Andyjr1515

The body carve and shape is pretty much finished. In the back, I added a scoop at the lower cutout for good upper-fret access and managed to cut a sliver of the camphor laurel for the control cover: And yes - needing new glasses or not, the string bar IS supposed to be on a slant The fretboard's not glued yet but the fretmarker positions are better (don't worry about the 3rd - it is 1mm smaller but is indeed in line with the rest): The top is coming out nicely. With the final gloss coats this is going to look really nice And Tim's sent me the profile measurements of his favourite player: Every guitar has its own feel, but my aim is to try to get in familiar territory for Tim's first playing experience.

That's lovely, @Mr Natural

Great build Hope the thumb is OK.....

Now you're just rubbing it in, Scott... 'the sun descended to a nice low angle..' That and the jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, mind-numbing beautiful finish.... Yes - just rubbing it in... Pure wickedness and cruelty.... You can go off people, you know.....

What's not to like? Looks good to me. Modern superstrat-ish but with enough curves and carves to pull it into totally different territory.... My very first bash (about 6 years ago) at a body build was sapele. I built it for myself. Ugly as sin with a very oddly proportioned body but quite the niceset guitar to play of anything I've built or bought before or since:

Both the 21st and the 5th were out of place - I reckon I need some new glasses! Anyway, both fixed...

No - it's the 5th . It sounds like I need to check the 21st too

I love seeing proper carving. Great work

Man after my own heart where the patio slabs become an integral part of the build process Great work

Really fascinating work and research

Bit more progress. Finally bit the bullet to do my least favourite job of any build - radiusing the fretboard! Then added 5mm dot markers for 1 & 3, couple of swifts on 12th and 6mm dots for the rest (one of which is irritatingly askew....easy fix while it's not yet glued to the neck) : Also discussed with Tim how much more cutthrough he wanted to the wenge and mahogany. In the end we've gone for extending it to the top horn but leaving the lower half with the more traditional roundover. There's still the final sanding, cutaway transitions and rounding to do, but this is broadly the direction we're heading: Tomorrow should see the final body shaping and rounding complete and maybe even the fretboard glued on

I think the rough carve is now there or thereabouts for me to go to the final filling and shaping of the body. Imagine the holes filled and dark rather than open and light, but this is where the front currently is: Here's the back: And here's the player's viewpoint: And here's the "deranged fan getting uncomfortably close to the player" 's viewpoint:

I haven't chosen the bridge yet but the neck angle should allow most standard flat-type bridges to be used. I don't plan to use a t-o-m which would have needed a greater angle. There won't be much wood underneath the pickups, but I'm planning on swopping a pair of SD P-rails from a previous build

Yes - curved backs are nothing new. Many of the Warwick basses are curved - mind you, clearly weight reduction isn't their objective because they are as heavy as concrete

The top one is close to being a 'standard' slim. On the other hand, the bottom one is going to be close to 'bonkers' slim

Got the control chamber cut out and the back wings glued on: Now they're glued, it's easier to see the back carve contour routes: I wiped the pair of builds over with a damp cloth. Once they are properly carved and finished, I think they're going to be a nice looking pair of guitars

Hi, Sebastian and welcome I look forward to seeing this develop. That is a very decorative set of lightening holes! It's a pity they are going to be covered up! Hmmm....single block solid body with decorative lightenening holes....I can feel another project coming on Keep posting the pics! We'll all be watching with great interest and encouraging words Andy

Bit more progress on this. Got the wings glued and cable runs routed: Then top glued on with a 2mm wenge demarcation veneer between the two. The crack in the top isn't a crack - it's just the edge of one of the many holes. It seems to be actually a pretty stable wood, despite the holey nature of it : Then, before the carve, some of the jobs best done when you still have a flat surface. The first being the pickup chambers. And again, I must stress this is simply the way I do it, not necessarily the way it should be done. I know many (most?) builders use a forstner for rough bulk removal and then a template and router for the final shape. I use the same things but in, perhaps, a different order to many. The reason is simple - I simply haven't found the foolproof way of positioning and avoiding router disasters with the more conventional method. And I hate using templates if there's another way (personal thing) I've also learnt how to sharpen a chisel...amazing what that can do when it doesn't have the sharpness of an old screwdriver... So this is how I do it nowadays. The corners make all the difference to the professional look of the finished fit. So I drill them first on my little drill press: I then use the Forstner to take out the bulk and also to nibble right to the very edge of the marked line (which is drawn 1/2 mm larger than the pickup covers all the way round) If you ever try this, by the way, always clamp the body - nibbling hits the side of the forstner bit so, unsupported, it will shift! Then I use my very sharp chisel and mallet to straighten up the top ripples in between the original four drilled holes: And only now do I get the router out to finish route the lower part of the chamber and the bottom to the specific depth I need - because now it is fully safe to use with a short top bearing trimmer bit: Result is (phew!) a neat and very accurate chamber: So, hey - it maybe a slight shift from the conventional approach, but it works for me

Oh, my goodness... Awestruck...

That looks top class. The Fuji feature is masterly, both in concept and application.

A superlative build and a fitting tribute.

That carve has come out really nice, Scott. Such a smooth, precise end result. Wonderful result. 3/8" neo magnets....hmmm, that's probably twice the size of the largest I would generally use. Good job they are well clear of the p/up!

Bee's Wing Mottle....that sounds WAY cooler than Quilt. I'll go with that

I can't see what I'm supposed to be looking at (if that makes any sense!)

Personally I wouldn't have many issues ref the tone. Relating to the nut, all of the Warwick basses have a similar system (their Just-a-nut system) - and, let's face it, they aren't exactly pilloried about poor tone! The bridge looks a very interesting concept. Not sure how you would cut the slot, but tone-wise, as long as the saddle and the packer were both suitably stiff and square, I can't see why this wouldn't work very well. But yes - do a mock up first! I love this sort of stuff