Ms Lora/Mr Wu Special Project

[BigMikeinNJ]

Also, note it will now be a set in the top (Seth Lover) pickup. I admit to a last minute diversion from my original request. Also asked them to make me a flame maple bound ebony pickguard like 2Bs. Earlier I dined on this: being wind chills of minus 15 I pan seared this Angus Prime 18 oz NY Strip in butter and EVO, tossed 24 oz of button mushrooms in another cast iron pan with butter, EVO and some rough cut garlic into a 450 degree oven. The last 10 minutes I deglazed the mushrooms in a couple of boozy glugs of Courvoisier VSOP. Fabulous!!!

[edh]

wow! man, is that mouthwatering. Both guitar and the steak. I can taste those mushrooms with a slice of steak. mmmmmmmm.

[BigMikeinNJ]

Just got these 2shots. Waiting for Mr Wu to hand off the guitar to Ms Lora for shipment. He still has to mount the 2B inspire bound pickguard. Lora assured me she will shot a whole bunch of photos I can drool over while it is enroute.

Do enjoy, I'm quite pleased

Big

I have a brand new Seth Lover that will be going in when it gets setup with TI GB 12 flats and any minor tweaks I deem necessary


.

[Archtop Guy]

Great stuff Mike,How will you sleep till she gets here???

[h1pst3r88]

Wow, what a great tailpiece!!

[BigMikeinNJ]

Thanks Gents,

Lora took these shots outside once she got to the shop. Just wait until it is in Jersey, I'll do the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition on my front porch !! LOL !!



Now that tailpiece I saw on one of the other models they had on the website. So I asked for it on this guitar. Didn't really want another John Pisano influenced tailpiece, didn't want the standard Eastman type tailpiece either. At one point I was going to buy a gold replacement Byrdland tailpiece off eBay. But when I saw this I realized I could combine the elements of the Special with some D'Aquisto elements that always made my heart flutter. And when 2B showed us his bound pick guard I KNEW I had the perfect combination. After posting photos here and on Facebook I slept like a baby... But soon I'll be back to constant tracking - seems the parcels sort of lurch along from Beijing to the airport (out where God lost His Shoes) and then it whisks along (any of you ever track an iPhone order coming from China might know what I speak of).

Now for a day of down time with my Senior Bus friends and then back to packing and dealing with details. I sent my Mom a bouquet of exotics today so I'm hoping they cheer her up some. I really need you guys praying for my mother, Georgia... OK ??

Mike

[BigMikeinNJ]

And sleep, heck that's highly over rated

[h1pst3r88]

Good thoughts just sent to your Mom, Big Mike!!!!

(praying for my Mom, too... breast cancer ;-(


Great day to everyone!

[BigMikeinNJ]

Hipster,

I'm very sorry to hear about your Mom's breast cancer. Please know I will pray and ask my wife and her family to be prayer warriors for your Mom. My Mom is 92 and it may soon be her time to go be with my Dad (gone some 13 years now)... Having the guitar finished and seeing how grand it is has given me a little joy considering all the stuff I've had to do - parting with my animals really, really hurt. Still does. Ya know once people stop for a minute and step back from the screen they can better see who they are interacting with and maybe walk a moment in their shoes. YES ??

All the best to you and your family son. I'll mention to my Senior Friends today your prayer request.


Mike

[h1pst3r88]

Mike, I appreciate your thoughts and support, and, yes, the vicarious and enjoyable distraction of your and 2B's guitars are a great elixir! Thanks for that.

I have the odd stuck in the middle feeling of life -- parents in their 70s and 80s and kiddos in their teens... wasn't I a teen not too long ago!

I'll just shut up and play ;-)

-Chris

[BigMikeinNJ]

Ms Lora says:

think I will take photos for your in 4days arround, Cause tomorrow, Mrs Wu will checking the finish and then send to me,it needs some days arrive here, After I get, I check the guitar and taking photos then,

I asked them to really make sure the finish was good and dry. More waiting ?? Feeling like a guy who's waiting to reunite with his sweetheart. LOL

[yolandateam]

Good thoughts just sent to your Mom, Big Mike!!!!

(praying for my Mom, too... breast cancer ;-(


Great day to everyone!

Hi,h1pst3r88,

Sorry to hear your mother's breast cancer. Best wishes to her.

Yours
Lora


Pray for your mother and Mike's mother, Georgia

[BigMikeinNJ]

For our Brother h1pst3r88 who is struggling and praying for his Mom's recovery...

[h1pst3r88]

Thanks, BigMike ;-)

That's a solid guy right there, BigMike.

[targuit]

Thanks Gents,

Lora took these shots outside once she got to the shop. Just wait until it is in Jersey, I'll do the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition on my front porch !! LOL !!



Now that tailpiece I saw on one of the other models they had on the website. So I asked for it on this guitar. Didn't really want another John Pisano influenced tailpiece, didn't want the standard Eastman type tailpiece either. At one point I was going to buy a gold replacement Byrdland tailpiece off eBay. But when I saw this I realized I could combine the elements of the Special with some D'Aquisto elements that always made my heart flutter. And when 2B showed us his bound pick guard I KNEW I had the perfect combination. After posting photos here and on Facebook I slept like a baby... But soon I'll be back to constant tracking - seems the parcels sort of lurch along from Beijing to the airport (out where God lost His Shoes) and then it whisks along (any of you ever track an iPhone order coming from China might know what I speak of).

Now for a day of down time with my Senior Bus friends and then back to packing and dealing with details. I sent my Mom a bouquet of exotics today so I'm hoping they cheer her up some. I really need you guys praying for my mother, Georgia... OK ??

