Retrotron

[avengers63]

anderekel: That is certainly better than my general idea. Not quite there, but a dang site closer than what i had.

Pete: That's a really neat take on it. I like that the shape is the exact same but arranged differently. That means there's only ONE template to make. The double-boomerang looks kinda off, though. FWIW: I LOVE the idea of the rocker switches. I think I'll end up going that route than the 3-pos I currently have.

From what I've been able to see from the Gretsch site, the pups are not surface mounts at all. They're either suspended with rings or in cavities but screwed right into the wood like a no-ring humbucker. The pups themselves are pretty tall, too, so there clearly needs to be a cavity of some sort. Suspending them on a p/g doesn't create any issues that I'm aware of.

punger07: Great link. I wouldn't mind getting ahold of a couple of those Teiscos or the Airlines.

Edited December 4, 2008 by avengers63

[kpcrash]

FWIW, I showed this thread to my wife tonight. She was leaning on your original idea, but said you should edge the pickguard with chrome as well (don't ask me how - I'll start pulling out the chrome tape I use for models). The other thing she mentioned is that there is a definite pattern to the "swirlies" - if you look closely, some of them are complete shapes. Pick a couple that cover the required area and use that... trimmed in chrome of course.

[avengers63]

I'd just about give a nut to be able to bind the whole guitar in chrome. Automotive chroming came up empty, and true countertop chrome edging is not a realistic possibility for me. If you have another option, it's time to pony up!

[kpcrash]

I'd just about give a nut to be able to bind the whole guitar in chrome. Automotive chroming came up empty, and true countertop chrome edging is not a realistic possibility for me. If you have another option, it's time to pony up!

There are a few different ways that come to mind for "chroming" - none of these may appeal to you, but all are ways that I have used in other projects to create the effect.

1. Adhesive-backed chrome paper - you can pick this up at any decent craft store in 8.5X11 sheets. Downside, scratches easy as hell, so shellac it before working with it for best results. This can be wrapped onto normal binding for a rather killer effect. As stated, I've been using it to do chrome parts on model cars for years.

2. Chrome tape/Self-Adhesive Mirror - usually at auto parts stores as a "quick-fix" for rusty bumpers or missing side rear view mirrors. Downside, the "mirrors" are kinda thick - the chrome tape only comes in narrow widths (great for binding though)

3. "Chrome" fabric - we've all seen Satriani's silver ibanez - this is easily reproduced using silver sateen fabric

4. Silver-leaf - for those applications where money doesn't matter, or you're going for a very fine effect. Silver-leaf can be applied with a super tiny paint brush and purchased at any decent craft store.

5. Chrome pinstriping - available from auto parts/body supply stores

Hope this helps out some. Again, I won't be offended if any of these ideas aren't appealing, but they are effective at producing a "chrome" result on just about anything.

edit - if you can't find/want any of these items - let me know.

[anderekel]

I'm havin' fun doin' this. I looked at some of the ones on that site posted, changed it up a bit. How about this? I added the switches in instead of the three way too

Edited December 4, 2008 by anderekel

[avengers63]

You go ahead and have all the fun you want.

I like this one a LOT better than the last one. The rockers are perfect. The swoopy thing on the bottom isn't right for this shape though. There needs to be a spot for the jack as well. (I forgot to put it on when I took the pic.) But overall, I think this one might be really close.

Edited December 4, 2008 by avengers63

[avengers63]

With a number of projects coming to a close pretty soon, I need to clear this one off my plate as well. I did some work on the pickguard shape tonight. I think I have a handle on where I want to go with it.

While fiddling around with it, I couldn't figure out how to manage the pickups without having a big rectangular block of stupid in the middle of the whole thing. Whatever was tried worked against the curves & angles of both the body and the boomerang pattern. Then it hit me - make pup rings from the p/g material. DUH!!! That solved everything. The pup rings can be exactly where they need to be for functionality, but because we're so used to seeing them, they don't interfere visually with the rest of the p/g.

Anyone have anything to add? Please... speak up. I'm still very open to suggestions.

[anderekel]

I like that new pickguard design. Fits very well. I don't really have anything to add. I was wondering what happened to this one, glad to see it's still goin'.

[psw]

Yes...the new pickguard shape takes out some of the blockiness of the previous designs...I mean, it kind of visually stretches the rectangular body shape a bit better. The pickup's still look like surface mount jobs to me. You could try to route them to the shape of the pickup and top mount them into a cavity with some foam under them and get away with no rings at all, and a little more chrome!

Anyway...looking better...though I still think the boomerang guards had some novelty value...hahahha

[avengers63]

Not surface mount.

I have room for a phase switch next to the sliders - any thoughts?

[Foggy]

I looked at this guitar and the first kinda shape that came to mind for a pickguard was kinda like this. You'll have to excuse my blatant lack of ability with programs like paint shop pro................as is aptly demonstrated here I'm a complete muppet with PSP, but you get the kind of shape I was 'trying' to show.

