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OverDrive
Custom Guitar Works was founded in March 2009 by an
overwhelming support of a Gilmour style Black Strat
replica build project that I published in January 2009
on my
Military Gear HQ
web site. I received numerous requests
to produce some of the custom parts involved in the
Black Strat Project, that most everyone looking for
these unique parts stated that there would be a genuine
interest among fellow Strat builders to purchase these items. I was
a bit reluctant at first, but after some insistent nudging from prospective customers
I began producing the recessed mini-toggle switch
mounting bracket that
allows you to mount a pickup selection mini-toggle switch on the under side of
the Strat pickguard which then presents only a small portion of the toggle
lever (1/4") protruding through a small slot in the pickguard,
this is the same style that is found on Gilmour's
now famous Black Strat. From there I started
custom routing the all black 1 ply pickguards to accept the recessed
mini-toggle switch mounting bracket system and shortly there-after began custom manufacturing the Gilmour style
4-1/4" shortened Strat tremolo arms.
I have since expanded my product
offerings to building complete and fully loaded custom Black
Strat pickguard assemblies all ready to drop into your
favorite Strat body. Every component of
these assemblies is hand selected for the highest quality and
authenticity to the original components in Gilmour's Black
Strat. Recently I have employed a specialized shop that
is custom manufacturing the all black 1 ply 0.120" rounded
and polished edge Acrylic pickguard that already has the recessed mini-toggle switch
slot ready to accept my mini-toggle switch mounting bracket
system, these acrylic
pickguards complement my
complete pickguard assemblies wonderfully with their authenticity to the
original. I also offer complete fully loaded pickguard
assemblies with any of the various Fender Custom Shop or
standard pickup sets with your choice of pickguards and
accessory colors for your custom Strat build project.
I am also implementing some very unique pickup selection
modification switching arrangements that you will not
find anyone else doing, check out my full product line
under the "Guitar Parts
& Accessories" in the above
menu.
Take a look around at the various parts, accessories, kits and
custom guitars I am currently offering. Things are
changing quickly around here to introduce new items all
the time. I am an authorized Seymour Duncan,
Fender and Allparts dealer and are
continuing to expand my inventory of genuine Fender
parts and accessories dedicating our sales to the Fender
Stratocaster, whether you are a custom Strat builder,
repairing a broken Strat or looking to restore one in
need of a little TLC, I have the parts you need. I
am constantly looking at
new ways to expand upon my current
product lines, so stop by often and see what new ideas and
projects I
have to offer.
It's sort of hard to imagine how a single custom built guitar
project that was published on a Military Surplus web
site was the beginning of OverDrive
Custom Guitar Works, and it has since grown into a most
enjoyable business dedicated to the Fender Stratocaster
guitar that attracts customers from around the world.
With unprecedented and immediate growth of OverDrive
Custom Guitar Works it allowed me to shut down my
auto repair business of 7 years and dedicate my time and
resources to much more creative endeavors, my custom
guitar projects. It was a good thing to shut down
the auto repair shop, it was
quite depressing having to be the bearer of bad
news day in day out to every customer who's car or truck
has just broken down and needs repairs and to have to
tell them it's going to cost
$$$ to fix. They were not looking forward to
spending the money since it was an unexpected
break-down, which in turn was an unexpected expense, and I did not like
constantly being the one telling them how much it was
going to cost, it was a necessary evil that went with
the business and I understand that, but I was always the
"bad guy" with the bad news, I could almost always sense
an unhappiness in their demeanor when it came time to
pay their bill... The way I look at it is that the auto
repair business is a "Bummer Business", it is not a happy
one, no
matter which way you looked at it, and I'm glad it's all
behind me now... Now on the other hand with the guitar business,
it's completely the opposite, customers want to purchase that new
custom pickguard assembly, replacement pickups or just a few parts
to repair or restore an old guitar, they are looking
forward to the improvement, enhancement or just getting
their guitar working again, they are anxiously (in a
good way) awaiting
the arrival of their new purchase, it's so much happier
and fulfilling of a business in knowing that I am
assisting musicians throughout the world in achieving
the tone they're looking for in their guitar and in
effect furthering their craft. And I in turn am much
happier working on a guitar than working on a dirty
greasy vehicle any day...
Owner,
Craig Wells
 
Machining Deluxe Strat tremolo arms on the lathe.
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