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Wishbringer Instrument Archive

Following are photos of Wishbringer instruments-- Cigar Box Guitars, 6-String Electrics, Amplifiers and other things I've built that are now being used by happy customers.  This is to give an idea of what is possible in the custom instrument area.

 

The Rebel custom Tele-style guitar, features FlatCat™ hand-made pickup (center), hand-modified Telecaster-type pickup (more power, greater range than a standard Tele pickup), three on/off pickup switches for instant access to 7 sound combinations, three individual pickup volume controls, master volume and tone (all set in mother of pearl), a Bigsby-style tremolo system, hand-finished pick guard and a fun name tag.

 

KC Royals Commemorative CBG.  Created when the KC Royals won the World Series in 2015.  Aluminum "license plate" resonator face, two internal pickups, volume and tone controls, Royals logo hand-pyrographed onto back.

Customer review:  Great work! My husband loved the guitar! I asked for a special request for the guitar to be KC Royals themed and the design was perfect. I don't know much about guitars but my husband and his musically inclined family were very impressed!

 

Petrovsky Telecaster.  This customer wanted a Telecaster Affinity turned into his personalized dream instrument.  Individual pickup toggles, pearlized pick guard, modified Telecaster single pickup (twice as powerful) and hand-made FlatCat pickup as parts of a balanced 3-pickup set, mother-of-pearl-tipped knobs, individual and master volume controls, tone control, Bigsby-style vibrato and authentic mother-of-pearl name inlay on the neck make this one of the most beautiful guitars I've ever had the joy of customizing.

 

Bullet Stratocaster Super-mod

This was an experiment to see what could be done with a quality starter guitar.  The Bullet Strat is the "low end" of the Fender line, inexpensive and widely available.  I started with the Aqua Bullet then replaced all of the pickups with my own selection:  my own FlatCat custom-finish at the neck, a dual-rail humbucker in the center, and a heavy humbucker at the bridge.  The plain white pick guard was removed and replaced with a pearloid version.  The combination makes a very versatile guitar-- and a real beauty.  The FlatCat gives this "starter" guitar amazing sound.

 

 

FlatCat™ pickups:  These quality, hand-made pickups sit directy under your guitar strings, pulling every bit of resonant sound from your instrument.   Works on a wide variety of gutiars, including cigar box guitars, solid bodies, hollow-bodies, resonators and more.

Customer 5-star FlatCat review:

I got a set  for a hollow body guitar I made, and I absolutely love these pickups! They have a full, rich sound that stays clear. The bridge pickup does twangy and jangly really well, and the neck has a great big warm sound to it. They're great to play clean, and will do fuzz and distortion equally well. These pickups look cool, are easy to install, and they sound GREAT!  I'll be getting more of these in the future. Thank you Wishbringer!

 

Altoids DulciMint.  Three-string dulcimer-fretted one-stick guitar using an Altoids mint tin for a body.  Contains an internal transducer pickup and a hand-made FlatCat™ pickup at the neck as well as volume and tone controls all in that little tin. 

Customer review:  "Supercool guitar. Sounds amazing - a screaming, stumming machine! First rate build quality. Superior fit and finish. Great communication throughout build process."

 

 

Photo Tele:  This custom-order consists of a semi-hollow Telecaster-style body, individual volume and master volume controls, a Varitone-style tone switch ranging from clean to distortion to heavy-metal overdrive, modified Telecaster pickup (twice as powerful), custom-made FlatCat and Houn'Pup pickups, vintage-style Teisco vibrato bar, and hand-pyrographed wood photo on the upper left.

Customer gave this guitar a 5-star rating.

 

Hazardous Voltage cigar box guitar features a light-up front plate and terrific sound.

Customer review:  I love my Steampunk Cigar Box Guitar. It is as easy to play as the seller says it is. And it is designed so creatively. I have seen other cigar box guitars but this one stood out to me and I had to have it. It arrived already tuned and ready to play. It even included a slide and a pick. I am very happy with my purchase.

 

Mustang fretless.  Two custom-finish FlatCat pickups, phase switching, volume and tone.  Beautiful red metal flake finish, with three hand-pyrographed mustang horses on the neck:

 

Note: I ordinarily don't recommend ordering a fretless 6-string unless you've played one before and like the results.   They're a bit... different.

 

Four Aces was my very first CBG sale, a multi-pickup sound monster with a resultant very-pleased 5-star review from the customer:

Customer review:  AWESOME CBG!!!!!!!! I would would buy another one in a heart beat!!!!!!!Thank you so much🎸👀🎸👀🎼🎼

 

GitRicky Surf-Green Tele.  Gorgeous Telecaster-style with pearlized pick guard, Bigsby-style tremolo and three pickups including a custom-modified Tele pickup, standard Tele bridge pickup and hand-made FlatCat™ center. 

Customer review: "A very fine, and beautiful guitar. The finish is a work of art. The guitar plays like butter, would put this up against any big name instrument. I would look up Wishbringer for any custom work."

 

ElectraGlide.  This beautiful hand-pyrographed (wood-burned) CBG featured my very first hand-made guitar pickup-- the prototype that lead to production of the popular FlatCat™ series.

 

Portable Wedge Steampunk Amplifier.  Packing  a lot of power into a 3.5-inch speaker, the Wedge has volume, tone and overdrive controls, runs on AC or battery and a versatile sound range.

Customer review: A great item. A lot of utility in a nice package. Plenty loud for what it is intended.

 

Les Paul Custom:  This customer wanted a basic FlatCat™ pickup and cosmetic upgrade to this red dye Les Paul guitar.  Sound is fantastic.

 

 

Mild Insanity.  This off-the-wall CBG has an intentionally-angled neck, pyrographic neck and face designs, mag pickup and lap-guitar style.

 

Sea Mist.  This Tele-style guitar is my own personal instrument.  My initial jump into hand-made full-size electric guitars, the paint job alone contains some 20 coats.  With four individually-switchable pickups (FlatCat™, P-90, Lipstick Tube and Humbucker), a pyrographed neck and Bigsby-style tremolo, this is the ultimate "does everything" guitar.

Creator's personal guitar.

 

Classic Cigar Box Guitar Custom creation for a friend, this fretless CBG has beautiful acoustic sound as well as electronics built in, hand-pyrographed front and hand-painted neck.

 

Custom Jaguar.  Customer wanted a simplified Jaguar-style guitar with custom P-90 and Humbucker pickups.  Customization included hand-cut pearloid plate and true mother-of-pearl control knobs.

 

Customer review:  I seriously cannot put into words how much I love this guitar. Wishbringer built me exactly what I was looking for, a sturdy, beautiful, and fantastic sounding instrument that I would be happy to use for any function, whether it's in the studio, on stage, or just playing around in my bedroom. This guitar is beautiful, the picture hardly does it justice, it almost shimmers in person. The tone is phenomenal, perfect, warm where I want it to be warm and bright where I want it to be bright. The actual feel of this guitar is... well stunning. I was shocked at how natural it felt in my hands, it felt like it might as well have been an extra extension to my body. String action makes the instrument extremely easy to play, as advertised, while still maintaining beautiful resonance. 

 

Steampunk Amp.  This portable amp runs on AC current or batteries and features twin 4" speakers along with volume, tone and bass overdrive controls. The hand-inlaid speaker cover wires and corner protectors along with antique handle adds charm to this hobby-box amplifier.  Multiple apertures produce excellent acoustic sound.

 

Eastern Song.  This tenor Ukulele features a hand-painted front, oriental metal decorations and a beautiful drawer-handle string anchor.  The customer loves the unique sound and ukulele fingering.

Customer review:  This is by far the most unique ukulele I have ever seen! It has a slightly different sound than a classic tenor, but that's what makes me love it even more. : )

 

Archtop Electric.  This is an (estimated) 1950s archtop that was in pretty bad condition when I got it.  Replaced the fretboard with inlaid mother of pearl, patched, sanded and repainted from a mottled brown to light ivory color, added gold-tone hardware and a FlatCat pickup system to top off the mix.  The decades-old wood and total hollow-body structure produces wonderful tone and resonance.

Right click and "Open Image in New Tab" for a closer look.

I had a change of mind on this one.  I started out with this to see how it would sound.  The trick was a dowel that runs under the bridge to allow the back to resonate through the very open front.  (Left click photo to enlarge.)

The original design:

This is the revision. I replaced the top with inner-magnet attached side panels, and "brassed it up".  Added a rustic finish and inner workings to turn it into a 5-voice guitar.

 

 

--o--

 

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