The Stevens "Clerkenwell" LJ - Part I

[BettyFjord]

Ladies & Gents, I want to share Mr Stevens latest creation: the Clerkenwell LJ.

Named after the area of London I live in (itself named after the clerk's well used by Middle Age legal clerks), it's my idea of the perfect single-cut blues guitar. Part I will be the process that brought the guitar to life. Part II will be my thoughts after owning and playing it for a while. Apologies in advance for the ridiculously self-indulgent nature of all of this - but I'm shamelessly pleased and proud of my new guitar and want to share.

Michael and I chatted on the phone about what I wanted and what combination of woods would achieve that sound. I wanted a softer humbucking blues guitar that would do the grainy old blues justice. I don't play at 11 and I don't play rawk. We went with a chambered korina body (a couple of years before Chamberinggate on TGP so, hey, I'm ahead of the trend for once) with western maple cap and a three-piece korina neck. Madagascar rosewood fingerboard and headstock veneer (say no to Brazilian!), Tom Holmes split-coil humbuckers, Pigtail parts and Sperzel tuners.

During the wait and build Michael and I talked on the phone now and again and we passed a lot of emails back and forth. I can't say enough good things about Michael. He's a gentleman in the little-used, but entirely appropriate sense of being kind, considerate, educated and entirely trustworthy. I'm a play-at-home hobbyist but I was treated like a renowned virtuouso. Also, and this is the bit that I admire most, Michael has thought through virtually every decision he's made. If the Devil's in the detail then Michael Stevens has to be Mephistopheles' right-hand man.

Michael sent me a range of western maple caps for me to see. If possible I wanted figuring and prominent growth rings; not that fussed if it was bookmatched. In the end I chose this beauty:



He then got together a one-piece korina body and a three-piece korina neck to complement my maple cap. The assembled wood, rough-cut:



I wanted something a bit different for the markers and I hit upon a design Michael had done for the Japanese market (that guitar's currently with TGP's Ultra, funnily enough) that used ovals with the 12th having what looks like an exclamation point. Had to have the Exclamation Point design:



The body and cap glued up and the top carve finished, with spirits highlighting the top:



To make the guitar a bit smarter, we went with three-ply binding on the body and headstock (single on the neck in a Gibson LP Custom style). Ivoriod/black/ivoriod:



A mock-up of the guitar before gluing:



The gluing begins. The neck is a soft-V, full-length, tapering from 0.95 at the 12th to 0.85 at the 1st:



Neck and headstock binding complete. The fingerboard and headstock veneer are Madagascar rosewood:



The guitar completely glued up and ready for painting:



I wanted a very faded asymmetrical (you'll see) caramel burst. This is the base coat of colour:



The finished paint, enjoying the Texas sun. The burst is applied to the lower bout and horn but not the upper bout so it looks like it's faded unevenly. I am profoundly impressed with Michael's ability to take my ramblings and convert them to something that so perfectly matches what I had in mind:



The back of the guitar is stained to match the yellow in the centre of the front. We're also now entering the final stages of the build with the electricals going in:



The guitar's not finished but this is one of my favourite pictures:



And... the finished guitar. Reverse:



The finished guitar. Obverse:



All plastic (save for the switch-tip and knobs) is grained ivoriod. The guard is bound to match the body:



The Clerkenwell LJ:



And that's it. I'll post my thoughts on the how it feels, plays and sounds after I've spent some serious time with it. No surprise, I'm hoping for spectacular things.

[gassyndrome]

That's a beautiful piece of art right there...congrats!

[e-z]

Congrats! That looks beautiful.

[ultra]

Justin,

It looks truly fabulous. I have enjoyed the trip through its construction with you and it has turned out beyond my expectations (but then I have come to expect that from MS).

Play it in the best of health and give us a blow by blow description along the way.

Raise a glass !

A

[BettyFjord]

Originally Posted by ultra

It looks truly fabulous. I have enjoyed the trip through its construction with you and it has turned out beyond my expectations (but then I have come to expect that from MS).

Play it in the best of health and give us a blow by blow description along the way.

Raise a glass !

Alex,

Thanks very much for all your advice and support during the build. I am convinced it would be less of a guitar if it weren't for your insight.

Glasses up, all around.

J.

[ultra]

Originally Posted by BettyFjord

Alex,

Thanks very much for all your advice and support during the build. I am convinced it would be less of a guitar if it weren't for your insight.

Glasses up, all around.

J.

Truly a pleasure Justin.

I cannot comprehend how it would be not to own a Stevens now.

You will come to realise that as well.

Very very cool.

[dkaplowitz]

Man, that's somethin' else! Congrats! Hopefully some day soon I'll be able to play a Stevens.

Dave

[BrianM]

Very nice guitar, and I'm glad it worked out to your satisfaction. I now have a severe case of GAS! I'd love to go after a Stevens LJ.

[Quinny]

Gorgeous! Wicked looking guitar and great build shots. Would love to hear that one if/when you can do a clip or two. Gotta try a Stevens or two some day...one of those makes you just suspect would 'click' with you.

Congrats!!

[Melj]

Very nice!

[teXum]

Amazing! Not sure about the inlays though, but that finish on a beautiful top. Did anyone mention GAS. Gotta say I love the Stevens body shape also, and the twisted nech pup, and that pickguard, and...

Congrats!

[clint]

Thanks for the excellent write up, that's a real beauty!
Already looking forward to Part II but don't rush it.
Sounds like your search is over.
Congrats from one LJ owner to another. Very special guitars.

[magnus02]

Wow.... wow.... wow....

That burst is unreal (as is everything else on it)

Congrats on a true beauty....

2 questions, how much does it weigh with the chambering and what scale length is that?

I'm in the process of specing my les plank out and I'm just curious as to all the different ways to go...

[Saul Koll]

Beauty!
Yeah, that will work..

Very nice.

[BettyFjord]

Originally Posted by magnus02

2 questions, how much does it weigh with the chambering and what scale length is that?

Thanks for the kind words. I've admired your Slant from afar.

I don't know the weight and short of using the bathroom scale, don't have a way to get it accurately. I'll see what I can do though, and get back to you.

The scale is the Stevens LJ spec: 24.625″.