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| AJ of Diamondback Stringworks with Husky Burnette's resonator preparing for surgery |
Last year I scored a great endorsement deal with Diamondback Stringworks. They build anything from cigar boxes to mandolins to electric and acoustic guitars... even built a custom banjo/dobro hybrid. First, they built me a custom Telecaster-style guitar equipped with a vintage Epiphone humbucker pickup I gave them to make it right for my guitar tone. After really getting to know A.J. Hancock (owner) I've seen how great and on-point his work is.
Not only have I made my Diamondback Tele-style my #1 guitar for standard tuning on stage, I've also taken almost every guitar I use on a regular basis to him for repair and/or for him to customize. This kid is 20 years old and one of the best luthiers I've ever ran across. Pretty crazy. If he's this good now, at 20 yrs old, who knows what the future may hold for him.
He's built guitars for a few Rusty Knuckles artists already: Myself, Peewee Moore (Peewee and I got our endorsements/guitars at the same time) and J.B. Beverley. Other artists he's built for include the great Steve Earle, James Hunnicutt and more.
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| Two new guitars about to be customized |
Here's some pictures I took at the Diamondback Stringworks shop in
Tennessee this week. I took my National metal-body resonator guitar to
him to electrify the thing. He wound a custom humbucker pickup for it
and installed it so now I'm electrified, which opens new doors and
possibilities for this guitar. This thing sounds amazing (it's a
National, of course it does!) but, he wound the pickup to 1956 Les Paul
specs so it's as thick and warm as it can get when plugged in to an amp.
Perfection.
Also, I've included a picture of my next two guitars he's
customizing: the electric is a Zim-Gar (mid '60's Jap guitar) given to
me by my uncle. My very first guitar. It's the guitar I learned my first
chord on so it has some meaning. A.J. is making it playable again with
all new electronics, a custom lipstick tube pickup and some cosmetic
work; the acoustic is a Johnson and A.J. will be winding a custom pickup
and mounting it.
Don't take it from me, go check out Diamondback Stringworks'
builds and quality products for yourself, like them on facebook, etc.
They have a new line of acoustic guitar builds in the works right now so
be on the lookout for those as well!
-Husky Burnette
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| Getting the pickup area ready for installation |
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| The resonator with its heart ripped out in mid surgery |
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| Husky Burnette and AJ of Diamondback Stringworks and the reconfigured resonator |
