Myka Guitars Posted August 4, 2005 Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 I haven't been posting a lot of new builds since I have been building guitars that are very similar lately. This one however is very unique. The concept of this guitar was simplicity. The tone had to be clear and dynamic with a good deal of range to handle the lows as well as the highs (the strings were flatwound 14-56). Another set of requirements that were determined beofer the order was placed were the woods. The body is mahogany, west coast maple neck, and an ebony fingerboard. The neck is reinforced with carbon fiber as usual and it is a highly flamed piece. Which leads me to the last requirement; it had to be black without decoration. Yes that means that the flamed maple neck is now black. I wanted to do a trans black but in the end it was solid. The tone of the neck is crucial so I am not sure it would have changed my mind with this piece of maple. Hard maple would have been way too bright. The pickups are Benedetto A6s epoxied into black covers. The switching is simple, master volume, tone for each pickup, 3-way. Medium C neck carve on 24.625" scale length with 22 frets. You'll notice the the ebony pickup ring was notched out aroiund the end of the neck to be able to get that pickup as far up the neck as possible. Also to make sure there was not any pearl on the guitar at all the logo was carved in the wood of the headstock (the headplate veneers are not black but natural ebony). The finish is actually a shellac. This was to be sure that the finish was ultra thin. I wanted to do a french polish but that was out the budget so I compromised a bit. I formulated a shellac form flakes soaked in alcohol and used a black tint. I then sprayed it with my airbrush (no sense gumming up my lacquer gun). It went on very easily and dried quick. When I had on 5 coats I stopped and let it dry. I then used #0000 steel wool and rubbed it out. To buff I used a soft flannel. It turned out great and feels really good. The wood grain is very visible since it so thin (and I don't use grain filler unless I absolutely have too). That's about it for specs, here's a pic: To see more click here. This thing is a jazz monster. The low E puts out tones rich in harmonics with a heavy, snappy bass response. The highs are thick and clear (almost p90-ish). If I had more time with this guitar I would have been happy. It was a great tone to have around. ~David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
korge Posted August 4, 2005 Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 Nice. Look like a Goth Gibson... Only Not Goth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feylya Posted August 4, 2005 Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 The answer is None More Black Needs a black nut though Good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted August 4, 2005 Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 Outstanding as usual. Shame to cover up all that nice wood, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted August 4, 2005 Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 Unbelievably cool. Now you're talking my language. I am attempting something very similar to this, only not a LP type shape and using wenge. But simplicity and sparseness with unreal tone are my goals. I was drawn towards Godins guitars because they sort of shared in this design sense. Really nice work! KOMODO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted August 4, 2005 Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 Very cool. I love black guitars but most of them are goths. This one has a nice understated approach that really works well with your body shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted August 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 (edited) Needs a black nut though ← I know! I would have used the GraphTech Tusq material but I prefer the tone of bone. I tried dyeing bone once. It came out spotty and gray. Perhaps boiling the nut in a shellac based pigment might work. I'll try that next if I can get the kitchen free for the evening Thanks for the comments. This was such a different project for me, I am glad you like it too. Edited August 4, 2005 by Myka Guitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slabbefusk Posted August 4, 2005 Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 Thats a lovely guitar Myka! I'm an admirer of your work and really like the way you build your guitars. I'm especially intrigued by that neck-joint, does it play as smooth as it looks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted August 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 It sure does play smooth! That's why I still use it. You can play full chords all the way up the neck. The jazzers and metal heads love it. It was the first thing I did when I redesigned the traditional LP style guitar. I never liked having to stop at the 16th fret. I have seen a few variations on the theme lately. Check out this joint at Stevens Guitars (cool guitars!). ~David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted August 4, 2005 Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 I'm sure it would be beneath you because you do pro quality work, but I just painted mine black on the first guitar a made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted August 4, 2005 Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 I really love the way you explained the combination of woods used and what effect it had on the tone, that kind of post is very informative and very important to a place like this, so thanks and congrats! PS, shellac is really easy to clean out of a gun, it's no big deal. PPS, show us the pics of all the guitars you've built lately dammit, we're pic junkies around here! PPPS, you know, I never thought about it before until I saw this guitar, but your body style there reminds me a lot of the Elliecasters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemleggat Posted August 4, 2005 Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 I seen a nut made of granite once! Thats black. I dont know how the guy cut it though. Nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlGeeEater Posted August 5, 2005 Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 That's nice David. Glad to see you pulled the black out. I know, as you said in PM it's hard to do with shellac. Awesome job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted August 5, 2005 Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 Sweet looking guitar! Very Stealthy, like a ninja at night, and all you can see is that whites of his eyes(bone nut). I really like the upgraded lp design, I bet it's a blast to jam on and gives you some more room to play, unlike the traditional design, but at a glance does not look different at least from the front. Amazing work Myka, thanks for giving us the honor to view that great guitar. Quick question for everyone, I don't of any, but is it possible to make frets out of a material that would be black. I know you can't do a finish on them for obvious reasons, but is it possible to just use a black material, or add some kind of color or material to the process of making them? I think for Mykas project they would be great, also I would love to use something like that on a nice birdseye, flamed, regular maple fretboard! It seems like they would have made them already if it was possible but maybe it's just not cost effective or something. I would really like to see some one day. Anyways nice stuff Myka, your work is always an inspiration for me. Later. Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted August 5, 2005 Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 Awesome!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted August 5, 2005 Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 Thats a lovely guitar Myka! I'm an admirer of your work and really like the way you build your guitars. I'm especially intrigued by that neck-joint, does it play as smooth as it looks? ← I can attest to the feel of the neck joint. I played one of Davids guitars at the World Guitar Congress last year. Very comfy, almost non existant heel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted August 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 (edited) Drak, the trouble is that I haven't taken too many pictures. The last two guitars were both Dragonflies and that one is documented almost completely on PG and my website. I am working on another 'top secret' archtop derivative electric hybrid sort of thing (maybe a 7 stringer). This one will be pretty cool and may be the beginning of a new model for me. I'll snap some puctures of it today and post them. Here is a link to the Dragonfly gallery. One is complete and shipped. The other I will take more extensive photos of before it ships Monday. Gotta love the tight curl in that koa, wait until you see it with a finish. Thanks Scott! I hope to get down your way sometime this year. I'll PM you when I do. <edit> Algee, I tried a different method of applying the shellac than what we talked about. I took some regular shellac flakes, soaked them in alcohol to get my finish, and added some black tint to it. Much easier than french polishing (especially since it is black). It worked great and sprayed very easily through the airbrush. </edit> ~David Edited August 5, 2005 by Myka Guitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted August 5, 2005 Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 Thanks Scott! I hope to get down your way sometime this year. I'll PM you when I do. ~David ← Cool! Let me know and I'll try to get Drak out of the Castle for a few hours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted August 5, 2005 Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 Very nice guitar Myka. I was just wondering a couple of things about this guitar. 1. Is there no neck angle? It looks like your neck is quite a bit off the body where it joins, so I'd assume that you didn't have a neck angle. 2. I noticed that your tuners on the back view of the headstock, shows that they are turned to go with the shape of the headstock. Funny I've never noticed it before, I was assuming yours was like a PRS's where they align straight ignoring the headstock contour. No biggy, just wondering. 3. Was not grain filling done to show off the grain? I was just curious, and I think the guitar looks great like it is!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted August 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 Scott, will do! GuitarFrenzy, thanks for the comments! TO answer your questions: 1. There is a 3 degree neck angle but the string height was made to be a bit higher than normal. Archtop guys are used to 1" string height so the 5/8" for a TOM is a bit too low for them so I raise the neck above the body to get the strings to clear the pickups more. It is a good compromise. My Dragonfly has a 3/4" bridghe height (taller on some)! 2. Yup, the tuners follow the contour of the headstock. I like the way it looks so I do it that way. I would guess the straight PRS method is a good production method where you don't have to make sure it looks right. 3. Grain filling. The way I look at it is like this: what does it do for the tone? Grain filler doesn't add any particularly pleasing acoustic qualities so I don't use it. I don't think it takes away from tone too much either although acoustic guitars are more susceptible since the wood to finish ratio is closer. I use grain filler for aesthetics only and only when it is requested. I personally love the look of the grain through a finish. It looks like, well, it looks like wood. With maples you get glass smooth no matter what you do to it. With mahogany, limba, etc, you get grain lines. A cool bonus for me!~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted August 5, 2005 Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 I agree Myka, sometimes no grain filler looks better, like with that guitar. I'm also sure it will give you a better tone to some extent. No arguements here. I like the look of no grain filler myself, I was just wondering why you didn't use it. I usually end up grain filling for the mirror finish though, maybe one day I'll get brave and leave it without any. That's interesting on the neck angle and height above body. I wasn't thinking about the way you'd want the bridge height, and that makes sense to me now. I also like the tuners the way you have them on your headstock, and after looking at them closer, it wouldn't look the same if they was straight like a PRS for your design. Just a classic example of being creative. Great job on the guitar, well executed as always!! MaTT Vinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jehle Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 Nice work on this one. I love the all black look of this. And I actually like the way that you can just see the grain. It's been said before, it's goth, without being goth. This would just as at home playing some geezer rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted August 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 Funny thing is this one went to a hard core jazzer (who secretly wants to be goth). Think Pat Martino and Jimmy Bruno and you get the idea. You know if Jimmy Bruno played through a triple rectifier he would smoke most of the metal dudes out there. A lot of my clients are fusion players that used to be into 80's shred bands that got tired of the same old chord progressions. It is interesting building semi acoustics with the setup requirements of shred axes. It's fun stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gun Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 Great work David.... as always What kind of ebony do you use? I heard madagascar is a bit unstable even if kiln dried. Other people suggest gabon ebony that is, on the other side, never full black and needs some black stain. Then i did read a post where you spoke about wood importance on final tone but I can't find it. Real can it make a difference to use soft (like the flamed) instead of hard maple? I'm going to make a mahogany body with a 1/4 figured maple top, so I was just think to a maple neck (bolt on) and an ebony fingerboard. What do you guess about tone, folks? Bright, warm, in the middle. I heard people saying neck wood is more important than body so I think that combination should be bright without the warmth of mahogany?!?! I simple am a bit confused BTW back on topic and.... my congratulations again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlGeeEater Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 <edit> Algee, I tried a different method of applying the shellac than what we talked about. I took some regular shellac flakes, soaked them in alcohol to get my finish, and added some black tint to it. Much easier than french polishing (especially since it is black). It worked great and sprayed very easily through the airbrush. </edit> ~David ← Ah cool. As long as it's easier and has the same effect then good. Glad to see it worked out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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