Jim

ps. that is one 'different' looking guitar you have there avenger! It does kinda grow on you............in a weird kinda way.

[mattharris75]

Avenger, your latest pickguard design is the first one that I have thought actually fits this body shape. The others seemed too derivative of it, or playing off the body shape too much. This one both compliments the shape, while bringing something new to whole deal, it makes the sum greater than the parts, so to speak. Nicely done, I say go with it.

[metz guitar paint]

Here in Aus we have alot of cars that have faux chrome mouldings through the front and rear bumper bars,it is quite flexible and should work for what u need,i dont know what it would be called over there,but over here its called" protector strip",walk into any crash repairer and ask them about it,it comes in different widths from about 3.5 mm to much larger,it also has an adhesive backing which makes it easy to apply,its easy to cut with a sharp knife,also try any car accsesory place good luck!...PS u wont believe its not metal,very realistic.

[avengers63]

Wanna see something REALLY cool????

IT WORKED!!!!!

I'm so happy I could give weathemann a compliment. I'm not going to, but it wouldn't bother me if I did.

The only thing I was concerned about was leveling out the binding where it was sitting proud of the formica. I took a piece of cutoff formica and took some sandpaper and power tools to it. I started with 220, but got down to 100 before I could even feel an effect on it. WOO-HOO!!!! That means I can put some 150 on there and sand down the binding, just like I did on the sides. Not a scratch on the formica at all.

Now that I know for a fact that this works and exactly how to do it, these Retrotrons are getting knocked out before next weekend.

[dpm99]

Really nice.

[Drak]

Just out of curiosity, why aren't you using a scraper to scrape the binding?

It's a lot faster, cleaner, and easier, and you can make a binding scraper out of just about any piece of metal laying around the house.

Just wondering if there was some special reason I might have missed that you couldn't scrape it instead.

[avengers63]

I don't own a cabinet scraper, so I don't use them, so I suppose the thought just never occurred to me.

[ae3]

Awesome!

Are you shooting clears over the back and front now, or is some thing going to happen with the back?

Do you spray clear coat over the stuff on the front?

It kind of looks like a pattern from an Ice Cream shops table top.

[orgmorg]

Wow, these are really cool! I hadn't seen this thread yet.

Super job!

I actually did a kitchen countertop with this same stuff a couple years ago.

Had enough left to do a few pickguards, here's one:

[avengers63]

That Tele looks awesome John, congrats! Are you making bodies for sale now?

I have been for a while now. Every other month or so I put a couple up on eBay. Without fail, someone contacts me to do a commission for them. I just finished up 4 commissions in the last few weeks. One of them was actually a trade with a fellow PG-er - a finished neck for a body, neck blank, and fretboard.

I'm really excited to see what this one ends up going for. Construction-wise, there's absolutely nothing special about this one at all. It's the uniqueness of the formica top that should do it.

I might NOT get the Retrotrons done this week - I'm out of binding. I have ONE strip of white, and I need 4. Maybe they'll come in before the weekend. I'll be ordering them Monday.

ae3: the back is raw wood. I'm not shooting any finishes yet. Personally, I think the back & sides should be painted black. Nothing is done to the top either - it's straight formica.

Edited February 22, 2009 by avengers63

[j. pierce]

That tele is sweet. I love the dano bow-tie shape, but there's just something cool about seeing this finish on a guitar you don't expect to see it on.

[avengers63]

The P/G and rings have been finished up and all the holes drilled. It took me a couple of hours last week of fiddling with it to get everything lined up right, including the neck/string/bridge alignment, but we're finally in the home stretch.

You'll notice that there's no formica on the back & sides anymore. I decided that it just wasn't working so I took out the heat gun and wide plastic putty knife and slowly wiggled it all off. I gave the back a 1/2" roundover, sanded it to 150, and hit it with primer/sealer/grain-filler.

So here's my thoughts on the whole thing:

It's going to be bound in white. I have the option to paint the back black or leave it gray.

If you take a look at the pattern, there IS gray in it, so it wouldn't be entirely out of place. The neck is black, so that would match up well.

I could bind it in black and paint the back white, but would that look goofy with the white p/g?

Any thoughts?

[j. pierce]

I'd paint the back black. A nice gloss black looks classy and goes with anything.

[Cactus]

Can you veneer the headstock with the formica aswell?

About the back of the guitar, I'd try and match it with a color which is in the formica, preferably the most dominant one. Black on the back like j.pierce says might work, but that is probably gonna go against the white pickguard. Maybe you could try a persplex pickguard? (or a tinted one and match the back to the tint.. )

[avengers63]

I finally got the back painted and an initial coat of poly on it. I know from experience working on miniatures that super glue eats paint, so I wanted to seal the paint before putting on the binding. HOPEFULLY I'll get it bound today so I can lay on the rest of the finish. I bought a couple cans of spray poly yesterday so I don't have to mess with the brush-on stuff for this one.