This instrument was specifically designed with a goal other than music; it was made to send a message not to give up when faced with a life-threatening disease and to “fight back”, hence the name given to this particular instrument.
The description below is really long, but really good and well worth the read because you’ll be very impressed with the hardware involved in this build.
This particular instrument has been donated to the Make-a-Wish Foundation for auction at Wish Ball Chicago, the signature black-tie gala of Make-A-Wish Illinois which is scheduled for the Spring of 2013.
Doner Designs also recently donated an Army theme guitar to the Illinois Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The Army Guitar will be sold at the CF Foundation’s Grand Chef’s Gala in Chicago on February 8th, 2013.
After the description there are more photos and a video, so if you want to see more of the goods, just scroll down. 🙂
The Doner Designs “Fight Back” military theme guitars and basses were developed to encourage kids who are fighting life-threatening illnesses as well as the friends and family who support them. These guitars are fully functional and constructed with premium hardware and electronics sure to please any musician, but are also works of art suitable for display for the inspiration of anyone. For new or aspiring players, a headphone amplifier and self-study lesson book are included.
The Air Force theme bass guitar is based on Leo Fender’s famous Precision Bass. The foundation (body and neck) comes from a value-priced SX bass guitar. Doner Designs then completely rebuilt the guitar by replacing the pickup, hardware and electronics with premium aftermarket components. Two additional pickups and an onboard preamp were added. The two added pickups are similar to those used on a Gibson EB-3 bass. Body routes were added to house the additional pickups, preamp and battery.
The unusual 3 pickup configuration enables the Air Force Bass to emulate the sound of several classic bass designs including the Precision bass (middle pickup only) Jazz bass (middle and bridge pickups) EB-0 (neck pickup only), EB-3 (neck and bridge) and Stingray (bridge only). With all 3 pickups on, the bass has its own unique tone. The onboard preamp and passive bass and treble controls are somewhat akin to those found on G&L basses. Tonal flexibility and control is enhanced by three separate volume controls and on/off switches – one for each pickup.
Aircraft graphics include the Air Force Roundel symbol, USAF stencil lettering and the shark teeth most commonly seen on the famed P-51 Mustang WWII aircraft. In addition, a red covered military switch along with 10 dials and switches give the control panel a cockpit-like feel. The silver and chrome paint scheme and a strap made of seat belt material also contribute to the overall look. A semi-gloss clear lacquer helps protect the lettering and contributes to the rugged metallic equipment look.
Features & Specifications
- Custom design, construction, finish and setup by Doner Designs in suburban Chicago
- Laquer finished maple neck with maple fingerboard and two way truss rod
- Contoured Precision-style alder body
- Dimarzio Willpower Middle P bass pickups
- Gotoh Neck sidewinder pickup
- Gotoh Bridge sidewinder pickup
- Bartolini TC-3 booster preamp
- Babicz FCH bass bridge
- Hipshot Ultralight tuners
- Hipshot Xtender (drop-D tuner)
- Hipshot string retainer
- Custom pickguard and backplates manufactured by Axetreme Creations
- Separate volume controls for each of the 3 pickups
- On/off toggle switches for each pickup
- Passive/active boost switch
- Master passive treble and bass controls
- Momentary contact push-button switch (for machine-gun effects)
- Military style covered toggle switch
- Bourns pots and orange drop capacitors
- Hipshot string retainer
- Graph Tech nut
- Roto 77 long lasting bright flatwound strings
Accessories
- Gator gig bag with coordinating colors
- Mono Warsaw Seatbelt Strap
- Danelectro headphone amp with short cables for belt clip use
- Panasonic earbuds
- Korg plug-in tuner
- Cruztools multi-tool
- Live Wire instrument cable
- Hal Leonard Bass Method book
- Musician’s Gear stand
- Planet Waves string winder
- Assorted rubber bass picks
Photos
A complete photo set is here, but here are some of the highlights:
Video
Thanks to Steven for sending us photos, video and a great story about this bass! Well done!
Thanks guys for publishing this. It means a lot and hopefully will encourage more bidding activity at the fundraiser auctions. We donated this instrument to the Make-a-Wish Foundation and donated the Army Guitar to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation meaning that 100% of the proceeds from sale will benefit the charities. Hopefully bids will enough over the parts value to justify the 100 or so hours that went into each guitar. Thanks again!! – Steve (& Richard) Doner