Wasabi J Posted December 12, 2004 Report Share Posted December 12, 2004 OK... like I said, I'm starting the process of kitting my first guitar. Currently, I have two whole guitars in my possesion. One is a LTD M-50 smoke blue, and looks just like this: http://espguitars.com/images/guitars/M50_bs.jpg T'other is an Abilene ALK35DOS... Looks like the green one here: http://www.vitamindiscountsuperstore.com/A...ic%20Guitar.jpg I'm trying to start a project where I slowly, piece by piece transmutate a curretn guitar into a whole new piece. I'm not caring if this is necesarily the best or smartest way to do things.. this is just my thing. I really wanna do it like this... sorry for anyone clutching their chests in anxiety. My current plan of action was to take a Warmoth "Star" body and do a lamination on it, (I may have said otherwise, my bad.) with a transparent black or a dark transparent smoky blue "Moonburst" ('Sunburst' would be blasphemy on something that dark.) on a flamed maple top from here. My next plan was to use either neck (preferably the LTD neck) on it, and have the Abilene's pickups on it, which is a S-S-H config. They are really great little guys, so there's no worries there. Lastly, I'm buying a Tun-o-matic and making it a through body design, just to try to get nice tension, and to give my final angry boot to these crummy Gototh bridges I do have.... Plus I don't use trems anyways. Problem one is: I've been told that the neck wont fit. Now, is this because of ESPs notched back or is this a larger issue. Also, is there a way around that issue? Problem 2: Whatever you guys can help me work out. I'll appreciate any comment/help/"OMFGishenuts?"/"yes" I can get. Thanks a million. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 12, 2004 Report Share Posted December 12, 2004 hey bud,forgive me,i thought the m50 came with a 24 fret neck..i see from the pic that it is a 22 fretter i belive that will fit on the warmoth body but to double check...for a neck to work on that body,you need 18 3/8" from the fretboard side of the nut to the end of the neck heel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasabi J Posted December 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2004 (edited) Well from the looks of things, I can't see a diff from a Tele neck heel and this guy's. The fingerboard just hangs over the body, but nice and real tight, mybe a 1/16" gap, at most on the edges. Yeah... the neck is 22 frets, maple clear satin finish, XJ frets, rosewood fingerboard.. and this suckers REAL stiff. I swear... intontation's been perfect from day one, no matter the weahter. And the neck (from quick measurements) seems to be just that length... I don't wanna take it apart right now.... later. Edited December 12, 2004 by Wasabi J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 12, 2004 Report Share Posted December 12, 2004 yes most 22 fret necks are based on the fender heel design,which will fit on any warmoth body...but that measurement i gave you is critical,so double check Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasabi J Posted December 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2004 (edited) *Sighs... breaks out a screw driver...* You're so lucky it's been unfortunately de-stringed... *Checks with a tape measure...* \/\/007... right on. Let's see what else anyone can help with... Ya like how I already had it undone by the time you posted due to impatience to know? Then I pretended I was frustrated for comic purposes... *slapped* Edited December 12, 2004 by Wasabi J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted December 12, 2004 Report Share Posted December 12, 2004 sry, completelly off topic.....but you sp3@k t3h 1337. you rock man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted December 12, 2004 Report Share Posted December 12, 2004 Problem one is: I've been told that the neck wont fit. Now, is this because of ESPs notched back or is this a larger issue. Also, is there a way around that issue? Yes, if you're neck heel will fit in the pocket, all you'll have to do next is attach the neck with the three screws that are in the normal spots. Then, using the fourth screw hole in the body as a guide, drill a new hole in the neck for the fourth screw and use a new standard neck plate. -or- See if Warmoth will carve and drill the neck joint so you can re-use the neck plate from your LTD and not have to drill another hole in the neck. Just one more thing to consider. Make sure that Warmoth carves the neck pocket so that the neck sits at an angle for the TOM bridge. Otherwise, your action will be atrociously high. It will cost you $10 extra to have them do this. Also, if you're ordering the body from Warmoth, why not have them put a maple veneer on it there? I'm not sure how much more it'll cost you, but it'd probably be worth it over putting a paper-thin veneer on a brand-new body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasabi J Posted December 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 (edited) Yeah.. about the veneer thing... see... THEY want $90 US for it... I wanna get the experience of doing it myself, and the ability to say Yatta! over a goal of mine. That second option sounds like