Drak Posted August 30, 2003 Report Share Posted August 30, 2003 It's a pretty rare occasion that I complete 2 guitars within a month of each other (actually probably the first time) I just finished up the Drakulator just a few weeks ago (now re-named Lenny, 'cause that guitar has let me know it wants to play nothing but clean, it has a gorgeous natural resonance to it that really leans to playing clean Ronnie Earl Strat-Jazz) But tonight it's time to burn the candles late and finish up the Rhoads/Rosewood Shark Vee. Metal Mayem is about to break loose! I just took everything apart and re-buffed the finish again. I had to drill out some more wood in the control cavity to fit the 3-way Gibson pkp toggle switch, and it made a mess of what I had done so far, so I ripped everything off of it and polished it up one more time with the buffer. ...And now it's time to really drive this one home to completion, I'm logging off and the game is on. I'd bet I'll be up 'till about 1 or 2am tonight. A weird thing I picked up is that when this time comes for every guitar I build, I kick on the 1931 classic 'Dracula' (duh, go figure!). The very first guitar I finished, that is what I was watching that night, and when No. 2 rolled around, I decided to watch it again, and it has now become a really -weird- tradition with me. I think I decided to call it 'Mr. Crowley'. Pretty stOOpid, eh? PS, Bela Lugosi Rocks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 Blaa blaa go for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 well hurry up i'm waiting! better not make it look better than mine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted August 31, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 Here are some shots of it pretty much done. I lamed out on the wiring last night, doing that today, but this is the final look. Hope ya like it! Lindy Fralin PAF in the neck DiMarzio Tone Zone in the bridge Knobs in order: Volume Tone EMG Afterburner pre-amp (pull up to activate, roll up for gain) Strat-style recessed output jack (lower side) I also have a Gibson truss-rod cover I'm putting on it just for the hell of it. Coco-Bolo Shark 1 Coco-Bolo Shark 2 Coco-Bolo Shark 3 Coco-Bolo Shark 4 (Headstock pic) Coco-Bolo Shark 5 (Pkp hole Shielding) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckguitarist Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 cool... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 Thats some awesome wood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roli Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 That's another wonderful guitar, Drak! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGM Guitars Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 Looks very nice dude, one word of warning to anyone wanting to use Coco Bolo on their guitars, it is toxic, you MUST wear a respirator and gloves when working with it, it leads to long term problems and is a suspected carcinogen as well. The guitar looks fantastic, I have an acoustic with coco bolo back and sides and the grain is amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goat Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 Wow! beautiful job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moojiefulagin Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 Looks great. What finishing process did you use on the cocobolo, by the way? I've had very wierd problems while finishing cocobolo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted September 1, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 The final finish formulation (after 10+ shots over the years) was this: Catalyzed Laquer, 4 coats applied within an hour. Let dry for 3-4 days, then sand all the way back to level (pore-filling, oil sealing stage) 2 more coats of Cat-Laq, let dry for 3-4 days, sand level with 400 for a physical bond, then 1-2 more light coats of Cat-Laq. Then carefully sanded flat/level as possible. These coats are more oil sealer coats. Even tho it doesn't re-melt with every shoot like regular nitro does, the oils still seep up, but WAY less than with regular nitro. Every coat of Cat shot is bringing the oils to a stop, and as soon as possible. Each coat is like another oil-locker. I shoot these Cat-coats pretty thin. I can tell how much the oils are seeping by looking at my sanding pads when sanding level. Clear=great, yellowish= oil seep. The catalyzed lacquer does not allow the oils from the C-B to seep up into the top coats, no one told me about that at first when I started out with regular nitro, and after a few months, the finish was so dark I could barely see into the wood. I was very dissapointed after my first few attempts, and I couldn't figure out what the hell was going on. After sanding the 3 coats level, on to regular lacquer and normal procedures. I couldn't use Cat-Laq for the whole thing because Cat-Laq, if applied too thick, has a weird milky appearance (lots of solids content) and it doesn't have the clarity and shine of regular nitro. I read about putting regular nitro over Cat in some magazine when I was still looking for 'the answer', probably Fine Woodworking Magazine. The weird thing that threw me hard at first was that when switching from Cat to nitro, I expected the nitro to go on and look good right from the first coat, and when it didn't, I got freaked out. I found out later that when you shoot nitro over Cat, it is acting like shooting your very first coats onto wood, they look all dull and lifeless until you get several coats built up. I thought there was something very wrong at first... So it's a hybrid. Cat-Laq fills pores quick, seals in the oils. Regular nitro gives me the gorgeous see-thru gloss and shine. Catalyzed Lacquer is extremely dangerous health-wise, and you have to protect yourself much more than with regular nitro, and you have to clean your guns after every single shoot session, and very thoroughly too. But for this oily wood stuff, it was worth it, the colors have not darkened at all, the bright yellows have remained, I'm very happy with it. Pain in the butt tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moojiefulagin Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 Thanks. im impressed with your patience! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckguitarist Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 COOL! Almost done this one??? Aaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 That is a wicked set of Lacewood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 Drak, Sweet piece...the finish is really fine! Question; would polyurethane stop the oil seep as well (or better?) than catalyzed lacquer? What is the tone of Cocobolo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted September 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 I've never used Poly, so maybe it would work, dunno... It seems to take so long to get a finishing system down with solid repeatable results and work out all the possible kinks, once I got lacquer down pat, I had no desire to start off down another road. The body is actually solid 1-piece Poplar with Coco-Bolo facing on all sides. It's not veneer tho, it's all a good 3/16" thick, Coco-Bolo would be too heavy to use as a solidbody by itself, so as far as the tone, it's a mixture. But it does sound good so far, and is a very comfortable weight, it feels very solid w/o being a boat anchor, just right for me. It does have a really great ringing tone to it tho, kind of reminds me of a Strat, where you can hear that little extra 'reverby' tone (coming out of the tremolo block) a second after hitting a chord...never expected to hear anything like that with this, but it seems to be there for some reason...can't quite explain it. I took a pass on the wiring after reading a review on Harmony Central the other night on the Tone Zone. Someone commented about these pkps being too muddy sometimes, and how eliminating the tone control helped that out a lot. Being an EMG accessory nutcase, I said sure, let's ditch the tone control (I've ditched them before) and I'm going to sub in an EMG EXG pot, which I've got on some other guitars (the Drakulator has an EXG on-board) which boosts bass and highs while cutting the mids. Well, this pkp is a high-mids pkp, so what a great combination, eh? Roll EXG off, natural fat mids city, roll the EXG up, and bring out some sizzling biting highs. I think it will work good, but if not, I have an SPC control here too...Between the Tone Zone heavy-on-the-mids approach, and the Afterburner pre-amp, and the EXG, I don't think I'll miss that tone pot much. Sounds good in theory anyway...so I ordered an EXG and have to wait for it to come in, so the completion will get backed out a few days. No biggie, I've got some other things also in the works... I am chompin' at the bit with this thing to get her plugged in tho...but I have learned impatience is my WORST enemy, so I'm happy to wait a few days... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckguitarist Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 Just wonderin where you buy your wood, all of those tops are sweet! Aaron Almost 100 posts, cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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