Guitar Stuff
The latest on my guitar endeavors...

I've been keeping busy in the guitar realm by trying to get back in to a regular routine of playing and practicing but I've also delved into guitar building.

I decided I'd like to build a Vintage Telecaster - a precursor to endeavoring into the luthiery profession. It took almost 5 months and some good lessons learned but I finsihed my 1963 Lake Placid Blue Telecaster (pic below). I decided that I would build a complementing website chronicaling the building process. Most websites I found offer a few pictures and provide you all the detail for such an endeavor as long as nothing goes wrong. Well I included my mistakes and how I corrected/lived with them. It is by no means an online instruction set on building a guitar but it does provide a detailed overview of the process I went through.
Don's 1963 Vintage Lake Placid Blue Telecaster
I recently purchased a Fender Blues Jr. amp. I bought mine at Guitar Center It is amazing to me the difference in sound between that tube amp and my Fender Ultimate Chorus solid state amp. The Blues Jr. picks up every nuance of my playing. I've wanted a tube amp for a long time. Spending the extra money to get a Jensen speaker and the Tweed version was soemthing I didn't mind except...I tried two Tweed Blues Juniors and both had this "telephone like" ringing on certain notes (Most notably A notes played anywhere on the neck - nust be a certain frequency that causes it)..

So the Tweed was returned and the "blackface" Fender Blues Jr. was purchased. I saved $100 plus and also think I have a better sounding amp. I can always start modding it when I get the inclination.


The newest member of the band...



Introducing "Delta Blues Dalee"...with her Dad's '63 Tele...she is ready to start touring.

Below are my other guitars...



Fender American Standard Telecaster with a JBL Hot Rails in the neck position | Fender American Series Fat Strat Texas Special with Fender Texas Special single coils and a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates Plus (Alnico V) humbucker in the bridge position | Vintage 1963 Lake Placid Blue Telecaster - Fender Texas Special Tele Pickups, Fender Vintage Bridge, 4-Way Switch (home-built) | Epiphone Les Paul
Work on the house...
We decided to replace all our downstairs carpeting with tile. Of course, then we had to paint... 
New Tile Downstairs
Don's Workshop - Garage Transformation
The next part of the retirement program. I needed a place to work on and build guitars - so the garage received a transformation into a workshop.
Don's Garage Workshop
Dalee's Birthday Present - a Redecorated Room
Wednesday September 20, 2006. For Dalee's 4th birthday we redecorated her room. Painted it Princess Pink and added Disney Princess border wallpaper. Dalee even helped do some of the painting - take a look. 
Dalee's Princess Room
Don's Retirement Career - Building Guitars
I built my first guitar and I decided to chronicle the building process. I learned a lot and made my fair share of mistakes as well. Detailed pictures and information can be found at
Building a Vintage 1963 Lake Placid Blue Telecaster
Dalee's - Halloween 2005
Monday October 31,, 2005. Dalee as a Princess.
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Dalee's Birthday Party
Sunday August 27, 2005. My party for my third birthday.
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Our trip to Maine 2005
Out of the heat into the land of lobsters.
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Copyright © 2006, Donald Higgins, Jr.