NOTE: Before people decide
that Golden Boulder is a financed band from rich parents or sponsors,
it must be said that apart from brand endorsements, since he was 10yrs old,
Chris's gear is bought through his
own earnings with the band or through his teaching sessions. The parents
are not rich! just supportive.
Chris started playing around the age of 7. First with old
Hagström Guitars belonging to his dad, then a few others
such as an old Fender Strat from Canada, then a PRS he saved up for and bought
when he was 10.
Find out about the Vintage Guitars Chris has played:
http://www.hagstrom.org.uk
Jams and small pub gigs - this is the best - it is so
capable without being too heavy.
It will match volume with things much bigger and the pure AC30 tone on clean
plus nice grungy drive of channel two
- no contest in his view - The Laney VC30 112
For a bigger sound in a smaller venue - this is a great beast...
Leaving us with the all out 4x12 launcher
from Marshall for the bigger gigs
Not only guitar, but Chris enjoys other instruments
especially bass and drums
To build a bit of variety into his guitar tone, Chris uses a
small selection of pedals
Going WAAY back!
He received a sponsorship for his custom made guitar, which arrived just in time
for his eleventh birthday...
BUT IT WASN'T UNTIL HE WAS NEARLY FIFTEEN THAT IT WAS RIGHT.
BEWARE INEXPERIENCED OR SCAM CUSTOM GUITAR MAKERS!
REVISED FOR 2008!
THAT CUSTOM NOW PLAYS PERFECTLY... AND THE PLAINER NECK MAKES IT MORE MATURE!
The Original Scorpion custom made guitar developed
problems very early on, all down to the neck being badly made.
The original maker went bust, bankrupt, disappeared, re-appeared under another
name Crimson Guitars,
but took no responsibility for the problems... despite still showing the guitar
off as a special one off custom
model valued at £2,450. [SEE
6 PAGE PDF]
Goodness only knows what Ben would value it at now... now that it works
properly!
See the original story below
NEW for 2007!
In 2006 Chris fell in love with Blade guitars, then in 2007
at the London Guitar Show
it all became too much to bear...
All his savings went into fulfilling his needs for a 'better than Strat' Blade
RH-4 Classic in Misty Violet
shown here left being demo'd by Paul Boyd on the Elixir Strings stand...
Chris's first bought his own guitar in 2003 - a PRS Santana
SE, still very much a favourite, he had the
rare
opportunity to specify his own guitar in 2004, and the stunning looks below are
here to see...
...Chris's - "Lawsuit Model" - A one-off Custom guitar.
Custom build - Mahogany and maple Body, Mahogany neck with 24
fret Maple board plus ebony inlay.
Hand-carved, with contoured flame effect in the maple top, (Flameburst finish by
Martin Sims Custom Shop).
Barenuckle Bare Knuckle
Miracle Man pickups, gold three way toggle, 2 Volume, 2 Tone, plus
Coil Tap and Volume Boost mini toggles
through body strung with micro-adjustable bridge.
Gold locking tuners by Sperzel USA, ebony backcovers, coated
brass neckplate, black Schaller straplocks
Too long and wide for a Les Paul case, this had not been taken
into account when the design was
proposed. This modified Strat type case was the solution, and adds to the unique
outcome - which
wasn't just to do with the looks! Sadly it was never as good as it was supposed
to be...
The story...
HOME PAGE
- the story of a new guitar from August 2004 to January 2005
ORIGINALLY DUE 2004!
the fretboard and body start to take shape
A combined luthiery, three guys Ben Ian and Greg contributed to making Chris's
guitar,
admittedly not the most straightforward transaction, with most parts made twice
to get them right!
Both body and neck were made the second time by Ian, with finishing work from
the Sims Custom Shop.
August 2004
The carved flame effect
September 2004 -The flame outline - an inlay of triple binding strips
EARLY OCTOBER 2004
The neck was initially made too deep, a second one had to be made as the truss
rod cavity
appeared when trimming the neck back to the agreed spec...
You may notice the pictures above reveal the two different bodies (see back covers)
Actually to PRS scale
Neck with stain and varnish October25th
...and it arrived just in time for Chris's 11th Birthday
January 2005
Scorpion guitars was a short lived venture, so this is a
rather exclusive guitar, certainly unique.
Like too many creative ventures though, the project was fraught with issues
along the way.
The skill wasn't quite there, and an older luthier may have
been easier
to work with!
The eventual outcome looked superb, however problems developed with the
neck soon after delivery
but Ben had disappeared to 'the west country' and the company had gone bust.
In 2008 Chris decided to invest more money to get this guitar
sorted out. We contacted Ben again in 2008
in his new guise of Crimson guitars, but he pleaded bankruptcy and offered to
sort it out over a weekend,
for a few hundred quid - as a favour (!)
We decided to contact Graham Wheeler who assessed the problem
and proved there was not only
a twist in the neck, but at least one kink in the fretboard. To remedy this the
fretboard inlay would be badly affected
as it was so thin. The nut had been finished at a variable height which suggests
there may have been suspicions
at the time of original manufacture? Also Chris found the neck too bulky anyway
- and not as originally ordered.
So we decided to spend 3 months getting a new custom Ibanez
Jem neck made,
and having it prepared, finished and set up by someone more trustworthy and
skilled in our experience.
[SEE
6 PAGE PDF]
Chris is also an avid drummer - when he gets the opportunity...
So, what is
Christopher's other passion? (Hint
it's Italian)
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