Searcy String Works

Getting there....

2011-04-10T04:19:00.000-07:00

Well, It's taking a lot longer than we figured it would. With Winter and the Holidays and some illnesses, progress has slowed to a crawl on the house rebuild and on getting the shop back in order. That's not to say we haven't made huge progress, it's just that next month will be one year since the flood and I'm starting to run out of steam.

I want to get back to doing what I do.

Our new deck.

2010-10-21T05:14:00.000-07:00

The flood rebuild is taking longer then we though it would. I was hoping to be back in the shop making pickups by now. We have made a lot of progress on the house. We are about half done. Here is a tour of the new Deck that was built by an all volunteer crew and designed by Amy Hopkins. It's fantastic!

The Kitchen is Done!

2010-08-24T06:21:00.000-07:00

Dad working on the floor

2010-08-01T06:43:00.000-07:00

This is my dad. Lt.Col James Searcy. He's retired now and came by to help out with the tear out. He also brought some huge barn fans and clean up gear and god only knows what else to help with the job. At one point he even mowed the lawn!

Ellie Erickson and the Dry Wall Mud of Doom!

2010-08-01T06:24:00.000-07:00

You guys have read about Ellie here on my Blog before. Shes a luthier, musician, artist, guitar tech, and pretty much anything else you can think of . Well she came down to help of put the house back together. She was part of a volunteer group that was put together by the MIMF who also raised some money for the rebuild. Well, let's be honest... it wasn't just some money... it was about $10,000!

A Jacked Up Home

2010-07-18T09:02:00.000-07:00

This house is about 7 houses down from us. We got 16 inches of water in our house. They got 7 feet. That's almost to your ceiling folks. To reduce their risk in the future they are lifting their house and blocking up under it.

Tennessee Flood Rebuild Still Going On

2010-07-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

This is a section of road that is sitting where a house is supposed to be. The house is gone down the river.

We are Nashville

2010-06-13T06:46:00.000-07:00

Who needs floors?

2010-06-13T06:26:00.001-07:00

Once the walls were out and the crew went home it was time to start ripping out the floors. It was important to get air moving under the house so the wood could dry out and mold wouldn't start growing. Once the carpet was out we learned that some of the floor was rotten any way and needed to be replaced.When we were ripping out the old drywall and flooring we found that at some point the floor had started to rot in the utility closet that holds the washer and dryer. Instead of fixing it the previous owners cut a patch for it out of 1" plywood and just scabbed that over the top of the damage allowing it to stay out of sight and rot to its hearts content. The floor had actually sagged almost 2" and Amy had to cut out all the damage and jack up the floor with a bottle jack. Then we made some temporary braces for it out of blocks. We will make some more permanent ones later when the rest of the house work is done.

Bust somthing!

2010-06-13T06:21:00.000-07:00

Once we had gone through all our stuff and tossed out the trash and the carpet and the waterlogged furniture it was time to start ripping the drywall and insulation out. We have a huge volunteer crew show up for this job.

Tent City.

2010-06-13T06:12:00.000-07:00

One of our neighbors that didn't get flooded let us use a tent and some sleeping bags for a few nights while we waited for the water to go back down. We were glad to have them but sleeping on hard, un-level ground ain't no fun at all.

Today I'm tired

2010-06-11T07:39:00.000-07:00

Man, I'm dead tired... Yesterday our stuff came back from FedEx. I had to clear a spot in the shop for it all and then load it. When we loaded all this stuff we were in a hurry so some things that were not worth saving got loaded along with good stuff. There are a lot of things that are questionable as well like my unfinished pine desk. I love that thing but it's not too stable right now and there is some mold growing on it. We'll see what some glue, clamps and bleach do for it.

Playing Catchup...

2010-06-11T07:28:00.000-07:00

Once the water retreated from the house I started ripping out carpet and tossing out wet furniture. The roads were still flooded and people still couldn't get in to help but I had to work on fixing this mess.

Week one of the flood

2010-06-11T06:16:00.000-07:00

This was originally written and posted on the MIMF on May 7th after sleeping in the back yard for 4 days. Click here to read the original thread.

I'm a proud man and I don't like to ask for help. Lucky for me, I have the MIMF and I don't have to ask for help. It's just there...

We have a collection of dramatic stories from the last 7 days. I'll try to fill you guys in sometime later. For now I'll tell you that the flooding rains didn't actually get us. It was the closing of the dam that caused the water in Pond Creek to stop flowing into the Cumberland River. I woke up at 6AM on Monday May 3rd thinking we had beaten the flood only to find water at my front doorjamb. I yelled at Alicia to get dressed and get ready to go. Alicia has CP and moving fast is not her strong point. I took her computer and my guitars and tossed them into the attic then I dashed out the back door and tossed open my backyard fence gates. The water was already a foot deep in the back door of the house. I ran to my little Toyota truck and drove it around to butt the drivers door up to the back door of the house and told Alica to crawl in. As soon as she was in I tossed the dogs in the back and took off up the hill that is our backyard. I made it out of the water but sank the truck in the mud. From there we walked to the back fence. By 6:10AM water was running across the floor. I ran back to the house to kill the main on the breaker box.

The days since have consisted of hiking about a half mile through the woods to get water and dog food from my neighbors who instantly got into motion seeing that everyone had food and drink, watching TSA and National Guard choppers come and go and wading into the house to rescue things and check on damage.

By noon May 6th the water was down to just past the floor of the house so I went in and started taking pictures of the damage and then started pulling carpet and wet furniture. We had 15" of water in the house standing for a day and a half. Last night I ran a drop cord from my neighbors Nicks house. The water didn't get in his place. We used it to power up an old laptop with a Sprint Air Card to get Alicia on line to let folks know we are bent but not broken.

Four houses up the houses were flooded up to the roof. We are very lucky. I have been told to cut out all the dry wall at the 4' mark and replace it. I'm also told that I need to remove all the plywood flooring sheeting and spray the floor joists with bleach.

This morning I unplugged everything in the house and turned the power back on to everything accept the AC unit. I'll try it tomorrow. My folks trucked in this afternoon with some bleach and some big barn fans that I have set up pulling air through the house. They helped me unstick the Toyota. I got the carpet out of all but two rooms. I'll get those tomorrow then start pulling drywall. The Olds 88 was totally sunk. I suspect it's totaled. I'll drain and replace the fluids in it tomorrow and see if it will start.

Right now I'm trying to come up with a game plan. I'm not sure what I need to do or how to go about it but I'm damn sure going to fix this. The insurance man is coming from Connecticut to see if anything is covered. I'm not in a flood plane so I don't have flood insurance. A stupid mistake that I will correct tomorrow.

We are staying here at the house while we tackle this mother for a number of reasons.

I want to thank you guys for the help and support.

I'm trashed right now so I'm going to crash. Sunburnt and peeling and sore and smelly. I'll try to check back in tomorrow and update you guys.

Thank you all!

2010-06-10T10:51:00.000-07:00

Until we get things up and running again I plan to use this Blog to document our flood rebuild.

I'll be posting some updates here to let everyone keep up with us as I can. I have a topic running over at the MIMF that has been pretty extensive but I want to post here as well. Click HERE to read it.

I want to thank those who have helped out already. There is a lot to be done here and it's a bit dizzying to know where to start. My wife Alicia and I are staying here at the house while we rebuild. I'll post a few pictures later to better illustrate what the damage has been.

I want to thank you all. We have gotten donations from The MIMF and Six String Bliss that will go a long way to help us rebuild.

I'll try to keep everyone updated. And again... THANK YOU!

Tennessee Flood

2010-06-04T04:32:00.000-07:00

Well, If you're wondering where I have been lately this should explain a lot. That's the Searcy String Works shop and my house and my car. We were sunk in the Tennessee floods of May 1st. Last month at about this time Alicia and I were living in a tent in out back yard with 15" of water in our house and shop, a sunk car and roads that could not be used with out a boat.
The damage is extensive and because we don't live in a floor zone we have no flood insurance.

We have already started the rebuild process with volunteer help, a small FEMA grant and donations from friends and strangers alike. It will take most of the summer to get things back to normal but we are coming back!

W. Jeffrey Jones in Premier Guitar

2010-03-12T04:16:00.000-08:00

Premier Guitar Magazine is running a full 4 page spread on the work of W. Jeffrey Jones this month. There is some mention of Searcy String Works in there as well. Click here to read the article on line or go out and buy one. Jeffrey has a very interesting and unique outlook on music and instrument building.
He was also featured in an interview with Six String Bliss in Episode 119. You can hear that show by clicking here.

I don't need no Dr. MXR Blue Box

2010-03-11T04:51:00.000-08:00

Well.... I ended up in the hospital for a few days last week. Seems I developed an ulcer that was bleeding so bad they thought they were going to have to give me transfusions. The great team at Sky Line got it all under control though it wasn't very fun. I'm really glad for the outstanding medical system we have here in the U.S. I hope we don't ruin it...

