Pete Halliday's Latest Noisemakers

[Pete Halliday]

I had never seen the Marauder before. That's interesting that Gibson was also making something that was kind of Tele-ish. Do you know what the scale length was on those?

[Dave Locher]

Thanks for that closeup shot, Pete. I see what you are saying now. Nice!

I went home last night and looked at my body again and I think it's just a bit smaller, at least at the front. My upper bout and lower bout are not quite as offset as yours. A tad more Les Paul and just a bit less Tele, but otherwise they are definitely cousins if not twins.

All I have right now is this early construction photo, but you can see the plywood cutting guide for the overall shape. I ended up sanding the body a bit further in on the bottom, but this is pretty close to my final shape.

[David Schwab]

I had never seen the Marauder before. That's interesting that Gibson was also making something that was kind of Tele-ish. Do you know what the scale length was on those?

It was a Bill Lawrence design. It looks like a flat top Les Paul, same as gthe L6-S and Sonex, with a maple or rosewood fingerboard. It had a neck humbucker and a slanted blade pickup at the bridge, and a blend control instead of pickup selector switch on later models. It had a bolt on neck. It had a 24-3/4” scale length.

[Pete Halliday]

As threatened previously...

Haggerty Thinline

Michigan poplar semi-hollow body with forearm contour and tummy cut
Birdseye maple neck and peghead with Spanish-V joint
Ebony fingerboard
DiMarzio Area T 615 bridge and Vintage Minibucker neck pickups
Master volume and tone
Gotoh bridge
Sperzel Trim-Lok tuners (my first time with locking tuners and I may not go back)
Allied Lutherie dual action truss rod
Mother of pearl inlay
Black fiber peghead overlay
KTM-SV clear over ocean blue pearl coat from Sik Custom Paint in SV over seafoam base coat with Mixol tints in SV over Zinser BIN

[Jason Rodgers]

KTM-SV clear over ocean blue pearl coat from Sik Custom Paint in SV over seafoam base coat with Mixol tints in SV over Zinser BIN

Dude, that Sik is sick [sic].

[Dave Locher]

I had never seen the Marauder before. That's interesting that Gibson was also making something that was kind of Tele-ish. Do you know what the scale length was on those?

It was a Bill Lawrence design. It looks like a flat top Les Paul, same as gthe L6-S and Sonex, with a maple or rosewood fingerboard. It had a neck humbucker and a slanted blade pickup at the bridge, and a blend control instead of pickup selector switch on later models. It had a bolt on neck. It had a 24-3/4” scale length.

Yep: Les Paul body shape, slab body, bolt-on maple neck, slanted bridge pickup. You forgot to mention the flying-V headstock shape! Do a Google image search and you'll find tons of them. Gibson still claims it was not an attempt to be more tele-like but that's clearly a load of hooey. It might as well be called a Gibsoncaster.
Depending on who you ask it is either a horrible abomination [Gibson collectors] or a best-of-both-worlds combination of Fender durability and simplicity with Gibson hardware, looks, and scale length [me]. Mine is modified to the hills and back, and I bought it back in the early 1990s specifically because I wanted a bulletproof Gibson that I could damage and modify with no guilt. (Mine was already both when I got it so I just pushed it to the next several levels.)
Ironically, it is the one I kept after I sold off my 1962 SG and mid-70s 335. Go figure. Once I got past hating the headstock shape I fell in love with the whole package. I have never played one in stock form so I can't really recommend one but they sure modify nicely!

[Dave Locher]

Pete, that is beautiful. I really dig it. It somehow manages to look vintage and modern at the same time. Nice!

[Jason Rodgers]

How do you cut your headstock joints? Tapered or straight V?

[Pete Halliday]

Dave, thanks...that's exactly what I was trying for. Original, but traditional if you get my meaning.

Jason, this is the first time I tried this style peg head joint and cut it so that on the neck the vee that comes out is straight. Once I figured out that I should lay out the cuts into the peg head from the side since the depth into it from the front and back are the same it was pretty easy. Of course there was still a couple hours in fitting my first one!

[Dave Locher]

Dave, thanks...that's exactly what I was trying for. Original, but traditional if you get my meaning.

I get you, and you've nailed it. You could trick me into believing that was a restored classic if I didn't know better.
I really like the one in your avatar, too. Is there a nice big photo of it somewhere here on the MIMF? If not, could you post one?

[Pete Halliday]

Thanks, Dave. Here are some pictures of that older guitar. It has the same basic clam shell construction, but rather than binding around the seam it has a 3/16" walnut layer between the ash halves. The reliefs are smaller on the older one and the round over of the edges is 1/4" rather than 1/2", the neck joint was different with a somewhat clunkier design, etc. These last two and the next one in the works have most of the things I wasn't happy about with the first one fixed.

[Dave Locher]

I love it!
Definitely a different vibe than the latest two but just as cool. I particularly like the Bigsby and the soap bars. You have really hit a sweet spot between classic and creative style.
I wish I'd seen these pictures before I spent hours hand-carving an SG-style contour into my body front and back because I like the rounded-over edge better.