Paul Marossy Posted November 14, 2004 Report Share Posted November 14, 2004 Got the two-piece pickguard made now. Mark Hammer's suggestion at Aron's Stompbox Forum was a good one, so I went with it. I made it out of plastic for now. Here's what I have so far: http://www.diyguitarist.com/Guitars/SuperStrat.htm As soon as I get my neck, I will check the fit of all the parts, and then I can commence doing the fabric top... 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted November 14, 2004 Report Share Posted November 14, 2004 hey paul..looking good so far. man don't worry about putting fabric on the pick guard..it's really pretty easy. in fact, if you're not worried about the pattern matching up with what's on the body you might want to try the pick guard first. keep on keepin' us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted November 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 (edited) Well, I think today I will receive the rest of my parts, so I can get the ball rolling on finishing this project. Something I didn't expect to be a problem is trying to find the fabric that I want to use, though. After thinking about it for a while, I don't think the stuff that I was going to use would look good on a guitar, or a least I don't think I would be totally happy with it... BTW, does adding the fabric on the top "ruin" your tone? I am currently in a discussion with someone about this at the stompbox forum, they claim it will "ruin your guitar's tone"... Edited November 15, 2004 by Paul Marossy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank falbo Posted November 15, 2004 Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 Whoever said that is wrong for a couple reasons. First, the cloth really becomes embedded in clear. So the question is, does a super-thick clear coat "ruin" your tone. Well many pros use guitars with super-thick clears, and they all sound fine to me. You can argue the resonance choking effects of the finish all day, but you should never come to the conclusion that anything "ruins" tone because tone is subjective, and there are people out there making records with poop guitars because they like the tone. Sort of like "its so bad it's good" But the most obvious reason they're wrong is that your guitar's body has a veneer face and back already, that was done at the factory so it would accept finish better. So you already have a thick cap and back on that body. One layer of fabric in the clear won't do diddly squat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted November 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 (edited) I wholeheartedly agree with you on all counts Frank. It is a highly subjective topic, isn't it?! Edited November 15, 2004 by Paul Marossy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted November 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2004 Well, I have asked around some more at various guitar related forums, and I decided to go with my original idea for the finish on the body based on mostly positive feedback. (I was vascillating on doing the fabric or not) You can see my progress so far here It won't be too long now before I am finished with this project. I am undecided if I am going to actually use Ansil's sustain circuit thingie, though. So far, I have heard only one "build report" on that circuit and it didn't sound very positive. I tried contacting Ansil about it, but I haven't heard back from him on it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted November 20, 2004 Report Share Posted November 20, 2004 well who would have thought that you could actually find a fabric wilder than my parrot guitar but you did..and it's pretty cool at that. i cruised around your website a bit too..also pretty cool. by the way, i really don't think you have anything to worry about with the fabric changing the tone. the parrot sounds perfectly normal..not mushy, not too bright, just normal. anyway, lookin good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted November 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2004 (edited) Thanks. I still think that is one of the coolest patterns that I have ever seen. It actually is from an Izod shirt that I bought like 10 years ago and wore to death. It's actually a little faded and I don't wear it anymore because of that, but after adding two coats of sanding sealer it looks like new material again. I have finished prepping the back of the body - sanded it down, etc. Today I will start on the front. I'll keep y'all posted on my progress. EDIT: I forgot to mention that when I'm done, the finish will be about half as thick as the finish I stripped off of the guitar. I imagine that can only help it to have more sustain, etc. Edited November 21, 2004 by Paul Marossy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted November 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 (edited) Well, I have applied the sanding sealer, done the sanding bit, etc. I can not feel or "see" where the fabric ends and where the body starts, so now I am ready to do the sunburst and paint the body cavities. Now, if it would only stop raining... EDIT: I forgot to mention that it took way less sanding sealer than I expected to do this part. Maybe 2-3 ounces of the stuff did the trick, and after the sanding, it's quite smooth. Should turn out well. Edited November 23, 2004 by Paul Marossy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted November 23, 2004 Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 Very cool, I like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted November 23, 2004 Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 progress pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted November 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 Very cool, I like it! Thanks! I think it is rad. It's going to look very cool when it is all finished. I have had a lot of obstacles to overcome thus far, one thing or another had to be modified a little bit or tweaked. But, it's coming together nicely. progress pics? Sorry, no new pics at this time. It still looks the same as the last couple of pics on the page, except that I have sanding sealer on it now. I can't really paint the cavities or the sunburst right now because it has been unseasonably cold and wet here this for this time of the year... I did populate the pickgaurds this morning, though. The next step is to solder in the preamp circuit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted November 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2004 Got some new pics for y'all. While I was waiting for the cold front to clear out of here, I got most of the electronics wired up - as far as I can go without actually installing it in the body. That was on Monday/Tuesday. I did the suburst and painted the cavities Wednesday afternoon and on Thanksgiving morning. I used the "poor boy sunburst" method in the tutorial section. It turned out pretty well considering that I never tried to do anything like this before. I'm pretty handy with a can of spray paint, though. Here is what I have so far. Next, I will apply the clearcoat. Then I'll be concentrating on the neck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted November 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2004 Well, now it's hanging to dry in my garage. Fortunately, there is no wind at all today, so dust isn't much of a problem. I think I'll let it hang for about 48 hours before I touch it. Then I'm going to buff it, put all the parts on it and get the body to the point where I am just attaching the neck to it. It's been more work than I thought it would be, but I am happy with the end result. I wanted something different, so I got that for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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