Clone #013 AKA an EJ strat body meets my router!!

[XSSIVE]

Ok so Clone #013 is a bit of a mutt to be technical since the body is from none other than a Fender Eric Johnson signature Strat in a nice light weight (just under 4lbs) 2pc alder nitro finished 2 tone burst....that i so gladly took a router to and opened for a humbucker in the bridge hehehe. it was a great feeling to route the body for the bridge hum and think of all the strat purists that will cringe at the thought of routing an EJ body! To you guys that cringe about routing it, I say…nanny nanny poo poo LOL. Anyway, it has all brass hardware from the 80s that i sourced here and there. the pickups are a Custom 5 bridge and cool rails neck with a single 500k volume and a 3 way switch. the neck is a temporary 21 fret birdseye neck off Clone #006 that got parted out while the 22 fret neck for it gets finished up (hence the old Clone logo on the headstock.) i'm a bit iffy to take this neck off since i haven't touched any of my other guitars since this one has been done. i nailed it on this thing and am beyond happy with it! i'll certainly try the 22 fret on it when I’m done with it but it's a home run as it is and i can only hope for a grand slam with the 22 fret neck.

oh and it's name is Chuck since it's pretty much a copy (with my own little twists) of my all time favorite Charvel/Dimarzio mutt that a cool cat named Chuck owned at one point who said i could "clone" it when I pestered him to sell me the real one a few years back lol.

and Marilyn is hangin' out on the back i had this sticker for a while but i needed the right guitar for it and this one certainly was it!

I’m so happy with this guitar I can’t say it enough and I hope it gets even better when it gains a fret with the new neck.

-Mike

 

[Justice4all]

Re: Clone #013 AKA an EJ strat body meets my router!!

That looks really sweet!

I ike the clean look of the pickguard, not cluttered with useless tone knobs!:laugh2:

Your necks look really classy, with nice grain, do you use a single supplier for necks or do you shop around?

 

[MartinSixStringCustoms]

Re: Clone #013 AKA an EJ strat body meets my router!!

That my friend, is a sweet axe!

 

[Robbiedbee]

Re: Clone #013 AKA an EJ strat body meets my router!!

I knew without looking that it would be a HS Strat (or at the very little I knew it wouldn't have a middle pickup). It's a very nice axe all the same though, great job!

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: Clone #013 AKA an EJ strat body meets my router!!

Justice...thanks! i hate tone knobs and middle pickups lol. as for my necks i always deal with the same company for my Clone brand parts since i have a deal with them and all my stuff is hand picked and CNC'd to my custom specs i sent in (neck shape/thickness) and the parts get some great attention to detail even before i get my hands on them to finalize things.

this is a perfect example of the the quality wood my Clones are made of....

Bada Bing...thanks bro!!

Robbie...yup i've been hunting for the perfect hum/single strat without a floyd and now i can stop looking, THIS IS IT!! middle pickups and tone knobs suck anyway, who needs all that extra weight LOL. :headbang: i guess i'm just a guitarist that knows what he likes...super strats!

-Mike

 

[tone4days]

Re: Clone #013 AKA an EJ strat body meets my router!!

really nice lookin axe, bro

what's it weigh finished?

how does the neck carve compare to the neck carve of an EJ?

 

[MartinSixStringCustoms]

Re: Clone #013 AKA an EJ strat body meets my router!!

That neck is sick, Mike!

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: Clone #013 AKA an EJ strat body meets my router!!

t4d...thanks man! not sure on the weight...i'll get it on a scale tomorrow since i'm curious now that you ask. that solid brass trem sure isn't light though LOL. as for the neck, thankfully it's nothing like the EJ lol...ok the EJ isn't that bad, it's just not me. this is actually a copy of my Wayne #248 neck which has become my standard Clone neck so it feels like an oldschool 80s USA san dimas strat headstock Charvel. it's a C shape that's thin but not at all a twig...don't think ibanez when i say thin, it's not that, it's like a slimmed down strat i guess you can say. it has enough meat for comfort but thin enough for speed is one way to look at it. it's my favorite neck so i've taken loads of specs from my Wayne and now the company that makes my Clone necks has it ready to go on the CNC any time i need one then i finalize it with hand sanding and can get them very close each time.

Matt...thanks man, that's the neck from Clone #003 i just did a new shoot of it and put the new pics on my newly redesigned site the other day....check my sig link for more pics.

-Mike

 

[Kac]

Re: Clone #013 AKA an EJ strat body meets my router!!

I love it!

 

[Justice4all]

Re: Clone #013 AKA an EJ strat body meets my router!!

