thegarehanman Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 (edited) I'm new to this forum, but I know my way around a shop. I've been building everything imaginable since childhood. I've helped with additions on houses, large and small scale metal sculptures, amp. cabs, furniture, and guitars. This is my second guitar, but it feels like I've been doing this all my life(in a good way). Here are more pictures than you probably want to see of my most recent "project." Here are the specs: -my own design body, double cutaway -semihollow -contoured flamed maple front and back -straight through poplar/mahogany neck -mahogany sides -ebony fretboard -ebony peghead overlay -all wood 5-ply binding -kent armstrong 12 pole PAF humbuckers -LR Baggs tune-o-matic piezo bridge and preamp -schaller tuners, straplocks and fine tune tailpiece -stereo/mono switchable output -all gold hardware -die finish -double acting truss rod w/ carbon fiber reinforcement -did i forget anything? sorry about all of the image links, but forum rules rule the forum apparently. trust me, they're worth looking at. 3 of the 5 sections of the neck before gluing some of the woods that are going into the guitar. among them is poplar, maple, mahogany, ebony(not pictured) and flamed maple(not pictured) the neck being glued up the neck after being roughted out shot of the neck and sides after being dovetail routed another shot of the body joints the neck heel after the neck has been sanded rought sketch of the inlay design the middle left f-hole will be used for this project a shot of the guitar after the neck and body sides had been glued together the humbucker mounting rings, made from the same stock as the neck the front and backs of the guitar being glued up the front after initial routing, before any hand carving the front of the guitar after final routing the back of the guitar after final routing the guitar front after rough carving the guitar front after sanding the guitar front after sanding Edited June 23, 2005 by thegarehanman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocksolid Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 NICE work man, i really like what you're doing with the controls on that guitar, alot of people dont even carve out areas on their lp's for the controls so the knobs end off pointing in other directions, this is a new way of doing this good job man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pr3Va1L Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 VERY nice work, but myself i don't like that little space for controls... could work out if it wasen't so big and obvious, but i don't like it that way. Only thing i don't like thoug Anyways, if this is your 2nd guitar, you're REALLY talented!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted June 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 (edited) I understand how you can have a distaste for the control area. I wasn't sold on it at first, but it's really grown on me. I'm working on carving the back of the top now. It's got to be 1/8" everywhere(well, mostly). Same thing is happening to the back. The only hole in the back will be for the battery holder(for the LR Baggs preamp). The controls will all go in through the hole for the two mono jacks. That was actually one of my motivations in making it stereo capable. Fortunately the LR Baggs x-bridge preamp comes standard stereo. I have quite a bit of work left, especially considering the elaborate inlay i've got lined up for it. As far as space goes for controls, there's no problems. The pots I got are smaller than standard and the knobs are metal tele type knobs so everything works out well. Now that I think about it, the method I'm using for installing the controls is much like the one used for that Les Paul Supreme a few posts down. Edited February 3, 2006 by thegarehanman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 I have a problem with that control strip (hey, let's call it the 'launch pad') too...looks a little like you just forgot to get rid of it. What about treating the edges of it so that they're not so sharp and obvious? Maybe it's because the outer edge doesn't look perfectly round to me, it doesn't match the curve of the bout of the guitar... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted June 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 (edited) Obviously I have yet to go over the whole body w/ a scraper, but in reality, those edges are not as sharp as they seem. This is an instance where I will not be able to sell people on the design until it's finished. As anyone does when they begin a project, I have the finished project invisioned in my own mind. I am working towards that vision. I'll be damned if you don't want one when I'm done. Now let's just hope I don't end up eating those words. I'd better get to sleep, got to go record some tracks in the morning. By the way, here's a pic of my first one. It has a bit of wear and tear, but that's because it's my main guitar and it's seen 3 years of loving abuse. My 1st Guitar Edited June 23, 2005 by thegarehanman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoSo_Spencer Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 (edited) I myself dont mind the launch pad - although at the moment it doesnt look the greatest i see the potential The inaly is actually the only thing i dont like...... i dont know why either....... maybe i like simple things - split parralelograms Keep up the good work its turning out great............ *EDIT* i just saw youre first guitar - looks nice, kind of untraditional in a way (headstock) and generally cool, although i dont like the inlays *EDIT* Edited June 23, 2005 by ZoSo_Spencer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 Welcome to the forum...nice work! Is that first axe a baritone? The neck looks mighty long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtommyb Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 The inaly is actually the only thing i dont like I agree. it seems a bit out of place on this guitar. Something more traditional would probably suit the guitar better, as it has this traditional meets modern feel to it. Appart from that though looks great!! T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haggardguy Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 Agreed with the inlay disliking. Other than that great job man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
!!METAL MATT!! Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 Hey man Good Work And I love The launch Pad it's cool seeing something New being done on a hollow body BUT Im a no go on The inlay idea, You can come up with something better suited to the guitar I think!! what ever you do good luck man And welcome to the forum !!METAL MATT!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 Most of my issues have been mentioned. The control pad thing just doesn't work for me. I think the carve on the top is too severe for that. The whole body just flows so smoothly, and the there's this thing sticking out. We'll see, at least it's different. The inlay I'd say no way. I'm not a big fan of inlay unless it just works with the guitar. I personally would have passed on the stars on your first design. Side dots tell me everything I need to know, so unless the inlay REALLY works with a design I just don't dig it. A couple things that haven't been mentioned. I'm worried about your neck pocket, there doesn't appear to be much support. Even if you rout all the way into the neck pickup pocket (not enough heel for that I think) there's still not much gluing surface. I've gotten away with small, but that looks a little too far for me. Also, the pickup rings. I know it's hard to get things like that clean looking, I've tried before. I just wouldn't put them on that instrument. It's frustrating to hear, but I really think something that small could detract big time from the guitar. People pick up on little things and latch onto them sometimes. Great looking work BTW, can't wait to see this one finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 I think the launch pad has potential, and it's really tricky for me to judge it too much until the final product comes around. With knobs on, and a pickguard (?), the look could really change and make the launch pad make more sense. The inlay idea is too much. It'll take away from the elegance normally associated with guitars in the "jazz box" (albeit modified) vein. I don't have enough experience with neck joints, but I was also thinking that there didn't seem to be a lot of gluing surface. Totally non-expert opinion, though. On another positive note, I DO like the stars on the first one. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted June 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 (edited) Let me try to cover all of the...(complaints?) hehe. 1)I don't entirely understand what you're trying to say about the neck. I'm getting the feeling that some of you doubt the structural integrity of the thing, but it seems like you are refering to it as if it were a glue in neck. You must reallize it's a straight through so the size of the heel really doesn't give a good example of the amount of wood holding it on. Also, there will be 2 carbon fiber reinforcement rods that continue from the neck onto the guitar(for about 3/4") underneath the fretboard. I have left the area of the top uncarved(on the inside) for this reason. 2)I agree with your ideas about the inlay, perhaps it will detract from the guitar's elegance. However, I will be doing some type of ellaborate inlay. I only did stars and my signiture on the last one, and I want more practice with inlay. The word practice might scare people, but no worries. I'm thinking of something with curves...hmmm(no vines). 3)As far as the humbucker mounting rings go, I really like the ones I've made. The only change I would make in that category would be to use maple rings made from the same stock as the top. I don't like the whole ringless humbucker look; I can't stand seeing the little mounting brackets on the sides.(not to mention...semihollow guitar, eh?) This guitar will be recieving a les paul type pick guard(obviously not a stock one). However, I'm going to make it out of plexi glass(the really good type though, forgot the name). It's not an attempt to make it look futuristic. I want a pickguard, but I don't want to stop the flow of the grain. Oh, and the first guitar is not a baritone. For some reason my image host kind of messed that picture up. Also, the headstock might make the neck seem longer since it's narrower than a gibson headstock. Geez, I have a big mouth, don't I. Edited June 23, 2005 by thegarehanman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 Ah, no I didn't read carefully enough, and only looked at some of the pictures. That's my mistake. Obviously a straight-through won't have a problem. Too many pictures, too short an attention span <laff> Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted June 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2005 I think I'll go buy a scroll saw tomorrow. I simply have to have wooden pickup rings on this guitar; it's really not a question as far as i'm concerned. However, now I'm considering using maple and dying it to match the guitar top. Those first ones were close, but i agree devon, they could be just a tad bit cleaner. I'm not losing this fight. I am > pickup rings(i sincerely hope so). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted June 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2005 How about this for an inlay? I sketched and scanned it. I think it would echo the elegance i'm going for in the guitar. sketch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 25, 2005 Report Share Posted June 25, 2005 Howabout... nope. A scroll saw for making wooden pickup rings? Might be a bit of overkill. ;-) Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesPlaya Posted June 25, 2005 Report Share Posted June 25, 2005 Great looking guitar. Can't wait to see some finished pics. I personally wouldn't use the 'launch pad" but if you do you should make it a bit more subtle. For the wooden pickup rings, Stewmac sells them premade, although I don't know if they are avalible unfinished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haggard Cky Posted June 26, 2005 Report Share Posted June 26, 2005 for the inlay u might want to do something only on the 12th fret. the lady would be cool but not on this guitar. the launch pad to me isnt too bad but i think it would be better if u get rid of it and put another f hole. or u can round the corners of it a lil more, but thats just wut i think and its all up to u. but that is a kickass guitar, keep up the good work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted June 26, 2005 Report Share Posted June 26, 2005 Oops, I didn't realize it was a neck thru, my bad. I'm glad you're going for new rings, I think you'll be happy about it in the end. I'm with you about humbuckers needing rings. I think it can look alright not to have them sometimes, but I've never looked at a guitar and thought 'those humbucker rings need to go'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted June 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Man! I just ordered 700bucks in parts and i forgot side dot material! it seems everyone that sells it has a minimum order and it isn't $2. would anyone be willing to sell(or give ) me a few inches of black side dot material and just mail it in an envelope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeeTee Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Man! I just ordered 700bucks in parts and i forgot side dot material! it seems everyone that sells it has a minimum order and it isn't $2. would anyone be willing to sell(or give ) me a few inches of black side dot material and just mail it in an envelope. ← Take some wooden coctail sticks, dye them black and use those Or just use a plastic coctail stick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Have you tried stewmac for the side dot material? I don't think they have a minimum order but I could be wrong. The side dot inlay used to be in a strange place on their web site - not with the rest of the inlay material. They might have changed this by now though. The point is - it's there you just have to look hard. I like it when people try new things - especially with the older guitar styles such as that. I hope it turns out well for you. I have one question (not a criticism or complaint ) - did you end up routing away most of the dovetail joint? It looks like that may be the case from the pics but sometimes pics are misleading. Very interesting guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted June 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 (edited) about 4" remains at each end of each wing. so there's about 8" of dovetail total for each wing. That had been my plan all along though. Had I not routed away that much, the guitar wouldn't be so semi-hollow. more like semi-semi-hollow, ha. if it were a butt joint, you could be concerned, but considering the inate strenght of a dovetail, everything is just chipper. The dovetail looks really nice at the ends where I opened it up and added strips of poplar and ebony inbetween the mahogany too. *EDIT* I was always under the impression stewmac had a $30 minimum purchase, but maybe not. *EDIT* Edited June 29, 2005 by thegarehanman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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