Anyway, I'm all better and thought you might like to see this little demo I did of the MXR Blue Box and a mod I like to do to it.

1963 Gibson Patent No. pickups

2010-02-20T06:01:00.000-08:00

I got an old "Gibson Patent Number" humbucker in this week to rebuild.

Early Gibson humbucking pickups had a sticker on the bottom that read “Patent Appiled For”. Gibson got the patent for its humbucking pickup in July 1959 but the PAF sticker stuck around until late 1961 or early 1962. At this time a new sticker started showing up on the base plates of the Gibson humbucker. It was “Patent No 2,737,842”. Humbuckers with this sticker from 1962 till 1965 are called “Patent Number” pickups and are starting to become very sought after.

The earliest Patent No. units are identical to the more famous PAF pickups in every way.

In late 1962 Gibson started using black jumper wires at the end of the coils and white jumper wires at the start instead of the all black ones of the PAF.

In Late 1963 they started using Polyurethane coated magnet wire to wind the bobbins instead of the dark colored plain enamel of the PAF. The bobbins are made form butyrate and prone to warping.

The magnets are sand-cast Alnico 5 magnets and the maple spacers are just like the earlier PAFs.

This one is all done and heading back out to CA. today. We didn't wax pot it because they were not potted to begin with and this is a restoration.

Jack Frost

2010-02-02T04:01:00.000-08:00

Once in a while I actually sit down and record music. Here's a song I did a little while ago called Jack Frost.

Bobbin, Bobbin whose got the bobbin?

2010-02-01T18:51:00.000-08:00

Mother nature tried to stop me but the new bobbins are finally in from China. Look how shinny they are!

Sand Cast Magnets

2010-02-01T18:48:00.001-08:00

Lots and lots of sand cast magnets have made their way into the shop this week. These are going to be used in the new generation O-2 and B-2 pickups.

Jim Warkway's 1967 Fender Jazz Bass

2010-01-31T04:46:00.000-08:00

Here's a rebuild I did a few years ago.

The W. Jeffrey Jones "Proteus"

2010-01-31T04:37:00.000-08:00

Perhaps you remember the new prototype humbucker pickups I made for W. Jeffrey Jones a few months ago. Well, those pickups went into a guitar that is currently making the rounds at some guitar shows and feed back is great so far. Here's what one player had to say about it.

"The Proteus is one of the very best electric guitars I've ever played. Not only is the design beautiful and comfortable to play, the clarity of the sound brings out each note that I played like separate voices in a vocal quartet. The harmony comes out rich and united, yet each note has a great vocal quality to it. The guitar responded well to single-note playing as well as more contrapuntal solo jazz guitar work. I couldn't stop playing it and it made me want to keep making music. Truly, any instrument that can inspire creativity is special and this is definitely unique. Kudos to Jeffrey for putting so much love into his work."

Az Samad

It's nice to hear things like that once in a while. Oh, and Jeffrey has ordered some more of those so the shop bustling with black humbucker bobbins right now.

Six String Bliss Retro Zone #10

2010-01-09T04:12:00.001-08:00

For the last few months I have been hosting some special Six String Bliss show while Pipes and PT take a break. We are calling them Retro Zone shows because we are covering the lost 12 shows from the guys early work. Show #10 is currently up. If you would like to give a listen just go click on this link. Six String Bliss

The V-90 single coil

2010-01-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

I've been working with W. Jeffrey Jones on a lot of new designs lately. We have brought back the classic V-90 pickup from a few years back for some of his newest guitars like the Deamon Sassefrax .
There have been several new P-90 single coil pickups. One of them is the new Tap-90 that features an honest to god old school coil tap. It runs about 8K tapped and about 12.5 K un-tapped. I'm looking forward to seeing these put to use!

Happy Halloween

2009-10-05T03:12:00.000-07:00

Words getting around...

2009-10-03T06:13:00.000-07:00

Here's another amazing guitar from W. Jeffrey Jones. This model is called Proteus. It sports the new Saturn Set that were developed in a joint effort with Jeffrey. Here's is what Jeffrey had to say about the pickups.

One other defining feature of this particular instrument is the set of pickups, custom-made for this guitar by Clint Searcy of Searcy String Works. I can't say enough about them. I prefer a clean, clear pickup, especially in the neck position. The music I play myself consists of chords that are comprised of close harmonies and a pickup has to be capable of voicing those harmonies without turning them to mud. And the bridge pickup gets up and rocks when you need it. Clint never lets me down with his work. He also gave me black pole screws for an equally clean look, as well as full adjustability of all the poles spaced specifically for the string spread of the Proteus. These are incredible humbuckers that I plan on using regularly in many of my future instruments where humbuckers are called for. I can't say enough about them. They complete the whole package of this versatile guitar.

Check out more information about the guitar HERE

The Saturn Humbucker Set

2009-09-26T17:25:00.000-07:00

We're getting the final production details worked out on some of the new pickups. Let me take a moment to tell you about the Saturn Humbucker set.

The Saturn Humbucker Set is comprised of the Anthe Neck pickup and the Janus Bridge pickup. Both of these pickup were born of a desire to offer a very evenly balanced and clear sounding humbucker with crisp response that was geared towards finger style players and jazz tones. Unlike the slightly mismatched coils on many of out rock humbuckers, the coils on the Saturn pickups are perfectly matched for dead silent operation. It was decided that these pickups would not be wax potted because many players feel that unpotted pickups impart a bit more touch responsive reaching to changes in the players approach. The magnetic structures on these coils are also identical to make sure the signal from each coils is a perfect mirror image. We decided to use screw poles in both coils to offer the player the ability to fine tune the poles to perfectly match their playing style and string choice. Four wire leads allow for many wiring options.

The Anthe uses an Alnico 5 magnet and has a DC resistance of about 7.5K ohms. The Janus is identical but weights in with a DC resistance of 13K ohms. Both are available in 50mm or 52mm string spacing. While some of our early prototypes and promotional units have been Zebra with chrome screws the production models will be double black with black screws.

More to come... Stay Tuned!

Queensryche - Home Again

2009-09-19T05:34:00.001-07:00

Heart at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashviile 9-8-09

2009-09-09T15:34:00.000-07:00

I got to see Heart last night for the first time. Ann Wilson is a Goddess if ever there was one. They did this tune and it was something close to a spiritual experience.

The Ryman Auditorium, on the other hand, should be ashamed of itself for selling wheelchair seats with a 100% obstructed view at full price. I think I'll be taking that little matter up with the management... Alicia got to look at the back of people's asses for most of the show.

Sneek Peek at the new Saturn Set!

2009-09-09T15:05:00.000-07:00

I'm not quite done with the shop upgrades. These things never go as planned... but I wanted to show you some of the work that's has been going on in the shop while it's been "down".
There has actually been a number of projects going on when time permits - but today I just want to tell you about this one. It's a limited run of Zebra Humbuckers for the new Saturn set. This new line features the Janus bridge pickup and the Anthe neck pickup. They are designed for exceptional clarity with perfectly matched coils, Alnico 5 magnets and 12 screw poles to insure an even magnetic response across all 12 poles and allow for exceptional string to string balancing. This is also the first production pickup from the Searcy String Works shop to feature unpotted coils. These new humbuckers are currently being featured in some of W.Jeffrey Jones' works. There will be more information on that as we get closer to the official launch of the set.

Alicia and I had a chance to hang out at the 2009 Summer NAMM show for a day and do some interviews for Six String Bliss. While we were there we got to talk to TV Jones and Seymour Duncan for just a bit. If you would like to here the podcast we did for Six String Bliss go HERE and download #161.

2009-08-28T10:00:00.001-07:00

The Summer of Gibson Bass Pickups

2009-08-26T06:27:00.000-07:00

What's up kids?

Well, things are typically behind schedule here at the old SSW. It's been a crazy summer with lots of non pickup related drama involving wisdom teeth and dead cars and plumbing and wiring issues.

Crazy!

I still have a lot of work to do in the shop but things are coming together. More o that later....

It's turned into a Gibson Bass Pickup sort of summer. I have this cool Gibson EBO pickup in that I'm told is a 1966. It's totally dead and I need to figure out why. I'm also working on some Gibson Grabber pickups and I'm working on some new models that will be direct replacement for a Ripper pickup.

The new guitar humbuckers are could along. We have tested out some sets with W. Jeffrey Jones and he is reporting back good news.

I'm waiting on some new parts for them. The new molds aren't ready yet but they soon should be.

Well.... that's it for now. It's good to be back!

