001954 is the lucky serial number bonus i got when i bought one of the new Charvel production model tele's to use the neck and neckplate for a relic project. i looked high and low for one of the teles that didn't have that horrible over the top neck roll my first production model had and this one was it. the perfect amount of roll, a nice grain pattern which even has some subtle flame to it. after i did the frets on it and reshaped a few things it plays like butter! it was very fitting that the neck and plate were being used on a 2 tone burst relic strat body being that (if you haven't got it yet) 1954 is the first production year of the strat. anyway, fun bonus numbers aside here's my latest creation and the guitar that instantly became my #1 guitar after 5 minutes of playing it. i took the mentioned charvel tele (you'll have to wait to see what i turn that body into) and since putting a strat headstock on a tele body is like having sex with your cousin...sure the parts fit but it doesn't mean it's a good idea to do it...i used the neck in a much better way combining it with one of my Clone bodies painted by my friend Cris Mirabella in a great 2 tone burst over some nice resonant 2pc alder. after i spent a ton of time buffing out the body to a perfect shine i beat the living hell out of it. for my first venture at doing relic work i think i did pretty good. plus i didn't use ANY sandpaper to do the relicing, i did it in the most realistic ways i could think of. the belt rash...i did with my belt buckle, the fore arm wear...no sandpaper here, high speed buffing wheel with a wool pad and some heavy duty compound wore it in a smooth and even way just like an arm would after man years. the rest of it was just hitting the guitar into things and throwing things at it LOL. as for the dirty neck, i may make it dirtier but it looks even better in person so it may stay. i also still need to decide if i want to finish check it or not and add a matching Marilyn Monroe pinup to the back like my other 2 tone burst Clone #013 which isn't a relic. as for hardware...real charvel brass knob, repro strap buttons, some gotoh crownheads from the charvel era (although they never used crownheads on 22 fret necks as far as i know they still look cool on it so i went with them.) a floyd from the 80s with just the right amount of pitting an wear. for pickups it has a Custom 5 in the bridge which is also aged but it's hard to tell in the pics. the neck pickup is a dimarzio area 61 which i'm really digging so far, a great hollow stratty tone that works real well clean and under high gain which is what i do most. anyway enough babble here are the pics...
so do i finish check it or call it done as is??? your thoughts?
the cool bonus 1954 serial number....
-Mike
