My Instruments

My Instruments

Wez Venables Guitars

Here is a small preview of some of the guitars i have built in the past few years. I tend to make one-off guitars and basses so this selection looks a bit random but there are some models i keep coming back to like the vendetta's below.

This bass was designed with Ricky from Esteban.
we have named it Velocette

He liked the vendetta bass but wanted something a bit less pointy with classier wood.

The pickup is a Bartolini soapbar and pre-amp is 3-band aguilar wired for 18v. It may only have 1 pickup but it has a whole heap of sounds because of the versatile pre-amp and two extra mini switches. One active/passive switch and one that selects either parallel humbucker, single coil or series humbucker.

It has a 34" scale fretless acrylised bridseye maple fretboard with pear and walnut fretlines.

Here is ricky when he picked up the bass for the first time

And this is what he had to say the next day:

Hi Wez

First of all thanks again the bass is fantastic practically plays
itself.

i think you managed to get everything spot on. Firstly the weight of
the
bass is almost nothing with a thick strap and the balance is perfect.
The
bass also stays in tune almost imaculately, which will be good on the
road.
The feel of the neck is cool as wel,the gloss isnt too thick and after
playing for a long time retains its feel and if anything gets easier to
play.

This thing sustains forever, i think sonically the bass gives off a
really
rich midrange, plenty of mwah and quite growly when you dig in. the
pickup
even in passive mode gives gets you tons of tonal differences. with the
electronics im yet to find an unusable sound. i think the trick is a
little
is a lot even with a small turn of the controls you can get loads of
variety.

Still looking for flaws...... think i might be looking a long time ha
ha

take it easy

Ricky

WV Vendetta - "Number 18"

Owned by Dann P of Vanton/Globus (myspace.com/vanton / myspace.com/globusmusic).

Specs:

Black Limba Body and neck

Burl/Flame maple top and headplate

Macasser ebony fretboard double bound with maple and ebony

Maple and rosewood accent lines

Dimarzio Pickups

25" scale length

This is the headstock shape i have been using on most of my recent guitars. I also have a less pointy version of this shape i use on more retro styled guitars.

This shows the maple and rosewood accent lines in the cut-a-way

Vendetta Bass

Specs:

Lacewood body with flamed maple top.
3-piece flamed maple neck with wenge pinstripes.
Ziracote fretboard with flamed maple binding.
2-way truss rod and dual carbon fibre reinforced neck
35" scale length
Seymour Duncan Passive Soapbar pickups
Seymour Duncan 3-band Active EQ
Hipshot Bridge for thru-body or top string loading.

The unique body design provides improved balance as well as adding extra support to the neck for a very solid neck join.

Mahogany and maple thru-neck bass

Mahogany and maple with bocote fretboard

34" scale length

J-Bass pickups

Vol, Vol + Tone

Thinline Esquire with spalted beech top

This is one of my early experiments, the neck was a spare off another guitar.

25 1/2" scale length

Kent Armstrong Pickup

Volume and tone.

Ovation inspired soundholes

Mahogany and curly redwood double cutaway guitar (Co-designed and built with Matt Redfern)

This guitar is made from reclaimed mahogany with an old growth redwood top. It has a small body and a wide neck. Matt had the headplate laser engraved where he works.

This guitar is the first with veneer accent lines around the body and headstock.

24 3/4" scale length

DiMarzio Humbucker from Hell pickup

Volume and tone with series - paralell push/pull pot

Solid Paduak Vendetta guitar.

The body and neck are both made from paduak, the fretboard is ebony. The picture shows it with kent armstrong pickups but i changed them because the paduak makes the tone quite bright and the kent's were very high output, it sounded great for metal but not much else.

25" scale length

Swineshead warthog bridge pickup

Swineshead Runaway neck pickup

Master volume and tone, 3-way switch

Neutrik locking jack socket

Solid Imbuya explorer style guitar. (Co-designed and built with Jim Wilkinson).

This is a hefty guitar. Jim wouldnt let me hollow it out and put a top on it which is what i would normally do with such a heavy peice of wood!!

25 1/2" scale length

25th anniversary limited edition engraved EMG Pickups

Volume, volume and tone

3 - way switch

Swamp ash and maple Ravelle inspired guitar with Zebrano neck and ziracote fretboard.

24 3/4" scale length

PRS HFS pickups

Master volume and tone, 3-way switch.

Push/pull pot to coil split the pickups

The guitar was made for Nathan Peach from the band My Deny. This is a picture of the bands logo inlayed at the 12 -14th fret with black mother of pearl. I like this inlay a lot!!

Heres the happy owner.

Left handed Dimebag tribute, swmap ash and maple

25 1/2" scale length

Bill Lawrence L-500 XL pickups

5 way switch

Volume and tone

The V accine. I used to love Gibson SG's but they dont balance properly, the headstock has a habit of snapping off and the neck joint is particularly weak. They look cool but its a bad design. This is nowhere near an SG but that was the starting point for this design

25" scale length

Swineshead warthog bridge pickup

Swineshead runaway neck pickup

Volume, tone, 3-way switch

Push/pull pot for coil splitting

Firebird: Mahogany body with maple thru-neck,

24 3/4" scale length

TV Jones Filtertron plus pickup

Volume and tone

This one was designed by my girlfriend. Its 24" scale with flamed maple neck and mahogany body.

Wez Venables Guitars Burton On Trent UK

Email: contact@wezvenables.co.uk

www.myspace.com/wezv

Wez Venables Guitars