New colour discovered in the Bailey workshop!

David Peacock Green

Something really nice about this one – I think you will agree. It was made in 5 days on our build your own guitar course by David who obviously has a great eye for design. Billy worked his magic too recreating the exact shade of green that David had in his head – we’ll definitely add that one to the range…

How it started

David was a friend of Gavin’s who I made a black relic custom for a while ago…He really liked it, and when he found out more about us, including the fact that he could build one himself on our course, he wasted no time and booked himself straight in. David had a clear vision of what he wanted – not quite the relic that Gavin had specified but ‘vintage everything’ – except the finish!

All of the woodwork was done as normal on the 4 ‘build days’ but in David’s case, these days were not consecutive – he spread them out over several weeks. After this Billy sprayed the guitar and then David returned for one more day to assemble, fret dress, and set up the guitar.

This is a good way to spread the cost and ease the pain slightly, but it does demand more patience, as you have longer to wait in between work sessions. Despite our proximity to an international airport and train station it is still not feasable for many to keep travelling back and forth, so we have other courses where the dates are consecutive and it is possible to make your guitar in one hit – including build your own custom guitar. Not sure? Contact us with any q’s.

I AM THE GOD OF HELL FIRE AND I BRING YOU…

BYO-320 Jamie McArthur 18/9/12

An amazing experience. Many thanks. Blessings.
Jamie

…Vegetables…

Jamie used to be our veg man – he first came here in 2004 to deliver our veggie box…sadly the box scheme closed and he found himself without work. Now you understand, Jamie was the best veg man you could ask for, but I don’t think that was his real calling – he is really an artist/DJ – he paints beautiful abstract, celtic/tribal designs and has incorporated UV paint into his work making them even more stunning in the dark with UV spot light. His UV Jimi Hendrix was something to see! It is not easy making a living at though which is why he delivered the veg.

Here at Bailey World we are only getting busier, so we asked him to come and help out here at the workshop (well… it worked with the coal-man..cheers Billy!).

As part of his training he came on the Build your own First Guitar course – our best introduction to the art of guitar making. He has been playing guitar for many years, but mainly acoustic, so building a Bandsman was a useful way for him to get familiar with the construction and workings of Bailey electrics. He kept to the Standard Bandsman spec – but chose to mix black and chrome hardware.

Jamie continues to help out a couple of days a week – and his skills are improving all the time – recently he told me how he has used the things he learnt here in the workshop at home to make 3D art sculptures. I always say to folk on the courses that it doesn’t have to be a guitar – it could be anything that you are making – the techniques, methods and golden rules apply to anything!

Jamie is also a popular DJ in and around these parts – his famous ‘Car Boot Vinyl’ nights are now frequently jazzed up by the sound of his very own hand built guitar playing along with the music!

Its the quiet ones you have to watch…

BYO319 Lewis Robertson 18/9/12

Had an awesome week. Thanks for teaching me how to build a superb guitar.

Lewis Robertson

Lewis wasn’t the burliest bloke we’ve had on a course but he took his time and quietly worked away creating this guitar on our build your own first guitar course. He came down from the far North of Scotland ( a village near the city of Aberdeen) to spend his holiday guitar building –  a big change in both scenery and activity..which is why he chose the BYOF course.

As usual the guitar is based on the increasing popular Bailey Bandsman but he chose a few extra custom options. The body was Mahogany with a Spalted Maple cap and for the neck he chose some of our reclaimed Pew wood ‘Cedrella’ topped with an Ebony fretboard. Like almost everyone who comes here, it was his first time at using most of the workshop tools, and for many there are moments just a little outside their comfort zones..

The great thing about building your own guitar is that you get so many options to choose from, even on the most basic course. You can decide whether to have a fat or thin neck for instance, – some things don’t add any cost at all.

There is always a choice of inlays (2-6mm mother of pearl or abalone), and fretwire sizes, none of which increase the price. You can opt for a cap but that would involve an extra piece of wood and another job so it would need to be discussed before hand and will be more expensive depending on what it is. Similarly pick-ups and hardware can also be upgraded but if you want a carve top, a tremolo/ vibrato arm, or inlays/binding etc, then you will need to come on one of our other courses.  Check course dates and prices

Lewis didn’t want a beach holiday -he chose a week of personal challenge which he rose to admirably. His comment above says it all and in the words of our youngest builder:

There is no charge for awesome-ness – Joe Thomas BYO 270

You make that yourself…here.

If you think you’d like to come but don’t know what course is right for you – please ask! Contact us with any q’s or ideas.

Kill, Kill, Kill (switch)

BYO318 Ray Benitez 18/9/12

Bandsman with mahogany body, flame ash cap, mahogany neck (from a pew in a church in Glasgow) and ash veneer on the headstock. Black hardware throughout, tun-o-matic bridge, humbucker pickups and oiled finish.

