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Banker Builds Guitars!

corpse

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Joined
Jun 9, 2007
Messages
4,876
See page one. Shows a tele. Really nice aging is available.
 

corpse

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Joined
Jun 9, 2007
Messages
4,876
The fat lady is warming up.
The neck after several coats of oil- the finish almost matches the lacquered headstock.

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More evident in this picture.

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My first guitar with center hole tuners. I am very excited about the headstock color and grain. Matt says the neck shape is dead-on and very comfortable. Apparantly waiting anxiously does not speed lacquer curing time.

IMG_0159b_zpseuq9vjjw.jpeg


All electronics are on board- I am keeping his electronics and wiring scheme hush-hush here. Little lumps of orange with wires protruding into various CTS pots and three position switches.
 
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corpse

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Jun 9, 2007
Messages
4,876
IMG_0756_zpskwb38f65.jpg

And for those of you who have been drooling over the Redwood top- this one appears almost finished- and spectacular!
 

Pellman73

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Joined
Aug 9, 2016
Messages
1,762
The fat lady is warming up.
The neck after several coats of oil- the finish almost matches the lacquered headstock.

IMG_0748_zpsmy5xwxls.jpeg

More evident in this picture.

IMG_0747_zpsorafdi3c.jpeg


My first guitar with center hole tuners. I am very excited about the headstock color and grain. Matt says the neck shape is dead-on and very comfortable. Apparantly waiting anxiously does not speed lacquer curing time.

IMG_0159b_zpseuq9vjjw.jpeg


All electronics are on board- I am keeping his electronics and wiring scheme hush-hush here. Little lumps of orange with wires protruding into various CTS pots and three position switches.

Yep saw it on insta... I’m getting excited too!
 

CBRmatt600

Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2015
Messages
280
I am getting pretty excited myself to play this one. I love the way that neck feels.

Here is another in this same batch that I polished out today. It is getting some relic treatment, mainly just lacquer checking. This body is so pretty I almost hate to do anything to it.

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AFC4A1D2-C8F5-4A41-989F-C2AC4B1C692E.jpg
 

corpse

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Jun 9, 2007
Messages
4,876
IMG_0803_zpswzcne5ny.jpeg


Just the nut and PG to go. Like the man said- "the top will be like glass". I am going to age it like Big Al. The neck is still loose.
The control package is reversed to do swells. Keef never did any fookin' swells so it will get flipped around, but the volume will be on the extreme right. Good wid dat.
I was very happy with the price until Matt told me "Hey corpse, the pole pieces are extra"- so I am going without pole pieces... LOL
PU's should be in soon.
I don't know about everyone, but with something like this pending I get very jazzed and distracted and find it hard to play at all. Just cannot wait.
 

CBRmatt600

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Oct 27, 2015
Messages
280
Someone had asked about aging earlier. Here is a little that I’ve done on this new buildg over the last week.


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CBRmatt600

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Oct 27, 2015
Messages
280
More aging and a custom cut tortoise celluloid pickguard on another of the guitars in this batch.

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corpse

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Jun 9, 2007
Messages
4,876
Matt had a very translucent tortoise material, and with a cream layer underneath, it really pops. Very "tarty" look here. Rough and ready. And it looks great with the headstock.
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The PG is cut to accept the control cover. The attention to detail is superb.

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This guitar is named after my Mom- she is alot of fun and we are very close. But not a tart.
IMG_0846_zpsefql9m83.jpeg
 

corpse

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Jun 9, 2007
Messages
4,876
Two full rez camera shots of the back- just some gorgeous wood. The Damascus heel plate looks bitchin'.
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Close up of the tight neck fit. You can see the difference in the finish of the oiled neck and the lacquer on the body.
IMG_0856_zpssrcvigov.jpeg
 

corpse

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Joined
Jun 9, 2007
Messages
4,876
IMG_0897_zpsdwmhw2w0.jpeg

Dressed frets and carved nut now on board. Really nice hand carve job on the (deceased I was assured) calf leg-bone. They didn't just lop off the little beefs gam and dress it up for my guitar I was relieved to find out.