the way to go there, for the neck. I like that. How much extra do you think they'll tack on for that? Any clues? I can always call.... but anywho. That neck issue with the tilt... how will they need to slice it up? So that the headstock is higher or lower? You guys are seriously helping avoid some major setbacks... thanks... keep it coming. Any other things you'd like to add about this thing would be appreciated... even just comments! And now... A conceptualization art... For the completion of this stage... by me... : \/\/007 go crappy Photoshop editing! Edited December 13, 2004 by Wasabi J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 (edited) The only problem with doing the veneer yourself is probably going to be finding a veneer big enough to cover that body. Just keep that in mind when you go to find a veneer. $90 isn't too bad for a quality piece of installed 1/8 inch veneer that you can actually sand and stain without too much trouble. Paper-thin veneer is much more difficult to stain with the effect I think you want. But, it's your axe, do it if you want to do it. As for the neck angle, they will simply rout an angle in the neck pocket on the body--you shouldn't have to do anything to the neck. The back of the neck will not be parallel to the back of the body and will allow the strings to maintain a steep breakover angle on the TOM bridge without affecting the action. Think SG or Les Paul. It's a $10 charge to have them do this--if you're using a TOM you have to do this. I'm not sure how much it would cost to have them carve the body so you can use the ESP neckplate, or even if they'll do it at all. That's a "call and ask them" question. I'd assume the answer is going to be either "no" or "yeah, for $30". Also, just one thing I think would sweeten the looks of the design. Elminate the middle pickup and have Warmoth carve the neck pickup cavity at an angle, sort of like Tele bridge pickup but more of a softer angle like the LTD MV-200/300. It will also help the polepieces line up with their respective strings, reducing crosstalk. TOM bridges are narrower than Strat bridges, so the polepieces on Strat pickups are wider than they need to be to sense and separate the strings properly on a TOM-equipped guitar. If you put a coil-split switch on the humbucker, you can still get that "in-between" sound with both pickups activated, and it'll simplify the looks of the guitar. Star-shaped guitars look busy enough without 3 pickups on them. Edited December 13, 2004 by crafty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasabi J Posted December 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 (edited) Ok... Cool. I like your ideas, so far man! Thanks for not shooting my plan all to hell. I hate when that happens. As for the coil splitting... I've been under the impression that the humbucker goes into single mode with any onther pickup activated, but I'll have to double check on that. I'll see about that laminate thing. You are right about haveing a difficult time staining a paper-thin piece (the thickest I'm looking at is 1/32"!) but at the same time, I don't think it'd be any harder than that time I stained balsa wood. THAT was a bitch, BTW. Looks like I'll be makin' some calls over the winter break, but thanks you guys. BTW, what'dya think of that color? I don't know exactly which method I should go for, using that burst.... Help me out there, too. Finally, that neck pocket thing... I realize they aren't changing the neck, I just wanted to know how that neck angle is changing anything... I was under the impresssion it was similar to the old-school "stick washers in between the neck" method, which points the neck up or down, depending on how you place em... but I didn't wanna do that. I just wanted to know so I could let Warmoth know. Thank you guys... keep it up! I re-did the concept to see if this is what you meant... Like? Edited December 13, 2004 by Wasabi J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 No problem with you doing veneer yourself, but I would practice several times on some scrap wood with some cheesy veneer until you get your kinks worked out and when you approach the real body, you're properly prepared so it will look great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasabi J Posted December 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 Twas the plan. Know of any cheap alternatives that act like flamed maple? Is there maple sheet that's just plain, maybe 1/32"? Good looking out, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 Whoa, that picture showed up a little dark on my screen. Anyway, you could do the neck pickup angle that way, I would do it with the high-E side angled towards the bridge, not the low-E side. Just personal preference. The humbucker doesn't automagically become a single-coil when in parallel with another single-coil pickup. On the contrary, the noise from the single-coil will be present in the mix. I would use the middle pickup from that guitar as your neck pickup because it's probably been wound reverse. That will give you a humbucking in-between effect when you combine the two pickups with the coil-split on the humbucker. With Warmoth, tell them to drill the holes for the