Official Luthiers Forum!

Well, I'm guessing you'd have to be seriously into the blues to recognize the name. A friend of mine, well known blues drummer, Ardie Dean, has a guitar neck that was supposedly made by Homesick James. Ardie was helping Homesick move in 1996. Memphis or Nashville, back to Chicago, if I have it right. Homesick told Ardie he could have it. Claimed it was made by him. It's mahogany with wings attached. Looks like a Gibson style. Short scale. The grain angle in the heel is odd. Tool marks around heel are odd too. Anybody have an opinion? Hand made? Factory? Thoughts? If it's truly handmade, should it be attached to a body similar to what Homesick played?

The heel cap is drum skin as Ardie explained. Apparently Homesick liked plastering this stuff on his guitars.

That's Ardie in the last pic. . I've asked Ardie to follow this thread. He's interested in your thoughts.

I can't tell you much about the neck except it is a piece of history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JYLDcYWtdI

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

the machining on the heel is very odd.

It has a factory made vibe to me.

I know. First thing to do is understand the tool marks. Ownership is not in question. Though documentation is. I've known Ardie for years. He's taught my son drums. And his musical history is documented. This, if true, is a handmade neck by Homesick. What to do with it? I'm hoping the answere is to mount it to a hollow body in his style.

Let's assume it's got a factory vibe. Does his ownership mean anything? Weird grain angle at heel suggests someone did not understand grain orientation, or, it is so old that even major makers ignored such early on. Come on historical gurus, help me here.

So, the question is whether or not a neck that might have been owned and possibly even rough shaped by Homesick James has some added intrinsic value? To me, it does not.

Would it be cool to use it to make a guitar like he played? To me, yes it would.

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George :-)

Ardie has been in touch with someone who knew Homesick James well. Apparently he did not build guitars. However he had a penchant for building up cheap ones from spare parts. Not sure what to do with this. It does look like major tooling was used on it.