The 8 String Guitar Obsession

2009-06-08T10:50:00.000-07:00

So I decided to make some pickup rings for the 8 string Humbuckers before they left the shop. They look great. These pickups ended up being a modified version of my Obsession / Bolero set. The coils are wound to Obsession Bolero specs but we used Neodymium magnets for an better top and and more clarity.

This set of pickups has turned out to be rather significant as they will be the last "super customs" to leave the Searcy String Works shop. We really didn't start out trying to build they most insane pickups in the world. It just sort of happened.
Alicia and I really do 4 things here at SSW. First, we build our own line of pickups. Second, we build OEM pickups for several luthiers. Third, we do pickup restorations and finally we do the Super Customs pickups. This last category has gotten us the most recognition but it has also been the most difficultly to do. When word got out that we were willing to build just about anything... well.... folks started taking us up on it. It's been a fun and sometimes wild ride bringing everyone's dreams to life. There have been some great discoveries and some major failures. All of which has led to a much better understanding of what works and what really dosnt' The biggest drawback to all this custom work has been that I have to keep a massive number of different parts on hand so that I can be ready for they next crazy idea. For example I stock 16 different types of PAF style humbucker bobbins and almost 50 different sizes and shapes of Neodymium magnets. Then there is the issue of time. Most of the custom designs I get are for extended range instruments or just plane wacky things like the Altoids pickups. These orders rarely can be built with off the shelf parts. At the very least I will have to modify bobbins and base plates and covers and magnets. All of this takes up lots of time.
So like I said, it's been lots of fun building the Super Customs but the times, they are a changin'. With the massive tax increases being pushed in the U.S. against businesses big and small we have to start tightening the belt around here and the most obvious way for us to do that is to cut the Super Customs.

It's time to go back to our roots and focus on the original designs that put us on the map to begin with. As we get the new models ready to roll we will be writing about them here.

Searcy String Works Is Changing Gears

2009-05-30T07:24:00.000-07:00

Click the picture to learn some more

Amazing Grace

2009-05-23T05:58:00.001-07:00

Nothing Else Matters

2009-05-23T05:37:00.001-07:00

Thank You American Soldier

2009-05-22T06:51:00.000-07:00

To see more about this great new CD from Queensryche check out this link to their video for "If I Were King"

Happy Memorial Day

2009-05-20T07:32:00.000-07:00

Have a happy Memorial Day America, but do take a moment to remember its real intent. Remember those who gave so that you might have all you enjoy.

"When to the sessions of sweet silent thought I summon up remembrance of things past, I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought, And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste: Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow, For precious friends hid in death's dateless night, And weep afresh love's long since cancelled woe, And moan the expense of many a vanished sight. Then can I grieve at grievances foregone, And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er The sad account of fore-bemoanèd moan, Which I new pay as if not paid before. But if the while I think on thee, dear friend, All losses are restored and sorrows end."
Shakespeare

Raging Slab - Anywhere But Here

2009-05-14T05:36:00.000-07:00

This one goes out to Timothy Franz Geithner.

8 String Obsession / Bolero Set

2009-05-12T05:46:00.000-07:00

I've been working this week on a set of 8 string guitar hum bucking pickups. The client and I went through several ideas and design changes before we arrives at this . It's a take on my Obsession / Bolero set and barrows many of the specs from those classics. The only real difference is that the magnets are different.
The client was wanting something different for his 8 string that was loaded with EMG bass pickups. He was looking for something more traditional looking and with a more vintage tone.

Eight is enough?

2009-05-11T09:40:00.000-07:00

Oh no... He's at it again.

That looks weird doesn't it? I wonder if it's just a trick of the light. Hmmm...

Ellie Erickson and The MF7

2009-05-07T11:02:00.001-07:00

My good friend Ellie Erickson has her hands in all sorts of things. The builds guitars, amp, pedals, pickups, mandolins, acoustics and hot sauce. And that's just getting started... She has a few bands she plays for. One is The MF7 where she holds down the electric guitar slot usually with her Roland Les Paul copy that she rebuilt into a hell of a player. It's sporting some Searcy String Works Knuckleheads these days. Knuckleheads have some serous bite and punch with their neodymium powered magnet structure and they slightly hot coils.
Give them a listen as Ellie and crew tell you all about Miss Molly in this crazy video they did! Each member of the band made a puppet of them self and their instrument and jammed for the camera.

Obsession Humbucker Demo

2009-05-01T07:35:00.000-07:00

Every guitar pickup maker eventually attempts to capture the vintage humbucker tones of yesterday. This pickup represents my attempt to satisfy this "obsession". Using Alnico 5 magnets and 1950's specs as a guideline, each of these pickups is handwound to 7.5k ohms. The design has been updated with a 4-wire lead, making the Obsession a perfect neck position match to the Bolero.

Here's a little demo tune I recorded of this pickup loaded into my 97 Les Paul and running through a vintage MXR 2000 Time Delay. To make things interesting I put it up with the video of some birds doing crazy stuff in front of my house.

Pickup Guru Jason Lollar to Re-release Pickup Book on CD

2009-04-27T19:03:00.000-07:00

Jason Lollar Announces The Re-release Of His Famous Guitar Pickup Winding Book On CD!

Legendary pickup maker Jason Lollar single handedly launched an entire generation of boutique pickup makers with his book. “For the Guitar Enthusiast, Basic Pickup Winding & Complete Guide to Making Your Own Pickup Winder”. The book was only in print for a few years and has subsequently become the Holy Grail to those looking to break into the pickup making world. Since then old copies of the book have gone way up in value. However, Jason has recently noticed a rash of folks selling bogus copies of the book on line for hundreds of dollars. “I am sick of chasing down people selling bogus copies of my book,” says Jason Lollar who has worked hard to combat the rip-off artists. “ So I am going to re-release it on CD in the next couple months…” Jason asks that those who are interested in the book-turned-CD not contact him about it. Instead you can keep an eye on his website where the new CD version of the book will be announced. In the meantime DO NOT pay big bucks for the old book as it might not be real and you will be kicking your self in a few months.

The story of two 1930's Kay Kraft Guitars (Part 6...)

2009-04-26T16:23:00.000-07:00

So…. Now I have two of these. The one on the right is the one I have had for 20 years and now I'm thinking I might finally start collecting info on what it needs to be playable again. The one on the left is the “New” one. I adjusted the neck (which is adjustable!), lowered the bridge, and removed the shim someone had installed under the nut. It’s actually in very good shape for a nearly 80 year old guitar. The "new" guitar is 100% original accept for a re-fret it got sometime in the 50’s or 60’s judging by the tiny fret wire used and the fact that they are warn down too. It's missing about 2" of binding on the body and the whole treble side binding from the fret board is gone. I'll track down a new one.

These guitars are officially called the Kay Kraft Venetian - Style B. They were made by Stromberg-Voisinet for the Kay Musical Instrument Company in Chicago. They were built from 1930 to 1935 and were absolutely revolutionary for the time. Actually, some of the features are revolutionary even today. I guess I'm not exactly objective here but I don't think there has been a more beautiful guitar ever made. The Neck joint is unlike anything I am aware of any where else in the industry. But using a radiused neck block and a bolt and wing nut one of the most tricky and expensive

repairs in luthiery, a neck reset, is now as simple as loosen the string, loosen a wing nut, adjust neck joint, tighten... Brilliant!

The arched back is not braced at all and after nearly 80 years neither guitar shows any damage of distortion of the back. The top has a kind of hybrid X bracing system not unlike those on Martin guitars.

LittleBrotherBlues.Com has some great pictures of how the bracing in these great guitars work along with a few other Kay models that were based on these ideas. You should check them out.

Although the two guitars have different bridges they are both original as this guitar was offered with both types over the 5 years they were made. The bridge on guitar #2 has a very fancy bridge made of Bakelite and is reversible. It is straight on one side and compensated on the other for better intonation. There is also some small difference in the pick guards and clearly the left guitar is much darker in color than the right guitar. The #1 guitar on the right has replacement tuners from the 60's I think. It still has the original bar frets. The tails are slightly different as well but again they are both original as there are no additional holes inducting one of them may be a replacement. The tuners on the #2 guitar are original and come from the Guitar Prod. Co. in Cleavland Ohio.

My plan is to restore one back to original and make the other more of a player.I may use the binding from the trashed fretboard of the #1 guitar to fix up #2 and then just make a new fret board for #1. Well see what the next 20 years bring...

If you would like to hear this guitar just click on this picture below.

