Frankinstein Guitar Works Purpleheart

My Frankinstein Purpleheart was built about 2 years ago in Woodstock, Ontario Canada. It is a one of a kind LP style single cutaway guitar. 22 frets, 24 3/4 inch scale with a solid one piece Honduras mahogany body and a slim one piece neck with medium high frets. It also has a 1 inch thick, 2 piece bookmatched, figured purpleheart top. Rosewood fingerboard. Purpleheart headstock facing and rear cavity control cover. The design is simplicity itself. One pickup...a NOS 80's Schecter humbucker with a 3 position coil tap mini switch and 1 volume and tone. Original Leo Quan Badass bridge and vintage Ping tuners finish it off. The guitar is finished in hand rubbed nitro cellulose laquer. I should also add that it has a set neck with the joint scooped away at the back to allow complete access to the upper frets. A hand logod deluxe gig bag was included with the guitar.

I've been a multi instrumentalist for over 40 years in every style imaginable. I've also owned over 200 guitars in that time having been a small time dealer of vintage and used guitars since the '70's. I currently play in a rather loud R&B, Blues, Classic rock band. This thing has sustain like you wouldn't believe! I bought it to play slide with and I couldn't have picked a better instrument. Tons of sustain and a wide variety of usable tones due to the excellent coil tap switch. I usually don't care for this type of switching because it causes the tone to thin out when used. As well as sometimes causes an unwanted drop in output volume. I play through a Mesa Boogie 50 cal.+ combo and a Crate Vintage 5212 and this axe sounds terrific through both of them. Always rich never thin or tinny. My only complaint is the usual one for LP style guitar lovers. It weighs about 9 pounds. Heavier than I like but still tolerable.

Initial setup was too low. All the Frankinsteins I've tried are set up too low for my playing style. Thats not to say the guitar was buzzy. Not at all. It's just that I prefer a medium to high action as I use .009-.042. strings and pick hard. I minor adjustment to the brisge fixed the problem. I sholud note that i mentoned to the builder that I didn't care for the plastic pickup mounting ring and he made me one from purpleheart and installed it free of charge. Now thats sevice!
No complaints about intonation, nut, frets or finish. Everything is as it should be on a primo, custom built instrument.

The only thing I can bitch about is the nitro finish and its fragility. I can't use a regular guitar stand because the foam or rubber on many commercially available models eats the nitro..ouch. I took one of my stands and covered the foam parts in doe skin. That seems to do the trick.
I've owned and giged this guitar for about a year now without incident. As I use it for mostly slide work and ZZ Top cover tunes I always have another guitar on stage, usually a Parker P44, for tonal variety. Otherwise I'd gig it without worrying about a backup. The thing is rock solid.

I live about 45 minutes from the manufacturer and vist there from time to time. The reception I get is always friendly and helpful if I have any questions. I believe the instrument is guaranteed for as long as I own it..for life..and though it hasn't needed any work I am confident that any required servicing would be done quickly and professionally.

I like this guitar so much that I order another one: a Tele style with a 1 piece awamp ash body, maple neck and Bill Lawrence pisckups. I'll be writing a review on that one once its been broken in and giged for a while. I own about a dozen other guitars and cinsider this one to be one of the best. If it were stolen I'd be really pissed and have to have another one made. If indeed that were possible. I believe that each guitar has it's own sound and even 2 seeminly identical instruments don't alsways share the same tonal characteristics. This company will tailor make anything you want. The luthier, Seppo Valjakka,,has over 40 years experience as a repairer and builder of guitars and is a player as well. He knows how to wring tone out of a vast inventory of exotic wodds and NOS pickups. I am very pleased with my purchase and will buy more of his products in the years to come.