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The
Gallery
Just have a look and see what
has been produced. All of these are quality instruments, very
playable, with a range of looks and sounds that you wouldn't believe.
| The GPO
Made from a piece of mahogany found
in a Royal Mail Sorting office nearly 20 years ago, with a maple
cap. Both the Seymour Duncan humbuckers are coil-tapped, and the
ebony fingerboard has mother of pearl markers.
The finish is nitro-cellulose, on a
gentle sunburst. Since this photo. the control knobs have been
changed for the amber versions, and this has made it look even
better.
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| "This was started in the early
days of the course - I think it was only the second set-neck and
spray guitar that had been made. I didn't know what to expect,
but took this home afterwards and every other guitar just seemed
lifeless and unimportant. I really couldn't believe it was so
good - and still is." |
| The
Yarrahcaster Brazilian
mahogany, with a Jarrah cap from Australia, and paduak
fingerboard. The tele control panel in chrome is replicated with
an inlay of paduak to match the fingerboard. The jarrah cap has
unbelieveable flame in it.
The finish is
danish oil, to get that extra response from the wood when it's
played - and it does ! With Seymour Duncan Jeff
Becks at middle and neck, and a SD humbucker at the bridge,
these are all individually switched, with the neck on coil tap
giving 11 switch positions. It has all the sounds of a strat but
with more depth, and rings right across the tonal range.
The flying V
headstock breaks with tradition but looks an ideal match for the
body shape.
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| "This was
a dream that grew in the making, having played one of mark's own
guitars with an oiled finish, and having heard the response
decided i wanted one, but with different characteristics.
tonally it is just amazing, with a wider range of applications
than anything else i have played." |
| The
Honeybee
A classic shape in beautiful ash,
the contrast with the black scratchplate is just beautiful.
Finished in gold hardware, even down to the scratchplate screws,
with a Wilkinson trem, this is a rich looking and sounding
guitar.
Nothing fancy except good clean
lines and a simple design, this shows just what plain wood can
do for the look of a guitar. This is finished in Danish oil,
which is easy to put on, easy to maintain, and easy to do small
repairs on.
The pickups were just the basic type
- but together with the sold ash body they gave this guitar a
slightly softer, mellow sound instead of that brittle tone that
some guitars like this can have.
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| "I keep this very carefully -
it isn't gigged, and it feels like a work of art as far as I am
concerned. " |
| Strativarius Mk 1
One of a matching pair - this one
came from a tiny picture of an EB1 in a guitar book - about
3" by 1.5" ! A bit of enlargement via a
photocopier, some scaling up from that, then final adjustments
to the shape and a template was cut. All the templates remain
with Baileys and they now have quite a range to choose from - just in
case you run out of ideas (no-one has yet !)
The body is iroko, a maple cap, and
snakewood fingerboard that had been in the workshop for some
time. Coil tapped humbuckers - very popular - and Sperzel
locking machine heads. Another nitrocellulose spray finish with
a subtle wood coloured sunburst. You can see the full body carve
on these two.
The headstock has a maple veneer
applied too.
This was the second guitar made by
this customer (see the GPO above) and both feature two dots on
the fifth fret - a trademark.
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| "This is indescribably
beautiful, and sounds as good as it looks. I could have sold it
any number of times" |
| Strativarius Mk II
Made by a lady with no woodworking
or power tool experience, this shows just what a beginner can
accomplish - and that happens to be everything that anyone else
can.
Ebony fingerboard - tough stuff to
saw fret slots in - and iroko body, this has a specially made
piece at the bridge to simulate the look of a violin. Just one
very large humbucker, which is coil tapped, but this customer
wanted a bass that would play deep and resonant, and this does
exactly what it says on that tin. Excess flesh stops moving 10
seconds after the last note at a range of 20 yards !
The neck and body on both these
guitars comes from the same piece of wood, and the glued neck
joints mean that every bit of tone from the wood is captured.
|
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| "I was a bit nervous, but the
help and encouragement, and the great way in which the tasks are
set out for you made it easy. I know exactly what the next one
is going to look like...." |
| Petes Pride
This guitar
featured in the Bailey Video "Guitar Magic" and as
it's maker, Peter Watkinson, says with perhaps some
overstatement - "Yay, my hands are film stars!"
It's
one solid great chunk of quilted maple with 24 carat gold
plated hardware and a pair of EMG-81s in it. The Les Paul body
and Flying-V neck show off its roots, but it plays like a
monster. The solidity of the body gives it a huge loud sound,
almost like an acoustic even when unplugged.
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| "It's
a real rock monster - beauty and the beast all rolled into one." |
| 335
This was another second guitar built
by a customer. The first was a p90 laden original shape, with a
Danish oil finish, and this time the aim was to produce
something a little more up market.
The maple cap is really excellent -
definitely 10 top - and more gold hardware abounds on this one.
Herb has gone on to make his own after making these two, and is
going from strength to strength.
|
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| "It's
." |
| English
sycamore, with a cherry red cellulose finish - beautiful. Two
humbuckers, tone and volume plus a three way switch -a lovely
sycamore cap which really shows up well. |
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| "It's
just a joy to look at -let alone play" |
| A
tele style, but with through body stringing, vol/tone and three
way switch - note the binding on the lovely piece of ash. |
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| "I
love it - it came out just as I planned" |
| Unusual
- but doesn't it look good ? Classy finish to a
sort of violin meets Les Paul on acid.... |
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| "Oooooohhhh" |
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| A
PRS style - left hander. What about that maple fingerboard?