1930's KayKraft Guitar (Part 5 of the Kay Guitar Story)

2009-04-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

The next day was Friday. It was a crazy day that had Alicia and I running errands all over town. We finally stopped to eat lunch. While enjoying my hamburger I started thinking about the Kay again. If Barry was selling his privet collection he might be in real trouble. I hatched an evil plot and ran it by Alicia. I would offer him a stupid low-ball price and see if they would take it. We were only a few blocks away at this point. Then I would be able to sleep soundly knowing I had offered them a good price and they were simply too foolish to see. I walked in and headed straight to the old guitar. I snatched it up and plunked around on the high action a little bit making sure the half-fretted notes and out of tune strings spoke clearly about what a junk heap this guitar was to anyone within earshot. Then I looked at the guy behind the counter and said “Hey… take $300 for this old thing?” “He looked back and said…. “Well…. If you pay taxes on it. $330 and you're out the door.”

Damn…. He called my bluff!

Stromberg-Voisinet Kay Kraft Venetian - Style B (Part 4 of the Kay Story)

2009-04-25T13:21:00.000-07:00

I was near Barry’s on other business and thought I would just drop in. I didn’t even notice at first that the old privet collection of guitars was not up on the wall any more. My eye made it’s way down the line of “for sale” guitars. There was a nice Alverez, an Epiphone an Ovation and a pair of old Yamahas 12 strings, some banjos, lot's of junk electrics, a new Fender Tele, cool stuff … but nothing I had to have… until I saw the old KayKraft hanging with all the other “for Sale” guitars. It even had a price tag on it. I took a peek… $500.00 “wow…” I though, “Barry is selling his privet stuff… times must be hard. But this old Kay can’t be worth that much.” I picked it up and played it a little. The action was way too high, as if someone had been playing slide with it but I knew it could be adjusted. The intonation was off a little but that could be fixed too. Then there was the sound. It sounded like a thousand old blues records I’ve heard over the years. It sounded like the opening run to “Black Queen” from Stills first solo record. Not as much bottom end as Steven's Martin but tight lead run tone.

I wanted it… But $500 was a little too high and I had never had any luck haggling at Barry's so I hung the guitar back on the rack and walked out telling myself that the guitar was too old and too beat up for that much money.

I got back in the car and told my wife Alicia about it. “Is it playable?” she asked. "Yes…well, it could be. ” I said “You should go get it. You have the money. I love that guitar!” We talked about the old Kay Kraft we had at home. We talked about doing to Ed's with it all those years ago. ABout the plans that I had that never seemed to come to pass. We have been working on some music together that could use some acustic guitar. She was right, I did have the money but I couldn’t pay that much for the guitar so we just drove home and I tried to forget it. But I found myself looking up at the wall. At my old pawnshop find from 20 years ago. She was still pretty but she been silent for over 10 years. I had forgotten what she sounded like until this afternoon. But $500... that was just too much money.

1930s Kay Kraft, Recording King, Deluxe (Part 3 of the Kay Story)

2009-04-25T05:46:00.000-07:00

In 1993 Alicia and I moved to Nashville and old habits followed us. It could be hard to find a good guitar deal in a guitar store in Nashville before Ebay came along. So I would check pawnshops and thrift stores for deals. One day in 1995 I walked into Barry’s Pawn and I couldn’t believe my eyes. There on the wall hung the exact same 1930’s KayKraft guitar that I had at home. It was hanging high up on the wall with about 7 other old guitars. I couldn’t see it well but it seemed to be in good shape. I asked the guy at the counter, “Hey… How much for the old Kay?” He didn’t even look up from his paper, “Sorry man… Those aren’t for sale. They are part of Barry’s privet collection.” Oh well. I figured if I pushed too much he would want way too much for it so I just let it go. It probably wasn't any good anyway.

Over the past 20 years I have only seen two more of these guitars person. One in a high-end vintage guitar shop on Ft. Laud beach and the other at a Nashville guitar show. Both were way out of my price range for a nostalgia trip. As time went on I forgot about playing the KayKraft, it just became a thing on a wall to me like so many other little knick-knacks that sit around a house. They just sort of fade into the background with time. When I ran into Barry’s on my regular bargain hunts I didn’t even look up on the wall at the old guitars any more. Just stroll in, look at the amps and the stomp boxes. Maybe see if they have a fretless bass this month. Then on to the next shop.

Until this month...

1930's KayKraft (Part 2 of the Kay Story)

2009-04-24T05:43:00.000-07:00

The guitar sat in a box for a week or two while I talked about all the crazy things I could do with it. Finally Alicia said "You should let Ed have a look at it. He might know more about it." So we decided to take a trip down to see our friend Ed Oleck, owner of Ed’s Guitars in Miami. I had bought and sold a lot of gear with Ed over the years and always valued his opinion where instruments were concerned. Ed told me I really had a neat guitar there and I shouldn’t mess it up by painting it. “In fact, check this out… “ Ed wet a little bit of cloth and rubbed on the top a bit. Under the caked on dust and attic crud there was a fantastic sunburst with a gold guild work. “…See? Just clean the guitar up and put it back together. Then if you don’t like it I’ll trade you something for it.”

Thus began my first trip into restoration and vintage guitars. I polished all the crap off the guitar with some Meguiar's classic car polish. I put all the parts back together and played it for a few years. She was a good guitar. She had a small crack along the bass side of the body and at some point someone had carved the initials J.M. in to her finish. But even so she sounded good and loud. Alicia taught me chords with it and it got dragged all over Florida. Eventually we moved to Nashville and the old Kay went too. But my early amateur attempt at a restoration was far from perfect. Over time the old, original bar frets wore down, the fret board warped and the arch top started to slightly sink in. I started to worry that the top would crack some more so I loosened the strings and retired the guitar to wall hanger status. I told myself I would rebuild it someday when I had more knowledge of what to do about that top. But the years ticked by and I never did rebuild it.

to be continued...

20 Years with the same guitar (Part 1 of the Kay story)

2009-04-23T08:37:00.000-07:00

This may be hard to believe but not everything around Searcy String Works is about guitar and bass pickups. Once in a while I actually sit down and record music. Sometimes is just for fun. Sometimes it's for a project like the Six String Bliss records. Once in a while it's just because I like to do fun things with my wife Alicia who I have been with for 20 years. She and I have been through a lot. Take this old guitar for example.
It all started in a pawnshop in 1989. Alicia and I weren't married back then. We were broke as broke can be. That's what started our habit of looking in thrift stores and pawn shops for deals on the things we needed. That’s why , when I neded a drill one day we headed to the local Ft. Laud pawn shops to find a deal. I managed to find an old one at a decent price but I also found a 1930's Kay Kraft guitar that was totally disassembled in bits in a box. Now, I didn't know it was a 1930's KayKraft guitar. The guitar had so much dust on it you couldn't even tell what color it was. The fret board was off the neck. The neck was off the body. The binding was off the body. The pick guard and bridge were off the body. It was a mess but Alicia loved the lines of the thing and I didn't have an acoustic at the time and thought maybe I could paint this pile of junk and make it playable. I asked the guy what he would take for it and he said, “If you buy that drill I’ll give you that box of guitar parts. It came out of some old ladies attic.“ and that’s how this bass player came to own his first old guitar.

To be continued...

Don't bother Star Grounding your guitar (Buzz Kill?)

2009-04-12T06:58:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while I get an email from someone asking me about the wonders of the Star Grounding wiring system featured on the GuitarNuts website. Now I like the Guitar Nuts site and there are loads of great information there but this one article is starting to drive me GuitarNuts. The original claim was that by adding shielding and removing ground loops from a guitar or bass equipped with single coil pickups you can drastically reduce hum and noise. But like any good myth the claim has been embellished by time and repetition. Now I'm getting emails from folks claiming that Star Grounding can totally remove all noise from single coil guitars and even help guitars with humbucking pickups. On the other side of the fence there are those who now claim that Shielding and Star Grounding your guitar is a "tone suck" that will harm your carefully crafted tone.

So, is this Shielding and Star Grounding practice worth while or is it just a lot of B.S. ?

Well, just like any good myth it has elements of truth and exaggeration. Let's start with shielding the guitar. Shielding is a conductive enclosure around one or more signal conductors ( pickups, pots, switches ect...), used to keep out electrostatic fields that can cause hum, buzz, or other noise. Shielding is often a good idea on many single coil guitars. Particularly Strat copies that often didn't come with much shielding to start with. A good practice for shielding a Strat type guitar is to use either copper foil tape or conductive paint to shield the pickup cavities and the control cavity including the back of the pick guard. Then this "Shield" is connected to the guitars ground. It's pretty simple and very effective at getting rid of noise. But it will never make your single coil pickups hum free. When folks tell me they have fallowed the Shielding and Star Grounding instructions on the web and noticed dramatic improvements, well, this is why. Shielding helps!

