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Preston Reed Signature Baritone Guitar made from Cocobolo

Preston Reed Signature Baritone Guitar made from Cocobolo

by | Sep 21, 2015 | , , , ,

Preston Reed Signature Baritone Guitar

Preston Reed

As you may or not know I first met Preston at the Kirmichael International Guitar Festival – Like most folk who see him play I was blown away by his unique style and thought how great it would be if he was playing one of my guitars…A few years passed and eventually he wore out his old guitar and needed a new one – at this point he contacted me.

The Signature Series

The first instrument I made him was a Baritone using Mahogany and Cedar which produces a lovely deep resonant tone- he wanted something that would have drum-like qualities to make the most of his unique percussive style. He loved it so much he then commissioned a second guitar – a standard scale acoustic with a jumbo sized body. Thus began the range of Preston Reed Signature Edition guitars.

Here we go again!

Preston has now had the guitars for a couple of years and decided he wanted another one – it always makes me very happy when customers come back for more- we must  be doing a good job. We work very hard to make what we believe are amongst some of the best guitars in the world – Team Bailey F*** Yeah!

This time he wanted something a little more aggressive sounding with more midrange – The previous ones’s were fairly plain looking (as he had requested) but this time he wanted some BLING.  I recommended Cocobolo to achieve the tone he was looking for and then we added some Heathergem for the Bling.

Heathergem

This is the FIRST guitar in the known universe to have Heathergem inlays – I came across this stuff in a Scottish Castle gift shop while visiting with my mother and snapped up a bracelet for Carol (my better half) – I could see instantly it was a great and unique material to make rosettes from. To cut a long story short I tracked them down and they kindly allowed me to use it for some of my guitars – It is quite cool that Preston’s should be the first one to be completed.

Three is the Magic Number

This is now the third instrument I have built for Preston – the other two have become a major part of his solo performance and feature heavily on his latest recording (please check it out if you want to hear what a Bailey Guitar sounds like at it’s best!).

I am very much looking forward to hearing what Preston does with this one – first reports are that he loves it – I will keep you all posted!

Get Down with it

Want to play like Preston? The Preston Signature Series of instruments is not available in any shop – not even our own! These are very special instruments and will only be made to order – if you are interested, please contact us for more info.

Bandsman Custom Electric Guitar

Bandsman Custom Electric Guitar

by | Aug 29, 2015 | , , ,

Bandsman Custom Electric Guitar with Horn Carve and EMG Pickups

Sandy supplied his own pickups for this and I built the guitar around them. It has one humbucker and two single coils instead of the normal two humbucker arrangement and an extra bit of carving on the lower horn for even better access to the top frets. Putting a single coil in the neck position required a little customisation from the normal Bandsman shape – I had to extend the heel on the body slightly to add strength.

Something Special

As a guitar maker I am in the very lucky position of being able to play all my guitars – and there has been a lot of variation over the years so it was easy for me to tell that there is something special about this one. It is extremely resonant even before plugging it in – the Alder body definately has a lot to do with that. Amped up with those EMG’s it plays and sounded about as good as it gets – the neck is reclaimed Pew wood from a church in Glasgow with a Rosewood fretboard. I have made prettier looking instruments but it goes to show you don’t need fancy woods or exotic materials to build a fantastic guitar.

Sometimes it is hard to let them go…

…But I have to eat! At least I know it has gone to a good home…

Here is what Sandy had to say after a few days living with his new Bailey Guitar:

(here is the full email with kind permission from Sandy – Big Thanks for choosing Bailey Guitars!)

Hi Carol and Mark,
I’m sorry I’ve only just gotten a chance to email you. The guitar is wonderful! When I first picked it up and strummed it I was surprised to feel the whole guitar vibrate in unison – I’ve never had a guitar that did this before. Wow! And, of course, it looks beautiful. I’m glad I opted not to have it painted, since the woods are all lovely looking. It has an understated, unpretentious, natural look that I very much like. Actually, I was late for my bus the other day, because having been looking at the guitar for so long, I left the house late.
I’ve had to adjust my playing style quite a bit: because this guitar is so responsive, it requires a much lighter touch than the shoddily-made guitars I’m used to having to wrestle into submission. I’m able to play faster and with greater articulation than I’ve ever been able to before. I’ve heard guitarists praise guitars that ‘get out of the way’ of your playing: this is one of those guitars!
It has a really unique sound — hopefully I can find time soon to make you a recording. The single coil pickups lend themselves to quite strat-y sounds, but the Bandsman feels nothing like a strat (which is a good thing, since my fretting hand doesn’t get along with a 9.5″ radius). And, of course, the humbucker screams if need be! But the EMGs sound really quite different — better, even — in the Bandsman than they have in previous guitars of mine. There’s no need to pile on distortion, since the guitar is very resonant and so sustains great already, which is a boon. And there’s now a tangible warmth and woodiness that I haven’t heard from these pickups before.
I am truly agog at the skill that’s gone into the making of my guitar. It’s a real privilege to look forward to playing it every day. Thank you!
I would love to visit you as you suggested, so I’ll see if I can plan a trip for when I’m next down south.
All the best,
Sandy
P.S. Thank you for the including the very robust hardcase, and for supplying a battery for the pickups.
If I wasn’t saving up for a Masters at the moment, I’d be thinking of what my next Bailey guitar might look like!
Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar – BYOA 20 – John Graham

Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar – BYOA 20 – John Graham

by | Jul 2, 2015 | ,

Not bad for a first go!

John came on one of our workshop courses to build his very first acoustic guitar based on the Bailey Bootlegger. The extra binding around the headstock and fretboard adds a lot of work but the result is fantastic – topped off by a custom inlay on the headstock – his own design. Check out the stunning Cocobolo rosette – TOP JOB!

What can I say simply a life changing experience. Bailey Guitars is a humbling experience. No greater compliment than to say at the time of writing I have already started my next guitar – Thank You Mark, Carol, Fiona and Billy – John Graham

Build Your Own Classical Guitar – BYOA 21 John Boyle Classical

Build Your Own Classical Guitar – BYOA 21 John Boyle Classical

by | Jul 1, 2015 | , ,

A first for all of us!

John came on our workshop course to build his first guitar – it is the first classical style instrument made here at Bailey Guitars – It came out so well he immediately started planning his second build!

The first Classical build by Bailey. Western Red Cedar top, rosewood back and cocobolo veneers. Interior fan bracing. Number two will be German spruce top – John Boyle

The Ardrossan Music Experience… its this weekend folks… fancy some freebies ?

The Ardrossan Music Experience… its this weekend folks… fancy some freebies ?

by | Jun 3, 2015 | ,

AME LOGO

AME LOGO

Bailey Guitar Lounge cafe

– a display, demo and open stage @ Ardrossan CIVIC Centre SAT June 6th from 11 to 4

Bailey Guitars are once again visiting sunny Ardrossan to display some of our work and do a couple of workshops about guitar building.
Thanks to the organisers we will have a pro PA system on hand…and an open stage for anyone who wants to come along and play… there is a great line up of music for the night-time gigs.

FREE!

WE  have been given a pair of free tickets for FRIDAY’s lineup – blues Kaz Hawkins (Belfast NI), prog country Kim Richey (Ohio US), rock blues soul Marcus Malone (Detriot US), and folk blues rock Sonny Daze & The Restless Knights (Ayrshire).

AND a pair for SATURDAY night – rock and american roots The Dunwells (Leeds, Yorks), dirty electric blues Tom Hingley Band  (Manchester, Lancs), rock n roll country with a dash of blues The Holy Ghosts (Edinburgh) and multi talented keyboard composer, Ian Parker (of The Hollies/Clannad and many more) born in Irvine…

Find out more about this years GREAT acts at the Ardrossan Music Experience Website.

How can I win a pair of tickets ?

Competitions are not allowed on Facebook …so this is how we are going to do it…

All you have to do is subscribe to the Bailey blog on the right hand side of this page – you only need an email address and 30 secs …its free and we don’t share the info with anyone. Or if you don’t want to subscribe, email carol@baileyguitars.co.uk  and put GIMME AME TICKETS in the mail 🙂 – deadline is by 7pm THURSDAY if you want the Friday tickets and  1pm Fri lunchtime for the Sat tickets (you will be entered into both draws if you mail or subscribe in time)

We’ll draw the first tickets live at Acoustic Bliss- The Late Show Live stream channel on Thurs night for Friday’s gig, and share on FB  and blog the winners of both Fri &  Sat tickets on Friday by 2pm

More about the Ardrossan Music Experience….

Ardrossan is a small town on the west coast of Ayrshire – the gateway to Arran and the start of the beautiful coast road running up the “side of the Clyde” to West Kilbride, Largs and beyond.

The AME is in its 4th year and has already hosted some cracking acts in the surprisingly accommodating main hall of the Civic Centre (150 Glasgow Street) – the organisers were inspired by the content & success of the Darvel Music Festival which has grown and this year is 14 old (if you haven’t yet been to a gig at Darvel Town hall it should also be on your must go gig list… awesome acoustics and incredible line ups).

