Way Cool Performance Snakeskin WDM Tribute Guitar

[yngwie308]

Here is a great example of Performance guitars work. They have been crafting guitars for many years and players of their instruments have included of course Warren DeMartini, Steve Vai, Frank Zappa, Dweezil Zappa, Warren Cuccurullo and many others.
Warren himself experimented in earlier days with real snakeskin covering for his guitars and found out an important fact.
You must apply the skin to basically bare wood, to help the overall sound and vibe of the instrument, he tried one with the body wood sealed or finished underneath and the acoustic properties of the guitar suffered. Imagine a mid fifties Les Paul Junior and the way it rings acoustically unplugged, then cover the guitar with a cloth and hear how it sounds then. It made that much difference.
Native Americans and in South America and basically all around the world, they have used hides or skin for it's sound properties.
Either covering a drum or around the body of the drum as well, not just on the playing surface. This example has the skin glued onto the various shapes of the body and is a superb job I feel. Some have criticised the placement and type of neck single coil pickup, but you know how that goes.
Warren and Steve Stevens liked having a single coil in the neck position






yngwie308

[jcmjmp]

This guitar shows excellent workmanship and attention to details. Not many guitars have their neck pockets routed properly for a Floyd. This guitar has the neck laying flat in its pocket with no shims and the Floyd is dead flat.
How is the action on this guitar?

[908ssp]

Parker did 50 of these.

[Tone Deaf Guitars]

I have two Performances, both from the mid '80s and two mutts with performance necks. They are the most incredibly built, high quality guitars I've ever played. Definitley not assembly line guitars. I think Kenny Sugai and one other guy build every one. It's to bad they're so expensive. Is that yours Yngwie? I have #1440 and 1578. That's an awesome guitar. I see it has a big block on the Floyd, They're the 1st ones to produce those along with Warren DeMartini.

[yngwie308]

No I wish Tone Deaf Guitars!! I am a member of USA Charvels forum and the WDM forum site and saw this beauty. Imo the Performances are doing what the FMIC company run Charvels can't do. I am interested in the neck dimensions of your Perfomances, I read they were slightly different than the Charvels that Warren had.
I have just bought the most expensive guitar I have ever paid for..many won't be excited but for me the 1993 Washburn Steve Stevens SS80's are one of the premier rock OFR, top mount guitars..The one I have bought and am still paying off, was built for SS himself and was in the Washburn museum since 1993 unplayed, so for me it is a must have to add to my black SS80, which I ordered new in 1993, it absolutely kills and I like the neck better than a blk/yl Charvel San Dimas 1982 I A/B'd it to!!





Here is the headstock of the limited run of WDM Performances from a few years back now..

There are quite a few Perfomances in my WDM/Ratt album here:
http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Ratt/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
yngwie308

[Tone Deaf Guitars]

Here's my Performances:
1st pic is my '84 Performance Explorer. I redid the paint 2 years ago after stripping it back in the '90s. I kick myself everyday for that one!
2nd pic is my '85 scalloped Performance neck on a KnE Warren Demartini northern ash body.
3rd pic is my '86 Performance strat head neck on a '80 Charvel body. The fret board position markers are polished aluminum!
The last pic is all of the above with my '80 Dimarzio/Charvel superstrat in the middle. And to the Right is my '86 Performance strat in Corvette yellow. This is my favorite because it's a solid maple body and has a 1 3/4" neck. Awesome tone and sustain. When I get some time I'll send the two necks that are missing the decals down to Performance and Kenny will put them on. What dimensions did you want off of the necks? That's an awesome looking Washburn!

[yngwie308]

Those are killer, awesome in fact!! The dimensions I hears were different were in the width of the fingerboard at the nut, I will need to research the USA Charvel forum to find what I was referring to..
yngwie308

[Tone Deaf Guitars]

Those are killer, awesome in fact!! The dimensions I hears were different were in the width of the fingerboard at the nut, I will need to research the USA Charvel forum to find what I was referring to..
yngwie308

The Explorer which is the oldest has a 1 5/8" brass nut. The neck profile is very Charvelish. It has a 12" radius.
The Strat head has a 1 11/16" bone nut. It's a little meatier than a Charvel but not as much as a real Strat. Also a 12" radius.
The Scalloped neck has a 1 11/16" floyd nut. It is the thinnest of all of them, almost like a Wizard profile but thinner at the edges. This has a straight 16" radius.
The Yellow strat neck is 1 3/4" at the nut. It's also very Charvelish feeling and has a 16" straight radius.
I think because these are all very early necks and that they were a truly custom shop that they'd do whatever the customer ordered kind of like Charvel in the early days where they had no set specs. I used to own a tele they had made and it was almost a perfect copy of a real tele. So they aren't just "heavy metal guitars". The attention to detail is incredible! I would prefer one of they're WDM guitars than a Charvel one. But FMIC I was told shut them down. Is that true?

