Gretsch Tiki Pinstriped guitar project

Hey gang!
For Christmas, I bought myself a Gretsch 6120 Nashville Brian Setzer Hot Rod guitar in flat black. I'm going to have Nacho pinstripe and tiki-fy it for me. He's the guy that built that giant 18 foot tiki bar that a lot of you might have seen at Viva Las Vegas, or the San Francisco Roadster Show, or at the back yard sale at Forbidden Island, all of which can be found here.

I've been kicking around what color combos I want for the pinstriping. Maybe red or coral/salmon and white, or a vintage seafoam green or mint green and white. Here's a picture of one of Brian Setzer's guitars as inspiration, and more pics of this guitar can be found here.

Here's the before pic of the guitar, taken last night at Forbidden Island, along with a couple of the prototypes of the severed head tribute mug that Nacho's been working on.

And here's a pic of Nacho, standing next to me with his severed head tribute mugs. I'm the one holding the guitar.

I'd like to have a vintage type pin-up girl on the guitar, and a tiki or two as well. I was thinking maybe a pin-up girl in a hammock, and the hammock would be supported by two tikis! Also, maybe a skull and crossbones somewhere, like maybe on the headstock, etc. I'd love to hear any and all suggestions from everyone!

I think all your ideas are great....love the pinup girl in the tiki hammock. With all of that you might only need a very simple pinstripes. The Brian Seltzer is a little chaotic looking I think, but he is kinda flashy so it works for him. I am looking forward to seeing the final outcome on your new baby. :D

Check out Sketchkult.com , search tiki and guitar and theres a bunch of amazing pinstriping and 1-shot painted tiki stuff there.

• Also, maybe a skull and crossbones somewhere, like maybe on the headstock, etc. I'd love to hear any and all suggestions from everyone*

You lucky SOB! That's a nice present, nicer guitar.

Ok, I know a little about guitars and tiki...and securities law. Would that be pertinent herein? No? Ok, tiki and guitars it is. For obvious reasons, see below, I am partial to surf green, so my vote would be for green & white, maybe some creme or tans thrown in there. The black of the guitar would set those off real well. I dig Brian's, but surf green and some lighter neutral tones...Oh yeah!

I'd put most of the graphics on the back of the guitar. Oh, and I would incorporate a Mai Tai in the design. Gots to have a Mai Tai! Perhaps a Tiki and a Mai Tai on the front by the tail piece, the hula girl and etc...on the back. Can't wait to see the result.

A m is the saddest key,
guitar midnite...knows all them fancy chords, but has no rhythm.

What vibe do you want for the guitar? Loud and funky, or subtle and tastey? To me it should go with what music you will be playing - the whole complete package thing. If you use all of the elements you like it will be very busy design wise, like that guitar you posted. If you want a subtle and understated look go for one tiki surrounded by minimal striping.

Man, has it been almost 3 weeks since I posted this thread? How time flies...

Hewey, the vibe I want for the guitar is more on the loud side. The more I look at some of those other guitars with the more subtle striping, the more I like the looks of the Setzer Gretsch. I guess I'll be going with loud and proud!

I think one of the colors that I'll go with is some kind of surf/seafoam green. Silver or pearl white or vintage white are also in contention. I'm also still kicking around the idea of coral/salmon as well. When I go down to Nacho's shop, he's going to lay out some experimental colors on a flat black background, so we can get an idea of what color combos go well together. So I probably won't make the final decision until the day I drop the guitar off.

Midnite, what a great idea to put a mai tai graphic on there! Now why didn't I think of that?!? As for the pin-up girl in a hammock supported by two tikis, I still really really like that idea, but the layout of the guitar with the f-holes and bigsby bridge tailpiece kind of take up a lot of space, and makes it difficult to implement. The artist for Setzer's guitar was pretty clever in working in that pin-up girl in the semi-prone position, with her legs stretched out between the f-hole and the bigsby tailpiece. I might go with a pin-up girl leaning up against a tiki, sitting on a tiki, (or maybe straddling a tiki), or something similar that will fit in the space.

Another idea that comes to mind for a graphic is a pufferfish lamp.

I won't be taking the guitar down to Nacho's shop for at least another week or two, so keep those ideas and feedback coming!!!

I'm ready 24-7 Mai Tai!!!!!

These belong to a buddy of mine, my suggestion is to choose the colors you want and let the painter have his way with it.

Love the Norton style script Notch :)

You'll have to post some pics of ya stripes