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The neck has the slightest bit of relief- and "plays like butta" I am told. Slinky. I like slinky.

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8.4 pounds total weight without the pick ups which are finding their way here on a three-legged calf I am told. They are called '57 Bankers as the neck has a lower wind than Tyson's regular P90. I live close to Mr Banker so "delivery' is a 20 minute drive for me. A couple from this lot are done- the Junior (Midnight Special???) is going to be on stage with Blackberry Smoke and some other Atl -area Playa's before going to its new owner. The T-style ala Micawber appears to be completed as well- some nice aging on those- i am going with showroom new.
Relief is set at 3/64- I asked Matt to back off a little for some slide action.
 
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corpse

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Jun 9, 2007
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4,876
I keep getting texts about what a great playing guitar this is and the action is superb- superlative after superlative.

Did you ever get a phone call from a girlfriend at a party- she is barely paying attention and she is laughing and male voices in the background - close enough to the phone so you can hear them?

It's like that...

Should be done Friday.

LOL
 

corpse

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Jun 9, 2007
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4,876
Pics later. I got the guitar yesterday noontime.
Exceeded all expectations. Light weight, super construction, great finish.
Sounded great at the studio at Bankers but sounded equally great back here in the bunker. That really concerned me- his studio is a great place to try them but it was for naught. It loves both of my brown Fenders.
The low wind neck PU has tremendous range, and the bridge has a real authoritativeness I look for in certain leads and everything Zeppelin. Massive thick tone. The middle position is a whole new thing- and the tone controls are very interactive.
The neck is large at the first few frets, larger than I wanted- but it is very comfortable and it tapers to perfection. It is a bit flatter towards the body and just perfect. It seems thicker near the headstock and a wide C starts between the seventh to the body.
The oil finish really is a great feel.
This was a great process- Matt was great to work with. He shares our lust for tone and feel. But going through this custom build process with any builder is something to be experienced.
 
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corpse

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Jun 9, 2007
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4,876
All finished at last- lots to discover about this fine instrument. It is a wild piece- that's what I had in mind- nothing refined. And that's the surface- the playability and sound are anything but.

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I told Matt this was his website money shot.

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In Banker's den-of-iniquity. We spent about an hour here playing and listening- to my guitar and a number of others he recently completed. There are six or so on hand. I got to dig in on the White Special- those are something. The neck is all Gibson. But i don't want to digress. Ren will do that.

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This is where Matt started- the pic of the board from the wood vendors site.

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Thanks for joining me on this journey- it was just a blast. Matt is a great co-conspiritor because he has the EXACT same lust we do- he has an uncanny ability to put the two- vision and execution- into the wood.
 
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CBRmatt600

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Oct 27, 2015
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280
Thanks for the love brother, enjoyed it. Outside of playing and collecting, building is my true love and I’m ectremely grateful for folks that put enough faith in me to embark on this process.
 

CBRmatt600

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Oct 27, 2015
Messages
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Here’s some live footage of Marcus King with his new Banker that I just finished for him. This was a monster of a guitar, based off of my ‘57 Junior but with a pair of Tyson Tone Precious and Grace PAF’s.
 

CBRmatt600

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Oct 27, 2015
Messages
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Here’s a great shot of another recent build, a neck-thru Bird variant dubbed The Redtail. It is constructed entirely from reclaimed old growth Belizean Mahogany and Black Walnut, with Tyson Vintage Firebird mini HB’s. I designed the guitar with a steeper headstock angle, and a slightly more shallow neck angle to accommodate a surface mounted ABR-1 with the preferred higher action and string gauge of its new owner. As always, 100% handcrafted from templates and jigs that I created . Absolutely no CNC machines, CAD design, or anything that compromises old school craftsmanship.


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CBRmatt600

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Oct 27, 2015
Messages
280
Some more shots. Here is some custom artwork that was screenprinted on the pickguard. It is a tattoo that Marcus has.


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