Mike

I've always had a thing for blondes though I married a brunette. Go figure! But this babe is a beauty!

You guys are gonna wreck my marriage! Especially if I fall for these ladies.....

[BigMikeinNJ]

Hey Everyone !!

A Big shout out to you all. Crazier than you can believe, Friday morning my neighbors were here to move my chicken coop over to its new home. This is no ordinary little shack mind you. Think of how crazy I am regarding construction details on a guitar, then apply that to a building my chickens would live in, I incubated all these birds, saw them hatch and I was the first thing they saw. That is a very special bond.

i digress. So here's some photos, mind you the structure is 20 feet long, the coop us 8 X 8 X 8 feet - the "run" is 7x 7 X 12 feet. How they managed to get it moved and not drop it or harm any of the birds (inside), well I think God was watching over me.

[BigMikeinNJ]

Some how those came up backwards. But that was loading from my property and relocating to the new. Here's the coop at its new location. The owners have it in a terrific location and are there every day from sun up to sun down. My babies will want for nothing.

[BigMikeinNJ]

Unfortunately news from Chicago isn't great. I need to get back there as fast as I can. I'm paying the guy next door a lot of money to help clear the place out right away - bad thing for me with all the stress my blood pressure medication has feeling dizzy, a lot. I've contacted Lora asking her to expedite the shipment of my guitar as fast as she can.

By the way, when I have the guitar in hand I am starting a new thread, pretty much like 2B did with a quick array of the progress from start to finish and me with it in hand... My hat is off to Ms Lora and the Wu's for doing such a great job. I'm a demanding customer but doggone I like working with Lora and the Wu's so much once I'm reestablished in Chicago I will be starting yet another Dream Guitar. I can't wait.



Please pray for Georgia
By the way SOMEHOW the photo thingie isn't working as usual. I tried to remove the shot of my Mom because it rotated it sideways, it's creepy like that, looks like she's already left us to be with my Dad...

[DanielleOM]

Formerly the My New Ms Lora/Mr Wu Project


Hey Everyone !!

I've been kinda quiet because with my new living arrangement my discretionary funds are quite limited. I had told Ms Lora for some time I wanted Mr Wu to build me something really very, very special. I had a basic design in mind, something with Byrdland dimensions but with a normal scale neck and instead of set in the top pickups one (or possibly two) floating pickups. Best woods possible and best inlays. A real stunner. I think after this project it might be some time before I can buy again. Any of your retired fellas know what I mean, money doesn't go quite as far as it used to and I feel the pinch more than ever.

But that aside I contacted Ms Lora and what I am having made is a 17 x 2 1/4 rims (not including the thickness of the top or back), natural finish. A couple months ago a buddy of mine showed me a Campellone Special. Boy was I in love. So I asked Ms. Lora and I got a general quote for the job. I go back a ways with her and I actually own two Mr Wu guitars (I did not know this) already. The very early Eastman Prototype 810 I have was a Mr Wu made guitar (he remembered the back plates) and my Yunzhi YZ23 BigMike Special (a Pisano AR880 copy with floater) from 5 plus years ago Mr Wu also made (he was with Yunzhi at the time).

Details: Mr Wu's name in chinese characters on the headstock, all other inlay work just like a M Campellone Special will be done by Mrs Wu. So while I am going back and forth with Lora about life and details on the guitar I stumble on an auction on eBay for a ebony pick guard off of a Campellone Special with a hand wound Kent Armstrong PAF-O pickup attached. Market must be real slow, I won the pick guard for $76.00. In person it's lovely. Here's some pics. Noticed the thickness of the maple slab (at the cutaway). So this is what's going on with me. Obviously as soon as I saw that back wood I was very excited. Ms Lora will send me progress shots as usual and I will keep you all posted. So glad to finally be doing this.

Attachment 24005Attachment 24006Attachment 24007

I assume when you use the term M Campellone Special, you are talking about appearance and not the acoustic voicing. I really do not know how you could communicate that. Do they do something different than their normal standard to change the sound? I have tried several of Mark's guitars and non of them have sounded like Eastman archtop guitars to me. Although Mark's web site references a 25" scale length, I think it's almost impossible to find one as he does not build to that scale length as a standard.

[BigMikeinNJ]

DanielleOM,

As you can see from the final photos my Special guitar, my Dream Guitar, has influences from Campellone, Eastman and D'Aquisto. It's essentially an Eastman AR910 body (highest quality woods everywhere, high quality flame maple binding everywhere) with headstock and inlays insirped by M Campellone (whose headstock shape is heavily inspireed by GIBSON) and D'Aquisto inspired pick guard and tailpiece, reference again the word STYLE or INFLUENCE or INSPIRED.

At no time did I ever ask for or SAY HERE that it was voiced like a M Campellone, which I have had the great pleasure of playing a couple of examples (a Standard and a Deluxe) at a broker friend's store. You must have inferred or read that into the text of my comments here. Sorry.

But that being said if my dear Mom can hold out I can get the guitar here, have Joe DeNisco drop over, feed him and record him playing the Mr Wu unplugged and hopefully plugged into my Fuchs amp... It'll be my JOY to share this video of Joe playing it. I have a real nice digital camera with a pretty sweet microphone in it and we'll do some film (as it were).

All the best to you DanielleOM...


Big

[BigMikeinNJ]

Got these from Lora
She's checked it out and it's shipping tomorrow her time... Oh Boy !!

[BigMikeinNJ]

[BigMikeinNJ]

​

[BigMikeinNJ]

abelljo,

You must be next My Brother...


Big

[Dedalus]

Beautiful, BigMike.