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Kemp Guitars 2019 Build Thread (updated Dec 2019)


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The green on that strat looks fantastic! 

Have you shared anything about the products you're using and/or the order of steps to finish it? Having tried so many ways to get that nice grain-free satin look and always come up with something less than desirable, I tend to look at people who do it successfully like magicians dumping a whole litter of live rabbits from a top hat.

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Thought I'd pop by quick as I've been spraying the latest DC build. This one is metallic "Intense Blue". Did um and ah a bit over the colour (this versus metallic purple) but decided on this blue as it looks better against the Walnut neck...

59788292_1590703204406353_84917502909937

 

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On 4/21/2019 at 8:59 PM, thaumgarrett said:

The green on that strat looks fantastic! 

Have you shared anything about the products you're using and/or the order of steps to finish it? Having tried so many ways to get that nice grain-free satin look and always come up with something less than desirable, I tend to look at people who do it successfully like magicians dumping a whole litter of live rabbits from a top hat.

Sorry I didn't see your post sooner, looks like email notifications have been switched off.

Firstly, thank you for the comment on the green strat 😃

Regarding finishing, standard procedure on all my builds: grain fill and sealer, then filler primer (sanded smooth with 400 grit) then regular grey or white primer (sanded back with 400 grit) followed by top coat. This can be anything from 1k Acrylic in a can to 2k Polyurethane shot from a gun. Sand the top coat flat with 600 grit once that's dried then I use SprayMax 2k Polyurethane Matte clear coat (one dust coat then two wet coats). Done correctly, theres nothing more to do. If you get orange peel or any dust in it, you'll have to sand flat (600 grit) and give it another wet coat. I know this is quite vague but let me know if there's any specific details you need 😀

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24 minutes ago, KempGuitars said:

Thought I'd pop by quick as I've been spraying the latest DC build. This one is metallic "Intense Blue". Did um and ah a bit over the colour (this versus metallic purple) but decided on this blue as it looks better against the Walnut neck...

is a beautiful blue there, and goes well with that shape... which is a lovely shape.  your stuff is always so clean/pro looking.  hats off.

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11 minutes ago, mistermikev said:

is a beautiful blue there, and goes well with that shape... which is a lovely shape.  your stuff is always so clean/pro looking.  hats off.

Thanks dude 😁😁

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  • 1 month later...

Kemp Guitars' latest handcrafted offering is complete - Alder archtop DC body, Black Walnut neck with flat U profile and our brand new "straight-pull" string angle design headstock, Ebony fretboard, Gotoh tune-o-matic bridge and 381 Series tuners, Kent Armstrong Super Distortion (bridge) and IronGear's award-winning Texas Loco (neck) pickups, Graph Tech TUSQ nut and stunning metallic matte "Intense Blue" finish...

kemp-guitars-handcrafted-dc-metallic-blu

kemp-guitars-handcrafted-dc-metallic-blu

kemp-guitars-handcrafted-dc-metallic-blu

kemp-guitars-handcrafted-dc-metallic-blu

Loving that blue combined with the Walnut neck 😍

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21 hours ago, ScottR said:

You, sir, set a high bar for you consistently clean work. Extraordinarily clean.

Extra marks for making matte finish paint jobs look easy. Every time. Consistently.:)

SR

Why thank you, Mr ScottR.

That's 10 years of full-time building for ya... although it hasn't been without its moments - the Pinky Dinky being one of the most memorable, of course 😆 

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13 hours ago, Norris said:

Lovely clean work as usual. That combination looks particularly gorgeous 

Thank you Norris 👍

Yes, I agree on the colour combination. Originally off/vintage white, I thought the blue and Walnut worked really well

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21 hours ago, Norris said:

I must admit the thoughts that went through my head were: that's a lovely clean build, I wonder how much he charges for a guitar like that, no dammit I'm a builder too :D

Thank you again for your positive words :) Must admit, being my first "handcrafted" build since the decisions I'd made end of last year (and now gone back on), this one is up there as one of my favourites at the moment. Not as "metal" as I'd like to be going with my guitar designs but the combination of the metallic blue body and Black Walnut neck is stunning... And, coincidentally, this one is up for sale right now (sorry, won't post details here in case I get banned or something)

