of the day off, Slash's Snake Pit was playing the same place. Went to the show. It was PACKED. Girls everywhere!!! I looked around, and noticed...no posters for the following night. I grabbed a local music paper...no ad for the show...I asked the guy in the front, "Who's playing tomorrow?"..."Mmmmm...Lee Rocker?" she says.

                            The next night...I counted them before we played...six people.
                            The promoter had already given us a deposit, so she said..."play an hour".

                            The Best:
                            Playing the Fillmore west opening for Johnny Winter and his band asking me to do their soundcheck with them...or, John Fogerty sitting in with us and turning around and asking if we knew Ooby-Dooby. Sick.

                            ME

                            Comment


                            • #74
                              Re: Live Chat Now - Guest Luthier Series - Mike Eldred

                              First, it's an honor to speak with you, since I bought a new Pro Mod Charvel- and after years of trying to build guitars out of kits, Charvel/Fender finally made a production guitar that fits me perfectly.

                              Second- you mentioned the Hendrix strat- is this something new? Will Fender be making a replica of one of Hendrix's strats?

                              Comment


                              • #75
                                Re: Live Chat Now - Guest Luthier Series - Mike Eldred

                                Originally posted by B2D View Post
                                Hey Mike!! Great to have you here with us... got a bit of a muso question for you.

                                Who was the first guitarist who really got your attention when you were young and made you say "WOW!! I want to do THAT" ?

                                And also, is there a contemporary/current artist that still makes you say that or makes you wish you could handle an instrument the way they do?
                                Scotty Moore. Later, Ritchie Blackmore.

                                Today...Jeff Beck. He's on another planet.

                                ME

                                Comment

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