Son of a ...

Damn. Out at the shop working on the contours of the tele-type body and got ahead of myself without saving some very important lines as a reference file. SO... now I must go back to the beginning of the wireframe modeling. Basically starting over from the 2d state of the drawing. I was pissed, but Don was glad that I would have to do all of the steps over again.

I put a fillet (rounded edge of the body) on before I applied the contours and that just don't fly! Don and I are working on getting a PC at my house that will run the software so I don't have to make the trek out to the shop in Venus everytime I want to do work. This will help tremendously with the time it takes to get work done and my learning curves.

I guess I'll chalk it up to experience gained...

Cars and Guitars...

Yesterday Don and I went to the Dallas car show to see what's new and get some inspiration. I like to use the lines of the cars to inspire what could be cool on the guitars. We both agree that the Camaro is great, but the Challenger takes the cake with it's less is more approach. No useless embellishments or chrome port whatchamacallits with no purpose (see the new Taurus for that), just clean simple retro-futuristico.

After the show we headed to the shop and Don finished up a Jazz Blaster for SRV friend Rocky Athas of Black Oak Arkansas fame, and I resumed work on modeling the Tele body for Brett.

Progress...

It's been a couple of week since I posted last, but in that time there's been lots of learnin' for me. I'm a graphic artist by trade, so using 3d modeling software comes with a bit of a learning curve. Unlike 2d Adobe software like Illustrator or Photoshop RhinoCad is anal to the point of perfection. There can be no imperfections and there is no tolerance. So I'm learning a new software, new concepts and patience, as well.

The tele-style guitar is shaping up, though, as I've got the body modeled up and will be applying the contours and creating pockets and pickguard soon. Oh, I quess I should do the headstock, too.

More soon!

Bele-Blaster Shaping Up...

I'll be building a tele-based guitar for long-time friend and great guitarist Brett Bledsoe. Here's Brett out at the shop discussing the future guitar's ins and outs with Don and myself.

We had originally planned on just doing an economical version of a tele, but once Brett compared the all wood guitar tone to the wood/acrylic JazzBlaster's tone, he changed his mind. We'll be doing a first for Brett and for BCG; A wood/plexi guitar with a tele bridge and a soap at the neck. This thing ought to be versitile, beautiful and sound fantastic.

BCG "Hot Rod" Blaster Featured in Premier Guitar Magazine

Lucky us. We had a guitar named "Hot Rod" and Premier Guitar Magazine was featuring hot rodded guitars! Great timing and we really appreciate the coverage. Spread the word! Read the article.

New site feature and possible magazine feature!

OK, so I've got the homepage updated with a video from BCG artist Andrew Godwin of The Famine. I've known Andrew since he was a wee lad and am proud to see him doing so well. Kudos to you my friend! And thanks for making the site cooler.

Don and I also got a call from Joe of Premier Guitar magazine. Seems they want to feature the Hot Rod J-Blaster in their February issue. Hopefully this will happen and we will experience much joy. More as the story unfolds...

New Site Up and Walking...

Check out the new look for the Bell Custom Guitar web site. I worked long and hard on it, so appreciate it! I'm still developing a few pages and features that will hopefully be live in the not-too-distant future. So check back often to see what's new and don't be shy, tell us what you think of the site!

-Paul