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Argytar one-piece Corona-bird build. Too soon?


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1 hour ago, mistermikev said:

very nice looking guitar.  1 piece is pretty cool and has it's own set of challenges - you are overcoming them well.  cudos.

Thank you so much!! It s coming out pretty light too, makes me want to try something similar with Korina next time.

What I especially like is the fact that if you tap it, it vibrates as a whole so I am guessing the sustain will be cool. We will see!!

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Just now, argytar said:

Thank you so much!! It s coming out pretty light too, makes me want to try something similar with Korina next time.

What I especially like is the fact that if you tap it, it vibrates as a whole so I am guessing the sustain will be cool. We will see!!

what kind of wood did you use?

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52 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said:

This is a really impressive build.  As @komodo says, you don't see many one piece guitars.  In fact, this is the first one I've seen being built before our very eyes 🙂

Splendid.

Thank you very much!! This is actually my third one-piece build!! My first one was Eaperanza and was featured as a contestant in guitar of the month like 15 years ago here at the forum!!

 

The second one is a Les Paul special from Korina that was “stolen” from me by the best blues player in Greece E. Zaikos of the Blues Wire band! Look them up!

It started as a necessity and I just wanted to revisit that kind of build!

I am enjoying the process very much I must say!!

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Edited by argytar
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6 minutes ago, mistermikev said:

what kind of wood did you use?

This one is an old piece of Obeche or Ayouz very light and dry. Very soft too I would say it is something between basswood and Korina when you work on it.

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Just now, argytar said:

This one is an old piece of Obeche or Ayouz very light and dry. Very soft too I would say it is something between basswood and Korina when you work on it.

very light - that sounds ideal for a firebird.  cool beans.  look fwd to seeing her come together.  that special anbove is v nice.

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17 minutes ago, mistermikev said:

very light - that sounds ideal for a firebird.  cool beans.  look fwd to seeing her come together.  that special anbove is v nice.

The special is a Korina one-piece build with a Madagascar rosewood board. The sustain is insane and it also pops like a strat on steroids! That came out pretty light too like 3.25 kilos! I expect the firebird to be 2.7 Kilos WITH the B5 Bigsby!

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Just now, argytar said:

The special is a Korina one-piece build with a Madagascar rosewood board. The sustain is insane and it also pops like a strat on steroids! That came out pretty light too like 3.25 kilos! I expect the firebird to be 2.7 Kilos WITH the B5 Bigsby!

that would be very light for that body style.  def will be watching.

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2 minutes ago, mistermikev said:

that would be very light for that body style.  def will be watching.

I ordered the steinberger tuners which are supposed to be lighter so as to avoid neck dive. The positioning of the B5 will help too I believe.

Edited by argytar
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Did some more work today.

I sanded the body and started applying shellac sealer.

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I put together a template to cut for the control cavity cover.

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I liked how it came about.

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I cut a piece of plexiglass and shaped it to fit . I also drilled it and used the countersunk bit for the screws.


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Today I shaped the bone nut and cut the grooves with the nut slotting jig I from Halon GMI in Greece. You can make a precise nut in a jiffy!! 

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I prepared the slot with the slot shaping files from stew mac and it sits tightly on the spot!

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I also finished shaping the volute and back of neck, so more shellac was applied.

 

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Edited by argytar
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This gets better and better.  

Those Steinberger tuners are excellent.  In my view (and a number of folks I know who've used them) , one of the best-designed tuners on the market. 

I fitted them to my band-mate's genuine 60's fake Firebird (that is, it is a fake that was made in the late 60's presumably in the 'lawsuit' era or before) and whose original (genuine) banjo tuners had completely worn out.

Loving this build.

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2 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

This gets better and better.  

Those Steinberger tuners are excellent.  In my view (and a number of folks I know who've used them) , one of the best-designed tuners on the market. 

I fitted them to my band-mate's genuine 60's fake Firebird (that is, it is a fake that was made in the late 60's presumably in the 'lawsuit' era or before) and whose original (genuine) banjo tuners had completely worn out.

Loving this build.

Hey thank you so much!! I am looking forward to getting the package from Stew Mac it is already out in the mail!

I drilled for the tuners and chamfered the headstock a bit to get that firwbird-y look!

I also installed the truss rod nut and it fit perfectly! Maybe I will need to modify the access a little bit so that it works ok.

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I understand your concern. The green somehow looks commonplace - not quite John Deere but something you might find on a lawn mower. Tool green of sorts. Or the less stylish villain of a 60's-70's super hero comic book or tv series based on one - there's something that reminds me of the Riddler in the Batman TV series from '66 which was camp humour at its best.

A darker burst might help but would that shape look good with a burst is another question.

Some darker shade of green like the legendary British Racing Green might be better for such classic looking instrument.

But that's just me and a photo can lie more than a thousand words!

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2 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

I understand your concern. The green somehow looks commonplace - not quite John Deere but something you might find on a lawn mower. Tool green of sorts. Or the less stylish villain of a 60's-70's super hero comic book or tv series based on one - there's something that reminds me of the Riddler in the Batman TV series from '66 which was camp humour at its best.

A darker burst might help but would that shape look good with a burst is another question.

Some darker shade of green like the legendary British Racing Green might be better for such classic looking instrument.

But that's just me and a photo can lie more than a thousand words!


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Yes, I can see where you ‘re coming from! I meddled a little bit with blue and rejected it, then resprayed a darker green and I think I found my Racing / Sherwood Green!!

 

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Should I leave it like that? I now like it much much more, it is what I had in mind.

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1 hour ago, Norris said:

That is quite vivid. @Bizman62 beat to the suggestion of a burst, but I'll raise it with a full tint coat too 😄

What's going on on the top "horn"? Has it cracked?

Yep it has rained yesterday and the temperature dropped like A LOT, so in the morning I found this crackled premature relicing. It will of course be repaired.

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37 minutes ago, argytar said:

Should I leave it like that? I now like it much much more, it is what I had in mind.

"Much much more" sounds like you shouldn't repaint the guitar any longer unless you're sure that another shade would please you even much much more.

For testing more colours or bursts I suggest you to make a bunch of paper/cardboard templates which you can paint and lay over the guitar. Paper could easily be bent for the higher part and punched for the pickups and pot holes.

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That looks a nice colour.

I'm assuming from the timing of your posts that you are spraying over the top each time. Let each coat dry and settle for a bit - the solvents need to escape and if you build up too many coats too quickly it will take months to harden off 🙂

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So, since it looks good to my eyes I am taking things from scratch.

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That was the top of the guitar only so a little scraping goes a long way...

 

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I love how blue peaks out under the green but I want as little paint on the guitar as possible ...

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