New Solidbody Electric

[Myka Guitars]

I just finished up another solidbody and I though I would share it. Here is a link to the gallery.

This is a really interesting guitar with a mahogany body and black limba neck. Usually if the necks are of a different wood than the body it is more dense and harder than the body wood (maple on ash, rosewood necks, etc). This one goes the other way by using a less dense wood. This is in keeping with acoustic guitar design all the way and the result is pretty nice. I don't know how much better this approach is as I love the rosewood necked guitars I have built but it does offer another way of tweaking the tone. The idea was to try and add a little sparkle to the dark mahogany tone without completely overpowering it. One thing you might notice is the heavier neck heel (or that there is a neck heel at all). This was a specific request from my client based on the idea that the heel adds necessary mass which is a part of a good tone recipe floating around. I don't believe or disbelieve it as both sound good to me. I like the heavier heel too just not as much. Anyway this guitar really sings. It has a great voice that can cut through without sounding shrill and piercing. The tone is very warm and musical.

Hope you enjoy the pics!

~David

Edited October 26, 2004 by Myka Guitars

[darren wilson]

As always, stunning work!

P.S. check your link... you've got a double " in there.

[www]

The link came up as microsoft.com????? Your website is nice though. Just got lost there dreaming for awhile.

[hyunsu]

Dear Myka..

your guitar is not guitar.. your Guitar is ART.. ^^

thank to your pic..

i want to growing up like you..

[goth_fiend]

....wow.....that thing is killer myka, looks like a swimming pool, what kind of dye did you do and what method of finishing did you do?

[RGGR]

Nice maple on top. I especially like the heel design you put in. Smooth.

Nice improvement to this LP inspired body.

See you've built some other Limba guitars.

Nice.

[MikeB]

outstanding!!! the limba neck is excellent, but that top, fabulous! really fantastic work!

[jammy]

Looks amazing, all you work seems to!

[Myka Guitars]

P.S. check your link... you've got a double " in there.

Thanks! It's fixed now.

...what kind of dye did you do and what method of finishing did you do?

I used waterbased aniline dye, just straight blue. I used two batches of dye. One was mixed weaker than recommended (1/2) one was mixed stronger (2X).

1. I applied the stronger dye first and saurated the top completely.

2. Let dry and sanded back until just the deepest parts of the grain were showing.

3. The next step you do in one step (don't let it dry):

• Applied the weaker dye all over the top evenly.
  
• Applied the weaker dye around the edges to give it a slight darker border.
  
• Wipe with a damp rag in the middle to blend the dye rubbing more dye out in the middle to lighten it up a bit and accentuate the dark edge.
  

4. Repeat the steps in step 3 until you get what you want.

The damp rag trick works wonders for smoothing out dye over edges and blending colors (on mutli color projects), as well as removing dye in a controlled way to lighten an area up.

Hope this helps.

~David

Edited October 26, 2004 by Myka Guitars

[javacody]

David,

Beautiful work, where do you get your limba from? I need some and I'd like to go with a reputable supplier (no one locally carries it).

[Myka Guitars]

If you live in Portland Oregon (I did for 1-1/2 years) they carry it at Crosscut Lumber in the industrial section of town (NW). It is a retail shop so you can pick through, which you definitely need to do.

If you don't live in Portland, OR then there are a couple places that will mail it to you:

Gilmer Wood Company on the West Coast and Gallery Hardwoods on the East Coast

[Strange Fruit]

Wow

Amazing as always David!

I must admit i have your site as my homepage........and I now have a short-circuiting keyboard.

Inspirational or what guys?

Matt

[Curtis P]

you love those Bartolini pickups eh?

Stunning guitar

Curtis