The Williams Special
The Williams Special is a Les Paul-Strat-Mustang-Explorer hybrid, with hollow body cavities, Mustang scale length,
built like a paul with mahagony and maple top, with vintage-dimension strat body, explorer headstock.
(semi-related: my first 'good' 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 at 24.0"....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.
*vintage-dimension 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, nickle alloy
*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-
*Pickups: originally equipped with a EMG SA assembly, and the 3rd knob was the presence control.
--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 mounted behind it.
*Wood: the Flame maple used on the top and neck, and veneers, was from a large timber
(139 years old as of 2014) 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).
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design criteria:
the les paul connection:
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.
This one 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.
My design tried to improve on my favorite aspects of the 4 different guitars, the mustang, explorer, strat and paul.
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.
though Kahler did not have it then, they now have a 'hybrid' tailpiece, that can lock as a hard tail, or float as a trem.
best of both. i have one on my '84 Carvin DC200k, and will eventually updgrade this one with one as well.
(she/they)
