Project review

Looking at the Mockingbird again has made me think I need to review my various projects.

• Mockinbird - plays like shite and that's not in a good way
• Goth Explorer - plays OK, looks like shite, not fully wired up, kind of redundant now I got my DT350X back
• RR2V - plays nicely, tremolo fucked, no locking clamps for nut, looks like shite
• MG440TPL - essentially done, but has crackly pots and an uncertain destiny
• MG440PWS - need to lower tremolo by taking a router to it
• Black RS530 - dodgy jack socket
• Marine Burst RS530 - frets badly worn, but plays OK. Just.
• Rhoads Ex Pro - plays fantastically, looks like shite. May stay like this as it's genuinely 'reliced'
• RS8V - needs more setup
• Red EC29 - need to redo the scratchplate
• Trans gold KC90 - dodgy jack socket
• Headless thing - plays like shite
• Shape custom semi-hollow - plan to fit a bridge humbucker but otherwise perfect

I really mustn't acquire any more 'project' guitars. There are undoubtedly a few more gratuitous pickup swaps on the cards too beyond the semi-hollow. I fancy a neck P90 in the IJ1 for a start and I've a Seymour Duncan Jazz/JB combo sitting in a box aching to go into something. That's it I'm not allowed to speculatively buy any 'cheap' pickups either. Unless I really need them for something specific of course. :-)

Most of these are something I can see me making progress on. However the MG440s are in limbo as once fixed they've got bugger all resale value and my only interest in them is the messing around with them. I really should just break them down and 'part them out' to use an Americanism but I can't bring myself to do it.

The neck from the MG440TPL would look nice on a more standard strat body but I reckon the combination of wide heel and 24 frets would make it a serious hack and slash job to fit. You'd probably need to start with a hardtail body too as the bridge is going to move a tad unless you move the neck pickup back a bit to cater for the 24 frets. All in all a lot quicker to just buy a matching neck and body if I wanted a trad-ish looking strat with a maple board and locking trem.

Whatever happens I've got something to do on the coming winter evenings.