Mar 15
RossMusic, Musings Am-Dram, Buddy Holly, guitar, rock 'n' roll
No, that's not me. Not yet, anyway.
Let’s roll back the calendar about twenty years…
diddly-da, diddly-da, diddly-da
I’d just seen “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story” at the Victoria Palace Theatre. Several years earlier, my Nan gave me a tape cassette of Buddy’s hits that added another layer to my expanding collection of fifties and sixties rock ‘n’ roll music (for years, I felt that I’d been born in the wrong era. That changed again when I heard Guns N’ Roses!).
I was desperate to learn to play the guitar. One of the guys at school had a no-name electric for sale, which I duly bought. It was a typical “first guitar” – a dire strat copy with no truss rod, action like an egg-slicer, weak pickups and an annoying “thunk” when anything was played above the 11th fret. But it had six strings and a jack socket – and I thought I was the canine’s undercarriage.
I sat down with some of our music books (I’d played keyboards for years; learning tunes through the infamous “Busker” series) and tried to learn some chords. A, E, D, G and C swiftly followed. F proved to be a bit more challenging, so I chickened out and learned B7 instead. Another friend showed me “Wild Thing” and “Walk, Don’t Run” by the Ventures and I was hooked. I absorbed anything guitar related with relish and I set about learning every song on the “Buddy” soundtrack CD (the second CD I ever bought).
Let’s come back to the present…
diddly-da, diddly-da, diddly-da
Twenty years later, I’ve owned and parted with more gear than I ever dreamt possible. I’ve played at least a hundred gigs and, through the wonders of the electrick interweb, have met (and played) with a fabulous bunch of people (you know who you are). But all the while, Buddy’s music was there in the background… the chordal rhythm/lead style, the simple three-chord tricks of the early songs – everything.
In late 2009, I received an invitation to a Facebook event from one of my friends that’s been involved in am-dram musicals for many years… her company, the Stevenage Lytton Players, were holding auditions for a production of “Buddy” to run in May 2010 – was I interested in coming along? Er, yes please!
Audition rehearsals came and went. I would’ve been happy to be just part of the band; either on-stage or in the pit but hell – nothing ventured, nothing gained – I auditioned for the lead role. Now, I haven’t acted since junior school but the director must’ve seen something as, come audition day, I was nominated to play Buddy.
I know it sounds corny, but I’ve really been given the chance to fulfill a dream I had twenty years ago; to play the part of someone who’s had a profound effect on my life, in front of a paying audience. I’m still working hard on my lines (not to mention my Texan accent) and the songs are all coming flooding back to me.
So, if you’re not too far away, it’d be great if I could see some of you in the audience! The production takes place at the Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage, from Weds 19th through to Sat 22nd May 2010. Performances start at 7:45pm and tickets are available now from the Box Offices at both the Gordon Craig and the Stevenage Lytton Players.
And the rest… will just be rock ‘n’ roll.
Dec 7
RossMusic, Project 0001 0001, build, Fender, guitar, project, strat, Stratocaster
Faker Startocaster
Finally! It lives!
Actually, I’ve been a bit slack; it’s been alive for the last month or so…
I was down to play Dire Straits’ “Sultans of Swing” at the annual UKMG National in Buxton and *really* needed a Strat. So, with only the wiring and a setup to do, I dedicated a couple of hours one evening and…
<fanfare>TA-DA!!!!!!</fanfare>
Well, it’s a Strat – what did you expect? “Three single-coil pickups and a whammy bar,” to quote Tia Carrere in “Wayne’s World”. Although I’ve made a couple of additional tweaks:
- Bridge pickup is also connected to the middle- tone control, to enable me to tame the highs a bit.
- Middle/Bridge tone control has a push/pull switch to add the middle pickup in series to the bridge or neck pickup (positions 1 and 5) and route the signal via an additional capacitor for a tone roll-off (positions 2, 3 and 4)
So, am I pleased? You betcha! The neck has a 12″ radius, so there’s no choking on bends. The Fender Tex-Mex pickups are really “Stratty”, as you’d expect, with plenty of bite from the bridge and quack in the “inbetween” positions. I’m also dead chuffed with the shielding… This thing is bereft of interference; even playing in a room with two dimmer switches.
A couple of videos of me playing “No 1.”, as she’ll no doubt be called, are already on YouTube:
Sultans of Swing (unrehearsed!)
I Wish I Knew How (It Would Feel To Be Free) – unrehearsed (and it shows!)
So what’s next? Well, I’ve got a Squier Stratocaster and a few tins of nitrocellulose in the garage…
Sep 10
RossMusic, Project 0001 body, guitars, Stratocaster
Project 0001 - the body
Well, the replacement body turned up – a three-piece alder body with SSH routing, undrilled, finished in Vintage White. Initially, I thought that either I or they had cocked up with the colour; as it’s definitely cream, not white. However, checking against Fender’s standard colour chart, I can see that it’s as specified… My bad!
Still, in my mind it looks pretty good against the gold anodized scratchplate (and appears to be a pretty good match to the original). The ‘plate, incidentally, is the real deal – a Fender ‘57-style. The original one, bought from eBay, looked great face-on but otherwise appeared silver… Not the effect I was looking for! Thankfully, I managed to lose that one via the ‘Bay so I’ve virtually broken even there.
Since the body was undrilled, copious measurements were taken, drawings made and photos referred to to ensure that everything went in the right place. It was then that I realised that the neck pocket had to be reshaped slightly to accommodate the square-heeled neck that I’d already prepped (note to self – buy a router and templates. Quicker and easier than playing with chisels and miniature sanding drums!). Of course, this reshaping also necessitated some alteration to the scratchplate, too. It’s not the tidiest of jobs, but it will be hidden by the 22nd-fret overhang. Before anyone flames me for being a “bodgit and leggit”, don’t forget that this is both a personal project and a learning curve for me!
Anyway, centre lines were marked, neck was offered up, string positions calculated and the final bridge position determined. I used the Power8 Workshop’s pillar drill to bore the bridge screw holes… I’d already established that the centre two holes would need to be drilled free-hand, as the throat on the Power8 isn’t huge. Large carpenters squares and spirit levels are incredibly useful in this scenario! Additional screw holes were marked, punched and drilled and all parts screwed to the body using a good ol’-fashioned screwdriver. I’ve heard too many tales of wandering bits and snapped screws to risk using anything powered!
So far, so good – everything fits and, through my eyes, looks pretty good. Next step – fixing the neck. Then on to shielding the cavities and wiring.
I’m aiming to get this finished by the time I hit the UKMG National at Buxton in November… Time will tell!
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