Dave Locher
New member
Finally got my "stable" where I want it. 
The one on the left is my first partscaster. I just finished it recently and it is fantastic! 24.75" warmoth neck with 10-16" fretboard that I bought used and modded quite a bit, a cheapie eBay alder body that I modified even more, a Gotoh wraparound bridge, and a Dimarzio Super 3 humbucker. This thing just sings. Not exactly versatile, but the other two are good for that.
In the middle is the first (and last) guitar I built from completely from scratch. I finished it a couple years ago and it's good but not great as I'd hoped. I was aiming for Gibson/PRS quality but it feels and plays more like a good Epiphone to me. 24.625" scale, 11" fingerboard radius, maple neck and top, mahogany body that is hollow except under the bridge and tailpiece. Currently a 1982 Ibanez V-2 pickup in the bridge position but that may change (it just doesn't sound like the '78 V-2 in the Gibson) and the neck pickup I had built by some guy on eBay whose name I can't recall.
Last but not least, probably the most heavily modified 1978 Gibson Marauder in existence. I bought it in heavily used and damaged condition around 1992 or so. Maple/maple bolt-on neck that I changed the profile on and refinished. Solid mahogany body that I thinned by about 1/4", changed the edge countours, recessed the neck plate, and refinished twice. It is stained black with clear over it. I rewired it like a "normal" guitar and installed the '78 Ibanez V-2 humbucker at the bridge position, early 1980s Bill Lawrence L500C, and made the sheet metal pick guard. The harmonica bridge is the only unmodified part on the entire guitar.
All have CTS pots, switchcraft jacks, and bone nuts. The TeleGib has Hipshot open-gear locking tuners which I love, the Marauder has Schallers that were on it when I bought it, and the homebuilt semi-hollow has a set of Pings that I literally had laying around in a box in my basement.
I should probably mention that I play punk, which may explain the aesthetic, although I was in an industrial band when I first put the Marauder together. I have owned some really nice guitars, including a lovely tobacco burst ES-335 with a factory Bigsby, but these give me what I want from a guitar.
The one on the left is my first partscaster. I just finished it recently and it is fantastic! 24.75" warmoth neck with 10-16" fretboard that I bought used and modded quite a bit, a cheapie eBay alder body that I modified even more, a Gotoh wraparound bridge, and a Dimarzio Super 3 humbucker. This thing just sings. Not exactly versatile, but the other two are good for that.
In the middle is the first (and last) guitar I built from completely from scratch. I finished it a couple years ago and it's good but not great as I'd hoped. I was aiming for Gibson/PRS quality but it feels and plays more like a good Epiphone to me. 24.625" scale, 11" fingerboard radius, maple neck and top, mahogany body that is hollow except under the bridge and tailpiece. Currently a 1982 Ibanez V-2 pickup in the bridge position but that may change (it just doesn't sound like the '78 V-2 in the Gibson) and the neck pickup I had built by some guy on eBay whose name I can't recall.
Last but not least, probably the most heavily modified 1978 Gibson Marauder in existence. I bought it in heavily used and damaged condition around 1992 or so. Maple/maple bolt-on neck that I changed the profile on and refinished. Solid mahogany body that I thinned by about 1/4", changed the edge countours, recessed the neck plate, and refinished twice. It is stained black with clear over it. I rewired it like a "normal" guitar and installed the '78 Ibanez V-2 humbucker at the bridge position, early 1980s Bill Lawrence L500C, and made the sheet metal pick guard. The harmonica bridge is the only unmodified part on the entire guitar.
All have CTS pots, switchcraft jacks, and bone nuts. The TeleGib has Hipshot open-gear locking tuners which I love, the Marauder has Schallers that were on it when I bought it, and the homebuilt semi-hollow has a set of Pings that I literally had laying around in a box in my basement.
I should probably mention that I play punk, which may explain the aesthetic, although I was in an industrial band when I first put the Marauder together. I have owned some really nice guitars, including a lovely tobacco burst ES-335 with a factory Bigsby, but these give me what I want from a guitar.
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