On the other hand trying to reduce noise by hunting down and removing "Ground Loops" inside the guitar via the Star Grounding method is a waste of time. Why? Well let's start by looking at what a ground loop really is. Ground loops are real and they can be noisy little buggers that occur when you can trace a loop in the ground connections between separate pieces of AC powered equipment in your signal chain. Hank Wallace wrote a great article about this over at Atlantic Quality Design. So why can't a guitar have a ground loop? To put it simply it's because a guitar only has one ground path. That being the cord. Because every component in a guitar or bass is grounded at the output jack it was already "Star Grounded" when you bought it. No matter how you wire the guitar all the grounds must converge at the output jack. So basically there is no way to wire it that isn't "Star Grounded". In fact the only way you can get a ground loop inside a guitar is to wire it up with two separate outputs that run to two separate amps and star grounding the wiring inside the guitar won't fix that either.

Some like to argue that the neck pickup lead might be longer then the bridge pickup lead causing a voltage drop that could create a ground loops. But there simply isn't enough wire or voltage inside a guitar to make this a reality. Want to test that assertion? Find a stock Fender Jazz Bass that has RWRP single coil pickups and is noise free with the volume on both pickups all the way up. Now open it up and measure the pickup leads. See? The neck pickup leads are much longer.

So, will shielding your single coil guitar or bass help reduce noise? Possibly. Will it kill the tone of your instrument? Not unless you wrapped your pickup coils in cooper foil. That can cause you to lose some of the high end.

Will Star Grounding your single coil guitar help reduce noise? Absolutely not! No way. It's a total waste of time and should be avoided. Am I being unclear? The problem is that most of the folks who attempt the Star Grounding system on a guitar or bass are electrical novices that might not be too skilled at avoiding cold solder joints or over heating pots or capacitors.So why trip them up by giving them a pointless project to fallow that just adds to the confusion?

Well, I guess that's it for now. Next time we'll tackle the "Aged Magnets" myth.

Queensryche - If I were King

2009-04-11T16:15:00.000-07:00

The Magnus Fredholm Bass Humbucker

2009-04-10T05:53:00.001-07:00

Jared over at JC Basses is working on another of his fantastic master work basses. This time it's a 5 string Black Widow that is just staggeringly beautiful. The guy who ordered the bass is from Jared is Will R. , a long time Searcy String Works pickup user. Will has a Benford guitar with some SSW pickups and wanted to be sure his new bass was just as packed full of tone.
I am extremely proud of the Magnus bass humbucker. Originally introduced in 2004, this brilliant pickup design was the result of a discussion with Swedish bass player Magnus Fredholm. Magnus was looking for a 5 string bass pickup that would offer a modern humbucker sound but that could also be split to offer a vintage J-Bass sound. The more I thought about this project the more excited I became with it.
To fully realize this concept I decided that vintage components would be used. The bobbin shape was made to fallow vintage specs exactly. They are loaded with Alnico5 magnets, and then wound to around 7.k ohms with vintage style magnet wire. Each pickup contains two of these coils arranged in reverse wound / reverse polarity manner. This is all wired up to a four-conductor lead that allows for a wide array of switching and phasing options. Finally the entire assembly is wax potted and cast in wood grained epoxy for a feed back free pickup that looks as great as it sounds.
The do require a propriatart rout and are not exact replacments for anything. I have gotten them to fit into EMG routs with some slight clearancing but if that bothers you I am working on a more direct replacment option.

Kings X - Pray

2009-04-04T05:19:00.000-07:00

Ben Prevo and his Duo Sonic

2009-04-03T04:44:00.000-07:00

Remember the Duo Sonic pickup that went out to Ireland last week? Well that pickup belongs to Ben Prevo. Ben Prevo is probably one of the greatest guitarists you have never heard of. He has performed with such legends as Jaco Pastorius,Brian Downey,Noel Redding,Levon Helm and Pee Wee Ellis and held the coveted second guitar seat in Jorma Kaukonen's band. Whether playing a sweet soulful blues,a raucous rockabilly rhythm or a Hendrix inspired ride Ben does it all, tastefully and with superb phrasing and feel.

Keep the Change...

2009-04-03T04:29:00.000-07:00

"I can make a firm pledge, under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.... you will not see any of your taxes increase one single dime."

Mad Season - Lifeless Dead

2009-04-01T03:13:00.000-07:00

Remember the 1972 Jazz Bass pickups I fixed a little while back? They were microphonic and the neck pickup had the wrong magnetic polarity. Well, I got a letter back from Nelson who owns the bass and it turns out the bass has a little history that you might find interesting. It was once owned by Mad season bassest John "Baker" Saunders.

Here is part of the letter I got from Nelson.

Clint, you are awesome. Thanks for fixing up my pickups... By the way, I thought I would let you know that these pickups are from a bass with a little history. I bought the bass on ebay a few years back from a guy who was roommates with "Baker" the bass player for Madseason. Madseason was a side project band by Layne Staley of Alice In Chains and Mike McCreedy of Pearl Jam. I confirmed this after buying the DVD "Madseason live at the Moore. Sure enough it is the exact same bass and hes playing it on stage. According to the roommate, "Baker" died of heroin overdose, not unlike Staley himself... I feel lucky owning a piece of history, but even luckier playing such a great instrument. Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains were my idols when I first started playing music.

How cool is that? I grew up a Metal Head and I made the full jump to Grunge when Heavy Metal pussied out and became Happy Metal. I remember these guys well as being the first Grunge super group. They had a radio hit with "River of Deceit" but I like the groove of "Lifeless Dead" better.

So, want to hear this bass in action? Here it is.

1950's National Pickup.

2009-03-25T08:55:00.000-07:00

Here's a crazy pickup from a 1950's National Town and Country. One of them is dead and needs a rewind. They sort of look like humbuckers at first but with they covers off the magnetic structure looks more like a mini Charlie Christian. They don't have much magnetic force. The good one shows that the coils are wound to a little more that 9K. I'll have to install these in the test guitar when there done to see what they sound like. Cool pickup!

1972 Fender Jazz Bass Bridge Pickup.

2009-03-24T19:50:00.000-07:00

I got in a set of Fender Jazz Bass pickups this week to work on. They were microphonic and had all sorts of copper shielding tape stuck all over them. The owner said he was disappointed in the 1972 Jazz Bass because it just didn't have the punch that a good jazzer should. He wanted me to look the pickups over and see if I thought there was something we could do with them to get them sounding right.
After giving them the once over I figured out that the non original neck pickup and the original bridge pickup both had south facing poles! The magnets were improperly phased and that's what was causing some of his issue. The neck pickup also had some of the magnets shoved down too far in the bobbin. I corrected the magnet on the neck pickup, got rid of the shielding tape and potted the pickups. They will be heading back home in a few days.

Fender Duo-Sonic makeover.

2009-03-24T19:41:00.000-07:00

Here is that Fender Duo-Sonic I was telling you about. It's a newer guitar that had a dead bridge pickup so the owner wanted to see if we could get a little Tele style twang out of it while fixing it. I wound it up with 43 ga wire like a Tele would have. Then I made a steel base plate for it to help give it a little more of that Tele flavor.
As soon as it's out of the wax pot it's getting boxed up and shipped back home to Ireland. I can't wait to hear what the owner thinks.

Single coil Madness!

2009-03-21T06:23:00.000-07:00

The shop is full of Fender and Fender inspired single coils this week. I have built a set of vintage style Strat pickups for Benford Guitars. I'm also reworking a cool Fender Duo-Sonic to get a more Tele type sound out of it. More on that later this week. Got some custom J-Bass pickups going together. There's a Tele humbucking bridge pickup on the bench right now.

It's a busy week!

Lily Allen - The Fear

2009-03-15T18:52:00.000-07:00

Big Screen Bliss

2009-03-13T06:21:00.000-07:00

The new CD from Six String Bliss featuring movie songs we all know and love has just been released on their web site for FREE! Click on the Big Screen Bliss picture to go to their web site and down load the full 14 track CD. Or better yet down load episode # 142 of the Six String Bliss guitar podcast and hear the guys go through each track and comment on them.

Oh, and the very first track on the CD is your truly doing a cover of a cars classic.

Here is how Pipes and PT introduced the CD to the world...

First the Bliss community covered some of the most memorable theme songs of the small screen with the album Stay Tuned. We couldn't stop there! Now we moved on to our big screen debut with the Album Big Screen Bliss where we take on the movie themes you know and love.

According to Pipes, co-host of the Podcast: “Movie soundtracks are designed to be pure emotion. They are designed to make you feel. This was a perfect fit for the Six-String Bliss community”. Stated PT Hylton, the program’s other co-host: “One of the most rewarding parts of putting this album together was seeing the growth of the musicians in our community. This album is focused, confident and just plain fun!”

Check it!

Why is Jeff Schmidt cooler than you?

2009-03-07T05:31:00.000-08:00

This is why...

Keep the change...

