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Location: Tennessee | It started out with Cruster asking cwkII if Ovation ever made a strat body with an Ovation headstock. Stonebobbo had bought his son a celebrity electric, but it developed a cracked headstock during shipping. Moody,pi offered SB the orphan neck from his Viper. SB bought a set of vintage Shallers with pearl buttons on eBay. A little dremel here, a little redrilling of neckbolt holes, and the result is in:
I've posted more pics in the gallery under "StratoViper". There's a picture of the original guitar in the Ovation folder in the gallery.
This thing plays unbelievably nice. It's a bit of a snakehead with a bit of poisonous bite. I've got it pretty well setup, but I'm sure it'll settle out over the next couple of days and I'll tweak it into perfection.
So now it deserves a name. StratoViper? Vipercaster? AspKicker? You can tell I need help here, folks! Suggestions kindly accepted and appreciated. :) |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | That's extremely cool! Got to call it a "Stonebobbocaster" |
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Location: Tennessee | Dave, notice it is in tune because all the buttons are lined up together. :D Actually, I did this on purpose for you and used the fine tuners on the bridge to bring it into tune. How cool is that? |
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | BobboBuster? CobraCaster? |
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Posts: 13987
Location: Upper Left USA | Kaehler Kustom
Strat-O-Asp
Medusa
"Precious-s-s-s-s" |
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Location: SoCal | That neck couldn't have come from me. I'm in league with the antiChrist!
That guitar looks great. Wish I had thought to do that! |
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Location: Tennessee | Well, Paul (errr... Uncle Screwtape), now that you mention it ... it was your Viper that caused the poor Celebrity electric's fall from grace. And she was virgin white to begin with, no less. :D |
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Location: San Bernardino, California | Are you SURE that the scale length is right? It looks like it's off in the picture. |
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Location: Tennessee | Scale length is dead on at 25.5" ... and just because I'm paranoid I just went and measured again. :) The scale looks bizarre because it is not a Strat body (and we are conditioned that a Strat has certain dimensions) ... that and also the camera angle from which the picture was taken.
The donor guitar was a celebrity electric which originally had a 24 fret neck ... I did a lot of measuring and comparing to the neck that came off the guitar, and ended up taking a small amount off the heel block and reshaping ... the Viper heel block was a square Tele style while the body required a slightly rounded Strat style. When I fitted the Viper neck, I didn't need to even move the saddles as the intonation was within a couple of cents of perfect; not noticable without the help of an electronic tuner. I will put it dead on once I let the guitar settle out for a week or so.
As a control (and an experiment), I did take the neck off my Strat and looked at what it would be like to put the Viper neck on the Strat ... now THAT would have resulted in scale length problems (even though the Viper and the Strat are both 25.5" scale length, the Viper neck is a little over 1" longer from nut to end of heel block). The saddles on my Strat don't have anywhere near the 1/2" of additional travel it was going to require to intonate properly.
Here's a more straight on picture to show the scale length ... sorry about the flash wash.
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Location: Las Cruces, NM | Stonebobo
We had Peter the Great
We Had Alexander the Great
Now we have StratoViper the Great |
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Location: San Bernardino, California | Much better. That first picture was making me cross-eyed. |
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Location: Avondale AZ | Now that we know it can be done, don't do it again. It is a abomination. A waste of a perfectly good neck and it is ugly. Let's keep our Ovations pure and not crossbread them. |
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Location: SoCal | I'll repeat what I said before.... That is so cool! I am honored to have inspired that thought and been able to provide the neck.
This brings up an observation about a lot of the people on this board. I have been the recipient of a lot of generosity on this board. Whatever I've passed on, to me, seems a small repayment of what I have received in terms of cool Ovation stuff and friendship (and I've made some friends that I expect will stay friends long after this board). In short, this is a great place to be! |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Paul is obviously just dropping hints for folks to send him their old guitar parts ...
Actually he brings up fond memories (sorry that I take this post off on a sharp left turn). With in ONE WEEK of first joining this board way back when, various members had sent me a video tape, faxed tabs, and sent me strap buttons just because they knew I would enjoy these things. And they never asked for a darn thing in return. It was the start of a long wonderful relationship which has introduced me to many great friends some of whom I've met in person (and even slept with, ha ha). Hey in a group of 3000, there will be a few that I don't "click" with. So PLEASE continue to send your used parts to the good folks here on the board who have the time and talant to make these awesome frankenstein projects. I really enjoy their imagination and dedication. First one to build a carved slothead banjo gets a beer on me. |
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Location: SoCal | Hell Dave, I would have thought that you'd want a carved slothead uke. |
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Location: Central Florida | I agree, the folks here are great!
As far as the right or wrong of building "Frankenstein" guitars, it's in the eye of the beholder. It's all part of the creative process. I think if you've got the vision and the talent to to do something like that, well, more power to ya... Great looking guitar, stonebobbo!
Jeff |
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Since I'm more devoted to function over aesthetics, I wholeheartedly approve of this contraption. It will probably be a fine instrument, and give many hours of pleasure to its current, and future, operators. And, its stirring up controversy- even better! |
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Location: Upper Left USA | It needs abalone dots and a Bill Nichols TRC with a serpent on it!
Looking good stone! |
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Location: Midland, MI | For a follow up, I think you should take a carved Adams headstock neck and the piezo bridge off one of the Hamer Duotones (hey, didn't those bridges come from the Ovation side of the shop anyway?) and put them on one of the A/E Vipers (EA63/EA68).
Or maybe an Ovation electric (see the Celebrity thread) hockeystick neck on a Balladeer. No, wait, that'd be a Tangent or MOB or whatever they called them...never mind.
:) |
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Location: Minden, Nebraska | I think it's a cool use of parts even if it is an abomination. Maybe you should name it The Beast. :D |
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Location: Waurika OK | I got it!
Call it the "CastOration"
noel |
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Location: Tennessee | Thanks all for the suggestions and opinions. I love this place! And despite it's abominable status, it is a great playing guitar and gives me a unique sound ... and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I do believe I will name it "Fang". :cool:
Or maybe an Ovation electric (see the Celebrity thread) hockeystick neck on a Balladeer. No, wait, that'd be a Tangent or MOB or whatever they called them...never mind. -- Cruster
Cruster ... that would be the 1989 Collectors! Complete with polyester (huh?) inlays. If I didn't know better, I'd say the late '80s was a time of a lot of acid flashbacks.
My little project is so very tame compared to aLeX's Viper. Some may call THAT an abomination, but in my eyes it is oh so cool. You'd love it too, Cruster. :) |
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Location: NJ | Al's Viper is . .
. . . "just wrong!"
:D |
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Location: SoCal | I don't think it's Al's Viper. I think it's, well... Al? |
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Location: Midland, MI | Al has a Viper? Like the V10 jobby job? Interesting... |
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Location: Germantown, MD | Maybe you should love it and hold it and hug it and squeeze it and call it George.
Which Looney Toons cartoon was that in?
John |
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Posts: 180
Location: Chicagoland | Now does the viper neck start out thin(thickness wise) and narrow and then bulge out like the neck on my preacher?
It's one of those little things I can't quite get used to. |
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