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My friend built me a gorgeous electric guitar...made of redwood!


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A few of my friends in the Marin/ Petaluma area have purchased Babicz Guitars... all acoustic...they have been very happy with them...

I've never seen one made of Redwood, is that a special order of your liking?

It's a very handsome guitar, I know nothing of the resonant qualities of Redwood,,,Does it make a nice sustain?

What kind of amp will/would you play it through if you were gigging a small club?

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Well, it's hard to describe. I tried to a little bit on the link. It has some Tele sounds, but other sorts of sounds too. It has this beautiful sort of ring to it, lots of sustain - tons of it - but can get quacky Strat sounds if you put the pick-ups out of phase. And redwood...very very unusual. Very rare to have a guitar made completely of redwood. My friend made it for me from his old-growth redwood. Check out the link if you want to know more.

 

I play it through my Carr Rambler, a 14/28 watt (triode/pentode) tube amp that is an amazing amp that makes this just sing. That's the amp I've been using for almost ten years now.

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Well, it's hard to describe. I tried to a little bit on the link. It has some Tele sounds, but other sorts of sounds too. It has this beautiful sort of ring to it, lots of sustain - tons of it - but can get quacky Strat sounds if you put the pick-ups out of phase. And redwood...very very unusual. Very rare to have a guitar made completely of redwood. My friend made it for me from his old-growth redwood. Check out the link if you want to know more.


I play it through my Carr Rambler, a 14/28 watt (triode/pentode) tube amp that is an amazing amp that makes this just sing. That's the amp I've been using for almost ten years now.

 

 

My bad, Ken, didn't see the link, thought it was your usual link to your photos etc.

 

Nice guitar, I would love to get my left hand 'nose pickers' in a choke hold around the neck around the the fifth fret...

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Those look really nice, BlackHatHunter, thanks. They all seem to be redwood tops. I actually can't seem to find any guitars that are made completely of redwood (except for the neck, of course). Has anyone seen an electric guitar that's got a body made purely of redwood?

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Willie looks like a sweetheart . muy guapo and obviously well cared for.

 

That guitar is just awesome...History and provenance of the wood...struck by lightning? Major Mojo.

i love old wood, I have had an antique restoration business on a part time basis for the last 30+ years..

 

I had to quit for a time in the 80's when most of my clients brought me beautiful old pieces that they wanted stripped and refinished, rather than restored.

 

You know what you have in that guitar, it was made for you...kinda scary and special, like being handed Excalibur.

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It's a light, soft sort of wood, but seems to have a lot of sustain, especially with the hardware that Paul chose for the guitar. The guitar, partially because of the Jazzmaster shape and partially because of the lightness of the wood, also balances super well. No neck dive or anything. It's by far the most comfortable guitar I have. It plays beautifully, looks gorgeous, has amazing and versatile tone...AND it was made by my friend. I can't ask for any more in a guitar!!!!!

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that's a gorgeous guitar!! I'd like to see a full length with the headstock in the pic to get a complete sense. Bet it sounds killer.

 

 

It really does sound killer. It's got a lot of sustain, etc. I think I may have taken one photo of the whole guitar, including the headstock. I zoomed in close because I really wanted to give people a sense of the wood grain and how it looks up close to get an idea of how it looks, almost as if you were just about to pick it up and play it. But I'll see if I can post that other photo at some point. I'm so glad that you like how it looks. It's got a really timeless beauty to it, simply the beauty of the redwood. Paul really made it come out and shine by adding the redwood burl as the pickguard. You couldn't ask for anything more beautiful than that for this guitar, in my opinion. Thanks!

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Hey, cool! Yep, my older brother found that tree in Legget, CA, hit by lightning, in around 1972... So, he cut a chunk of the slab and a piece of the burl... It sat in my dad's storage shed all these years, and about a year ago I got the idea to make myself a basic telecaster out of it... Well, I really dig my tele, and apparently so did Ken and my nephew, so I made them each a guitar...

 

Between the BG Pups pickups hand wound by HC's own Bryan Gunsher, that super trick Babicz bridge, and the brass tone block, these guitars sound great, and have quite an acoustical quality to them...

 

IMG_0980small.jpg

IMG_0981small.jpg

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And there he is, the guy who made this guitar.

 

And you'll hear some recordings of this guitar at some point. I work slowly, but I'll do it. One or two people have asked whether I'd even play it or not. This ain't a museum piece...it's gonna get played.

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