2009-03-02T06:14:00.001-08:00

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." -Winston Churchill

Unkel Mike's Operation

2009-03-01T17:02:00.001-08:00

I got a note today from Jason who is the son of our own UnkleMike. I did a little pickup work and built a left handed tone circuit for him just last week. Mike has been waiting a long time for a double lung transplant. I'm not going to post the entire thing but here is an abridged version.

If you didn't receive the first email, this is Jason, Mike's son. I will be typing up some updates for you until dad is able to use a computer again. The transplant happened at about 1:00 am Thursday morning and was finished at about 10:40 am. Everything went well as expected! When we first came in to see him around 1:00 pm on Thursday, he was pretty incoherent but he was able to twitch and move his eyes underneath his eyelids. You should have seen all the needles and tubes coming out of him...quite the site. Yesterday was an enormous day of recovery for him. He went from simply being awake and alert again, to sitting up in a chair later in the day, to actually eating meatloaf and mashed potatoes for supper (which by the way was the first time he'd eaten since about noon on Wednesday). I came in to visit him earlier today and his color was better than I've ever seen it. His cheeks and nose are no longer the purplish color they used to be. Currently dad still has quite a few tubes in him, although I would say he's got about half as many in now as he did on Thursday....

...Dad's been keeping himself busy by thinking about what he wants to do when he gets out...I don't think I've ever seen this side of my dad...he's so ambitious! He told me he's looking forward to fishing and golfing again and wants to finally take my mom on their honeymoon (they never had one..it's been 25 years!). He said today that he thought he would be doing
more reading to keep himself busy but I guess he can't get comfortable because of all the tubes in him. If all goes well he could be out of the intensive care unit by tomorrow or Monday. Following that he will begin the long road to
rehabilitation. I'd like to thank everyone for being so supportive throughout this whole process. All of your prayers and thoughts have helped make this a reality finally. I know it's a huge burden off my mom's shoulders. I will try to keep everyone posted in the upcoming days as his recovery continues to progress. Again, thank you all and god bless!

So just remember Mike and wish him well. All his prayers have been answered but he's still got a long year ahead of him.

Six String Bliss #140

2009-02-27T03:37:00.001-08:00

The guys over at Six String Bliss has really upped their game lately. If you haven't listened lately you have missed a lot. Their coverage of 2009 Winter NAMM with guest corespondent Snoozy Shrugs was out of sight. The rough but rapid shows launched from their hotel room every night were shows 132 through 136 and they were great! Some how in the middle of all this NAMM coverage they found time to sit down and do an interview with a guy who was arguably the worlds first rock and roll guitarist Ernest McLean who played with cats like Fats Domino and Little Richard back in the day. That ended on being episode #137. Then in show # 139 Pipes does the solo interview thing with modern blues rocker Eric Sardinas live from the sound check.
This week is show # 140 where they interview amp builder Adam Grimm of Satellite Amps. These are kicking boutique tube amps that are priced right in line with many factory production amps. Oh.... I happen to be on this show as well doing a little segment about tone they some of you have heard me go on about before.
I'm going to try to start recording one segment a month for the guys to use if they want. Subjects could be pretty much anything. Here's one I did for them a while back that I converted into a youtube video. It's a review of the Electro Harmonix POG. I've bought a better mic since then.

Jet - Wild One

2009-02-24T18:10:00.000-08:00

2009-02-23T03:52:00.001-08:00

“When all government...in little as in great things, shall be drawn to
Washington as the center of all power, it will render powerless the checks
provided...” Thomas Jefferson

The Malmstrom lap steel pickup rebuild. (The Long Strange Trip... )

2009-02-21T09:16:00.000-08:00

Over the years countless pickups have made their way through my little shop. Everything from dead 1950's Fender Strat pickups and 1960's FilterTrons needing to be rewound to the Katrina pickups that were nearly tossed out as unusable. Yep... it's been a long strange trip.
But not one of those pickups has sparked as much interest, intrigue and even a little bit of controversy like this strange pickup from Finland that I rebuilt a few years ago. I have written about it extensively and the other day I decided to present the story in a more modern medium. Check out this video.

Guitar tone? Pickup Tone? Pedal Tone?Your tone?

2009-02-10T03:57:00.000-08:00

So.. I was talking to a couple of cats in their late 20's a little while back and we were talking about how to get different tones from a guitar. One kid says, "How do you get that ACDC tone?" and the other piped up right away. "That's easy... just crank everything to 11 and rock!" Now.... I've been listening to ACDC since about 1977 and never has Malcolm or Angus tone struck me as over the top super distortion. Even on a tune like "I'm a rocker" or "Hells Bells" the tone is well defined and smooth and breaks up with the picking dynamics and aggression of attack. I made them listen to "Ride On" as homework.

One thing to think about is this. If your running a signal chain looks like this...
Squash-o-Matic compressor > Wonder Wah > 12 band EQ > Super Skull F#@%er Mega Distort Pedal > Flang-o-tron > Echo-Zilla Analog Delay and then run all that into a 200W Mega Colossus Distortus Maximus amp with everything set to 20 you have sort of negated the subtle nuances of your expensive boutique hand made pickups or your vintage NOS tone caps. At some point the guitars effect on the tone starts to become a moot point if you don't keep it simple.

Now.... don't get me wrong. I'm not hatin on stomp boxes. I have over 50 stomp boxes and I'm adding and swapping and modding new ones all the time. I've heard the guys that yell "If you need a stomp box your guitar or amp must suck!" But that just ain't so. It's one thing to get that 15 watt valve amp to sound good in your bed room. It's another matter all together to get it to sound good in a bar, or an out door stage or a warehouse. For those type of situations it can be handy to have a good EQ pedal or a distortion pedal with a good EQ built in. And the simple truth is that if you're going to try to sound like Warren Haynes you will need a Boss Metal Zone pedal. If you're trying to sound like Tom Morello you'll need a Digitech Whammy and if you're trying to sound like Michael Schenker you'll need a CryBaby.

You really have to decide what you want to do with your sound and build it from the ground up. Ever bit of your rig, from your finger tips to your speakers are going to play a part in you tone. How much? Well, that depends on your musical style. If your playing through 4 distortion boxes then I wouldn't worry too much about the tone cap you have on your Tele.

I ask you to think about these things when you are considering a new set of expensive hand made pickups. It will help me direct you to the right pickup or perhaps even recommend not replacing your pickups at all.

Oh... and that ACDC tone? Try a well made guitar built in the Gibson or Gretch style with vintage spec pickups (ie, not hot) and run that into a good tube amp and set most of the knobs on about 5. Try it out and tweak the amp from there.

"If you know what I mean..."

Same you can believe in....

2009-02-08T17:25:00.000-08:00

In The Know: Should The Government Stop Dumping Money Into A Giant Hole?

The Searcy String Works Bolero Humbucker MP3

2009-02-07T13:23:00.000-08:00

Without a doubt the most popular guitar pickup I have made is the Bolero Humbucker. First introduced at the 2007 Winter NAMM show it was an instant hit and has remained so ever since. The Bolero is a nod to the hotrod humbucker sounds of the '70's. With a DC resistance of 14.8k ohms, the hotter, wax potted coils give it a great bite for driving your amp. The vintage style Alnico-5 bar magnets ensure a controllable output that can clean up nicely when needed. The 4-wire lead allows for coil splitting and phasing switching.

There's nothing like hearing though is there?

High Gain Metal Tone MP3

Country Chord Tone MP3

Project Stelios DONE!

2009-02-07T08:45:00.000-08:00

Ok, I finally finished the crazy quad coil, stereo output mega monsters for Stelios I last told you about HERE .

Stelios Bridge Pickup MP3

For those who don't know Greek Mythology, Stelios is the mythical Greek God of Shred. If your looking for proof here is a little something he did while taking a break in front of his computer.

If you like that check out some more of his YouTube work right HERE . I can't wait to hear what he does with his new Searcy String Works pickups.

Pickup Wars!

2009-02-06T04:39:00.000-08:00

You know, I don't spend every second of my time making pickups. In fact it's been so cold out in the shop a few times this winter that I couldn't feel my fingers and had to delay some work. I mean, I have heaters in the shop and all but they are pretty light duty and when it's 45 degrees in the shop I can't make good pickups.

So I have spent a few of the colder nights this winter fixing up a 1997 Gibson Les Paul Studio Double Cutaway that I bought last year. I installed my Obsession Bolero Humbucker set and swapped a lot of the parts out for gold. I rewired the controls to just have two volume pots and installed a BadAss bridge to allow for some better intonation adjustment. When I got done I was impressed with this guitar. It's a real player! HERE is a sound clip of it through a Morley Wah.
So I decide to see if any other Les Paul guys are fans of this very overlooked model that was only made for a year or two. I decide to start my quest by posting a few pictures of my guitar on the My Les Paul forum. After that I saw they had a pickup section! Cool! I gotta check that out cause I'm a pickup geek, right? Then, what do ya know there was a discussion about one of my You Tube videos. How cool is that? It's like I was meant to be there.

