The Williams Special-Les paul-strat-mustang-explorer hybrid

batsbrew · Post by **batsbrew** » Tue Oct 11, 2011 9:49 pm

The Williams Special

(semi-related: my first guitar was a '75 Fender Mustang.)

This guitar was commissioned in 1986.

It is a Gibson Les paul-Fender strat-Fender mustang-Gibson explorer HYBRID.
-built by Stan Williams, Rome Georgia.

-based on the Fender Mustang scale length....this design is also similar to brian may's red special.
-honduras mahogany body, with air cavities carved in the body below the maple top.
-flame maple top, 3/8" thick.
-blueprint-scaled strat body.
-2-piece flame maple neck, with ebony fingerboard.
-no truss rod! there are (2) rectangular pieces of aircraft aluminum running the length of the fretboard.
-flame maple veneer on headstock, front, sides, and back.
-24" scale length.
-jumbo frets.
-custom inlays: mother of pearl, diamond shape, with a split diamond around the center pickup.
-Kahler 2300 pro tremelo.
-(3) off/on switches
-master volume, master tone, 3rd switch now unwired-
it was originally equipped with a EMG SA assembly, and the 3rd knob was the presence control.
it now has (2) bill lawrence L-280's, and a duncan Little 59 humbucker in the bridge.
-explorer headstock shape, true to scale.
-long tenon set neck
-13 degree tilt back headstock
-graphtec nut, with locking kahler nut behind it.

the Flame maple used on the top and neck, and veneers, was from a large timber (136 years old as of 2011) salvaged from a barn in Illinois.
The honduras was acquired long before there were conservation laws on that particular wood (blank dates back to pre-1980).

Simon · Post by **Simon** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 10:41 am

What makes this guitar anything like a Gibson Les Paul?

h8mtv · Post by **h8mtv** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 11:02 am

price.

batsbrew · Post by **batsbrew** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 4:26 pm

simon

thanks for the warm welcome!!

anyways....

the basics of the les paul (the obvious basics) are:

slab mahogony body;
maple top;
strings on top of body;
2 piece maple neck;
glued in neck, long tenon;
tilt back headstock, no string trees required.

later, in 2008, they started weight relieving the standards, but remember, i built this in 1986.

so, the Gibson nod starts there.

mine has:

Honduras mahagony body -- maple top -- strings on top of body via the Kahler -- 2 piece maple neck -- a glued in neck with long tenon -- tilt back headstock.

it's really not hard to see the connection.

but my design tried to improve on all of this, because it also was capturing the best ideas of other guitar designs.

for example:

the volute on the explorer headstock is inherently stronger than the les paul (commonly known over time for breaks at the neck), plus i liked the headstock shape;

the weight relief is secondary-- the sound cavities i had routed strictly for that semi-acoustic property, making the guitar, at stage volume, extremely lively - this followed the basics of the Brian May Red Special, which was my starting point. his guitar is designed more like a 335 than mine, but i went there as much as i could without floating the top over a central beam;

the ebony fretboard brings out more les paul-style tonal characteristics than, say, a rosewood fretboard would have;

the glue in neck was a must, and unlike the les paul, which has that awkward heel, mine is smoothed out right into the back of the body, without so much as a line. the tonal effect with the glued in neck, and the long tenon is an obvious connection to the les paul lineage;

the tilt back headstock was unnecessary with the kahler locking nut, but i added it anyway, feeling that the downward pressure of the strings still helps to maintain a strong connection to the neck, vibration wise, and this is very much in les paul territory;

the strings on top, versus thru the body, is a very important link to the overall sound, and the use of the kahler is a great way to bridge the gap between a stop tailpiece and a floating trem.
tho they didn't have them then, now kahler has a 'hybrid' tailpiece, that can lock as a hard tail, or float as a trem.
best of both.

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 5:46 pm

Les Pauls have a one-piece mahogany neck, not 2-piece maple. Nifty handiwork with the guitar, I like the headstock.

batsbrew · Post by **batsbrew** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 6:55 pm

paul

les paul construction history is pretty convoluted.
LOL

there are so many different versions....
i've played the ones with a single piece neck, both mahogany and maple.. 2 piece, multipiece

this, from wiki:
By 1975, the neck construction was changed from mahogany to maple, until the early 1980s, when the construction was returned to mahogany.
during the norlin years, to further increase the strength, the neck woods were changed from mahogany to a three-piece maple design. The LP body was changed from a one-piece mahogany with a maple top into multiple slabs of mahogany with multiple pieced maple tops.

i always liked the explorer headstock.
in '86, i guess this was still not that common, even with the van halen inspired hocky stick headstocks found on the Kramers at the time......

but these days, i think it has a really nice smooth look, and the tuners are still on just one side, easy to reach.

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 10:12 pm

Not kidding when I say that I've wanted to build pretty much this exact guitar (w/o flame). Beautiful.

I have an irrational hatred of fulcrum trems.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 10:16 pm

your bottom two strings are strung up differently than the top four.