This wee festival in Ardrossan has no tents or sideshows and all takes place in the Centre itself – AME just focuses on creating a couple of nights of great music- bringing a range of styles and players together on one stage for two nights only… and tries to promote live music, and support the development of young musicians locally… through schools, workshops and making space for young performers on the main stage.

Bailey Guitars@Ardrossan Music Experience

Bailey Guitars has been part of the weekends activities since year 1 – supporting whatever else has been going on on the Saturday.

This year we take over the lounge – a Bailey Bliss Demo cafe thing… and there’s lots to show and tell –  our new on-line courses, new models and some stunning brand new guitars.

Come and try one of our guitars – play through the festivals pro PA set up, or just hang around and see some of the young potential of the area. We are hoping to get some fresh performances from the young songwriters group who are being sponsored by the festival and of course anyone who comes along.

There’s no selling or obligation – just a chance to see, hear & play locally made world class instruments and find out more about guitar building.

Custom Thru Neck Bandsman Electric Guitar with Buckeye Burl Cap – Part 4

Custom Thru Neck Bandsman Electric Guitar with Buckeye Burl Cap – Part 4

by | Jun 2, 2015 | , , , ,

The Buck-eyed Beauty!…or is it a Beast ?

This guitar is a Custom version of the Bailey Bandsman

What does it feel like to commission a Bailey custom guitar, wait months for it to be made, and then visit the workshop to collect it?

Click here to watch a video of when they saw the finished instrument for the first time!

It is great to be able to make people happy – that is my job – I am pretty sure we hit the spot this time…one of the most impressive guitars I have made so far I think. But it’s more than just a job for me – it is my life – I have met many good friends along the way and I count Iain and Sam among them.

Sam first contacted us in our 15th anniversary year when she bought partner Iain a custom design session weekend away, for a Xmas present. This set in motion a secret plan – Sam decided to pay monthly installments, so that when Iain had finished the design here at the workshop, she would be able to say “build it” –  and that is what happened.

But what does the man who now owns and plays this magnificent beautiful beast of a guitar say?

I dreamt as a youth of owning a one off handmade guitar that was second to none. All kids dream don’t they? Now, that time has come and I feel that to have my Bailey custom is not just a dream come true but a total honour.

Mark has to be the finest craftsman I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and he also has a fantastic team behind him all the way.
I have never, and I seriously mean never seen a more flawless, glass like finish on anything in my life, let alone wood.

The fretboard simply has no resistance, the tone is like nothing I have ever heard and the sustain is simply endless.

It is exquisite in every way and believe me if you can find a guitar to beat this then hats off to you.

I thank everyone for their collected efforts at Bailey and also the biggest thank you to my beautiful Samantha for commissioning the build for without her my Bailey custom would not exist.

Iain Moore – guitarist with ’12 Paces’ – Blackpool

I am looking forward to hearing and seeing it in full glory on a stage somewhere near Blackpool soon…

Read more about the construction of this guitar here: Part 1| Part 2| Part 3

Want to build a custom guitar of your own? There’s still a place on on our Summer Custom Build Your Own courses – June 27 to July 5 and again in Aug, 29th to Sept 6th.

Build Your Own Bass – BYO 352 Stevie McClean

Build Your Own Bass – BYO 352 Stevie McClean

by | Apr 26, 2015 | ,

It was a long time coming…

Stevie was one of the first people we met when we moved here to Ayrshire – it took a while before he took the plunge…but we are glad he did. It was a pleasure to have him around the workshop and what a beastie!

The culmination of years of planning have resulted in an ash body, maple neck, 24 fret ebony fretboard with jumbo frets, 2 Seymour Duncan quarter pounder passive pick ups and chrome hardware. The body style is based on a Musicman. Stunning paintjob by Billy …it sounds as stunning as it looks.

We finally went and did it my good man !

Want to Build a Custom Bass?

Whatever your experience, there are several ways to make your custom guitar a reality – if you want to come to Ayrshire only once to design and build the guitar you have in your head…then the Custom BYO course is the one for you.  These courses run over a total of 8 days consecutively (with a day of rest in the middle!) ONLY in the summer months – late June/early July and again at the end of August/start of Sept (including the Bank Holiday weekend), and this course starts with a full scale design session to create a working drawing for the build. The course fee is higher but includes all the materials to make a high spec custom electric (upgrades and extras are also available ..POA) There are still a couple of places left for this year, but we are also taking bookings for 2016.

If the one hit summer course doesn’t appeal, then there are still options… do a Custom Design one to one with Mark, or book onto a Design Your Own Guitar course, both here at the workshop, or enrol on our online How to Design Your Own course…  get a clear design, spec and quote before you come to build.

Or you can pick dates from our Build Your Own Guitar Programme – weekends, and longer to fit around you and the guitar you want to create.

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