There were a few comments after the video. Most were cool. Someone wanted to know if I was really building a humbucker so fast. One other person questioned my jump wire technique and another wondered why I would reveal my secrets and show everyone how I make my pickups. I was only to happy to answer these questions so I posted this...

"Thanks for checking out my little video. The build was edited for time. Usually I build in batches instead of one at a time. Having the camera in the room adds about 14 hours to the build time. I don't tape the coil end of the jumpers because they are resting between the tape and the insulated magnet wire. Once the cover is soldered on and the pickup is wax or epoxy potted there's little chance of anything moving enough to cause a short. And if it does it's OK cause I guarantee all my work for life.

I don't know if showing people how to make a 150 dollar pickup in about 10 minutes is a good idea or not. Very interesting though. Not much to it.

You can get money for these things? Honestly, I don't think I have given away too much here. They're pickups not time machines. There isn't too much to them. 80% of the black arts, mad science we hear about pickups amounts to little more than marketing B.S... I've never been too good at that."

That's it... that's my first post on the My Les Paul Forum ever. I have talked to a lot of pickup makers over the years like Bill Lawrence and Jason Lollar and one of the things that seems to annoy them all is the amount of marketing B.S. you see in the pickup making world. I didn't think this was to controversial a statement... So I was surprised when this replay came back from some anonymous we'll call..... Ummmm..... "Cap'n Sticky Bottom"...

ROTFLMA... yeah, your right. no marketing bs. just fancy edited video marketing. well, i guess that's the typical new pickup winders mentality when they come out.. dis the other winders who work hard at their "black art, science" and say that they are the best because? looking forward to seeing your , um... marketing hype? Welcome!

Stew mac kits in the first vid? hmm.. by the way, your bobbin leads should have some kinda of protecting. I know, i have learned the hard way. i do like your custom art work "iron cross" on the allparts covers. cool!

WOW! I wasn't expecting that at all. Now, I know what you're saying. The guy obviously has a tiny penis and I should just let it go. The problem with that is that I use my real name every time I post on the internet and my name and reputation is all I have. So while I don't always feel like addressing these idiots... for the most part I have too. If he makes this crazy assertions and I just disappear some folks on the My Les Paul Forum will assume there might be something to what he said. I can't have that so the battle was on... His comments are in red here and mine are in green.

Searcy:
well, i guess that's the typical new pickup winders mentality when they come out.. dis the other winders who work hard at their "black art, science" and say that they are the best because?

Wow... It's been many a year since I've been called the new pickup guy. I'm new to the My Les Paul forum though. Guess that's what you mean. Did I say a bad thing? I call terms like "Calibrated, aged magnets and special potting solutions and Rosie Wraps" marketing B.S. The reason I mention it at all was simply because folks always seem amazed when they see me build a pickup and there's no mojo dance or magic wire or anything. I wasn't trying to call anyone out. If I hit a nerve it was inadvertent.

Stew mac kits in the first vid?

Nope, you can tell by the color of the cream bobbin, type of magnet, length of the legs on the base plate and the size of the spacer. If you miss those little details you can go by the fact the Stew Mac doesn't sell 50MM base plates. Besides I can't afford to by bulk parts from Stew Mac. I have bought some tools from them though. Good stuff... but spendy!

i do like your custom art work "iron cross" on the allparts covers. cool!

Thanks, but it's not an allparts cover. It's a cast epoxy cover I made for a neodymium powered bass humbucker I made about 5 years ago.

Here's another cover you wont' see at all parts.

Where do you think I got that one?

Again, I'm not trying to upset anyone. Just wanted to thank you guys for checking out my work.

Ok , So I figured that was cool. I made my point and let the guy know that I wasn't picking on anyone just in case he was a pickup maker I had never heard of.... But no.... he was still mad about something...

no nerve hit. I am sorry never heard of ya. i am sure that many people can wind and build a pickups as you. it's as simple as 1,2,3... that's why so many are always popping up and starting a biz and are taking off through the roof but you have 5 years right. cool!

i do find it amusing that according to you that many pickup winders around must be a bull shitters and your the home run winder saying that there is no science behind it and it's all bull shit. I am NOT a winder at all.. I have tried it and they came out crap but i do know that there is a science behind it and maybe you should really do some back ground here into this section and you will see that there is some great data available here and on the net.

i do see a new arrogant guy who's just joined a forum with some very respected winders here and do put in a lot of "marketing B.S." science and love into their work and you come out of the park your first day saying they are bull shitters. just to remind you.. no nerve hit here. I am not a winder but an assembler and i do see a BS marketing scheme in the works here. so instead of going back and forth with ya..

I just end it here and watch your no BS marketing plan go into effect here at the seen it all, heard it all MLP.

Nice p-90 cover.. do your own covers. nice.

So I had to reply...

i do find it amusing that according to you that many pickup winders around must be a bull shitters and your the home run winder saying that there is no science behind it and it's all bull shit.

You know... you sure don't have much of an eye for details. I never said there was no science involved in pickup making. I never said that I was the home run king or that people should even pick my pickups over anyone elses. Seems you've decided to pick a fight even if here isn't one here. That's the sort of thing a real asshole would do. Not that I'm calling you an asshole or anything. I never heard of you before yesterday so it's too early to make such a character evaluation.

I am NOT a winder at all.. I have tried it and they came out crap but i do know that there is a science behind it and maybe you should really do some back ground here into this section and you will see that there is some great data available here and on the net.

Well... I am a winder. You would have known that if you had spent 30 seconds on Google instead of deciding that I must be the new kid with a StewMac kit, a video camera and a plan to tear down all the giants of the pickup making world. Now just so we understand each other.... again... I never said there wasn't any science involved but you just keep on fighting that fight if it makes you feel like you're defending the downtrodden.
Now...I can see by looking around that there is a lot of good information here on the MLP forum but just what data is it that you think I need to find? I have spent years studying every aspect of pickup making. I have made, restored and designed more pickups than I can count (again google would have told you that) and one of the things I learned very early on was that it can be hard to separate the science from the marketing B.S.

i do see a new arrogant guy who's just joined a forum with some very respected winders here and do put in a lot of "marketing B.S." science and love into their work and you come out of the park your first day saying they are bull shitters.

What you call arrogance I call being confidante in my work. There's a difference between science and marketing BS. I can't believe I actually have to say that.... Now... what I see is a real tough guy who defends his friends against the slightest insult even if he has to twist comments to make them sound the way he needs too in order to wring an insult out of them and feel justified.

just to remind you.. no nerve hit here. I am not a winder but an assembler and i do see a BS marketing scheme in the works here. so instead of going back and forth with ya.. I just end it here and watch your no BS marketing plan go into effect here at the seen it all, heard it all MLP.

The dragon is dead and the villagers are now safe. Well fought Don Quixote of the web...

Nice p-90 cover.. do your own covers. nice.

Thanks! A lot of love and science went into making them. They won't make your guitar sound better though.

After that he let it go and I got back to work in the shop. But his constant comments about my covert marketing plan just baffled me. Why does this guy who claims he isn't a pickup maker seem so offended by and suspicious about my comments? Well, I did a little more digging around this morning and I figured out that this guy actually works for a small pickup company in North California. I won't name them because I don't believe the owner of this outfit had any idea one of his flunkies was picking fights for him. I will tell you that their claim is that using antique magnet wire, an antique pickup winder and some custom made parts result in fantastic sounding pickups.

That guy with the small penis must have thought I was picking on their claims or something and decided to defend his boss. After checking out their website I'm sure their pickups do sound just fine. But I don't think there is any magic mojo at work there. The guy who runs the company simply has an amazing eye for detail and works hard to reproduce vintage style pickups.

So, why don't I have some big marketing push with ads in magazines and web banners all over the place? Well, while I do sell a small number of my pickups to the public the majority of my pickups are sold to luthiers like John Derrick, Steve Benford, W. Jeffrey Jones, EllieGuitars and the list goes on and on. There are boutique basses hanging in shops all over the world with my pickups in them even though they may have someone elses name on the cover. I sell everything I make and until that changes I don't see any need to buy ads and launch the mege marketing blitz. If that day comes you can bet that I won't have ads claiming that I alone know the secret to making the best pickup in the world or that my very limited supply of NOS maple humbucker spacers are the key to nailing the Peter Green tone or that my potting wax that's been infused with the sweat of Steve Ray Vaughn is the only way to get the Texas Flood sound.
The plain and simple truth is that a Gibson PAF style pickup is easy to make. They have been around for over half a century and we have had decades to study and document hundreds and hundreds of them. Seth Lover has been interviewed at length about them and has given up every magic secret there was about them. Most of the parts are easy and cheap to get in bulk. There is scarcely a pickup maker out there that doesn't offer up some sort of PAF style pickup and they mostly understand the ins and outs of altering its tone. Replacing the alnico magnet with a strong ceramic magnet with give you more highs and some more output. More windings with smaller wire will give you more output and low end. Wax potting can remove microphonics but can dampen the harmionics. Perfectly matched coils gives a smother sound. Slightly mismatched coils adds a little edge to the tone. This is 1950's technology folks. It's just not that tricky....

