Leaderboard

The connector might give some information too; East Block / Soviet guitars had a totally different jack socket arrangement than our Western norm.

i looked into loopers a couple of years ago and came to a similar conclusion as @velvetkevorkian that a multi button pedal was easier to use. I went for an AKAI Headrush 2, picked it up on ebay for about 60 quid i think, with it's power supply. the 2 button arrangement is very easy to use and it has can be switched into delay/echo mode as well, the ojnly slight downside is that it's a big pedal but it is very robust feeling. If you go for something secondhand then if it doesn't suit you or you don't find you are using it enough then you should be able to sell it on without losing any money. there are lots of options from most of the big name brands, picking up one of those would be my pick (personally i quite like TC electronic and Electro-Harmonix pedals so they would be high up the list, I've yet to bond with a Boss pedal so they don't really appear on my radar) Matt

If weight is the issue then you probably need something different. A hollow body isn't usually any lighter than a standard solid body because they are significantly bigger. Probably lighter than a LP custom but not really than a Strat or Tele. If a hollow body is really the thing though, I concur with @Crusoe, the Ibanez hollow body are really nice throughout the range. The higher range ones have nicer decoration and pickups, but I think the lower range still really good workhorse guitars and I also chose the AS73 for a time. But I still found it too heavy for me. Weight is definitely an issue for me so I made my own tele and strat using replacement bodies made from Paulownia (which is much lighter - the wood that the high end Sandberg Superlight basses use), and also managed to find a couple of Vintage (brand) VZ99 Zip guitars. Les Paul junior type but build like a Danelectro and hollow inside. Incredibily light but still a great powerful sound when needed. Or maybe a different strap might help? I have tried the various Slinger Straps (https://slingerstraps.com/) on my Aria basses which certainly redistribute the weight well, but now on guitar I use a really odd, but really good strap which is the Fender Weigh Less stap (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fender®-WeighLessTM-Tweed-Guitar-Strap/dp/B07T75B4XH). It is effectively elastic and really supports the weight well.

Wow...! Just been reading this through. Looks like an amazing project and done with such skill. I would like to do something like this when work and family pressures begin to take less of my time. Just for myself really. I have built several 'custom' guitars but always been 'partscaster from a variety of bits' type projects, so nothing as major or personal as this. Most I have done on the woodwork side is using a complete body blank (strat) to add a hardtail tele bridge and pickup cavities, and that was scary enough! Fantastic job.