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Kemp Guitars 2017-18 Build Thread


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5 hours ago, KempGuitars said:

Been a little quiet over the past couple of weeks so have a teaser pic, and just a sample, of what's to come over the next month or so 1f600.png

170418.jpg

That's a beautiful shade of green! Did you do much build-up, or is that one concentration straight onto the maple?

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12 minutes ago, Stu. said:

That's a beautiful shade of green! Did you do much build-up, or is that one concentration straight onto the maple?

Thanks Stu. 

There's three coats on there to get the shade of green required using Chestnut Spirit Stain Green. 

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I'd guess that those colours are technically-challenging to get to work together since purple (blue-red) and green (blue-yellow) would easily produce brown with a high percentage of blue over the transition. I can maybe see a little of that, however I'm wondering how this would work if it were say, a green dye with purple toner burst? Interesting to say the least.

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58 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

I'd guess that those colours are technically-challenging to get to work together since purple (blue-red) and green (blue-yellow) would easily produce brown with a high percentage of blue over the transition. I can maybe see a little of that, however I'm wondering how this would work if it were say, a green dye with purple toner burst? Interesting to say the least.

Prostheta, you got it bang on... It was not easy. I must've done a dozen tests on scrap and most left a brown blend. In the end, I found that repeatedly overlaying the purple, blending it and then (hard to explain) almost trying to rub away that blended "edge" with some green. It looks like there's brown there in the pic but it there isn't. It's very difficult to capture the true colour on the camera... And it does look much better in person. 

My client sent me a picture of a Kiesel with this colour burst and I think I replicated it nicely. I did try and find out what they used but no joy. 

I am not a big fan of stains or bursts but I'm quite happy with this. 

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It's a job well done, definitely. I'm wondering whether a base amber dye could be sealed, and then the rest done in toner? This is something I'd love to play around with. I think there's so much scope for pushing what is "common" into something a lot more difficult. I noticed that recently, Ibanez did some kind of blue-edged burst over a yellow base with no green transition in a production model. People hate it, which is fair enough. Most of them are amateur "luthiers" who are still only used to seeing what's on the surface and completely ignoring the inherent technical challenges that help achieve a deeper understanding of the game.

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19 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

It's a job well done, definitely. I'm wondering whether a base amber dye could be sealed, and then the rest done in toner? This is something I'd love to play around with. I think there's so much scope for pushing what is "common" into something a lot more difficult. I noticed that recently, Ibanez did some kind of blue-edged burst over a yellow base with no green transition in a production model. People hate it, which is fair enough. Most of them are amateur "luthiers" who are still only used to seeing what's on the surface and completely ignoring the inherent technical challenges that help achieve a deeper understanding of the game.

Thanks Prostheta. 

This is now the point, dare I say it, that I'm not really into bursts myself. I haven't really messed around with finishes like this, or even thought about it for myself... Except for a solid colour burst I was thinking about giving the Pinky Dinky after the repair. I had a picture of a finish to replicate, bought the colours (spirit based stains - I don't like water based) and got on with it. The result was surprisingly good and my client is happy with it.

That said, what you said is all true, and perhaps I will look at different methods/materials to use next time. 

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Agreed. I'm not too much of a fan of water-based either, beyond them being friendlier with hand-rubbed shellac in alcohol.

If what I said is true, it is simply based on information I have gained from others and educated guesses. I'd rather get more of that hands-on confirmation and feel for products/techniques. Most of all, I enjoy technical challenges and developing the mental skills to apply oneself to them.

Which reminds me, I have a neck profile to refine before doing some dyeing and shellacking.

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On 4/21/2018 at 12:04 AM, Prostheta said:

I'd guess that those colours are technically-challenging to get to work together since purple (blue-red) and green (blue-yellow) would easily produce brown with a high percentage of blue over the transition. I can maybe see a little of that, however I'm wondering how this would work if it were say, a green dye with purple toner burst? Interesting to say the least.

That is what i did with this one.

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DSCF1816.JPG

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finished the "Hulk-burst" DC... Flame Maple/Mahogany body, Maple neck, Flame Maple fretboard w/ Luminlay dot inlays, Wilkinson bridge, AT-1 and Cruiser pickups, Gotoh 381 locking tuners and Green-Purple burst under matte finish...

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  • 4 weeks later...

