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2010 Crazy Inlay Project Started


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Hi Gang,

Last year I took a Gibson SG and turned in into the Viking Guitar. Well this year I'm working with a Washburn A10 and I'm doing a 50's Sci-Fi movie theme. See artwork below. You're going to have to use your imagination for a while, because this is going to be a combination of inlay, multi-color stain, and paint. The front is litterly going to be a landscape and the back a spacescape. Best part, I'm keeping this one for me!!!! Another one for my office wall.

Here is what I need from you guys. We are doing the 1953 War of the Worlds on the front and the 1956 Forbidden Planet on the back. BUT ... we're not sure what to do with the fretboard yet. I'm looking for ideas. Any 50's Sci-Fi movie will be concidered. My thoughts are the Time Machine or Godzilla. Chime in with your ideas, I'd love to hear them.

We are going to be videoing the process and putting the video on youTube. If you want to follow the birth of this new guitar, you can go to my web-site sharkinlay.com and check out the workshop section. I'll post here from time to time with photos, but the videos will only be on youTube with links from my site.

This should be fun!

frontmockup.jpg

backmockup.jpg

Edited by cSuttle
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Fantastic! I have had a couple of great A10s that I loved, but I wished I had one without a trem :-\

Always good watching your work!

Did they make them without trems?

Most i've seen are fixed bridge.

Well this one is a trem too. Floyd Rose.

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my girlfriend made me watch that movie with those guys i the theatre seats the other day! not my thing,(as a movie) but that would be perfect!

what was that flik called?

It's a whole series of bad, bad pulp SF with snarky commentary from robots made of vacuum cleaners - Mystery Science Theater 3000, aka MST3K

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Looks nice so far. The theme is hard to do without making it too tacky. Would need something that represents the entire SciFi genre rather than just doing images from a third movie. But there could be some melding in for your fb. The original Star Trek series wasn't all that far behind the 50's SciFi. For that matter, it was more a product of that genre and likely even conceived during that time by Gene Roddenberry. I can see the original starship Enterprise (upper frets) shooting photon torpedos at a Klingon warbird off in the distance (lower frets). Can you do the rest? :D

Edited by Southpa
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I think Star Trek is way, way too iconic to blend well with 50's pulp SF iconography. A trek themed guitar, sure. But don't mix trek with 50's pulp.

Gene Rodenberry drew most of his inspiration from Westerns, not SF per se, although the set design is clearly a follow-through from the 50s stuff.

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I think Star Trek is way, way too iconic to blend well with 50's pulp SF iconography. A trek themed guitar, sure. But don't mix trek with 50's pulp.

Gene Rodenberry drew most of his inspiration from Westerns, not SF per se, although the set design is clearly a follow-through from the 50s stuff.

I agree, plus that's clearly 60's. SciFi had changed a bunch by then.

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A series of small rockets or flying saucers as fret markers would be sweet. The spaceships from Flash Gordon would rock. Google "flash gordon spaceship" and check out the first page of images.

I think we have settled on invaders from mars (similar to your idea), but this will be way beyond fretmarkers. I'm going to be doing a large planet Mars in the first three frets and them groups of saucers coming down the neck getting bigger as they near the body of the guitar. I may position the groups roughly around the fretmarkers positions, but I'm not going to let them influence the design. If I can play the Unicorn guitar, no amount of inlay on the fretboard would bother me.

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A series of small rockets or flying saucers as fret markers would be sweet. The spaceships from Flash Gordon would rock. Google "flash gordon spaceship" and check out the first page of images.

I think we have settled on invaders from mars (similar to your idea), but this will be way beyond fretmarkers. I'm going to be doing a large planet Mars in the first three frets and them groups of saucers coming down the neck getting bigger as they near the body of the guitar. I may position the groups roughly around the fretmarkers positions, but I'm not going to let them influence the design. If I can play the Unicorn guitar, no amount of inlay on the fretboard would bother me.

That sounds badass man!

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Hey Cliff,

In your YouTube video I think you mentioned you were considering putting the Lost in Space images on the front. I think that's a good idea. They're more visually appealing to me.

Another of my favourite SciFi flicks is The Day the Earth Stood Still (the original!). I'm not sure that works as a theme for the fretboard. I know you're shooting for a movie theme, but there were also some incredible 50s science fiction comics (I'm thinking about the EC stuff) that would fit in perfectly. The rocket blasting off theme from Weird Science would make a great fretboard!

compl_weird_sci_fan_bk2.jpg

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Hey Cliff,

In your YouTube video I think you mentioned you were considering putting the Lost in Space images on the front. I think that's a good idea. They're more visually appealing to me.

Another of my favourite SciFi flicks is The Day the Earth Stood Still (the original!). I'm not sure that works as a theme for the fretboard. I know you're shooting for a movie theme, but there were also some incredible 50s science fiction comics (I'm thinking about the EC stuff) that would fit in perfectly. The rocket blasting off theme from Weird Science would make a great fretboard!

compl_weird_sci_fan_bk2.jpg

Cool looking rocket on that comic book, but I pretty set on Invader from Mars at this point.

Work began yesterday. I've removed the hardware and about half the finish. Imazine what you run into once the finish is gone. The maple top was a veneer and very thin. While removing the color coat, I blew through it. Ended up sanding the top maple completely off. There was a very nice mahogany underneath, so I'm happy. I think that will work better for the stain I'm planning. Wait until you guys get a load of what I planning to do with the stain. I still have to remove the finish on the neck and headstock and remove the frets and then I will be ready to start inlaying.

I have a big project for a client coming up, so progress on that may be a little slow (paying customers first). I'm doing Odin on a custom guitar. Should be really cool.

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A series of small rockets or flying saucers as fret markers would be sweet. The spaceships from Flash Gordon would rock. Google "flash gordon spaceship" and check out the first page of images.

Iv done marvin the martian & bugs bunny inlays on a guitars before. Used marvins space rocket for fret markers. looked prety cool.

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I love how crazy your inlays are. Also, I like the shape of the guitar, I might use that.

Shape + Theme + Cool Inlays = AWESOME.

I can't take credit for the body design. It's a Washburn A10. Sammy Hagar use to play one. I just modifying the guitar not building. I alway have the finish striped away, and I have to pull the frets and then I can start inlaying it. Updates coming soon.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've prepped the guitar including removing hardward, sanding off the finished, and routing cavities deeper. It's ready to start inlaying. I've decided on Invaders from Mars for the fretboard. While I was sanding, I lost the maple top (it was paper thin), but the mahogany underneath was pretty cool, so I don't mind at all.

I have video of me working on the guitar on my youTube channel or on my web-site in the workshop section. Shark Inlay

rawbodyfront.jpg

rawbodyback.jpg

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I know you didn't make the guitar, but still, the guitar should complement the inlays pretty well. :D

Yes, I picked the theme to go with the guitar. I was planning on doing a WWI fight plane theme, but then when I picked out the guitar it just didn't seem to fit. I needed something more out there.

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