NGD - Mike Learn Flak Jacket 7

[MetalDaze]

Diana Learn had posted about this earlier, but now it's in my hands!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Many people know Mike Learn as a talented airbrush artist who has done work for Jackson, Charvel, and more recently B.C. Rich. However, he's also a skilled luthier and runs an authorized Fender/Jackson repair shop.

I approached Mike last October about building me a guitar. He's easy to talk to, very knowledgable, and by the time we were done with the specs, I think he was as excited about this build as I was! So much so, that he decided to build one to keep for himself. I'm a lefty, so 2 versions of the same guitar went on the bench.

First, the specs:

- Learn Flak Jacket body
- Flamed Maple neck
- Macassar Ebony board
- Mahagony wings
- 24 fret, 25.5" scale
- Compound radius, 16-20"
- Locking tuners
- TOM bridge, strings through body
- EMG 81-7 (bridge), 707 (neck)
- Evil paint

Now, some build pics:










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And now the finished masterpiece!
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I couldn't be happier with the guitar. It plays as good as it looks. If you haven't already, you can check out more of Mike's work at:

Learn Guitars: Custom Guitars, Repair and Refinish in Denver area Colorado

[toejam]

Looks great! Congrats.

[Grandturk]

Something ain't right... It looks backwards...



Cool axe! Congrats!

[Nimitz]

Something ain't right... It looks backwards...



Cool axe! Congrats!

I know the feeling... my newbie friend bought a sweet Tobias lefty bass... dam backwards guitars....

Sweet axe Man!!!

[sully]

very cool! i like the detail on the back of the neck; nice tie-in.

mike's the man!

sully

[daisp]

That's crazy...I like it

[straycat]

I like it as well very very nice.

[Hellbat]

Looks frigging awesome. You should replace the volume knob with something like this...



Or a small version of this...

[Trem]

Awesome dude! That's badass Grats!
Funny, i had been thinking when i can afford it about diggin out my first home made that i drew up around 87 and built a few years later that i should send it to Mike to finish. Looks in a way similar to that actually. I basically have it all built, just needs a little final sanding and paint but back then the dimelma was i couldn't find anyone to paint it! and i didn't want to just shit can it. Then it got shelfed and forgotten and has been in a box in my moms attic for 20 years. Afraid to dig it out and see it covered in mold or the neck warped by now or something.

[MetalDaze]

Trem....obviously I give Mike my seal of approval I was also pleasantly surprised how reasonable his prices are. Give him a shout and tell him Dave sent ya

[Learn Guitars]

Thanks guys. I have to say that this one was the most challenging build so far. Not having built a 7 string or left handed guitar yet. There were a few times when I got a bit dyslexic between the two guitars. At a certain point in time, I had to bail on the one I was building for myself, but it is quite close now. That helped me to stay focused on building it completely opposite of how I normally build a guitar. Twice as hard was evaluating and setting it up, as I do not play left handed. I told Dave a few times that I would be sending him a bill for therapy I needed after trying to play upside down and backwards in a right handed position. HAHAHA. My damn eyes are still crossed.

It truly was a pleasure working with Dave and building this guitar for him. Thank you Dave.

[sully]

Yeah, building lefties are an ass pain when it comes to the setup. ugh.

[Learn Guitars]

It is almost enough of a pain that I want to hire a lefty for setups. HAHAHAHA.

Dave, you will have to post a sound clip when you have time. I would love to hear it through your rig.

[Hellbat]

This thread prompted me to finally email Mike about a project I have been mulling for over 2 years.

[Learn Guitars]

Hellbat,
Send your inquiry to mike at mikelearn.com.

Thanks!