diablo175

Gots to be careful I don't start treading on svl's trademark ensemble. The addition of green is NOT enough of a variation to avoid possible legal proceedings on Stage Schtick Copyright Infringement. LOL! BTW- the shoes glow in the dark.

Basically, same as the '89 LE series.

Cspot- Creative compulsion recognizes no time limitations. Especially when I can do this at work...

+1. But I wouldn't call the Bare Knuckle a POS- it just was not well suited to the Cali. It had some redeeming characteristics. Just fell a little flat in the lead/soloing dynamics dept.

Good call. Anyone else had done that, they'd be eating thru a tube.

No worries, Bm. I tune my Calis down to D # and that, along with the claw screwed damn near to the cavity wall, made it possible to get my beloved spongy feel. As posted earlier, I initially put 2 heavy duty noiseless springs in there and while it worked, the feel was a tad stiff. At BCR Greg's suggestion, I went to two stock OFR springs, in a V config, with the claw almost all the way in. Mission accomplished. EMG's? No thanks. Frankly, I don't recall specifying the type of p'ups outside of "something 80's shred-ish sounding" but it wouldn't surprise me if Greg put down the Custom/59 on the order sheet. Dunno. You DID say it was SD Custom/'59 set, didn't you?

Murkat, I got yer sensitive right here.

The slant in my design is kinda necessary given the extended 27 fret board. Yeah, you could shoe horn two together parallel but then it'd start to look like the Nightswan config and frankly, I think that's uglier than a slanted humbucker.

LOL. The two pups smooshed together looks kinda silly, IMO. But yeah, I got a lot of commentary over at the JCF Online about the bothersome aesthetics of the neck p'up slant against the edge of the fretboard.

Here's a better shot w/ the Cali:

I thought it was a Caliablo?... Hmm. The only Diablo-esque feature would be the humbucker in the neck pos. Hardly significant enough to warrant being likened to a Diablo. Maybe ya'll should just minimize the Diablo aspect by calling it a Calio. Mostly Califonian with just a hint of Diablo.

Good call! But it's an alcohol-based marker and Sharpies are permanent so I'm guessing it'll be fine especially since it'll be on top of either a leather vest and/or a t-shirt.

...and instant customized strap for the Custom Cali. The pic does not do it justice but the color is damn-near spot on!

It's a gee-tar.

Using your post HSB0531, I'll offer up a blanket thank you to all for the heaping helping of compliments. While I can't take credit for building such an amazing ax, I can take a small level of satisfaction in having come up with the paint design and the specs. Good to know that shit-ton of money I dropped on post secondary art education/training wasn't for naught.

The play of the trem on my BCR modded Barney Sparkle bears this out. So it shall be- two stock springs and the claw arm flush to the cavity!

Yeah 'cuz the photos aren't enough! If what JackAss said is true about the p'ups being Duncan Custom/59, it actually is a little less punchy than my BCR Greg modded '89 purple metal flake Cali LE, with a Custom and a HotRails. The Checkered has great resonance unplugged and very good sustain but is just a hair less dynamic than the Barney Sparkle. The '59 sounds great despite being slanted a bit. Was a little concerned that the off kilter position would somehow adversely effect the p'ups classic tone but not so. A little less responsive on the trem as well. Doing a A/B comparison, the Barney Sparkle has two stock springs vs. the two heavy duty noiseless I put in the Checkered. The Checkered has a tad stiffer tension and is certainly within acceptable parameters but not quite right for a guitar of this cost, wait time, er... caliber. Rest assured, it is still a killer ax and sounded great in rehearsal last night. Just needs a few more tweaks- a big brass block and maybe a switch back to the stock springs to get the tension just right. It'd mean screwing in the claw arm to almost flush agai9nst the cavity but might be worth it to get that beloved yet elusive, spongy trem play.

Nothing went wrong, your mind just fixated on a powerful stimuli- the image of a kick ass guitar.

No issues with timing for me - I was told from the get go it would take a while. I think it took 13 months total... Was well worth the wait. I know that Diablo175 will be super stoked with his Californian, it is seriously cool... Diablo is super stoked. Beyond seriously cool. Can't thank the hella-talented crew out in CT and Unca Greg for making this happen. This guitarist's wet dream come true. No shit.

That would explain why mine was all sticky and... oh, that was after I took possession of it. Uhh, never mind.

Only some checked Vans. Wouldn't want to borrow another member of the HFC's gimick, now would I?

Me, too. I'm currently standing here, sock-less. What a conundrum.

In a word, yes.

Not sure how that combo eventually came to be; I don't recall specifying p'ups when I ordered. But kudos to you and/or to BCR Greg for making that combo the final choice. You guys ROCK!

I KNEW it! To be honest I did NOT know what was in there as of this morning but after I played it for the first time at BCR Music, I knew they were the Duncan Custom/'59 set.