hooglebug Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 I've been itching to build another guitar since i finished the last one a few years ago. And now i've decided to do it. I really like the Manson guitars built for Matt Bellamy so i thought why not. I can hear the negative comments about that already - copying someone elses original design etc. But how many strat, tele, les paul, sg, prs, flying v, jem etc etc etc copies do we see on here? They're all original designs too, just produced on a huge scale. And i'm not going to be selling it, nor would i make one for someone else, so i'm not profiting from someone elses design in anyway. Now, rant over... I bought two 500 x 380 x 45mm blocks of sapele, both from the same slab for £10 each. (no pics of that yet but there'll be some later) i dont know if anyones seen or made an electric from sapele before, but i havent. i guess i'll see what its like either way. its used on acoustics though so it cant be so bad. I'm thinking it's going to be pretty heavy though so i'll probably put some tone chambers in it. The guitar's going to have a purple mirror top, with curly maple edge binding to match the flame maple neck, which will have an ebony fingerboard (neither of which i have yet). It's going to have a neck p90 and a ka motherbucker in bridge, with a built in fuzz factory. Gotoh 510 tuners (just because they're sexy) and a trem bridge of some description. All i've done so far is cut out the template for the body. theres just the shape of it, not holes for anything yet (its just so hot i couldnt be bothered with anything!) template As things get done i'll post it. And pics of the wood will be up in the next day or two Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughes Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 when i asked about a super tele, this is what i pictured.....looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Irizarry Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 I can hear the negative comments about that already - copying someone elses original design etc. But how many strat, tele, les paul, sg, prs, flying v, jem etc etc etc copies do we see on here? They're all original designs too, just produced on a huge scale. And i'm not going to be selling it, nor would i make one for someone else, so i'm not profiting from someone elses design in anyway. Not to worry. Build what you like. There aren't too many here who can judge you in this regard - mostly everybody is building someone else's design but we're also mostly building for fun and personal use. No one is cranking out Strat copies and pretending they are original designs... I would like to see a picture of the guitar that's inspiring you though. I'm not familiar with it. BTW - good luck with your build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 You gonna put a whole pedal board in it too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooglebug Posted July 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 (edited) You gonna put a whole pedal board in it too phaser, fuzz probe, whammy controller, kaoss pad.... maybe next time I would like to see a picture of the guitar that's inspiring you You can see them all here here's a couple of shots of the sapele. you can't really see the grain too well as its still rough sawn, and it isn't as red as it looks in the pics either. the reason it looks so wet is because it had a slight curve in it and if i were to plane it flat it would be too thin, so i've soaked it and its now under a few concrete flags. if that doesn't work then i'm just going to plane the front and carve the back into a kind of psuedo archback. anyway, here are the pics. sapele another shot i've been playing about with logos today and have it narrowed down to two. i used the manson logo as a starting point and used my initials and either 'uno' or 'starlight' as the name. have a look and let me know which you prefer. bear in mind the background will be dark so the 'starlight' will show up properly. uno starlight (for those who don't know, 'uno' and 'starlight' are muse songs and this guitar is a copy of the guitarist from muse's guitars. just so you know) Edited July 31, 2006 by hooglebug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuitar Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 i've been playing about with logos today and have it narrowed down to two. i used the manson logo as a starting point and used my initials and either 'uno' or 'starlight' as the name. have a look and let me know which you prefer. bear in mind the background will be dark so the 'starlight' will show up properly. uno starlight (for those who don't know, 'uno' and 'starlight' are muse songs and this guitar is a copy of the guitarist from muse's guitars. just so you know) the uno logo is much better, much more eye catching. Cant wait to see this guitar, I would love to build something similar with a digitech wammy pedal built in but controlled by a knob somewhere near the bridge. A delay pedal set in there somewhere with a set feedback and a knob to control the delay time would also be wicked! Good luck! Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooglebug Posted August 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 i did the template for the neck yesterday but as my jigsaw is crap its nowhere near straight so i'll just end up drawing it out on the neck wood from measurements. neck template some time this week im going to see if i can bend the mirror plastic so it will go on the headstock. if so, yay! if not, o well. anymore opinions about the logo keep them coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooglebug Posted August 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2006 this is what i was thinking for the layout of the controls. control layout 1= pu selector 2= neck pu volume 3= master tone 4= motherbucker tap 1 5= motherbucker volume + tap 2 6= ff comp, stab and on/off 7= 3 remaining ff controls. any thoughts or new layout ideas welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 Cool idea!! I have always liked the idea of doing a Manson/bellamy inspired guitar. I dont think its wrong to do yourself a copy of one of these guitars, they are rare and very expensive... how else are you going to get one?!! Heres a link to the new kaos pad version being played and demonstrated, it shows that the switch you have as #1 would usually be a kill switch for Matt Bellamy: Manson Guitar with kaos pad It also looks like they have managed to do the silver mirror on the headstock so that shouldnt be a problem, i would imagine you just heat it gently with a hair drier till it starts to bend and clamp it in place till it cools. You would have to practice first because the silver mirror side may crack when the plastic bends Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooglebug Posted August 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 (edited) though i wouldnt mind having the kill switch, it would make an already cluttered control area even more so if i had to have the pu selector there too. so i sacrificed the kill switch to have a little more space. today im going to do a test bending the plastic and also putting the logo in it to see how it looks. im only doing the bending freehand, but for the real thing obviously i'll use a template. well, here's the results with the plastic. it did bend with a hair dryer, and i think it will go quite easily over a