[yngwie308]

Undoubtedly true, FMIC has hardly been friendly to Warren himself, his signature models aren't exactly the same as his own guitars and the fiasco over the French Dinky, which is ridiculous in itself..liscencing from the artist, yet GMW makes them and Wayne guitars as well...
The Perfomance I would prefer to a Charvel myself as they do their own necks, whereas say with Wayne they apparently use Warmoth necks, modding the headstocks..
Performance are a true custom shop.
yngwie308

[Tone Deaf Guitars]

I like that Performance uses ash and maple quite a bit in the early days for the bodies. Everyone of them way more than a Les Paul but they sound awesome. The yellow maple bodied strat weighs 13+ lbs. Super heavy but super sustain!. I'm starting to get Quasimoto syndrome from all of them being so heavy! Do you need any more info on the necks or anything else? Let me know.

[yngwie308]

Tone Deaf Guitars, I am asking the question about Warren's Perfomance guitars and the differences between them and the Charvels, in the neck measurements, so hope to have an answer soon!

yngwie308

[Tone Deaf Guitars]

http://www002.upp.so-net.ne.jp/lieju/wa ... nce-e.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Here's a neat website detailing Performance Guitars and Warrens influence on their building. Have you seen this before? As for doing a comparison of Performance necks vs Charvel necks, I haven't played a new Performance or a WDM Charvel so I can't really comment on those. And to compare my older necks vs what Charvels I have(2 pre pro's and a few mid '80s jap models) it's no contest. The performance are a much nicer, more comfortable and better made neck. But like i said earlier they didn't have a set spec on their necks back in the '80s so there's a big difference in necks even made in the same year, whereas Charvel pretty quickly settled on 1 11/16" at the nut, 16"radius and 2 1/4" neck butt. You should call Kenny Sugai and talk to him, he's a really nice guy that doesn't mind spending time talking to people interested in his guitars. He would know any differences in the necks. Just call after 3pm PST.

[yngwie308]

Tone Deaf Guitars, what is your name man? I like using names, mine is David. Yes I have visited the Performance website for many years, especially the WDM sections.
You are absolutely correct with your statement regarding the excellence of their work, especially the necks, which are awesome and I do plan to have a Performance one day, possibly with the RTM pickup by Seymour Duncan and Warren.
The necks are key to me and that's why the Washburns are such great guitars to me, because Steve Stevens particularly wanted them to replicate the neck profile and dimensions of his Charvel glow Strathead, that he played in the last years he was with Billy Idol in the '86 era.
I have played one pre-pro, not really properly, but found that my 1993 Washburn SS80 had the neck I liked better. I know to some that might be considered sacrilege, but honestly I have to call them as I, for my opinion, see it.
In my semi-dreams, I am hoping to have a guitar body painted by the legendary Jon O'Connor of Hamer, Charvel,Jackson,Washburn fame.
He is indeed my favorite graphic artist in the guitar world and being semi-retired in Maui, I would like fir him to paint me one more guitar.
My 1987 Hamer Chapparal snakeskin, was painted by Jon and it is one of my favorite playing, sounding and looking instrument!
Also I am preparing to interview Jon about his work and career soon, doing internet research when I can, as I am working constantly at my hospital, 5 12 hour shifts in a row, each week...
So my main project is to publish, not in a big way, but an independent analysis and stroy telling of the moment in time where SS developed the Washburn signature models, which to me are the zenith of Steve's incredible guitar development. Which he almost never gets credit for.
So I would say out of all the builders, FMIC/Charvel as well..Performance guitars, would be the ultimate to me!
This Charvel has always been a tone benchmark for me:

My 1987 Hamer Chapparal:

So a lot going on and expecting some cool Washburn news soon!
Dave

[Tone Deaf Guitars]

Hi David, my name is Jeff. I've been very lucky in obtaining all of my Performances. I got the Explorer for my 21st B-day eighteen years ago. It was half black and half white cut diagonally. The guitarist for Prince played one just like it in the "1999" video. I found it at a pawn shop in Fullerton, Ca. I was working at G&L guitars and used to pick up parts. The pawn shop was next door to a store I had just bought some supplies for the shop and saw it. They had it marked at $200 but was able to talk them down to $150! My father bought it and gave it to me for my B-day. I've been offered bags of money for it but will never sell it. The yellow one I bought off of Craigslist and got it for $250. Both of the necks missing labels I found on eBay cheap. Since neither had a headstock label the sellers didn't know what they where. $127 for the scalloped one and $87 for the strat head one. I check eBay for their necks every other day. The giveaway that it's a real Performance is a date stamp or a 4 number serial written in black sharpie or both together. the added pic is the strat head necks butt showing the date stamp.

[yngwie308]

Very cool story Jeff! Actually I am hoping to hear about some Washburn SS bodies that are still at the factory and my contact picked them up.
The Washburn SS guitars are all CNC built and they still have the programs, so I am hoping to get ahold of a neck sometime in the future..
Performance really are unsung heroes of the guitar business in California..I'm not sure if Dweezil still is a customer these days..
Dave