daveq Posted February 9, 2005 Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 Looks incredible!! I don't know how I missed this one earlier. Is that natural binding I see along the edges? That's a real bitch to do in my limited experience. I bet you can't wait to plug it in, right? At times like this, I have always wished that I had access to some of that component poly equipment so I can get on it quickly. Keep those pics coming- great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueroomstudios Posted February 9, 2005 Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 Fantastic work Maiden, I love that Blue! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted February 9, 2005 Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 Looking pretty fantastic Maiden, can't wait to see it finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted February 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 Thanks guys. Dave, yes it is a bitch to do. This is the 1st time I try it and on the scraps it turn alright. On the guitar, I sealed the edge like Myka did on his burst tutorial, then I dyed and it was fine, but when I shot sanding sealer over the top to start sealing, on the edges that the grain was very noticiable the blue sweep down, you can't see it if you look at the guitar from the pics, but when you look close in from of it, you can tell. And yes, I wish I had the advantage of poly, I'm almost done with the laquer and sucks to wait a week or 2 to polish. This is my 1st 7 string, so I can wait to rip it to see what it's like. On a different note, I called PRS since they are about 30 min from me to see if I can take a tour of the factory, I'm getting together with some guys from the shop to get a date and go there. I will be putting very close attention to the painting and staining if there is any going on while I'm there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiewarlock Posted February 10, 2005 Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 In my limited experience painting, i have to say lacquer is very forgiving, and yeah the recommended is to wait a week or 2, but i polished my guitars the next day, of course, i had to still leave them hanging cuz if you put em in the case, even the plush interior will leave marks on the finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recursion Posted February 10, 2005 Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 Wow!! I Love that guitar maiden! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recursion Posted February 10, 2005 Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 How did you do the carve? What are the dimensions of the base? If I wanted to do a guitar style like yours, what size blank would I buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted February 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 THe blank was 15x18x1 and the maple was 23x15x1 I think that a PRS is like 1.25 thick on the mahogany and .5 on the maple, but the maple I got was 1" So I used a 1" walnut for the back. This is not a straight PRS copy as you can see, I took somewhat the shape and twisted it to fit my needs, and since it was the 1st time that I work with figure wood, it is an experimental guitar. I will take a lot more care on the next one. One advise as I remember reading from LGM's Jeremy, figured maple don't like conventional planers, or atleast didn't like either of the oens in our shop (20 and 36") no matter how thin the pass. I had to do a lot of belt sanding on the back after I did one pass to smooth it out before glue. If you know of somebody with a thickness sander, use it! We have a brand new one in the shop but is waiting for the contractor to come and wire it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted February 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Back to back, SORRY! Here are some pics of the body with the clear and the neck. Now the waiting begins. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/Maiden69/DSC01891.jpg Here is the heel modded to fith the AANJ http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/Maiden69/DSC01889.jpg And a full shot of the neck to show the little bit of figure (birdseye) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/Maiden69/DSC01890.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
!!METAL MATT!! Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Hay man that neck came out realy well it look's good and there's nothing more that I can say about that deadly body!! !!METAL MATT!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 (edited) Oh c'mon maiden If I can build a neck you SURE CAN! Mine turned out fine and feels nice and fast and it auccually EASY to build. The one thing that scared me was doing the contour on the back. But I just took a cabinate makers rasp to it and I was final sanding in 15 minutes! Seriously you could do sooooo good on a neck if you can build a body like that! You get so much satisfaction out of it (not to mention that its way cheaper ) Edited February 11, 2005 by Godin SD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Excellent looking guitar! Congrats! What did you use for the clear coat and how did you apply it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted February 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 I'm going to write this but I know that Setch is going to kick my SS, I know I can build the neck, but i want to do a good job, and I don't have the necessary tools. I want to get a set of fret files and all the tools that I need to make everything and it totaled a lot of money. So for now I will be using premede necks. I realy want to make a neck, but not until I get the right tools, for me good enough won't cut it. I want to make a damn good neck when I make one. Next year! MAestro, I used sanding sealer and gloss clear from DEFT. So far this is the best clear I have used so far, very forgivin when spraying, even when you go to heavy. And it sands easy and polish good. Ah, I forget, it's all spray can, don't have a compressor yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigabyte Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Excellent! That clear coat really gives it some depth...... As far as the Deft clear you used, what are you comparing it to as far as being better? Duplicolor? Just wondering.... looking for alternatives ...... something that gets harder faster..... I've been using duplicolor so far..