A couple photos from the archives in SLO

[bovinehost]

Hey Biff,

I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind.

How did the work with Keith Richards and the Silo get started?

Where was that picture of Leo and Louis taken? (Do you have any of Leo's pocket protectors? Did he ALWAYS have one?)

Does Dudley always wear at least one clothing item with "Minnesota" on it?

How many bodies did you make before finalizing the design on the EVH?

Thanks!

Jackie

 

[PeteDuBaldo]

Fantastic!

 

[Big Poppa]

Hey Biff,

I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind.

How did the work with Keith Richards and the Silo get started?

Where was that picture of Leo and Louis taken? (Do you have any of Leo's pocket protectors? Did he ALWAYS have one?)

Does Dudley always wear at least one clothing item with "Minnesota" on it?

How many bodies did you make before finalizing the design on the EVH?

Thanks!

Jackie

There was no work per se with keith....I was friendly with his tech at the time Alan Rogan (Who Joe Walsh Clapton etc) and he said why dont you send him a guitar to check out.....I made one for him and right at that time there was a very distubed man who put a raincoat on and hid in a local ladies porta potty at 6 am and they discover him until 2 pm....im talkn in the tank! SO I included the news article in the case and hade some picks that said keith richards on one side and outhouse dwellers on the other...I also included a letter with the ten reasons why this was a good guitar for him
mong the things i mentioned is that Eric Clapton didnt have one and its turbo engine is 40% more powerful that the comp.

WE made a boatload of bodies and necks for EVH. The real trick was the neck. Dudley took measurements of the frankenstein guitar and then wrote the milling program and
EVH would say " its not the same" Dudley would show him with the calipers the different measurements showing they were identical...I jumped in and said "why Dont we digitize the neck and see just what it is. Digitizing samples every ten thousandths of an inch and writes the program to0 duplicate it.... IT takes all night to do this.The next morning I said Dudley ," What did you discover" He said "that the neck is worn out" I asked for elaboration and he said it was worn un evenly ont the back of the treble side......I said "perfect" make one and lets see. We made one and Eddie said That is exactly the neck....I remember telling Dudley that we would make the worn out neck new....It answered a question about the differences between vintage guitars and why some had mojo and others didnt.......Who said that the necks had to be symetrical from new? What we were doing is making a new shoe feel like an old one.

Leo Always had a pocket protector. He was a frugal man.

Those pics were in his lab.
By the way I know you are baiting me as you have already heard some of what you asked......(jacks book project is getting more beef!)

 

[Kristopher]

It's reading threads like this that got me hooked on the board in the first place.

Cool stuff!

 

[bovinehost]

By the way I know you are baiting me as you have already heard some of what you asked.....

Well, I have seen the EVH Memorial Cardboard Boxes of Rejected Body Styles, so I knew there was a boatload, but a lot of the guys weren't there and I thought they might enjoy the read.

And sure, I bait you a LITTLE, but then something new always comes out of it, like the digital measuring and the assymetrical neck. (And the guy living in the toilet.)

I'm a good little moderator!

Jackie

 

[PzoLover]

Solar flares

Thanks for these gems BP
I can eat this stuff for days, weeks, months, years to come
ATB,
/PL

 

[Psychicpet]

"No Nukes".... awesome!


really cool pics/stories BP!

and yes, there better be a book in the works, or at least Vol. 1!

 

[joshbrake]

 

[paranoid70]

I made one for him and right at that time there was a very distubed man who put a raincoat on and hid in a local ladies porta potty at 6 am and they discover him until 2 pm....im talkn in the tank!

BP, I remember that. My girlfriend (now wife) cut that article out of the paper and showed around our school because she thought it was so bizarre.

 

[sloshep]

Love the pics and the stories. And uh yeah, the guy in the porta potty. It was a big deal at the time. I was living in Los Osos, not far from where it happened (Montana de Oro). The whole town was buzzing about it. At the time I used to service the Sherriff Dept. copiers. They said the grossest part was having to clean him up before taking him into custody.

 

[oli@bass]

Cool beyond description! Thank you very much, BP, for the pics & stories!!

 

[Mick]

This is great BP and my opinion is the more you know the history of an instrument and a company the more you worthship it. And this is what this is all about.
I´m not interested in dirty gossip but in stories and development of the instruments and when a good story comes along even better.

Being a EVH fan I am very happy that you produced this guitar together and enjoy every bit of info and every pic.

Love the Leo pic too

Mick

 

[scottbass71]

Thanks for the ictures Pops I love finding out about this stuff keep it up

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

What Scott says. Thanks for sharing BP

 

[TSanders]

Wow Pops.

Thanks for the read. I really enjoy threads like these with your stories in them.

the im okay with being a fanboy,
travis

 

[Big Poppa]

they used a fie truck and the hose on it to clean the poor man up.

I've got a ton of stuff that Im going to be sprinklin in

 

[dmullen]

Very cool stuff! Can't get enough of it.
I never realized Randy's bass here was one of yours....

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q32I7RpoIZk"]YouTube - Journey - I'll Be Alright Without You[/nomedia]

 

[Kirby]

Thanks for the awesome pics BP, always enjoy the history that you share.

 

[Astrofreq]

That story rules. Thanks.

 

[Quarter]

Love these storys ...Thanks BP