Yeah, been a while but I'm still here and working on a number of builds that will present themselves over the coming few weeks. The first, in celebration of this glorious sunshine we've been having, this yellow SS (actually not influenced by the sun at all, but an idea I had some time ago) in the typical "bridge-only-pickup" style. I went for chrome hardware after seeing an old ESP in a very similar yellow with chrome and thought it suited.

Full spec: Mahogany archtop body, Maple three-piece bolt-on neck w/ reversed head, Wenge fretboard w/ binding, Gotoh Tune-O-Matic bridge and 381 Series tuners, Seymour Duncan Distortion pickup and matte Cadmium Yellow finish...

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hey guys,

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, lots going on at home and been concentrating on the social media stuff to get myself "out there" and all that.

However, just finished this one. My first 7-string in a while, named "The Rook" and very au naturel.

Custom 7-string SD with Ash body, Maple set-neck, Flame Maple fretboard, Tonepros TP7 tune-o-matic bridge, Gotoh 381 Series Magnum Lock tuners,  Fishman Fluence Modern set with coil split and USB recharge pack, Lollar Tweed single coil pickup (this passive/active mix has almost sent me insane today... Never going to attempt it again) and natural Poly clear coat finish...

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Painting guitars one solid colour can hide all manner of flaws if a builder chooses to leave them in under it. This one shows that you don't. I always give props to any maker who can pull off a flawless natural finish as they require the highest discipline.

Yeah, I'd imagine that the active/passive mix would be a PITA. Does this still have a low-impedance output or was that the compromise?

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42 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

Painting guitars one solid colour can hide all manner of flaws if a builder chooses to leave them in under it. This one shows that you don't. I always give props to any maker who can pull off a flawless natural finish as they require the highest discipline.

Yeah, I'd imagine that the active/passive mix would be a PITA. Does this still have a low-impedance output or was that the compromise?

Thanks Prostheta. Discipline = hours of sanding, probably the least favorite part of building as I imagine you'll agree ☺ 

Still got some tweaking to do but the single coil and Fishmans are wired to a 2-way switch which does mean it's one or the other. I've never mixed them before, nor do I know how to properly. My client just wanted that single coil mid option so we went for what is essentially two circuits hooked up to the same jack via a selector switch. Won't be doing it again though 😔 

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I'd say that it pretty much is the least likeable phase, however I think powering through that leaves you with a final product that is incomparable or at least, unachievable through cheating and accepting half measures. Especially end grain which takes ten times the work, and the transitions over the edges. It's one of the first places I look.

An op-amp based summing integrator would be the way I'd look at combining the pickups....as a first call anyway. Impedance matching between a high-impedance passive single coil and buffered low-impedance buckers isn't something I'd want to do passively and one circuit will happily load the other in that instance, especially when using volume and tone controls. All sorts of wacky crazy things start happening.

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4 hours ago, Prostheta said:

I'd say that it pretty much is the least likeable phase, however I think powering through that leaves you with a final product that is incomparable or at least, unachievable through cheating and accepting half measures. Especially end grain which takes ten times the work, and the transitions over the edges. It's one of the first places I look.

An op-amp based summing integrator would be the way I'd look at combining the pickups....as a first call anyway. Impedance matching between a high-impedance passive single coil and buffered low-impedance buckers isn't something I'd want to do passively and one circuit will happily load the other in that instance, especially when using volume and tone controls. All sorts of wacky crazy things start happening.

Yes, definitely worth it when you see the end result 👍 

Appreciate your views on the wiring passives and actives. I have had to set that aside for a few days as I need to get on with other work but I will speak to my client about the options. 

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If it's customer work then I think there's too much potential for hassle. Any less than standard electronics setup needs testing in isolation outside of time-limited and specification-heavy customer work. This mixture is a complication that needs good thought to reconcile. I believe that @curtisa would be an excellent second mind on this.

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1 hour ago, Prostheta said:

If it's customer work then I think there's too much potential for hassle. Any less than standard electronics setup needs testing in isolation outside of time-limited and specification-heavy customer work. This mixture is a complication that needs good thought to reconcile. I believe that @curtisa would be an excellent second mind on this.

Yes, learnt that now 😀 No more active/passive setups. I hate wiring as it is. 

Anyways, the guitar is going tomorrow and my client is going to get someone else to look at it. Not my ideal departure for a guitar but it was his suggestion. 

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32 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

There's a lot of scope for what can be done in a mixed circuit. I like the look of those Fluences with a single. It's very uncommon.

Yeah, does look good. Fishman do singles, ironically, but my client wanted the Lollar 🤔

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