BUCK’S CUSTOMS

I love Guitars….I began fooling around with guitars back in the ’60s, when I first started singing in bands.  Today’s guitar market is so radically different from the days when I was teaching myself to play….many new brands available, some old familiar names gone or now built overseas. And unfortunately some of today’s most iconic and desirable brands are completely out of the budget of the average buyer, especially kids as young as I was when I started playing.  The good news is, however, that today you don’t have to spend a ton of money to get your hands on a really great sounding,  great playing instrument…..

 

 

 

 

 

WHAT MAKES A GREAT GUITAR

Whether you’re thirteen years old and just trying to learn to hold a pick and strum, or a seasoned player gigging every week, some things apply across the board. You want an axe that’s easy to tune,  stays in tune,  sounds great,  looks great,  and makes you feel great when you play it. Of course you would expect an instrument costing many hundreds or thousands of dollars to satisfy that criteria… (priced a Paul or Strat lately?)….but you do not have to spend that kind of money these days to acquire a really nice, great sounding and playing guitar, be it electric or acoustic. There are many factors involved in how an instrument plays and sounds, the great thing is that you can take a fairly inexpensive guitar and modify it to become way better than when it left the factory.  I have over the years done this time and time again with some really nice results. Some I acquire specifically to set up for open tuning or slide (bottleneck) play.

NECK,  TUNING MACHINES,  SET-UP  & PICKUPS

These are the factors which, to me, determine the value and playability of an instrument. The feel of the neck and frets is particularly important. High quality tuning machines are crucial….especially with the beginning player. Inferior machines make tuning more difficult, and can often make the beginner feel like “this is too hard” or “I can’t do this!”….and lead to discouragement. Equally important is making sure all critical adjustments….neck alignment, string height or “action”, and intonation…are all correct. Most moderately priced guitars leave the factory with little or no real set-up work. Higher quality pickups can make a huge difference in electric guitars, often turning a solid but ho-hum sounding instrument into one that really sings. Likewise, an average-sounding acoustic guitar can be turned into a great stage instrument by adding a high-quality pickup.

SAVE THAT $$$$

Lowell George, founder and guitarist for the band Little Feat, is a big hero of mine. His brilliant, soulful slide guitar work has inspired and challenged me as a player since I first saw the band perform in 1970. It was noted many times in interviews, that, when asked what type of guitars he favored…his response was always “the cheapest one I can find”. This being due to the fact that his guitars were stolen so often! Funny and sad at the same time….but there’s a lesson in there, I think….

When approaching the upgrade of any particular guitar, my feelings are, well hey, it’s already used….how could better quality used parts be a bad thing? I attend lots of guitar swap meets and shows, and always scour the parts tables thoroughly. Just because it’s not shiny anymore doesn’t mean it can’t make a huge difference on a so-so instrument. Here’s a couple of examples from my own collection…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I acquired this wonderful Fernandez “Revival” Strat copy….one of the legendary “lawsuit” guitars of the early ’80s…for next to nothing, really. It was a mess….one broken, one bent tuning machine, the original pickguard cracked and one dead pickup. Finish not bad, lots of dings but no horrible damage. But as soon as my hand went around that neck, I knew that I had found a jewel in the rough. These Japanese-built guitars were in some ways superior to their American counterparts, Fender not being at the top of it’s game during that era. Stevie Ray Vaughn was an endorser for Tokai, they also built some fine instruments in that time period. The neck of this guitar is so finely crafted and finished, and is a direct copy of an American ’62 Strat. At a guitar show not long after I purchased it, I found an entire Pearl pickguard lifted from a USA Strat Plus….mine for a measly $75.00. About six months later, I picked up the new Sperzel locking tuners at the NAMM show, from Bob Sperzel himself…wonderful guy, we must have talked guitars for an hour. Then, new frets, bridge saddles,  all of the upgrade hardware came together and…..wow. Plays like a dream, had to replace one pickup that turned out to be bad….but all in all, an absolutely wonderful instrument. Plays and sounds like a guitar costing hundreds more, I’ve been offered more than triple what I have invested…but no thanks, NFS. From my cold, dead hands, as they say…..

Here’s another little gem, which has become my main acoustic for onstage….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This guitar is just a monster….again, another Japanese “lawsuit” copy, direct knock-off of a Gibson Jumbo. Grabbed it for fifty bucks, horrible worn out machines, dirty, and strung with electric strings! Had a set of used Grovers in my salvage parts box….huge improvement. It’s all laminate wood, top included, sounds a bit like the Gibson’s do….but not particularly outstanding tone-wise. The addition of a top quality Shadow thin bridge pickup and articulated saddle, however, was the suh-weeet icing on this big ‘ol cake. It just roars….I love it because I can beat the daylights out of it, but it never breaks up. Always get lots of compliments on the amplified sound of this guitar. Basically a phenomenal stage acoustic for the price of the pickup, and my Yairi GY-1 stays safe at home. Again, an instrument worth much more than the sum of it’s parts….I did a super tight setup, big heavy strings, but it still has action nearly as close as an electric!…for under $275.00. Gotta love it….