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 I'm going to write this but I know that Setch is going to kick my SS Pleeeease! Look at that body, and tell me (with a straight face) that you can't build a neck! That said, it's not quite the same situation as Matt's - his designs needed necks to suit, and those simply aren't available off the rack. In you case, the neck shown looks like a great match. But, just for the record, you don't need specialist tools to make great necks, except for a crowning file. All the construction can be done with regular woodworking tools, and the fretting can be done with a hammer and maple stick, and levelling with a carpenters level and sandpaper. Radius blocks can be made in minutes using the router jig on the PG site. The difficulty with necks is not in the building, it's in abandoning the mindset that necks are somehow difficult to build, which has been hammered into guitarists since they first picked up an instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 MAestro, I used sanding sealer and gloss clear from DEFT. So far this is the best clear I have used so far, very forgivin when spraying, even when you go to heavy. And it sands easy and polish good. Ah, I forget, it's all spray can, don't have a compressor yet. Sounds interesting. I have a company that clearcoats my guitars VERY well but not cheap. I would like to get into finishing myself. Was that your first guitar finish? How is do you think it is to get a good result as a beginner with that stuff? Pleeeease! Look at that body, and tell me (with a straight face) that you can't build a neck! Building a neck is way more difficult in my opinion. If you are able to build a nice body you will definately have a good chance to build a good neck. However building a PERFECT neck takes quite some practise. There are so many difficult tasks involved like really precise radiusing, fret leveling and shaping of the back. In contrary to that building a body is a simple task. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Building a neck is way more difficult in my opinion. If you are able to build a nice body you will definately have a good chance to build a good neck. However building a PERFECT neck takes quite some practise. There are so many difficult tasks involved like really precise radiusing, fret leveling and shaping of the back. In contrary to that building a body is a simple task. ← Building a body is more complex. Maybe less critical, but certainly in the case of a carved top, laminated, bookmatched body more complicated. Nothing in building a neck is actually *hard*. All you need to do is work carefully, and double/triple check all the flat surfaces as you go along. Getting a blank dead flat with a long sanding block isn't hard. It's slow, it's tedious, it's tiring, but it isn't *difficult*. Same with radiusing a fretboard, and levelling it, or levelling frets. Making hemispherical fret ends is difficult, cutting a nut is difficult, binding a guitar body is difficult, but neck making.... phhhh! I only class something as difficult if a half second of inattention will ruin it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiewarlock Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 necks aren't difficult to make, all i use is a chisel of course, i work with mahogany only, but they're not hard to make, and a perfect neck lies on fretwork, which is hard to do without some practice, but it's not such a scary idea as many people think it is;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 that is the living sex! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted February 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Setch, the reason I say this is because I have a few necks, factory made, that are not as good as I will like, I'm having a hard time getting a low playing action on the Jackson neck, and I know is the frets, and the cheap thruss rod they use. I want to make a neck that is straight, nice to play and that works with me. I will make a neck, just not now. I think that I need a bit more time to make sure I'm ready and that I have the tols. I know about the tut on the site about the radius blocks, but I think that the money for those will be money well spent, there are some tools I will not buy, like you mentioned the carpenters level is a good substitute for that expensive piece of steel that Stew sells, but to make the nut and ccrowning the fretss and then leveling them correctly... this is were I think I can run into problems, I got no doubt tht I can do the profile and the shape, lamination etc... but the fretting is my monster! It will make or break a neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Building a body is more complex. Maybe less critical, but certainly in the case of a carved top, laminated, bookmatched body more complicated. Nothing in building a neck is actually *hard*. All you need to do is work carefully, and double/triple check all the flat surfaces as you go along. Getting a blank dead flat with a long sanding block isn't hard. It's slow, it's tedious, it's tiring, but it isn't *difficult*. Same with radiusing a fretboard, and levelling it, or levelling frets. Making hemispherical fret ends is difficult, cutting a nut is difficult, binding a guitar body is difficult, but neck making.... phhhh! I only class something as difficult if a half second of inattention will ruin it. Well....it's a pointless discussion but I still have to defend my position . There are so many factory necks that are not good enough for my taste. The neck decides everything: feel, playability, intonation, etc. If you consider a great fret job easy you are either a master or you don't know how big the difference can be here. There is no task that is more difficult then doing a really excellent fret job. Maybe finishing the body comes close.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiewarlock Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 if i lived in the USA, i'd build a neck, and have Neal Moser to fret it and set it up for me, also have a bone nut cut and installed by him, he is truly a master at fretwork and set up , it's really fretwork where the difficulty lies, it's the difference between a great playing guitar and an indonesian or chinese made guitar:P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 I think everyone's a bit right here. A neck is simpler to build than a complex body, but the neck is much more critical. The first neck I ever built turned out just fine, but the fretwork is not so great. I'm still working on trying to get a good fretjob that I'll be really happy with. It apparently takes a LOT of practice to do a first class fret job. But then again, you'll never do a great fret job if you never practice for fear that it won't turn out good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiewarlock Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 according to Neal Moser, more or less after 100 necks, you start to grab the feel of a decent fretwork....start practicing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted February 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2005 Ok, I promised my self that I was going to wait a week before putting it together, I went to check on the neck that I painted at the same time as the body and there was no paint smell out of it, I cheked the body and the same, I press with my nail and it was tough, no mark. So I say what tha hell, lets do it. This is it, I strung it and played it, there is a small buzz on the 1 and 2 string but it is only when played open, I guess that Warmoth didn't did the nut right. I will leave it strung todaya nd tomorrow and set it up propertly on sunday to give the neck time to adapt to the string pressure, that way I can set the thruss rod and rip it to see how it sounds. So far I can say it that I will most probably be ordering a 81/7 to replace this one in the future. It sounds full and growls a lot, but I think that it is too deep voiced for my personal taste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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