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KEA 2014 Builds


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I just realized i haddnt posted pictures of the Ash Carved top. It just clear coated it yesterday.

It ended up playing AMAZING. I am really starting to surprise myself on how great these guitars play and feel. I am selling them way too cheap for what they are. After all these i have strung up before sending, i end up really wanting to keep them.

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Next in line is the bubinga rhoads from above.
The neck is mostly done. I just have to radius, fret and carve. So i guess that is not mostly done.

It is a 5 piece with Maple, walnut, paduak, and 2 figured maple veneer stringers. Fitted with a wenge fretboard, 25.5" scale.

Should come out pretty nice. Pictures of that one tomorrow.

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I just realized i haddnt posted pictures of the Ash Carved top. It just clear coated it yesterday.

It ended up playing AMAZING. I am really starting to surprise myself on how great these guitars play and feel. I am selling them way too cheap for what they are. After all these i have strung up before sending, i end up really wanting to keep them.

That black finished ash is HOT! I love the fretboard on that body. It's been a couple of years since I have seen what your guitars sell for, but I'd agree that you are selling yourself short price wise. Your skill level just keeps getting more and more refined.....dude it is super high end. Just like RAD and Searls, one look at one of your builds tells me exactly who built it.

Hats off amigo.

SR

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I still can't believe that you don't sell these with branding of some kind (headstock logo, volute text, cavity covers, whatever)! Are you still strictly selling them without hardware?

I just realized i haddnt posted pictures of the Ash Carved top. It just clear coated it yesterday.

It ended up playing AMAZING. I am really starting to surprise myself on how great these guitars play and feel. I am selling them way too cheap for what they are. After all these i have strung up before sending, i end up really wanting to keep them.

That black finished ash is HOT! I love the fretboard on that body. It's been a couple of years since I have seen what your guitars sell for, but I'd agree that you are selling yourself short price wise. Your skill level just keeps getting more and more refined.....dude it is super high end. Just like RAD and Searls, one look at one of your builds tells me exactly who built it.

Hats off amigo.

SR

Thanks Scott. I still cant believe how far i have come.

Stu,

I sign the back cover and put my initials on the back of the volute before i send them. But yes, still without hardware. Every now and then i make one that just absolutely calls for a complete build. But its hard, and i still barley make my money back. Especially when ebay charges 10%.

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Decided to take this a different way at the last second. I think it was a good idea.

I'll say! That's killer. What did you do, go back and pore fill with that reddish brown color?

And I'm going to say it again, that fretboard is perfect with this body.

SR

Yessir, i mixed some filler with red dye and rubbed it in. I didnt think it could come out that great, but it really worked well. I really want to do this with neon green, if i can find a way to do that.

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Decided to take this a different way at the last second. I think it was a good idea.

I'll say! That's killer. What did you do, go back and pore fill with that reddish brown color?

And I'm going to say it again, that fretboard is perfect with this body.

SR

Yessir, i mixed some filler with red dye and rubbed it in. I didnt think it could come out that great, but it really worked well. I really want to do this with neon green, if i can find a way to do that.

can look nice indeed:

http://www.mayones.com/en/custom_shop_gallery/setiuspro7slime

BTW I though you had dyed the black guitar blue, only after the second round of pics I realized that was probably the sky reflecting.. I agree with Scott, there's something special going on between the fingerboard and this finish. Whats up with having ruined it?

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Ok, i need to vent something.

I have NO idea how this always happens.

Whenever i am working on a guitar i dont really care about finishing, i usually just burn through it. I still pay attention, but it is like zero care to me. And of course, it always ends up coming out better than the ones i take my time on.

Then, after, i start one that i really am excited to work on. I take my time, give extra care to everything. And of course, every single thing goes wrong and it doesnt come out half as good as the one i made all in just 1 day.

This isnt just one occurrence, this has been happening for the past 5 years. The harder i try, the worse they come out.

Then, if i try to trick myself into trying to not care, then it just comes out like i rush and really dont care.

There i really no winning, is there?

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There i really no winning, is there?

Of course not, that's why we keep striving to get better. With your critical eye, I doubt you'll ever look at one of your guitars and not see something you'd like to do better next time.

I also expect the ones you care about have a higher degree of difficulty to them than the ones you just bang out.....

I know it is not as simple as that and things go wrong from time to time that really frustrate the devil out of you, but those set backs are for sure increasing your focus one the next build. I've been watching your builds for three or four years now and the improvement over that time is obvious to me. And they were mighty fine three or four years ago.

Keep doing what you always do: walk away from it for a while, come back and fix it, and the next one will be better. A little while further down the road another one will fight back and you'll have to rinse and repeat.

I'll keep watching your builds and a couple of years later the improvement will slap me upside the head again.

SR

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Thanks scott.

I would be perfectly fine if it was just 1 every 5 or 6 guitars. But now it has been 8 of 9 that have had problems. I become less and less professional with every guitar that comes out less than acceptable.

Some days i really wish i could just walk away from it all and not be tempted to come back again. It consumes my mind more than anything. It is a physical addiction.

And they are literally identical, construction wise. Only difference is the veneers. Everything else is exactly the same. It is 100% mental.

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Are you trying harder, or are your expectations just higher? I usually crumble with anxiety and expectations - I focus too much on the pressure and miss the detail, or monitor progress too closely to see any improvement.

You need to take it easy on yourself.

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