template. it did leave a mark but i dont mind it, it looks pretty cool in person. as for the logo, i tried out a few different ways. the AF is done quite deep, the wave at the bottom is done lightly outlined, and the uno is done lightly outlined and inside. personally i like the way the uno looks best, but opinions will be welcomed and listened to. ps: it doesnt look that messy in person, and i will be more careful with the real thing logo Edited August 4, 2006 by hooglebug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooglebug Posted August 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2006 a delivery from david dyke today, about a week earlier than i thought it would come! woo! flame maple neck blank 1 flame maple neck blank 2 ebony fingerboard the outline of the neck was already on, thats not mine. The ebony has a quite attractive light streak running the length of one side, which i quite like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooglebug Posted August 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2006 cut the neck shape today. router template bits are things of wonder! neck head slope marked out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooglebug Posted August 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 shaped the fretboard and did the slope of the headstock. since i have no access to a bandsaw i had to do it by hand. but as its going to be faced with the plastic it doesnt need to be ultra neat. neck w/fretboard headstock slope tomorrow im going to make a template for the plastic and bend it over that. i'll do it backwards so i dont mark the front of the plastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 should tidy up neat enough with some sandpaper. If you get something round and stick the sandpaper to it it makes a good tool for these kind of areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooglebug Posted August 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2006 (edited) i've rough cut the plastic for the headstock and shaped it. i also did the logo - it looks pretty cool. logo (it looks neater than that now i tidied it up a bit after i took the pic) rough cut headstock plate theres some bubbling and a bit of distortion around where the plastics bend due to the heat gun being held a little too close, but i think it looks pretty good so i'm not bothered about it. plus i dont think id have enough plastic left to do it again so if i was bothered it would have to do. also, regarding the electronics - im going to be using a p90 (neck) and a mighty mite motherbucker (bridge). now, considering the p90 is around 8k and the motherbucker is almost 22k, and also considering the control area's going to be a bit crowded what with all five ff controls, i was thinking about only having a volume for the mb, with the p90 going straight to the master tone. having never used or even played a guitar with p90's, is there going to be any real problems with not having a volume control for the p90? Edited August 12, 2006 by hooglebug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooglebug Posted August 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 tody i cut the fret slots and installed the front fret markers (i'll do the side ones when the radius is done) and also made a radius sanding block. the pics arent so clear today for some reason neck sanding block and o yes, come on liverpool!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooglebug Posted August 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 did the radius and the side dots. had to fill in one or two tear outs after recutting the fret slots but otherwise went ok heres a couple of views a bit out of focus side on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooglebug Posted August 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 fretted and ready for carving. headstock plate on too though not cut to exact shape yet pic 1 pic 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert_the_damned Posted August 16, 2006 Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 (edited) is there going to be any real problems with not having a volume control for the p90? I can't see why....it might be an idea to solder a fixed resistor across the output of the pickup to simulate the load caused by volume control at full on the signal, a single 470k resistor would do the job I should think. I better not show my girlfirend this she loves these guitars Robert Edited August 16, 2006 by Robert_the_damned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weezerboy Posted August 16, 2006 Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 iirc the sound of the ff can be altered by the volume controls on your guitar? but as the controls will be there too i dont know if you'll be losing any control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooglebug Posted August 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 theres been a change of plan. iv found some smaller knobs than i was going to use so im still having the two volumes, but in place of the tone im using a tuned filter which, up full (10 on a normal pot) leaves the pickups as they would sound, turning it down thins out the signal to give a single coil sound, and all the way down it gives an electro-acoustic sound. after making the plastic top on the headstock the right shape there is quite a noticable gap on one side near the fingerboard, so i've cut a small groove all the way round the headstock at the join between the plastic and the wood and filled it with epoxy/ebony dust so it looks like an ebony veneer rather than an ugly gap filled in. just done that so i dont know how it looks yet but tomorrow i'll probably take more pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooglebug Posted August 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 the epoxy in the groove hasnt cured properly yet so i havent been able to scrape that clean, but that can wait till tomorrow. so instead today i carved the neck. still needs a lot of sanding but its pretty good. its a nice soft v shape that flattens out to a c near the body end. neck view from head end view from body end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooglebug Posted August 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 (edited) finally the body wood is dry and today i cut the body shape out, and cut the tiny binding channel (tiny because of the plastic top) body body side on cut the neck pocket and the front hole for the trem block (will do the back route tomorrow). test fitted the neck and its a great tight fit. a bit blurry different angle Edited August 18, 2006 by hooglebug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooglebug Posted August 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2006 (edited) did the back route for the bridge, the bridge posts are in place, cut the mirror top to a rough shape and cut the neck and bridge routes in that. also did a bit of sanding on the neck and the flame is really starting to come through and its looking pretty damn nice front of body showing neck pocket and bridge route body back showing back bridge route mirror top covered in tape Edited August 19, 2006 by hooglebug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunkielad Posted August 19, 2006 Report Share Posted August 19, 2006 Pics aren't working mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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