It's hard to believe that something as simple as pickup making could lead to such bruised egos and hard feelings. To Cap'n Sticky Bottom, you know... you can get that SMALL PENIS fixed these days. They have an operation for that.

Ok.... back to the shop!

Get well soon Pete Way!

2009-02-03T09:41:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know I'm a huge UFO fan and today I noticed this on the UFO web site.

Feb 2, 2009

2009 is shaping up to be a busy time for UFO, what with the studio sessions in Germany (where they're recording the new album, due out later this year), and also the forthcoming tours and festival shows which are being booked right now. But amidst all the good news, the band also need to share some other news with you. For a while now, Pete Way has been dealing with a medical condition which affects his liver, and he's currently undergoing treatment to cure it. The medication he's on makes him tired and dizzy, and he feels that taking part in the recording sessions and the hectic touring schedule would be too much for him at the moment, so he'll be taking some time out from UFO until he is match-fit. But as we all know with Pete, he won't be able to stay away from rocknroll for long - so it's very likely that he'll be doing a few gigs here and there with Waysted. UFO wish him the very best and hope for a swift and full recovery. We love ya Pete! Get well soon man.

Living Color - Cult of Personality

2009-02-01T10:28:00.000-08:00

This one goes out to the new Prez!

Peavey Wolfgang Pickup

2009-02-01T03:52:00.000-08:00

Here's a Peavey Wolfgang bridge humbucker I got in for a repair. These guitars were built by Peavey for Eddie Van Halen from late 1996 through the end of 2004. Seems one of the coils is dead in this pickup so I'll be doing a rewind on it. The good coil reads 7K so that's what we need to wind the new coil too. The pickup also has a ceramic magnet. The most unusual aspect of these pickups would be the little solder lugs built into the bottom flange of the bobbins. It really helps to clean things up in the soldering department. One other little detail that is interesting is that the base place it black so that it doesn't stand out so much when used without a pickup ring.

Rage Against the Machine - Renegades of Funk

2009-01-31T12:13:00.001-08:00

Schecter Tele Pickup Re-work

2009-01-31T11:45:00.000-08:00

I got this Schecter Tele Pickup in for a rework. The owner said it sounded like crap and not at all like a Tele so he wondered if there was anything I could do with it. I rewound it using some Green wire to more vintage specs of 8K ohms and installed a steel base plate that helps to get that real Tele sound we all know so well.
As soon as it's out of the wax pot I'll try to record a sound file of it.

The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again

2009-01-25T16:50:00.000-08:00

You know.... it's the craziest thing. This tune has been stuck in my head for 5 days now...

We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgment of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again

The change, it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fold, that's all
And the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they were all flown in the last war

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
No, no!

I'll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
Though I know that the hypnotized never lie
Do ya?

Yeah!

There's nothing in the streets
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss

By the Power of Gray Skull! (The Stelios Bridge Pickup)

2009-01-24T13:08:00.000-08:00

I'm getting the crazy project for Stelios wrapped up. The quad coil bridge pickup is setting up in some epoxy right now. I recorded this little sound clip of the 2 coil neck pickup last night. It sounds good, very clean and clear. I had to really pump the gain to the little Valve Jr to get it to break up well. Stelios is a much better player than I am and I'm excited to hear him put it through its paces!

My new EllieCaster!

2009-01-21T03:56:00.000-08:00

By working out a trade of sorts I finally got my hands on an original EllieCaster guitar from Ellie Erickson! Ellie is truly one of the most interesting people you could ever hope to meet. Her creations, from guitars and mandolins to music and Salsa, are always something different, cool and funky.

The guitar I have is crazy! It's a red ceder body that weighs almost nothing with a killer Birdseye maple top with double binding. The pickups are her own famous home rolled singles. Check out the video clip I did of this guitar to promote the Musical Instrument Makers Forum that Ellie and I both work for. If you're looking to get into instrument building or just to learn more about instruments the MIMF is the place to start.

Stelios neck pickup is done.

2009-01-19T18:46:00.000-08:00

Ok, I got the neck pickup for Stelios done. I'm gonna try to mount it in a test guitar and record a demo of it tomorrow. I plan to finish the bridge pickup in the next week.
I got a cool Wolfgang humbucker and a Schecter tele pickup in for rewinds. I have some Music Man pickups coming in this week too. Seems with the econnamy scares these days people are more interested in tweeking their old pickups than buying new ones.

April Wine - I like to rock

2009-01-11T19:13:00.000-08:00

Stelios the Greek!

2009-01-10T18:12:00.001-08:00

Ok, so you're saying to your self "...Man... why isn't Clint making any crazy pickups these days?" Well my fine, festering freakbone of a friend, who says I'm not?
Here is the latest psychotic offering. It is from the mind of a mad Greek names Stelios who found about Searcy String Works by listing to the longest running guitar podcast on the web... Six String Bliss! Stelios is a fantastic player who wants a guitar that will play in stereo. So we have split the output into two channels with the bass string going to one and the treble strings going to the other. This has required us to split all the coils down the middle and use Mu-Metal shielding to try to lessen bleed over between the D and G strings. Keep an eye out for more on this insane project.

Zombie Stomp!

2009-01-09T07:52:00.000-08:00

Ok, so you guys know that I make and repair pickups and occasionally build a guitar or bass. I bet you didn't know that I'm a total stomp box junkie though. Like most kids that started out in the 80's I was impressed by the pedal boards of guys like Eddie and Randy . I had a small collection of about 5 Arion and MXR effects back then. Then in the early 90's I traded all those in for a Digitech rack mount system at Ed's Guitars in Miami. In the late 90's I got into the multi effects pedal boards like #11 in this picture. That's only part of the collection by the way.
Eventually I ended up back where I started when my wife bought me a nice MXR 2000 Series Phaser just like the one I had when I was 14. Suddenly it all came back to me. The endividual personalities of small stomp boxes are what make them so great. An MXR Phase 90 is different than an Electro Harmonix Small Stone. Moving them around in the signal chain can make a huge difference. I have even started doing some mods on a few pedals. In the feature I want to do some demos of some of the stranger pedals I have. Keep an eye out for those.

Happy New Year! 2009

2009-01-07T03:57:00.000-08:00

The new year is going well so far. I'm really enjoying all this global warming this winter. How about you?
Here's a bunch of new pickups that just went out to Steve Gammon down in Florida at GSpot Basses. Steve is actually a guy I went to high school with back in the day. Now he is building basses in his Hollywood Florida shop. How crazy is that? I hadn't heard from him in 15 years and out of the blue I get an order for some bass pickups for his new line. I think you will be seeing a lot of Steves work here this year.

Merry Christmas folks - Good Will to Men

2008-12-25T02:49:00.000-08:00

Slade - Merry Christmas Everyone

2008-12-24T04:27:00.000-08:00

Chris Cornell - Ave Maria

2008-12-23T14:59:00.001-08:00

Robert Earl Keen - Merry Christmas From the Family

2008-12-23T01:41:00.000-08:00

The Donnas - Christmas Wrapping

2008-12-22T15:49:00.001-08:00

Twisted Sister - I'll be Home for Christmas

2008-12-21T01:31:00.000-08:00

And now....this....

2008-12-20T04:00:00.001-08:00

I can't believe you laughed at this..... you should be ashamed of yourself. ..

Christmas in Heaven

2008-12-19T03:08:00.000-08:00

Christmas with the Devil

2008-12-18T04:54:00.000-08:00

Corrections and updates and John Kingma ( oh my..)

2008-12-05T04:25:00.000-08:00

John Kingma runs Apollo Guitars up in Canada where he builds everything from the mild to the wild. Recently he built this guitar using some Searcy Pickups. John said...

"The pickups were made by Clint Searcy... I find the neck pickup has a bit of vintage PAF sound. The bridge pickup is quite a bit hotter and really wails. I love the variety of tones...."

I'm proud to add John Kingma and Apollo guitars to what is becoming a very long list of Canadain clients now. You will see some more soon.

Correction! This cat in this video is not Pete Poynter as I reported earlier but his mega riffin' son Justin Poynter.

Justin Poynter gets mellow with his Benavente Guitar(Jazz-90 Pickups)