bridge studs, give them the exact model of your bridge, and tell them that you want the neck pocket routed for use with an angled neck for a TOM bridge. They'll know what you're talking about. So we don't get confused on direction here, the angle of the neck would mean that the headstock is pointing down. I like the blueburst over flamed maple. Good choice. Try searching for the poor man's burst tutorial over in paint and finishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasabi J Posted December 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 (edited) Yeah... ^^; sorry bout the darkness. It IS a "dark" design. I find it sad that "rock" and "metal" guitars these days don't respect beautiful woodgrains. Right-o, I just asked Warmoth about the "neck notch," the availability of flame maple (which, btw, is going to cost over $100 if I so desire it, due to certain constraints), the TOM bridge problem, and the pickup angling. I wasn't really thinking about if it mattered which way the P.U. was pointing, nor did I tell them which way. Expecting a response soon. I'll have to check up on my wires at home... there may be some stuff I do with the pickups for grins, anyway, like trying to see if I could make a pre-amp in the thing, and some other non-invasive stuff. I was thinking of making less deck clutter by using concentric pots, but right now, by removing the top pickup, I have no idea how the control config is at the moment. Maybe y'all could help. The thing has a 5-way switch and goes (from tail to neck throw) B, B-M, M, M-N, N. There are three control knobs: two tone and one volume. The rear tone knob controls the first two or three configs, the other the last, and the volume is overall. Is removing one of the pickups going to change the number of knobs down to two... EVEN if I add a tap-coil split to the hum? Help! I'm confusing myself here!! I want a tap-coil split on any knob as a push knob switch, and as few knobs as possible, by using concentric pots, or dual purpose pots (that have two diffrent functions when pushed or pulled). Help me out here! Edited December 13, 2004 by Wasabi J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 Just figure out exactly what kind of controls you want, first. Do you want a master tone, or a tone pot for each pickup? Do you want a master volume, or a volume pot for each pickup? If you're looking to keep it simple, use a dual 250k concentric pot for master tone/volume, a switch to ground for the coil-split on the humbucker, and a three-way switch (either blade-style like a Tele, or leaf-style like a Les Paul). Save the little tone capacitor from either your LTD or the cheapo guitar. I converted my Strat to master tone when I installed my EMG preamp. It's not too hard and I just adapted a schematic on Seymour Duncan's website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasabi J Posted December 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 Heh.. heh... sounds like the most I could have is two concentric pots (one for the bridge volume and tone, and one for neck volume and tone), and two switches. Hmm... wonder if i could do a click-knob for the pickup select. I don't like switches one bit. Gimme knobs. Is that possible? Three sets of knobs, two for pickup control and one for selection/coil split? I wonder... I gotta see if theres a knob that'll do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasabi J Posted December 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 (edited) Eeek... look at the response I got from Warmoth. --------------------------------------- Hi Jerry- We don't offer customizations on either the neck pocket or the pickups as you have described. We can leave the routs off and let you cut them as you like them. We a quilt or a flame top that could be used. I would guess $125 over the solid body pricing. Thanks. Regards, Garrett Baker Warmoth Guitar Products, Inc. -------------------------------------------- Seeing as the standard guitar price for a laminate is $90... I don't see that one happening. I'll stick to doing it myself. Hmm...what to do about that routing... hey... another question: If I were to go with a H-X-H configuration, would that help any? Then, couldn't you do another tap coil-split? Heh... I found 12 way switches, so that could mean that you could have every combo, includng split or not, of bridge and neck pickups. But I hafta think of how to wire that. Any suggestions guys? Edited December 14, 2004 by Wasabi J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasabi J Posted December 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2004 (edited) I didn't know, but I think this may help: This is the way that I was thinking of settng up, partially, except with concentric pots, and then using a rotary switch for the pickup select and possibly trying to incorporate the coil split into that switch. Please, any guitar electronics gurus please help with this coil split problem on dual humbuckers!! Graphic obtained from ESP Japan's customer service department... infinitely better than America's... If we have one. Edited December 14, 2004 by Wasabi J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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