Odd Ends

 

Every luthier has a drawer full of parts and pieces that, for one reason or another, never made it onto a guitar. Once you collect enough though, the problem can solve itself! That was the genesis of Odd Ends.

It started with a spare 3-d printed metal bridge, an orphaned neck, a rotary selector switch, and the last set of an old production run of wrap-lock tuners. Of course, then I got a little bit carried away…

I had a lovely slab of feather-figured claro walnut that I was looking for an excuse to use. A carefully chambered yellow cedar body core was the perfect match, stable and delightfully resonant. The neck is nominally maple, but ziricote on both the front and back surfaces make for a unique look and terrific stiffness.

The multi scale neck deserved a bespoke set of pickups, angled to match. So I called local genius JD Guitarworks, who created a unique and very special set for me. They are constructed like single-coils, but paired into a humbucking configuration. When run through the six-way selector switch, each pickup can be played as a full humbucker, split as a single coil, or combined with one coil from the opposite pickup.

In a change from my usual habits, this one has a master tone control and well as a master volume. A dual-action truss rod enables perfect playability with any tuning or string gauge, and of course the jumbo stainless steel frets should hold up for many years of enjoyment.

Odd Ends Demo
Mike Sankey