BadBrian Guitars: JoistCaster Ruddy: Reclaimed, up cycled, old growth wood guitar

Demo / Review of BadBrian guitar by Gearmann Dude.

Bad Brian NT Joistcaster (Tele) Special - "Ruddy" Limited Edition, Reclaimed Old Growth Douglas Fir, 2019

Body

Tele shaped body made from reclaimed old growth Douglas Fir - one piece solid body. Wood was used in Landmark Toronto High School as floor joists. Salvaged from North Toronto Collegiate Institute (NTCI) which was built in 1911 and torn down in 2010. That's 100 years of air drying (under pressure).

A chance to own a piece of Toronto history!

Boards were 18 ft. long - straight as an arrow. Joists were cut from old growth trees with extremely tight grain. Many rings are narrower than 1mm. They had strong winters back in the day!

Judging by the number of rings, the trees that these joists were made of, started growing somewhere in mid 1600s. I did some research and these old - growth trees were pretty much gone by the early 20th century - when the school was built.

The trees (these joists were cut from) started growing in the 17th Century or earlier. It was cut down in the beginning of the 20th Century along with almost all old growth Firs. Then it spent 100 years holding up floors of North Toronto Collegiate Institute, built in 1911, torn down in 2010.

Sap is completely crystallized. Wood is dense, tight grained, surprisingly hard and heavy for "softwood" and very resonant.

Neck

Custom 1 piece Constructed Neck. Rock Maple shaft and fingerboard. Custom made to order by Musikraft, USA. Red Volkaert, the "Uncrowned King of Tele", among others, uses their necks.

SCALE LENGTH: 25.5 Standard Fender
NUMBER OF FRETS: 21 Fret
NUT WIDTH: 1-5/8 (41.28mm)
NUT MATERIAL: Bone
HEEL WIDTH: 2-3/16 (55.56mm) Standard Fender
TUNER HOLE SIZE: 10 MM (Gotoh/Shaller/Sperzel)
TRUSS ROD TYPE: Dual Acting at the Head (Requires 4mm Hex Wrench)
FB RADIUS: 10
12TH DOT SPACING: Wide (Vintage Pre 64)
NUT SLOT STYLE: 1/8 Standard Fender Flat Bottom Style
SHAFT WOOD: Rock Maple
Finger Board WOOD: Rock Maple
FB STYLE: Slab Standard Fender
TOP DOTS: Black
SIDE DOTS: Black 2mm
SIDE DOT LOC: Centered on Finger Board Wood
FB EDGES: Semi Rolled Standard
FINISH: Hand rubbed French Polish, Wax

Pickups: Custom Rainville Audio, Hand Wound Tele pickups. @rainvilleaudio.com

All cavities shielded with Copper foil.

Pickup selector

4 - Way pickup selector switch: Position 1: Neck, 2. Both pickups in series , 3. Both pickups in parallel, 4. Bridge.

Bridge

Through - body, 3 compensated brass saddles. Ashtray cover. Custom machined bell brass ferrule block on back. 110 grams / 1 Oz+!

Tuners

Spretzel Professional Locking Tuners

Pick guard

Hand carved vegetable tanned cowhide leather. Made by Dragan Georgievski. (@knigovez)

Schaller Locking S-locks.

Finish

Hand rubbed oil (neck). Hand rubbed wax / shellac / analine water stain / acrylic (body). Copper and Bronze Powder

Hard Shell Case (HSC) included.

Lightweight and durable, this case maintains traditional design styling. Lined in soft crymson plush. The interior has an accessory compartment and an extra wide neck support. Exterior features gold hardware and two locking latches.

Case Candy

Custom leather BadBrian strap, and a leather hand stitched pick holder.

Sound

Very loud, bright and resonant when strummed unplugged. Due to minimal finish, player can really feel the guitar vibrate and resonate. Clear and well defined sound. Unique, but still very much Tele like character when plugged in. Very good sustain. Lots of highs an' twang but a lot of bass, too. Great clarity and detail. Loves tubes. Will get growly when pushed.

HEAR Gearmanndude's video demo / review, below!

Read a 5 Star Review for another JoistCaster:

First off - Excellent packaging of this truly unique guitar. It made all the difference coming from Toronto to Pittsburgh during the worst cold-snap on record. Secondly - Fantastic communications. Thank you for being in touch whenever I had a question. And lastly - Holy cow!!! This guitar is simply perfect for me. Love it. Can't say enough about it. But this is one of the nicest instruments I've owned in my years of playing. Thank you Brian!

February 04, 2019 by Anthony Tyler's Gear Outlet