thegarehanman Posted February 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 Oh godin...you have some learning to do. It's completely possible. Actually, I consider that a conservative amount, and I shop around. It doesn't help that the trem for this guitar cost $265. When you start buying the shell knobs for your tuners and other little things like that, it adds up. My pickups always end up costing around $200 as well, so that's a bulk of it. If I recall correctly, the last guitar cost me somewhere near 2k. That's including wood. Although, that guitar had all gold hardware, 2 humbuckers, and an active piezo system, so that didn't help. EDIT: Another contributing factor to the cost is the fact that I normally use all schaller hardware. Oddly enough, this guitar will not have even 1 piece of schaller hardware. That's nothing more than coincidence though. I really want to try out a set of sperzel sound locks; so I'm using those this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 Maybe it's because I always get seymour duncan pickups, grover tuners, and regular hardtail bridges Yeah now I see how you could spend some big bucks on electronics and hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyd Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 WOW!! i can almost and i mean just almost see spending $700, but $2000 I hope if your selling your projects you at least break even! (kidding) I just find it amusing because I started building my own stuff to save money! You got any pics of this $2000 guitar? i bet its stunning...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted February 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 Here's the link to the thread about it: http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...ic=17372&st=105 I actually like this guitar a lot more than that one. That one ended up being a bit too over the top for my taste. Guess it's obvious I didn't get into building to save myself a buck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted February 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 I more or less finished carving the top today. It'll be about two or three weeks before I make it into the shop again, fyi. The black area in the middle is just a bit of stained wood that has yet to be sanded away. The green tape is a place holder for the bridge this guitar will be getting. I have to route a small pocket for it, so I didn't finish carving right there just yet. (wiped down w/ laquer thinner) peace, russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernova9 Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 I more or less finished carving the top today. It'll be about two or three weeks before I make it into the shop again, fyi. The black area in the middle is just a bit of stained wood that has yet to be sanded away. The green tape is a place holder for the bridge this guitar will be getting. I have to route a small pocket for it, so I didn't finish carving right there just yet. What's with that indentation on the lower bout - where it dips into the carve? Recess for a control knob? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted February 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 Yes, it's for the pickup selector knob. The volume is getting mounted to the pickguard, and the tone will be a thumbwheel mounted below the pickguard. peace, russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted February 6, 2006 Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 Looking great Russ, I wonder what it would look like with abalone between each section of the tang top wood. Might be interesting look, or might not.. oh well,.. lol Anyway, nice job bro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted February 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 Well, this time around the idea was to make the joints between the wedges less noticeable, thereby making the flame figuring look like it's radiating from the center. I think putting something in between the wedges might take away from that effect. The next time I try this method I'm going to try using wedges of random degrees. I think this might reduce the noticeability of seams even more. What I mean by seams, of course, is not glue gaps, but rather lines where the grain doesn't match up from one wedge to the next. One way or another, this thing should look sweet with a black dye applied lightly, then a charcoal dye, then a slight opaque black burst around the edges. Thanks for the kind words. peace, russ EDIT: Just in case anyone's interested in what the pickguard will look like, it's in the top right hand corner of the first two pics in my last post with pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted February 6, 2006 Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 Yeow...700? I spent about that on the red PRS-esque guitar. I guess it helps I use hardtails most of the time, and a great bridge and great tuning machines, even in gold, shouldn't cost more than about 180-200 bucks at that point (for the record, Gotoh Hardware? Giving Schaller a run for its money, certainly the tuning machines are). And it's duncans or (from now on) home-brew pickups for me. I just don't play well enough to consider spending out on boutique pickups, and quality woods shouldn't cost much more than 150-200 per guitar, and that's with a top quality maple top. Also, project's lookin' sweet! You going to use a Stetsbar or a Khaler on this one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted February 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 Stetsbar. Actually, this one's getting the first black OEM stetsbar ever, I believe (thanks myka). Frankly, I've always been quite satisfied with what I get for my money as far as hardware goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted February 6, 2006 Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 Stetsbar. Actually, this one's getting the first black OEM stetsbar ever, I believe (thanks myka). Frankly, I've always been quite satisfied with what I get for my money as far as hardware goes. Sweet! I've got nothing but good things to say about Schaller, but I feel its worth pointing out that Gotoh has hardware that's just as good (for tuning machine, I know several people who think their 510's are the best enclosed machines available today). I still find it ironic it's cheaper for me to get most Schaller hardware in the US, when Germany's only a couple hunderd miles away... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted February 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 Well, I really like the vintage look of sperzel sound lock tuners, so I ordered a set of those and a set of sperzel's 3x3 black perloid knobs for this guitar. Specialtyguitars.com sells the tuners for $55(I believe). It's a good deal. Another note: they undersell most places by about $40 when it comes to sprezel's true locking tuners, which I thought was pretty impressive. I guess the high prices on schaller hardware in germany really comes down to the fact that most of the big US distributors can buy in larger quantities than german distributers, thereby cutting the price they need to sell them at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted February 7, 2006 Report Share Posted February 7, 2006 I have to throw out a quick comment about the cost of materials. I worked with Russ to find some of the wood for this project. He bought top notch material (no-compromises), but was smart with the purchases. Depending on the material you choose you can really increase the cost of a build(that is just the market). My current projects wood alone is more than the Tang (before hardware or shell). No doubt you could build a great guitar for less than $200, but you can exceed that in a heartbeat(just depends on what you choose to build with). Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted February 7, 2006 Report Share Posted February 7, 2006 Russ: I've been eyeing those for an acoustic build, actually. They look nice, anyway! As for the Schaller thing, I don't think it only has to do with economies of scale, but rather with retail culture on either side of the atlantic; over here, you expect to pay full list, maybe 5-10% under recommended retail price, while in the US, well, recommended street price rules supreme. Gotoh hardware is about the same over here and over there (although there are more US suppliers, and more options available), or at least the difference is less huge. Rich: trust me, I'm well aware of the fact that you can blow that $200 wood budget right outta the water really, really quickly. I've done it. Several times I've never spent 700 bucks on hardware, though, which is probably becase I don't do boutique pickups, and I don't really like trems all that much. Although a stestbar is lookin' mighty tempting..... None of us are really in this to save cash (or if we are, we're pretty much fooling ourselves), and most all of us are tonewood/hardware junkies. It's a deadly combo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted February 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Well, I'm in the shop again and I'm currently working on the P90 covers. I've gotten the neck pickup cover all finished, and now it's time for the bridge P90's cover. One thing that's a little different than normal about these covers is the fact that their grain orientation is not parallel. This is because the grain around this guitar is not oriented in one continuous direction throughout the whole top. Anyhow, I know you guys like to oogle over pics more than you like to read(not that I don't feel the same way), sooo.... The cover alone. ...with the P90 and mounting screws installed. ...and a little something special that should be arriving in the mail in just a few short days. peace, russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loudandproud Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Well, I'm in the shop again and I'm currently working on the P90 covers. I've gotten the neck pickup cover all finished, and now it's time for the bridge P90's cover. One thing that's a little different than normal about these covers is the fact that their grain orientation is not parallel. This is because the grain around this guitar is not oriented in one continuous direction throughout the whole top. Anyhow, I know you guys like to oogle over pics more than you like to read(not that I don't feel the same way), sooo.... The cover alone. ...with the P90 and mounting screws installed. ...and a little something special that should be arriving in the mail in just a few short days. peace, russ sweet covers. really like them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Sweet! Are those 'simply' routed out of a solid block of wood? How thick are the sides/top? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted February 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 I took a chunk of wood larger than the cover's final dimensions and routed out the inside of what would become the cover. Then I cut out the cover within about 1/32" of its final dimensions. I used some 60 grit sandpaper and a flat surface to get the sides to their final dimensions. It's about 3/32" thick at any given point. The P90 fits into it like a glove. To get the inside routed, I used a normal P90 template with a 3/8" router bit and 5/8" bearing. To drill the polepiece holes, I cut the top off of a plastic p90 cover and double stick taped it to the top of the wooden cover. Using a drill press, I slowly let the drill bit down, allowing it to guide itself into the hole of the old cover. To get the mounting screw holes drilled in the right place(it doesn't work so well with the last method of drilling), I put the p90's into the cover, flipped them over, and used the mounting screw holes in the p90 as a guide for the drill bit as I drilled out the holes. EDIT: I tried making humbucker mounting rings on my last project and didn't do as well as I had hoped. I've recently been told that I was going about it wrong. Routing the inside and then cutting the outside makes a huge difference compared to cutting the outside then routing the inside. peace, russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassman Posted February 11, 2006 Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 "Routing the inside and then cutting the outside makes a huge difference compared to cutting the outside then routing the inside. " SO very true, good thing I figured this out before making my first pickup covers last year. I would never try it the other way around, unless I wanted to explode my almost finished pikcup cover. Russ, the covers do look very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted February 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 Thanks ryan. Well, I finished the second cover(the bridge pickup cover). Mattia, I took a picture of the inside so you can get a better feel for the dimensions. peace, russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted February 11, 2006 Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 Thanks ryan. Well, I finished the second cover(the bridge pickup cover). Mattia, I took a picture of the inside so you can get a better feel for the dimensions. peace, russ Now all you gotta do is wind up your own coils and you'll be in the ELITE class of builders who wind their own pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted February 11, 2006 Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 Thanks ryan. Well, I finished the second cover(the bridge pickup cover). Mattia, I took a picture of the inside so you can get a better feel for the dimensions. peace, russ Rockin', thanks! One of my next electric builds (which will take place in, uh, about a year or two, best case; other builds need finishing first) will have home-brew P-90's and I wanted to make matching covers from the topwood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted February 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 The only feasable reason I could have for building pickups would be for bragging rights. I'm overwhelmed by the selection of pickups on the market; in that respect I feel no (current) need to reinvent the wheel. Although seriously, winding pickups is not that complicated; I've read my fair share of books on the subject. peace, russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted February 11, 2006 Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 Great work Russ! Clean as always. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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