Jim Cairnes Colt Peacemaker guitar- finished at the Bailey workshop

Jim’s son Marvin came on our Build your Own course to finish his father’s ‘Colt Peacemaker’ Guitar.

How to design your own guitar by Mark Bailey

You may remember last month we finished Jim Cairnes last guitar after he became too ill and finally passed over to the great workshop in the sky. When the family were looking through Jim’s workshop they found the body for this ‘Colt Peacemaker’ Guitar started 35 years ago and a neck which was meant for another guitar.

The Colt Peacemaker guitar was Jim’s design and he made a few different models in the ’70’s and 80’s. There is one on display in the American Guitar Museum, and there have been rumours of well know players owning one, but in reality the Cairnes family have no idea how many were made or where they all are.

Marvin’s idea was to put the last remaining body (already sprayed by Jim) together with an almost complete neck to create a working guitar which was mostly done by his father. He must certainly be a chip off the old tree- he did a lot of the work beforehand so all we had to do here was finish the neck, spray it, assemble it, and then set it up.The brass parts were ‘cast’ and he had to spend hours polishing them to a high sheen. He made the bridge from scratch, and the pick ups he also hand wound himself from notes written by his father.

On plugging it in, it was impossible not to smile…this is a piece of history that rocks! It sounded great- Even just operating the switches and controls is great fun…playing it is really something unforgettable.

The experience has given me a great deal of respect, not only for Jim’s incredible attention to detail, but also Marvin’s determination to get it finished.

So, after 30 years the last Colt has finally come to life and will now be restored to the family for safe keeping. I would like to thank all the Cairnes family for allowing me play my part- It was both a privilege and a pleasure.