I call this the ‘Ying and Yang’ guitar – built by me (a bass player) for my guitarist son – and with a dark side/light side to the book-matched ash on the front. Overall a wonderful experience. Thank you Mark and Carol, Billy and Fiona and my fellow builders. Ray Benitez

Ray came up from the depths of England to our build your own first guitar course – he wanted to make his own version of the Bailey Bandsman with some input into his spec from his guitar playing son, and although options on this course are limited, as you can see it is still possible to create something really individual.

Ray and his son had both wanted a kill switch. Not for each other…In guitar world which is much nicer than the real world a ‘Kill Switch’ simply enables you turn the signal on and off really fast – handy for plugging in or out without unnecessary noise, but also makes a great effect for playing around with. Any kind of switch can be used but Ray chose a mini on/off switch, another popular choice is a push button style momentary contact switch. Unfortunately, neither one was not available at the time- You sometimes have to accept that in the world of guitar making – trees don’t grow to order and parts don’t always arrive (or exist! but that’s another story…)

No problem – I just made sure the cavity at the back was large enough so all he had to do was drill a hole and wire up the new switch. I was hopeful that the course would give him enough confidence to do this job when he got home on his own…

Like many of our builders, the story doesn’t end when they leave the workshop. Ray went on to add the custom “kill switch” himself as you can see in the last picture. Well done Ray!

…and it didn’t end there…here’s what he said in an email we received soon after:

My son is absolutely delighted with it…. has really been enjoying playing the guitar I made with you last year. It has inspired him to build a guitar as a school DT project.  So I’ve been volunteered to help out 🙂

That’s what it’s all about.

New Dates for 2014!

Build your own guitar

New course dates are up on the shop for 2014  (2015 to follow very soon) and people are already booking themselves in. We are running some kind of course event every month…take your pick from the popular one day Design Your Own Guitar course, BYO First Guitar, BYO Electric, Acoustic or Bass and the unique Custom BYO Course.

We have a limited number of places each year as our groups are restricted to 4 students – you can reserve a place on any course using our on-line booking system. Pay £20 (plus p&p), your place is held  AND you get a T shirt , Guitar Magic DVD… PLUS until April 5 2014 you will also receive 2 draw tickets to enter the 15th anniversary Prize Draw.

At this stage you don’t even need to be sure about what you want to make – just which dates you would like to come. Courses take place over weekends, 5 days and 8 for the custom course, so there should be a time to suit almost anyone. Guitar projects can be spread out over any period of time..the record so far is nearly 4 years…this helps also to spread the cost.

We have tried to keep the course prices as low as possible – and with that in mind we have many different ways to pay. The minimum requirement when you confirm your booking is a 25% deposit (of course fee)…after that you can pay by installments of any size or frequency. The only rule we have is that your guitar can’t leave the workshop until it’s paid for!

Getting here can’t be easier, wherever you are in the world – we are near to two international airports (Glasgow & Prestwick Int) train and coach station, and we are close to the main A77 linking Glasgow to the south of Scotland. If you need accommodation, we have a fantastic en-suite room deal with a local B&B close to the 3 miles of sandy beach here in Ayr, as well as info about self catering, camping etc.. Ayr is a great place for families as well as a good town to relax in with the rest of the group if you come alone….and the live music here is awesome (even though we say so ourselves). Contact us for more details.

BYO 317 Paul Hagan 18/9/12

I have had an amazing week with the blisters to prove it! Nobody is going to believe that I built it myself…

Paul Hagan

If you look carefully at the serial number you can tell three things – 1. Paul is our 317th victim 2. This is Paul’s first guitar build and 3. He may be a bit of an optimist. No doubt he will return one day to make 0000002 and when that day comes you can be sure I will let you all know.

This was made on our Build Your Own First Guitar course – particularly aimed at beginners and those who may be a little uncertain and just want to dip their toes in the water. There are a lot less options than the custom course, but it is quicker and a lot cheaper. The end result is still a professional quality guitar, but I have chosen the spec to make it as easy and painless as possible. It has a flat top and relatively simple shape – an ideal introduction to the art of guitar making.

The guitar is based on the Bailey Bandsman – the ‘workhorse’ instrument from the Bailey Collection. There is still plenty of scope for customisation – you can choose wood, pickups, finish etc – but the basic construction must remain the same. If this is not what you want to make you might find what you are looking for on one of our other courses.

Paul chose to have several upgrades – deciding to go for an Ash body and Maple neck with ebony fingerboard. He also chose P90’s instead of the usual two humbuckers and a tune-o-matic bridge with stop-tailpiece replaced the standard one piece wrap-over bridge. None of these custom elements are bank breakers but they do cost a little extra. Check out our online shop for dates and prices – if you can’t see what you want then contact us for more information.

Do you know anyone who might be interested? Please share!