Eastwood Sidejack Baritone & sitarized First Act Westerberg PW580

I got a First Act Westerberg signature guitar because its outline is brillant and it was very cheap, but to be honest the guitar was unplayable - neck too flat, terrible fretwork and very thin pickup. I had already change the pickup for a GFS P90, put an aluminium pickguard and a nut convertor to play slide but it was still accumulating dust, so I achieved its metamorphosis by putting a new neck and sitar saddles - the same I used for the Doppelcaster - and now I have a unique sitar guitar that I play regularly and hope will use on stage soon. It's still not perfect -  I have to adjust the alignment - but it works very well and  I will eventually upgrade the neck and the pickup again so it can be a reliable concert instrument...  

Next to it is the new Eastwood Sidejack Baritone guitar I got for my last birthday - I am very fond of my Danelectro Longhorn Baritone but its lipstick pickups have a narrow register, so I wanted to explore further the possibilities of baritones, and I'm not disappointed... I didn't like the white pickguard so I made a black one - first time I make one out of plastic, not as nice as metal but easier to do... Already used it for my last concert - photos and videos will come soon I hope.

 

 

customized Epiphone Dot Studio and First Act Westerberg

These are two guitars that I recently slightly modified: first an Epiphone Dot Studio (I have generally a very limited use for tone and volume on a guitar - I relay more on pedals to sculpt my tone - so the two knobs Dot Studio fits me better) to which I added a rosewood pickguard (bought more than one year ago), chrome pickup covers and rings, chrome bridge, stoptail and big knobs. I like the discreet bizarreness of the result! I'm considering changing the pickups later for humbucker size P90s.

The one on the left is a First Act Westerberg signature for which I made an aluminium pickguard (another one, but this time I'm getting better at polishing, not perfect yet but it's getting better each time!) It's a cheapo but sounds terrific as soon as I put some overdrive... Also I'm so used to humbuckers that I'm baffled but the brightness of its sound... I also plan to upgrade the pickup though, and ordered a Dream 90 from GFS - it's on its way.

Still have to make alu trussrod covers for both guitars, and file the frets of the First Act - its only but big flaw...