Reader Guitar of the Month: Danicaster

Reader: Ed BeauchampHometown: Pawling, NYGuitar: DanicasterI’m a guitarist and an art lover with a special interest in the “drip” paintings of abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock, so I was intrigued when I heard about Fender’s limited-edition Splattercaster guitars. These were Mexican-made Strats, whose bodies were placed on a turntable and spun while paint was dripped onto them, similar to the spin art created by children’s toys. There were 500 of these guitars produced between 2003 and 2004, each one unique, and they were priced at $300. Today, these guitars can sell for as much as $2000. My stepdaughter Danielle was an artist, and once while we were having a discussion about art, I showed her pictures of the Splattercasters. She was impressed and agreed that they were very cool instruments.Tragically, Danielle fell ill and passed away in 2016 at the age of 36. While talking later with her boyfriend, Kris, he mentioned that Danielle had wanted to buy a Splattercaster as a gift for me, which I never knew, but they were too expensive. Never one to give up, Danielle decided she was going to get a guitar and paint it herself. Kris said that she had indeed bought a guitar, but had passed away before she had a chance to do anything with it. I just assumed that it was a toy guitar, or perhaps a ceramic guitar that could be painted, but Kris said that it was a real, full-size guitar, and that Danielle’s intention was to create a playable work of art. He still had the guitar and asked if I wanted it.It turned out the guitar was one of those $150 Strat DIY kit guitars. I wasn’t sure how playable such an inexpensive guitar would be, but I took the guitar anyway, with the vague idea of somehow completing it. I had no idea how to accomplish that. I’m not a painter, and the thought of even trying to paint it was overwhelming, so I put the box under the bed where it sat for years.About a year ago, I approached a local artist, John Colantuono, whose work I had seen at local art shows. John is an abstract painter who often employs methods similar to those of Pollock. John said he had never done a project like this, but he was willing to give it a try. I removed the electronics from the pickguard, screwed the pickguard to the body, and gave the body to John. Several months later, John had finished painting the body and it looked amazing! I began to assemble the guitar, and found that the neck that came with the kit was pretty rough, so I substituted a Mighty-Mite replacement neck I had. After assembling and setting up the guitar, I was surprised to find out that not only was it playable, but the action was great, and even the cheap electronics sounded pretty good.
Whenever I play the guitar, or even just look at it, I feel Danielle’s presence. As a tribute to her, I christened the guitar the “Danicaster” and put that name on the headstock. Now, nine years after her passing, the project that Danielle initiated is finally complete, and I’m thrilled. Danielle may not have been able to physically complete the Danicaster, but there is no doubt that her spirit lives on in this instrument. Danielle, we did it!