Jackson FB2T: Made for one year, this was Jackson's only production line Firebird. These were made in Japan, and very nice guitars, although the necks were Les Paul thick. The "T" stands for a "tune-o-matic" bridge. Not much to tell about this one; I found it in a pawn shop for $150 in 2001, and traded it along with my Charvel for my Nagel.
Jackson FB2: Made for one year, this was Jackson's only production line Firebird. These were made in Japan, and very nice guitars, although the necks were Les Paul thick. The white on chrome scheme was great, and I replaced the stock pickups for a Duncan JB and Jazz combo. Sold it in December 2002.
GMW/Moser "Nagel graphic:" Built by Neal Moser in the late 80's or early 90s. Graphic was done by Dan Lawrence, and this is the only one with this graphic. Some jerkass put a Jackson logo on it before I had it. Very nice playing and sounding guitar. Enjoy it, Brad!
This is another parts/ebay concoction that became pretty fun! The body was originally spray painted neon yellow, and I would have kept it if the previous owner would have done a good job. So I sanded the body down and applied a bunch of pictures of friends, funny clippings, and artists that influenced me.
Epiphone Les Paul Standard: I've always wanted a Les Paul, and this was a nice pacifier for a while. I liked the honeyburst finish (even if it was a photoflame), and eventually used this as my smoking guitar when I was in KISS Alive! I don't have too many pictures of it, and Iwound up selling this on ebay. I still want a real Les Paul someday.
For the time being, check out www.sullyguitars.com. I haven't had time to incorporate that site into this one yet.
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ibanez iceman ic-500
jcf rhoads
jcf "big red"
Jackson Roswell Rhoads (rwr): Made for one year in 1996, these guitars were the wood version of the aluminum custom sop run. The guitar was way smaller than i had expected, but it sounded great, had really cool crop circle inlays, and played effortlessly. Sold in 2002.
Charvel San Dimas series reissue: released in 1995, this was the first attempt at recapturing the charvel feel for their fans. Sadly, it failed miserably or a few reasons, one of them being that horrible headstock! It's too bad, because these guitars were made in the custom shop, and really are of excellent quality. I only had mine for a few months, as I couldn't get used to a 24 fret guitar with a vintage style trem. So, it got traded for the GMW Moser Nagel guitar.
Charvel Spectrum: Here's a love it or hate it guitar, for sure. I for one, really dig the pickguard. It reminded moe of a Jackson Soloist Jeff Beck had back in the day. Originally it had 3 single coil pickups (I put a Hot Rails inthe bridge spot), and a crappy Jackson trem. I swapped it out for a Black Schaller Floyd. The guitar had a cool modrange scoop in it, so you could roll the tone knob back and forth like a wah pedal. Cool, but not practical. This guitar was traded for the Mighty Mite strat.
All I can say is that this is probably the nicest of the guitars that I've built so far. Alder body with a really strangely flamed maple top, Maple neck, rosewood board, Charvel style profile, Zebra Duncan JB pickup, and a solid brass Sully hardtail bridge (thanks kev!).
My second ebay parts creation! this is the first guitar that had a Sully logo. The body is a Chandler, not sure what exactly the neck is (huge frets, Charvel style..could be GMW), Schaller Floyd (blocked completely), Duncan Custom pickup in the bridge. This is the best sounding guitar I own, and the whole thing probably cost $250!
This is the first installment of the JCF guitar series. In a partnership with Jackson guitars, the Jackson Charvel Forum had its own limited yearly editions. The first run was a tribute to the "missing 1983 Namm Rhoads" or better known as one of the guitars intended for Randy. There's a bit of drama to the story, in that there were no guitars waiting for Randy at the time of his death. There were a few rough shaped guitar blanks when he passed, and they were later finished for the NAMM show.
My first non-ebay build! Quilt top firebird done Jackson style. Body is Alder, top is quilted Maple. This still has yet to be painted, but the top will be what i'm calling "guinness," and the hardware will be gold. Here's a few progress pictures; it should be pretty damn sweet when it's done!
Here's a reverse Sully RC (for Robbin Crosby) with a spalted, quilted, maple top. Spalted wood is when a fungus or disease gets into a tree. That's what causes the black lines and different colors. It's on the unstable side, and it soaks up clear coat like a sponge! It's pretty neat looking in person, though. This is also one of my better sounding guitars; it's got a 1982 Duncan Custom pickup in the bridge and a Duncan Jazz in the neck (my favorite combo)
The first guitar I built! Most of the parts were from ebay. The neck was later swapped to one with a non-locking nut. Check out the neck plate, engraved by my friend Kevin.
1961 Gibson Melody Maker: I bought this guitar twice; I first bought it when I was 18, and decided that I was too afraid I'd break it, so I traded it for a BC Rich STIII. It later resurfaced, so I bought it again... only to sell it on ebay about 7 years later. Cool guitar, and had way more balls than you'd expect. Not too many around in this configuration, for sure.
1992 Jackson Rhoads LTD 083: This was my favorite guitar of Randy's, and when Jackson released this tribute model in 1992, I took out a bank loan to buy it. I later sold it in 2003, which I strongly regret, but life has magically continued. Great, great guitar, for sure.
Mighty Mite parts guitar: northern ash body with a quilted maple cap. Maple neck with a soft V shape, and a "Charvelle" logo for kicks. Great sounding and playing guitar (after some fret and nut work). Enjoy it, Pete!
Built for me as a 16th bday present to myself. Originally intended to be like Jake E. Lee's white strat. It's been stolen, recovered, and modded (pickguard change along with pickup configuration change) over the years to be more Jake-like!
The second and final installment in the JCF series, this was a tribute to Robbin Crosby of Ratt. There were 30 guitars made in the final run, and my only regret was that Robbin passed away before he received his. More info can be found about Robbin and this guitar at www.robbincrosby.net.
As a long time KISS fan, the Ibanez Iceman has been a favorite of mine. This is a limited run IC-500. It was made in Japan in 1994-1995. The hardware is smoke chrome, and I of course had to swap the lame Ibanez pickups out for a Duncan Custom and a Duncan Jazz!
