This Healer is for my longtime client Rose, with whom we’ve done a bunch of awesome mods and projects over the last 10 years.
We took our cues from the classics with the shell pink finish and mint green guard of course. But the @lollarpickups and wiring really took us into some new territory for the Healer.
There’s an Imperial humbucker in the neck, a Chicago Steel for Strat pickup in the bridge, and then Behind the bridge is an open top Telecaster pickup. The 3 way toggle, Volume and Tone controls are wired for the neck and bridge pickups as usual. The switch and roller pots in the JM “neck circuit” location are wired to control the behind the bridge Tele pickup, Down being ON with the other pickups (or alone if you roll off the other 2’s volume) Up being OFF. The roller pots are Volume and Tone for that Tele pickup, so you can blend it IN a little bit, or dial the other two OUT with their volume pot. Super versatile and FUN.
If the behind the bridge pickup is ON and the others are OFF you’ll hear the overtones of the shorter strings, higher pitched harmonics activated by the notes being played on the fretboard. You can tune the strings to get pleasing overtones and improvise or compose around those sounds too and hear them in a way that wouldn’t otherwise be amplified.
The fretboard is Brazilian Rosewood with Ivoroid binding and Vintage Pearloid for the block inlays. Years ago I spent a sizable chunk of change on eBay for a damaged single ply Strat pickguard from the 50’s. This is the stuff.
The body is chambered Alder with a Poplar top, which was easy to bend for the arm contour. The neck is quartersawn roasted Maple, an awesome contrast to the pink.
Topped off with a matching pink headstock, cursive logo, 10-12″ fretboard radius, bone nut, Mastery vibrato and bridge, Sperzel locking tuners, 10-46 D’Addario strings.
So-many-tones. Enjoy this one Rose! Great working with you.
#healyguitars #healyhealer #offsetguitars #lollarpickups #sperzeltuners #underthebridgedowntown #masterybridge #offsetguitars #lefthandedguitar