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On 6/26/2019 at 12:26 PM, KempGuitars said:

Thank you again for your positive words :) Must admit, being my first "handcrafted" build since the decisions I'd made end of last year (and now gone back on), this one is up there as one of my favourites at the moment. Not as "metal" as I'd like to be going with my guitar designs but the combination of the metallic blue body and Black Walnut neck is stunning... And, coincidentally, this one is up for sale right now (sorry, won't post details here in case I get banned or something)

I was actually thinking about how metal it looks. The neck SC and colour scheme give it a shreddy/hair metal aesthetic.

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10 hours ago, Stu. said:

I was actually thinking about how metal it looks. The neck SC and colour scheme give it a shreddy/hair metal aesthetic.

Almost went with cream/aged pickups and chrome hardware for a real vintage/80s hair metal vibe but decided to take it modern with the white/black instead, but yes, I see where you're coming from 👍

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  • 3 weeks later...

15/16ths size custom Strat body complete with cavities and neck profiled, all ready for some good ol' hand carving in a couple of weeks... Moving on to the next build tomorrow :)

67162220_1649999465143393_11034228397441

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  • 1 month later...

Decided not to update every step of the way as I am running a business and a lot of my builds tend to look very similar at this stage, so here's a jump forward to where we are now...

On the workbench... The current custom batch all machined, routed and drilled, and now ready for handcarving the necks and body contouring. These include that 15/16ths size Strat body seen in my last post, two DCs, one SS, that pointy KX4 in the background (stock build) and a KM2 (no body yet). I'll start posting more as they are completed 😃

69000580_1682500855226587_22805284633811

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  • 3 months later...

Hello PG!

If there are any Kemp followers out there, I do apologise for the lack of updates over the past several months. As mentioned previously (I think), due to workload and time restraints, I have been concentrating on Instagram and Facebook.

However, I thought I'd pop here now and give you all a quick insight into the last couple of months and what's been happening in terms of finished builds.

The first is the blue DC seen above, but now it's white. The respray was done at cost with the purchase of this one...

kemp-guitars-handcrafted-dc-white-1.jpg

kemp-guitars-handcrafted-dc-white-3.jpg

kemp-guitars-handcrafted-dc-white-4.jpg

kemp-guitars-handcrafted-dc-white-2.jpg

Then we've got the prototype KX4 in black - what a beast!

kemp-kx4-pointy-guitar-prototype-1.jpg

kemp-kx4-pointy-guitar-prototype-2.jpg

kemp-kx4-pointy-guitar-prototype-3.jpg

kemp-kx4-pointy-guitar-prototype-4.jpg

Followed by this yellow DC which is on its way out of the workshop to a happy owner as we speak...

kemp-multiscale-dc-yellow-dimarzio-hipsh

kemp-multiscale-dc-yellow-dimarzio-hipsh

kemp-multiscale-dc-yellow-dimarzio-hipsh

kemp-multiscale-dc-yellow-dimarzio-hipsh

There are a few more in progress (sprayed and ready for assembly) and I will get them posted as soon as they're finished. We've also got some new orders just started, one of which is being made with plenty of figured Maple - here's a little taster...

80022556_1795576713919000_31137215772926

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Hello Project Guitar!

We're approaching the end of 2019 - my 10th year of building guitars - and I wanted to share the latest with you before the 2020 build thread is created.

I have been fixing broken links (again) across all my old threads - links below - and also added some more photos to the last big posts (see above) :)

2016 thread - http://www.projectguitar.com/forums/topic/48727-kemp-guitars-2016-build-thread/

2017-18 thread - http://www.projectguitar.com/forums/topic/48992-kemp-guitars-2017-18-build-thread/

2018 Pt2 thread - http://www.projectguitar.com/forums/topic/49407-2018-final-post-from-kemp-guitars-or-is-it/

Enjoy and hope you all have a great Xmas and New Year! See you in 2020!!!

2020 thread: http://www.projectguitar.com/forums/topic/50627-kemp-guitars-thread-2020/

😃

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