Simon · Post by **Simon** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 8:48 am

batsbrew wrote:simon

thanks for the warm welcome!!

anyways....

the basics of the les paul (the obvious basics) are:

slab mahogony body;
maple top;
strings on top of body;
2 piece maple neck;
glued in neck, long tenon;
tilt back headstock, no string trees required.

later, in 2008, they started weight relieving the standards, but remember, i built this in 1986.

so, the Gibson nod starts there.

mine has:

Honduras mahagony body -- maple top -- strings on top of body via the Kahler -- 2 piece maple neck -- a glued in neck with long tenon -- tilt back headstock.

it's really not hard to see the connection.

but my design tried to improve on all of this, because it also was capturing the best ideas of other guitar designs.

for example:

the volute on the explorer headstock is inherently stronger than the les paul (commonly known over time for breaks at the neck), plus i liked the headstock shape;

the weight relief is secondary-- the sound cavities i had routed strictly for that semi-acoustic property, making the guitar, at stage volume, extremely lively - this followed the basics of the Brian May Red Special, which was my starting point. his guitar is designed more like a 335 than mine, but i went there as much as i could without floating the top over a central beam;

the ebony fretboard brings out more les paul-style tonal characteristics than, say, a rosewood fretboard would have;

the glue in neck was a must, and unlike the les paul, which has that awkward heel, mine is smoothed out right into the back of the body, without so much as a line. the tonal effect with the glued in neck, and the long tenon is an obvious connection to the les paul lineage;

the tilt back headstock was unnecessary with the kahler locking nut, but i added it anyway, feeling that the downward pressure of the strings still helps to maintain a strong connection to the neck, vibration wise, and this is very much in les paul territory;

the strings on top, versus thru the body, is a very important link to the overall sound, and the use of the kahler is a great way to bridge the gap between a stop tailpiece and a floating trem.
tho they didn't have them then, now kahler has a 'hybrid' tailpiece, that can lock as a hard tail, or float as a trem.
best of both.

That's fine. It was a genuine question.

batsbrew · Post by **batsbrew** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 3:47 pm

grant

definitly, the build was a great experiment.
i mean, it incorporates a lot of different ideas, but blends them all pretty seamlessly.
it sounds great!

it started out with a emg SA set, but i just never bonded with the active electronics.

the kahler, is actually a cam system, NOT a fulcrum trem, so it worked out great.

i cannot knock this guitar out of tune, once the strings are settled.

hotrodperlmutter
good eye hot rod!

yep, i do this so the strings line up better in the Kahler locking nut.
once locked down, i never touch them again, and it's actually easier for me to turn those two in the opposite direction, for some reason. just feels better.

simon

That's fine. It was a genuine question.

yes, and it deserved a genuine answer! you're welcome!

ekwatts · Post by **ekwatts** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 3:54 pm

Can you play Mr Mustache on it?

Viljami · Post by **Viljami** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 4:17 pm

The Explorer headstock is so wrong, yet so right.

batsbrew · Post by **batsbrew** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 4:24 pm

ekwatts

i don't know this mr mustache song. heheh

but here's a tune that features it, doing all the solo work, electric rhythm, along with some acoustic blended in:

"Long Journey"
http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/63396-longjourney.mp3

if you're interested, i'll try to dig up some other recordings that feature it.

viljami
yeh, i know what you mean.
LOL

batsbrew · Post by **batsbrew** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 4:30 pm

ah, i found another little instrumental with some wild playing on the Williams Special, more high gain than the last one.

"Hindustani"

http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/73083-hindustani.mp3

you should crank this one real loud.

cur · Post by **cur** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 5:23 pm

hotrodperlmutter wrote:your bottom two strings are strung up differently than the top four.

I find this hard to come to terms with.

batsbrew · Post by **batsbrew** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 5:39 pm

I find this hard to come to terms with.

one of the great mysteries of life.

batsbrew · Post by **batsbrew** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 5:40 pm

actually, the "Hindustani" song i posted the link to, deals directly with it.

then, you will understand.

batsbrew · Post by **batsbrew** » Tue Oct 18, 2011 3:54 pm

found another pic, that more clearly shows the back of the body and neck:

i should really buff it out, it's showing some 26 years worth of wear....
tho NOTHING like the back of my carvin!
LOL

that looks like a war zone...

batsbrew · Post by **batsbrew** » Wed Oct 26, 2011 4:03 pm

this is the guitar i'm thinking about trying a version of the BRIAN MAY red special wiring on....

similar to the mustang, with one more pickup.

i found this schematic:

but i only want to use the 3 existing mini toggles.... they're 2-way, off and on, i would have to replace them with a set of 3-way switches.

but the may special has 6 sliders, i'm not gonna go there!

LOL

but, i'm interested to know how i could wire this to get the most bang for the buck..

i like the idea of having the straight wiring available (these are stacked humbuckers), but want the on-phase available too.....

right now, the mini's are just off-on, i could use the 3rd knob as a selector control, ala PRS style......

and use the minis for phase only?

master volume, tone, then selector?

batsbrew · Post by **batsbrew** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:45 pm

couple more shots:

headstock:

back of headstock: