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?Sometimes ya gotta be careful what you wish for. You just may get it.
Out of the blue I decide to do a search on eBay for Unity guitar... Sorted by highest price this baby shows up. Been modded a little but essentially it's a 3 pickup L5CT/ES350T style guitar... Lousy photos but at $1900.00 even if Pete Moreno's gotta work on it some what a trip of a guitar. Seller has Lollar P90s and CC pickups available... Pinch me will ya !!!
More details as the story develops.
BigLast edited by BigMikeinNJ; 11-02-2018 at 01:19 PM.
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11-01-2018 06:51 PM
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MORE pics... I don't know when I'm coming down off this score !!!!
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What an interesting guitar and a fun project!
Nice ABM Model 1266 "Jazz" tailpiece.
Looks like Aaron used a set of Tal Farlow laminated plates, or something very similar.
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This is going to be a stunner!!
It looks like maybe a moderate amount of attention is all that this baby needs. The finish appears worn on the neck, which is a sign of love- whether it's worn from playing or removed to quicken the neck. That's a pretty easy fix.
I can't tell about the status of the frets.
The bridge and electronics should be no challenge.
Aaron tended to get his wood from Heritage, but he also had some old Gibson lumber, too.
I've got the Gibson form of the Switchmaster but in a thin Super 400 body. People sometimes think that it's one too many pickups. Not me. I was thinking that Aaron could have snuck another in there actually. There's room for four!
Nice catch. You will have a lot of fun toggling and dialing with that Unity. I'll bet you'll find it a bunch more interesting than a dumb single floater with only a volume knob. (Lame!)Last edited by Marty Grass; 11-01-2018 at 08:32 PM.
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I just had a really pleasant and long conversation with Mike, the seller... Turns out the guy lived in Chicago a lot of his life and went to Fenwick High School here in Oak Park. We had a lot to talk about. Mike was really into the blues scene and knew a lot of the big cats in that scene on the South Side. One of his big heroes is T Bone Walker.
Aaron used a Gibson plate for the top and he's not sure about the back, say's its birdseye with some flame (sounds like my '39 L5). He worked with Aaron forever on the design and Aaron did all the cutting in the top. He said Aaron was incredibly patient and kind in the whole build process. He and Aaron didn't really like the sound of the Gibson P90 pickups (this all went down in the late 80s) and eventually Mike had Fralin low winds installed. 5 way switch. Mike is graciously send me every dang part he has for it. He knows the top is a laminate but he's not sure if Aaron carved the back... The photos are really lousy in the ad, Mike said aside from playing it a lot that its real solid and the finish is just fine. Pete Moreno will sure have fun messing around with this one. All in all it was a great day.
BigLast edited by BigMikeinNJ; 11-01-2018 at 11:31 PM.
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The back plate appears to be one piece. While anything is possible, my guess is that this would be a laminated back - carving a one-piece 17" wide back from hard maple to use with a laminated top on a 3-pickup thinline electric archtop would seem like an odd thing to do.
Originally Posted by BigMikeinNJ
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Originally Posted by Hammertone
You're probably right on all points Hammer... I'm sure excited...
Mike said Aaron used what he called his West Coast Model design and did custom Mountain inlays for Mike (who lives in Denver).
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you can see what inspired Mike in his build request
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Congratulations, looks like fun!
So, do we properly call that a "party" of P=90's, or a "pack,"
or a "platoon," or a "pride," or....(I like P-90's!)
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Its always great when a guitar comes with provenance.
I am so happy for you Mike. I really am. Hearing your enthusiasm yesterday was infectious. Very Cool. If Pete is willing to take this on, then you might have a home run here.
Keep having fun. And keep living. Just make sure you got room to move around in the house.
Joe D
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The photos are really lousy, talking to Mike in Denver today after he shipped the guitar I got more info on it. Aaron suggested the wiring setup which (4 pots) volume, volume, tone, blend switch (pot) and the 5 way switch at the cutaway... I was so wired last night I was in bed playing old T Bone Walker videos with him playing his big Switchmaster... It needs to be rewired, buffed out and setup, that's all... Included in the case is a cardboard layout of the wiring harness, pots, blend pot. Should be a breeze for Pete or some other competent tech.
Between Joes ES165 and this I'm a THUNKing fool !!!!
Big
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Great project there! Wish I would have seen that. Hope you post a video of it in use when you are done. One thing that was striking was the way the pickups are bunched together, compared to a switchmaster. Maybe it is an illusion from the pickup rings.
Love that T-bone youtube clip. I'm more of a blues guitarist myself. Just love archtops; even though this is the "Jazz" forum.
I don't know much about Aaron Cowles but it looks like from his website he no longer does archtops? Is that true?
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At one point there were Lollar Charlie Christian pickups on her, and when the owner went back to Lollar P90s he made custom wood mounting rings, those rings take up that space, so though the pickups APPEAR bunched together they are not. If you look very carefully at both photos you can see the distance of the two lower pickup from the f-holes is the same.
Aaron Cowles passed away in 2014.
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Aaron Cowles died about 5 years ago.
Here is a tribute a friend of mine wrote about Aaron a few days after he died. It is accurate.
In Memory of Aaron Cowles - Riverside Green
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SCORE! Mike, like you I always peruse eBay for any Unity guitars. I missed a week and missed this one. Very interesting.
You will have fun with this one. Me? I'm still waiting for Aaron's red guitar, or Thom Bresh's Unity Special to pop up some day. Either one would be more than I could ask for.
GT
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Not to get too sidetracked, but you can see the inspiration for Thom’s guitar
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Maybe it's because of my previously poor background (or what we thought was poor) but Mike sent the pickguard, mounting bracket and all harness parts. So it won't take Pete (or a fairly with it tech) long to get this flying... I know it's gonna be a real monster. Mike had to quit playing years ago because of problems with his hands. It's a real shame because he's such a nice soul...
Big
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It arrived safely, driver said it'd been in the warehouse since Monday night...
Cold as stink and windy. But the box warmed up and I pulled it a wee quick, but it's far cleaner than the ad showed it.
Talking to the seller, Mike, he said he hadn't played it in 15-16 years. It's really clean. Photos don't show all the flame this thing has. The back is a subtle birds eye, it's very nicely built. Heck, it's an Aaron Cowles guitar, Mike said he worked with Aaron in 1988-89 over the phone and via letters. The neck has a slightly sanded feel, Mike says that's just from him playing it a lot. Got the pickup covers, knobs and some TI Jazz Swings in the mail today too... I'm gonna play it a while unplugged before I send it off to Pete...
Enjoy
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It's real sweet...
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Last but not least
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Exceptionally cool.
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Beautiful guitar, Big! Congratulations, and play it in good health!
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Thanks Boys !! I was really counting the time until today, and it came kind of late so I'm real wiped out. BUT very happy that it's so clean and isn't going to take much to get her flying. That honest play wear on the back of the neck tells volumes on this was loved on...
Big
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Have you figured out if the middle pickup is out-of-phase with the outer two like in the Gibson ES 5?
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Tommo, let me answer you best I can. It was all wired up to have a master volume, two tone pots, a blender knob and the 5 way switch on the cutaway. Mike said he could get a myriad of tones out of it. He did try to swap in the Lollars and they never did finish the job right - so I'm shooting to replicate that knob arrangement first. If I don't like it I'll have two holes drilled where they would be (near the bridge) like on an ES5 and go with the traditional wiring of an ES5.
I haven't installed the bridge, will do that later today, I sort of rushed it yesterday and am giving it some more time to acclimate to the temps and humidity of my place before I put any stress on her.
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