Gabe Nickelson Posted November 25, 2002 Report Share Posted November 25, 2002 Hey everyone... My project which I have been working on since 1999 is coming to a close by Christmas. The other project guitars are on hold until I get this done. I've been putting it off for WAY too long and this is my personal guitar... Here's a picture the guitar: OK, well the neck is done, but that body is no longer with me so that's what I'm working on. Now I need some advice... this new body is rear routed so a pickguard will not be necessary. In the above picture I feel the pickguard really helped in accenting the guitar body. So without a pickguard I can choose to just go with a bound body in black, or my other choice would be a maple veneer top that has a very dark gray burst on it. How do you feel about adding body binding on such a thing? Too much? It might go well with the bound headstock. Oh, there will be more stuff added to the new guitar body too. There will be 3 pots and 2 mini toggles for the sustainiac. Plus, I will do away with the 5-way switch and add a 3-way Les Paul style switch just below the neck pickup. The middle pickup will not be there. I'm photoshopping something now to get a good idea what this will look like. And oh, Brian--- how do you think a gold bobbin topper would work over a sustainiac pickup driver? Any problems? Gold and Black = (yummy) Thanks! Gabe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEdwardJones Posted November 25, 2002 Report Share Posted November 25, 2002 As long as the binding isn't too much I'd say go for it. I still think the PGM90 is one of the most gorgeous guitars I've ever seen and it's a maple top with binding so, you know.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bus Bob Posted November 25, 2002 Report Share Posted November 25, 2002 Gabe, I think it would look sweet without a pickguard. The binding will make it classy and the extra busieness of a guard, unnessesaiy. IMO.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabe Nickelson Posted November 25, 2002 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2002 Hey everyone, Sorry if the picture isn't working but the server is undergoing maintenence and should be up within an hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerealk Posted November 25, 2002 Report Share Posted November 25, 2002 wow Gabe-it looks fantastic! go for gold and black everywhere! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKG Posted November 26, 2002 Report Share Posted November 26, 2002 You know me....I say maple top with binding and no pickguard...OH!, and gold rules! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabe Nickelson Posted December 5, 2002 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2002 OK, here's my mockup of what I plan to accomplish... OPINIONS PLEASE!!!!!!!!! I have the paint, stain, and clearcoating on the way, but I'm at a loss for the Maple veneer top. I simply MUST see before I buy... Gabe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabe Nickelson Posted December 5, 2002 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2002 Hey guys I have one more thing to ask... I plan to do the binding in abalam strips. Do you think I should order some curved pieces as well as straight? I heard the stuff breaks easy and I assume if it's already curved it might be easier to bend... Gabe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bus Bob Posted December 5, 2002 Report Share Posted December 5, 2002 Just my opinion, but I would like to see the maple top without the sunburst. I vote for no black paint on the top... Just the stain and the clear. I think it would look sweet with the binding. I suppose the headstock would look out of place then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazyfingers Posted December 6, 2002 Report Share Posted December 6, 2002 Go with the mockup, looks much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted December 6, 2002 Report Share Posted December 6, 2002 Either way you go I would recommend inserting a plastic straw between the pickup cavitys and adding fill to the center coil if your planning on making it go away like in your mockup. You don't really have to do the straw thing but it does make it easy to wire compaired to re-drilling down through the neck pocket And the fill will hold it in place. That way the veneer cap won't be weak in that area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEdwardJones Posted December 6, 2002 Report Share Posted December 6, 2002 I'd say go with about half as much 'burst to show a little more wood grain. Otherwise it looks a lot more cohesive than I thought it would (I thought the gold hardware would clash more with the binding, but they look pretty complimentary in that pic) I'm curious as to what all the switches do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabe Nickelson Posted December 6, 2002 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2002 Either way you go I would recommend inserting a plastic straw between the pickup cavitys and adding fill to the center coil if your planning on making it go away like in your mockup. You don't really have to do the straw thing but it does make it easy to wire compaired to re-drilling down through the neck pocket And the fill will hold it in place. That way the veneer cap won't be weak in that area. Well the body isn't routed with a single coil - just 2 humbuckers. But I like your idea Brian! The switches control the Sustainiac pickup. 3rd Pot - Sustainer Drive Control Mini-switch #1 - Sustainer On/Off Mini-switch #2 - 3-way toggle - Sustainer mode selector Plus you'll see I have decided to ditch the 5-way and go to the 3-way switch just under the neck pickup. I never used positions 2, 3, and 4 on my 5-way anyway. This means I never used my single coils which is true - the reason I don't have one on this guitar. It just got in the way. Thanks for your suggestions. Anyone have a suggestion for the Abalam binding question? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEdwardJones Posted December 23, 2002 Report Share Posted December 23, 2002 This has been nagging me a little since I first saw this. Over at Warmoth they said that they can't (or maybe just won't) bind a guitar with a forearm contour. How big of a pain in the butt is this really? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremywills Posted December 24, 2002 Report Share Posted December 24, 2002 sweet, go with a little less black and stay real close to the edges with it in the burst, really make that bookmatch show up, sadly the floyd rose trem as wonderful it is kinda hides the most in my opinon crucial area for showing off a burst, a les paul is a wonderful guitar for a bookmatched burst because of the area just behind the stop bar is the most brilliant part of the burst, sadly a strat style or ibanez with a floyd just doesnt allow for much untouched area of the burst to be shown, but thats my 2 cents, i know reather hard im sure but possible i remember fender made a ventures jazzmaster with a blackburst and the matching headstock had a matched burst, just an ideal, that would be sweet, looking forward to seeing this btw your concept picture looks awesome, best of luck to you jeremy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabe Nickelson Posted January 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2003 This has been nagging me a little since I first saw this. Over at Warmoth they said that they can't (or maybe just won't) bind a guitar with a forearm contour. How big of a pain in the butt is this really? Damn good point. I don't have to worry about this because the dumb sh!t that built the body didn't countour the body. So therefore, binding will be quite easy. I CAN imagine there would be difficulty doing this. Routing that out might require a special tool or special proceedure because of the contour. Anyone? Oh, here's another idea I had: Gabe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEdwardJones Posted January 2, 2003 Report Share Posted January 2, 2003 Damn good point. I don't have to worry about this because the dumb sh!t that built the body didn't countour the body. So therefore, binding will be quite easy. I CAN imagine there would be difficulty doing this. Routing that out might require a special tool or special proceedure because of the contour. Anyone? I don't know, but I've seen it before which is why the Warmoth thing surprised me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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