To quote Jane Fonda: "ooo, I like your mind!"

Cheers - C

I'm liking the logo. This thread is such fun I wonder if anything like this can actually happen..

Ah well, it's a nice thought, anyway.

Dude! Such negativity! To quote Oddball from Kelly's Heroes "I am not feeling your negative energy baby!"

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Bill

"Show me a crowd where the band is loud and my drunken ballet is in fashion!" Jerry Riopelle

OK guys, still thinking after a few days. Lots of good ideas, in fact all the posts are great. I didn't want to stoke the fire everyday to keep this thread alive, but I must say that since it lasted almost a week, maybe we could give it another try. I think that we will never agree on a specific model/option guitar. Personaly, I was thinking of grey and red stripes like the colors of the background of the forum. A guitar with Ceritone pickups and AlaNick bone nut with a body light as a feather but what the heck, as I said, we wouldn't agree on all the options.

So I came up with these suggestions.

A Masterbuilt Custom Shop design, something like that exists, it is the Baja Telecaster. We ask Fender to design a "Forum Lounge Stratocaster" via one of the Masterbuild luthier, and sell it among its regular production, and again, if the project is sound, it could be a winner. As Ceri said, a 4000$us guitar should come with our own sheet of specs, and as I already mentioned, this guitar should be affordable worldwide. And if it is not a regular Custom Shop, it could be bought through a regular Fender dealer worldwide. A minor setback from the original idea.

Now for the options, I have heard, engraved neckplate, armrest logo, back of headstock pin, sticker,stripes, pickups and so on. All of that exists already and it will be incorporated in the design by the Masterbuild luthier.

About the affordability of the beast, I thought it would be cool if the price could be say between a Highway One and an American Standard. I so don't want it to be a drab guitar, Custom Shop guitars are great but expensive and not for everyones wallet, it could be the only way for most of us, to buy a world selling affordable customized axe with an attitude. And as it would be in the regular product line, it will be your choice to take it or leave it, so everyone's happy.

Fender already has a full line of collectible, but I don't really care for lunch boxes, ashtrays, lighters and stuff like that. My original idea was and still is, to purchase a special Fender Stratocaster, more affordable than a Custom Shop, aimed at the Forum Lounge members and instantly recognizable as the "Forum Lounge Stratocaster".

As I said in my first post, if it is not a good idea, let it die,but for now, lets see if this project still has sustain.

See ya soon. Claude.

While I think it would be a cool idea if you could pull it off, I have some concerns that would probably count me out.

The main one is that if I was going to spend as much on a guitar as this would cost--if it were possible--I'd be very picky in what specs it had.
I don't like to buy guitars without trying them.

I'd be flexible in some ways (fret size & shape & material, nut material, pickups, pickguard, even body wood to a degree etc.)

If I had the spare cash I'd have already bought a 62 re-issue--it's basically what I'd want in a Strat.

If I custom ordered one I'd go for a spinoff of a 62 re-issue with a walnut body and maybe even a rosewood neck.

If I had the cash.

But right now a MIM 60's Strat is even out of my reach--I have other things I need to spend money on before I get another guitar.

But if you could pull it off--it would be cool, and I'd be cheering for you.

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It wasn't Willy-Nilly, it was at crows.

Drop the word forums and put the number there ( 1 of ??? )

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Sod it. I vote we all converge on peckham and pickett Ceri to make them. We could all have what we want then.

CV great idea about dropping the word forum from the logo and have the guitars number instead. Very classy.

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No no and no

This is a cool idea but seems tough to accomplish. I think it would be cool to do this. Maybe a Mexican model for price reasons and it would be cool for a unique color or some cool design like Jimi Pages dragon telecaster.

Just dreaming, dont hate me!

Done! No need to picket, lads: just turn up. Beer, smoked fish and custom built guitars. Let's do it!

BTW:

Claude, I have no idea what that means - but I'm up for anything! Let's go!!

- C

Uh... I've been waiting for you to ask.

Mixed outcome, so far. A vast renewed effort at research on my part. An important part of which has revealed to me that the Norwegians appear make a much bigger palaver out of all this than the Americans. Two books I have on the subject are written by Norwegians and make it all seem an insuperably technical process of exact timings and temperatures, and also insist that you must cold smoke foods before hot smoking them.

However, I picked up a book written by an American - and suddenly it's all much simpler and more doable. Much more like ordinary cooking - with plenty of room for error and experimentation. Which has all been most encouraging.

Unfortunately, whilst in the part of the country where that wood burner resides the weather rose into the high 80s (warm by our standards) and my wife and I couldn't quite bring outselves to light fires indoors.

So instead for the time being we have been experimenting with the chefy cheat's version: smoking quickly on the hob in a redundant wok. No brining, no carefully organised timings and temperatures: just heat the wok from below with applewood chippings in a foil bed inside and the food (fish and chicken, so far) on a rack above with the lid on to keep the smoke in. 15 or 20 minutes later, some produce cooked with a reasonably smokey taste to it.

Deeply suspect and inauthentic, and a wrecked wok to boot. The result is certainly not the real thing... but it's actually quite nice, I'm ashamed to admit.

Don't worry: we'll get round to doing this thing the right way soon.

I'll be sure to let you know when I have some genuine smoked food to boast of.

(Also, in the West Country village where we spend half our time it seems someone has just started a commercial smokehouse - the third such just in that little area. We've just tried some of their produce - very good!)

***

Now. We know about Ceriatone amps, but what the heck is a Ceritone pickup? I feel I should know...

Cheers - C