Boogie Bodies (Sound Instruments)...anybody use them?

[IanBallard]

http://www.soundinstruments.com/

The man himself, Lynn Ellsworth, who's been selling "Boogie Bodies" for decades is still doing business and cutting bodies himself. The prices are almost unbelievable for stuff cut in the USA. I'm VEEEEERRRY temped to spring for one of these.

Has anybody used these bodies?

 

[Travis H]

Re: Boogie Bodies (Sound Instruments)...anybody use them?

wow those look nice!! I have not tryed one tho

 

[ErikH]

Re: Boogie Bodies (Sound Instruments)...anybody use them?

They used to source Kramer with bodies back in the day. GREAT stuff.

 

[IanBallard]

Re: Boogie Bodies (Sound Instruments)...anybody use them?

They used to source Kramer with bodies back in the day. GREAT stuff.

The old "Charvel Mfg." too, right? Supposedly, Lynn Ellsworth himself sold the "factory second" body and neck to EVH, which is a reason a lot of guys who build Frankie replicas go to Boogie Bodies for that "mojo".

 

[John_L]

Re: Boogie Bodies (Sound Instruments)...anybody use them?

EVH's Frankenstien has a Boogie Body.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Boogie Bodies (Sound Instruments)...anybody use them?

This is stupendous! Put me down for one!
Wonder if he has a 'Hard Ash' option like the original Eddie body??

 

[TeleLubber]

Re: Boogie Bodies (Sound Instruments)...anybody use them?

Bad pic.. but this is a Boogie Body Tele "Factory 2nd"

Walnut (stained Rosewood) cap on Ash loaded with Fralin's Blues set of Tele pups

 

[IanBallard]

Re: Boogie Bodies (Sound Instruments)...anybody use them?

This is stupendous! Put me down for one!
Wonder if he has a 'Hard Ash' option like the original Eddie body??

They have an "ash" and "swamp ash" option, so I'd assume the "ash" is what is generally used for baseball bats and the original Frankie guitar. Ed said that his Frankie was really heavy "almost as heavy as a Les Paul" from some interview way back, but some say hard ash is very ice-picky and bright in some cases, especially if you use conventional Strat pickups. I do think the real Frankenstein is a very bright-sounding guitar but did the job of cutting through that loud band very well. So I'd say if one is going to go "all out" with a Frankie replica, that would be the place to go. Waaay cheaper than Warmoth or All Parts. Strangely Fender decided to use Swamp Ash on the $25,000 replica guitars and while Eddie claimed (sales pitch, I dunno) the replica sounded better, I still would have used the material originally used if they want to peddle the thing as a "replica". Some of the aspects of that guitar are mind-boggling for that price, in my opinion. /rant.

 

[IanBallard]

Re: Boogie Bodies (Sound Instruments)...anybody use them?

Bad pic.. but this is a Boogie Body Tele "Factory 2nd"

Walnut (stained Rosewood) cap on Ash loaded with Fralin's Blues set of Tele pups

Very nice!!!

 

[LatsMcGee]

Re: Boogie Bodies (Sound Instruments)...anybody use them?

I think I will do my tele build with them.....

 

[TeleLubber]

Re: Boogie Bodies (Sound Instruments)...anybody use them?

Very nice!!!

Thanks! I believe I bought this with the description as "Northern Ash" .. its as heavy as my LP.. definitely not swamp ash.. walnut tends to be a bright wood, and this ash looks like the grain you see on a baseball bat :lol: and its actually fairly tame as far as tone goes, about as "ice picky" as your run of the mill Tele at times.. I only paid like 75 bucks for the unfinished body.. and its one of my favorite Teles lately..

As far as the legend of Frankie.. I know a guy (same guy that hooked me up with this Tele body) at Stevens Guitars here in Seattle, says he got a strat body years ago from Boogie Bodies, same wood lot as EVH's Frankie.. and at the time I thought it was a load of crap.. but maybe there's somethin to it?

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Boogie Bodies (Sound Instruments)...anybody use them?

I can tell ya one thing. For some reason North Ash just sounds fantastic with a "78 Duncan. Youd think it'd be too bright..I mean, I have a couple of North Ash guitars with '78's and they are bright to be sure, but they aren't *too bright and they sound fantastic.
I guess North Ash just works :dunno:.
What I never got was Maple..now THAT is bright bright, although seems to work good in a Bass guitar. ..but Matsamuko Japan did make some very good sounding Maple guitars in the 80's, although I owned a Maple Gibson one time that was just pure icepick in the ear no matter what I tried :dunno:
Walnut is another guitar that without being set neck, is gonna take a lOT to make a sound not too icepick.
Eddie VH1 Exploerre was of course a 'Senn' wood guitar- another 'furniture' wood like Maple, and Walnut , and we all know how great that sounded, so...

 

[IanBallard]

Re: Boogie Bodies (Sound Instruments)...anybody use them?

I can tell ya one thing. For some reason North Ash just sounds fantastic with a "78 Duncan. Youd think it'd be too bright..I mean, I have a couple of North Ash guitars with '78's and they are bright to be sure, but they aren't *too bright and they sound fantastic.
I guess North Ash just works :dunno:.
What I never got was Maple..now THAT is bright bright, although seems to work good in a Bass guitar. ..but Matsamuko Japan did make some very good sounding Maple guitars in the 80's, although I owned a Maple Gibson one time that was just pure icepick in the ear no matter what I tried :dunno:
Walnut is another guitar that without being set neck, is gonna take a lOT to make a sound not too icepick.
Eddie VH1 Exploerre was of course a 'Senn' wood guitar- another 'furniture' wood like Maple, and Walnut , and we all know how great that sounded, so...

My Peavey Patriot bass from the 80's has a maple body and it's, by far, one of the best-sounding and playing basses I've ever had the pleasure to play around with. Maple does work really well with basses. I think some of the conventional Alder/Ash basses (much more expensive ones at that) are just ugly and farty compared to my Peavey. Definitely an underrated company as far as guitars goes.

If the "legend of the 78/EVH model" is correct, it's what was in Frankie up until he switched to a Floyd, when he needed a hotter and thicker pickup. So, with a vintage Fender trem, maple neck and hard ash body, it SHOULD nail the VHII and WaCF tones with a properly EQ'ed and set up Marshall Plexi type amp.

I'd love to someday put together a pre-Floyd Frankie with a Callaham trem, Boogie hard ash body but with some improvements like a LSR roller nut, Warmoth CBS headstock neck w/ the compound radius and locking tuners for better tuning stability. I'd probably opt for the EVH Frankie pup though, not only because it's $40 cheaper than a CS '78, but I'd like a slightly more aggressive harmonic content with the hotter wind. Too many dudes make the red/white/black Floyd Frankie. I'd like to keep it 1978... the year I was born.

 

[Bass_Medic_05]

Re: Boogie Bodies (Sound Instruments)...anybody use them?

Bad pic.. but this is a Boogie Body Tele "Factory 2nd"

Walnut (stained Rosewood) cap on Ash loaded with Fralin's Blues set of Tele pups

Nice looking axe, I've always been a fan of natural wood

 

[TeleLubber]

Re: Boogie Bodies (Sound Instruments)...anybody use them?

Nice looking axe, I've always been a fan of natural wood

Thanks!

here's another.. wood is cherry