Justice...thanks! i hate tone knobs and middle pickups lol. as for my necks i always deal with the same company for my Clone brand parts since i have a deal with them and all my stuff is hand picked and CNC'd to my custom specs i sent in (neck shape/thickness) and the parts get some great attention to detail even before i get my hands on them to finalize things.

this is a perfect example of the the quality wood my Clones are made of....

Bada Bing...thanks bro!!

Robbie...yup i've been hunting for the perfect hum/single strat without a floyd and now i can stop looking, THIS IS IT!! middle pickups and tone knobs suck anyway, who needs all that extra weight LOL. :headbang: i guess i'm just a guitarist that knows what he likes...super strats!

-Mike

Way nice, i need to sus out a good digi camera, i have a flamed maple/maple neck but i cant quite capture the intenseness of the grain.
The difference in colour of the flame on yours seems to be alot more
drastic than mine. ie the darks are darker and the lights are lighter...
Makes for a wicked look!!!!!!!!!
I'll try and post a pic of mine in the next week so you can pick on it! haha

 

[ErikH]

Re: Clone #013 AKA an EJ strat body meets my router!!

That is a BADASS guitar right there. I think it has become my favorite Clone to date.

Awesome job, bro. :bigok:

 

[StratTom]

Re: Clone #013 AKA an EJ strat body meets my router!!

Man that thang looks sweet! Awesome work dude.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Clone #013 AKA an EJ strat body meets my router!!

Mike, that looks awsome as usual, and is actually one of my favorites so far. I was going to post that I hoped you were going to put a highly flamed neck on that baby, and I see that you won't dissapoint. I really like the look of a gloss nitro finish on a flame maple neck. I don't find it sacrilidge at all that you routed the body.

One question though...don't you find the C5 to be a little thin sounding in the strats....not enough mids and to bright of a top end? I found that way in my alder strat, and even in my Lester. Just curious.

 

[SoCalSteve]

Re: Clone #013 AKA an EJ strat body meets my router!!

Why don't you just kick us all in the nuts, Mike! You're killin' me with your gorgeous stuff!

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Clone #013 AKA an EJ strat body meets my router!!

I love it. I wish I owned it. I think the 21 fret fret neck belongs on it. I'd put the 22 on the other guitar. I have no problem with routing that body, because it's really only sacriledge if the guitar is entirely EJ. Since it's parted out, it doesn't matter. That thing looks like the best San Dimas that never was.
If you ever sell it, I'll be in line.

 

[Jonny R]

Re: Clone #013 AKA an EJ strat body meets my router!!

Man...I get GAS every time I open a Clone thread on this board.

 

[daemon barbeque]

Re: Clone #013 AKA an EJ strat body meets my router!!

Mike you did it again man!Please stop posting crap like that and let us GAS for new things that we can't efford or even need.LOL

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: Clone #013 AKA an EJ strat body meets my router!!

Kac...thanks!!

Justice...they to taking pics of flame is angles and light. try loads of different light and angles.

Erik...thnks bro this is my #1 now and all my other guitars have been collecting dust for the 2 weeks or so since i finished it.

strattom...thank you!

Jeff...the 22 fret neck is a monster flame neck the neck on it now is a killer birdseye. i like it how it is for sure but i'll also try the 22 fretter when i'm done with it and see how that works. that's the joy of bolt on neck guitars, you can try different necks real easy lol. as for the C5...thin? hell no man, but remember i play higher gain music through 6l6 amps...dual recto and peavey ultra plus so i have no problem getting a big fat sound from this guitar. plus the brass makes it sound much fatter and warmer than any steel trem strat will. i also use the C5 in my main les paul, the premium plus and it works just as well for me. the C5 and the JB are my go to pickups in any guitar. 9 times out of 10 i can adjust the amp EQ to get them to work for me...unless it's through a marshall then they tend to sound a hair thin since marshalls to me lack low end and are way too mid focused. that may be why you hear the C5 different through your marshall than i do through a dual recto.

steve...LOL thanks!

GJ...thanks! yeah the 21 fretter does fit the vibe well, like a pre-pro charvel but since i have this 22 fret in the works i may just give it a try and see how it works since that extra fret can't hurt. man it was great taking a router to that body lol. i figured some purists would get pissy about it and that made it even more fun hahaha. i even wrote "Mike was here" in the routed out cavity LOL.

Jonny...thanks, that's a great compliment!

daemon...LOL sorry man.

-Mike

 

[Ez74]

Re: Clone #013 AKA an EJ strat body meets my router!!

you already know i like this 1,,, friggin killer!

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Clone #013 AKA an EJ strat body meets my router!!


Damn cool man!!!
Love it!