The Baztone Custom Blue Dog
On a recent visit to Port Macquarie (NSW) I spent some time with my old friend Baz and his lovely lady who for the purposes of this article we will just call “Lead Break” Yep! This girl really likes a solo.
Now the last time I saw Baz he had just built himself his first electric guitar. Nowadays he is well down the road with classic designs and custom features sprinkled throughout the now range of guitars he creates
Most of the guitars he pulled out this trip were based around that iconic design classic, the Telecaster. They featured elegant woods, comfortable curves and delicious pick-up combinations. The necks were fast and I really noticed the tonal differences depending on the wood used. Maple and Rosewood fretboards enhanced either the ‘Sweet’ or the ‘Warm’.
Thinking back on it I would have been satisfied with any one of them. They all had great personality and were very lively under the hand, coaxing and guiding me to play the licks and styles their tones evoked from their custom
Headstock | Baztone Custom – Blue Dog
pickup configurations. There was nothing subtle here, these guitars spoke in bold colors and cut with sharp edges. In the workshop Baz had several bodies in various stages of completion and he emailed me recently to say that work was finally completed on the first of these custom creations.
The Blue Dog
These guitars feature a Brazilian mahogany body and maple neck. The pick up configuration is a Tele’ style lipstick Neovin Noiseless at the neck position. It’s a passive pickup incorporating a mini stack humbucker design that cancels noise, feedback or squealing. A Schaller S6 single coil in the center with the Schaller 220B humbucker (Golden 50) on the bridge. The volume and tone pots are both push/push with a tone push bringing in the S6 center PU on any combination selected via the 4-way switch. A push of the volume pot splits the coil of the 220B giving the Blue Dog a staggering 14 different tonal combinations.
If past experience is anything to go by the Blue Dog knows how to hunt and I just can’t wait to get one in my hands. If you’re in the market for a working dog check them out.