Jeff R Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 The long-awaited overhaul of my mid 1980s ESP Random Star, one of the Akira sigs from the mid 1980s, is complete finally. You might remember I picked mine up as a project piece about a year and a half ago. Here's what an Akira looked like back in the day. Here's what my project Akira looked like when I got it, its original Ferrari red paint stripped (grrr), its mirror pickguard and accent plates disposed of (grrrr) and its "refin" in a goopy white pearl paste that looked like a child applied it with a tongue depressor. Even on the neck trunk. I stripped the neck and returned it to vintage glory, complete with a re-radius and jumbo refret, a period correct repro logo copied from my other mid 1980s ESP, and a hand-rubbed Danish oil trunk finish (it feels awesome). Spray gun maestro Joel Cangiolosi at Full Blown Paint south of BR reshot the body (after filling old mirror plate holes) in a custom intense metalflake color he and I came up with called "alien bile." Joel finished his magic this week and I had it back up and running shortly thereafter. Stills below can't capture the sparkly in full glory, so here's some video That's the guitar's original pre-Berlin Wall-fall German Floyd Rose, pickups are a Seymour Duncan Parallel Axis Blues Saraceno Trembucker and a Gibson PAF I pulled from an old Les Paul. This is THE BEST sounding rock guitar to have ever set foot in my shop. And it's no longer an Akira, it's a Fret Shack/Jeff R. now (!). Thanks y'all for letting me show it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polara Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 Looks better than the inspiration: that color is just what it needed. First rate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kizanski Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 43 minutes ago, Ed Rechts said: C'mon Jeffro I want to hear a soundbite of you revving the engines so I can see if you party well without Loudness You mean you haven't received a Marshall-driven phone call? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchee Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 Nice work, Congrats on the successful overhaul! I dig the paint job, it reminds me of Dick Dale Chartreuse Sparkle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 Oh, god. That’s insane. I love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kizanski Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 1 hour ago, Ed Rechts said: No. They are quite entertaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobB Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 Looks great, Jeff. I panicked at first when I saw the red Random Star...(dear lord, he even installed an ESP Flicker tremolo!)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diablo175 Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 1 hour ago, kizanski said: They are quite entertaining. Truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diablo175 Posted December 9, 2019 Share Posted December 9, 2019 I have a soft spot for Star shaped axes. This is a first rate reclaim/refurb/mod. Bravo, sir! Izzatta PATB in the bridge position? I went through no less than 7 different pick up iterations (4 active choices and 3 passive) in my Charvel CS Star. before finally landing on a Gravelin Mongoose B and a '59 N. While it's still as yet unsold, I'm slowly moving towards hanging on to it and getting a replacement neck made: a maple board with a slightly better carve and jumbo stainless frets and a reversed Strat head. I would hold on to the original for when someone does actually follow through on a commitment to purchase it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted December 9, 2019 Share Posted December 9, 2019 12 minutes ago, diablo175 said: Izzatta PATB in the bridge position? Parallel axis blues saraceno trembucker according to the original post... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTMN Posted December 9, 2019 Share Posted December 9, 2019 Great looking ride!!! Enjoy it LOUDLY!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diablo175 Posted December 9, 2019 Share Posted December 9, 2019 1 hour ago, Travis said: Parallel axis blues saraceno trembucker according to the original post... I guess it would help if I read the entire post instead of drooling over the guitar pron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted December 9, 2019 Share Posted December 9, 2019 46 minutes ago, diablo175 said: I guess it would help if I read the entire post instead of drooling over the guitar pron. I’ve been guilty of the exact same thing several times over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmatthes Posted December 9, 2019 Share Posted December 9, 2019 BEST COLOR EVER. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveL Posted December 9, 2019 Share Posted December 9, 2019 Love it. Great color choice and I like how you went plain black on the pickups. I dug a lot of indie and lesser known major label metal during that period 80-85 and these were the sh*t. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakeboy Posted December 9, 2019 Share Posted December 9, 2019 Very cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Haynie Posted December 9, 2019 Share Posted December 9, 2019 There is someone around here who did a wrap on a new Camaro with a blue that looks like polished metal The Camaro really does look like a giant Hot Wheels car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kizanski Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 "Shout out to the Fret Shack" on Pod of Thunder!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff R Posted December 10, 2019 Author Share Posted December 10, 2019 ** blushing ** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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