Armed with hotrail pickup at bridge, and stacked humbuicker at
the neck, and a flamed maple top, a stunner. |
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| "My
friends were just knocked out when they saw what I had made -
they didn't believe me at first !" |
Mick's
SG - the pink is the natural colour of this piece of solid
mahogany - wood looks good !!This guitar was made about 2 years
ago, and what a great time we had,
together with Herb Payne and Oz Wells. I could go on a for a
long time about
the fun aspect of making this guitar, but hear are the basic
essentials.
The body oil finished solid mahogany with a maple neck and ebony
fingerboard, inlaid with abalone dots. The pickups are two
Seymour Duncan
lipsticks and, together with the wonderful mahogany, give a
superb and
articulated clarity to the sound when strummed and a warm bluesy
timbre when
playing lead. The neck pickup sound is particularly fruity. All
hardware is
good quality standard chrome. Don't blame Mark for the
string trees...They
were my preference at a later date.
It's a fine guitar and I'm looking forward to making another
with Mark when
I can afford the time.
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| "I
think this was the first SG, and carving the top was a real
pleasure - but the mahogany turned out to have a stunning pink
colour - exactly right !!" |
The body oil finished solid mahogany with a maple neck and ebony
fingerboard, inlaid with abalone dots.
The pickups are two
Seymour Duncan
lipsticks and, together with the wonderful mahogany, give a
superb and
articulated clarity to the sound when strummed and a warm bluesy
timbre when
playing lead. The neck pickup sound is particularly fruity. All
hardware is
good quality standard chrome.
Don't blame Mark for the
string trees...They
were my preference at a later date.
|
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"It's a fine guitar and I'm looking forward to making another
with Mark when
I can afford the time. " |
| Thru-neck
5 string bass - modern styling, natural finishes, and a great
sound from this. A big job to build this way - but our students
can do anything ! |
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| "I
knew it was going to be more complicated then most, but I never
had any doubt that it was going to be superb - and it is." |
| Into
the land of imagination with this one - loosely based on a
violin shape, and with a lovely piece of flamed maple for the
cap. |
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| "I
liked being able to do my own design, and gtet exactly what I
wanted - impossible anywhere else" |
| WOW!
This is spalted maple - spalting is where a fungus gets into the
wood, and puts a dark line through the grain, outlining the
changes in colour. An amazing top, much coveted by those who
saw it in the workshop. |
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| "Beyond
words - leaves people speechless when I tell them this is what I
made" |
| This
is another 5 string - popular these days - with a lovely warm
wood for the body, and as often happens, the natural colour
looks so good. Lovely maple neck. |
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| "Its
a monster - big, open sound from natural wood, which really
rings when you play it" |
| Another
tele - this time with a scratchplate, fairly unusual on the
course once people see the beautiful caps that can be used -
shame to cover them up ! But this looks the biz, with an
individual approach to the controls rather than following the
mould entirely - great looking tele. |
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| "I
wanted the looks, but a slight variation on the sound - the end
result is perfect" |
| A
12 string - to show it can be done. The picture doesn't do it justice really, but
there are some excellent woods on this. |
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| "P90 pickups too make this an
unusual combination, but the first chord on this was just so
warm and full." |
| The
SJA - mini humbuckers, and a fresh approach to shape -
inspiration from many places in this one - a bit of
tele, a bit of SG perhaps, and that headstock looks a
bit Parkerish to me..... |
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| "Enjoyed
the course, the company, the tuition - and taking home a
lovely guitar at the end" |
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| Look
at that maple ! This is gorgeous - 11 top maple PRS style that
is absolutely stunning. A nice body carve too. |
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| "The
guitar speaks for itself - both in looks and sound" |
| Here's
another stunning top, this time on a tele style but with a very
individual pickup layout, and a trem. very nice maple top. |
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| "Build
a better tele - nothing compares with this." |
| Another
original shape - EMG pick ups which are becoming very popular.
The black hardware looks really good against the blonde wood
finish. |
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| "What
can I say? Brilliant!" |
| The
shape takes your eye at first - but then look at that beautiful
wood. |
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| "I
couldn't wait to play it on the last day - and every day
since." |
| Mini
humbuckers - an unusual choice, but a big range of big sounds
from this guitar. The oiled finish lets the wood ring more than
a spray, and the f-hole is decoration but looks good. |
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| "Everything
turned out so well - I didn't think i would make anything as
good as this" |
| A
lovely bass - ebony neck, picking up on the black
hardware. |
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| "I
love it." |
| Herbs
first - warm P90 sound which has encouraged Herb to go on and
make his own at home. Nice photo.... |
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| "This
was just the start for me - a second bailey and now I'm building
on my own - thanks Mark" |
| Another
great top - maple always looks the business, and choosing
the piece you want for your own guitar is the only way to do
it. |
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| "You
see 10 tops on expensive guitars, then Mark shows you many tops
to choose from - and you can't see it until you get the finish
on - and then you see what a 10 top really is, and the others
don't look as good" |
| And
finally - Dave's signature guitar...... |
| Just
to show that absolutely anything is possible.... |
Dream
it, design it - then build it with
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