scott from _actual time_ Posted October 20, 2006 Report Share Posted October 20, 2006 (edited) i'm waiting for the laquer on my alder Ibanez 7-string S clone prototype to cure, so i started my next S7 clone. it'll have the same thicker body, 1 3/4" instead of stock S 1 1/2". it's designed to fit the square-heel 540S7 neck i already have. i didn't get the body countour curve quite steep enough on my alder one, so i'm going to map that out better this time. wood: african mahogany, a body blank from Warmoth. they used to pick a nice one if you asked, but apparently they don't do that anymore, and this one came with a small knot. ah well. pickups: two humbuckers, probably a Duncan JB7 in the bridge and Jazz7 in the neck. bridge: Lo-Pro Edge 7 trem. electronics: my rediculous 24-pole superswitch coil-cut scheme for two humbuckers, that gives 5 positions similar to the PRS rotary switch. it also has a push/pull pot to switch the guitar into a single coil mode. finish: a really heavy dark stain and sand-back to highlight the grain pores, like this SG that Southpa made. then clear-coat with either laquer or shellac, and steel-wool it for a matte finish that will let the wood pores show through, like Myka's black LP. so far, i've roughed the body outline with a Robosander, then cleaned it up with a router and sandpaper: . Edited October 20, 2006 by scott from _actual time_ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott from _actual time_ Posted November 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2006 finally got some more work done on this body. routing bridge humbucker routing trem spring cavity pickups and trem routed: my test of the finishing method, staining dark then sanding back, didn't turn out so well. the pores didn't get much darker than they already were. and the wood where i sanded back turned a uniform greyish-brown, not as cool-looking as the slightly different shades of brown in the unfinished mahogany. i'm going to look into some sort of oil finish, or maybe just shellac over the unstained wood--something that would let those nice natural shades of brown come through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted November 20, 2006 Report Share Posted November 20, 2006 That doesn't look like African Mahogany to me, it looks more like Honduran, it's more pinkish in nature. The African I've had is darker than that, and turns a pretty dark red when any finish is applied to it,. quite a nice color actually. The African I've had is also heavier in comparison. Just sayin'... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jalien21 Posted November 20, 2006 Report Share Posted November 20, 2006 S's are sooo cool. i got one a couple of weeks ago and i love it sooo much. they're so sleek and thin and your project is absolutely tight. rock on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted November 20, 2006 Report Share Posted November 20, 2006 That doesn't look like African Mahogany to me, it looks more like Honduran, it's more pinkish in nature. The African I've had is darker than that, and turns a pretty dark red when any finish is applied to it,. quite a nice color actually. The African I've had is also heavier in comparison. Just sayin'... I've got a few body blanks that look like that, a bit more grain variation, but that color. Now the weight, the African Mahogany definitely has. The project is looking pretty cool so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott from _actual time_ Posted November 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2006 it looks more like Honduran, it's more pinkish in nature. The African I've had is darker than that, and turns a pretty dark red when any finish is applied to it,. quite a nice color actually. Just sayin'... that certainly could be. Warmoth says they only use African mahogany because of the endangered status of Honduran, so i'm just repeating what they said. i've never had both African and Honduran in hand to compare. got any ideas on a type of transparent finish that would let the natural color variation show through? The project is looking pretty cool so far!S's are sooo cool. ....your project is absolutely tight. rock on! thanks, dudes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott from _actual time_ Posted September 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2007 it took me 9 more months, but i finally finished this one. satin nitro, Duncan & Rio Grande pickups. more pics at the Guitar of the Month thread. showing the knot that Warmoth picked out in the body blank for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capello Posted September 5, 2007 Report Share Posted September 5, 2007 scott,great work here!!! i think it's African Mahogany,i had some Kaya body blank and they had the same color and grain. Some blank are reddish,some other pinkish! what about tone results? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGman Posted September 5, 2007 Report Share Posted September 5, 2007 Whoa..what happened there? Nice work on the S7 Scott! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted September 5, 2007 Report Share Posted September 5, 2007 Nice work Scott! Not my thing (superstrats, or seven strings) but this is really well executed, and I love the simple beauty of it all. Couple of quick questions - any tricks to drilling the angled jack hole like that? I've always tended to have problems drilling larger holes at a steep angle like that; I've gotten decent results using a unibit or slowly working my way up with every drill bit I have until I get to the right size, but even then, getting the angle correct, tearout and drill bit "walking" are problems. Are you doing that hole before you carve the top? Also, did you manufacture the blade switch mounting plate yourself, or purchase it? I was looking for something like that on my most current builds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott from _actual time_ Posted September 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2007 yeah, it is a bit of a time warp. here are some inbetween pics: the body, shaped and sanded the body during spraying the body with pickups installed the tone is fantastic--thick chewey midrange on high-gain amp channels. maybe that's partly because i swapped the stock cermaic magnet out of the Duncan Custom for an Alnico V. the clean tones are a bit round and not very sparkly, but the distorted tones are awesome. any tricks to drilling the angled jack hole like that? Also, did you manufacture the blade switch mounting plate yourself, or purchase it? i drill the hole on a drill press, with the table cranked over to a 60-degree angle from the vertical. i use a 7/8" Forstner bit. once i have the larger-diameter portion drilled, before i unclamp the body i swap the drill bit for a 1/2" one and drill the narrower hole that actually holds the jack. i do it after the top is contoured, so i know exactly where it should go. the switch-mounting thingy i ordered from ibanez. it's made to fit the angle of the contour and it installed with nuts right into a switch-sized slot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyManAndy Posted September 5, 2007 Report Share Posted September 5, 2007 Nice job on the angled jack hole. Superstrats aren't really my cup o' tea, but it's really nicely done! Love the grain too. CMA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jorge Fernandez Posted October 18, 2007 Report Share Posted October 18, 2007 yeah, it is a bit of a time warp. here are some inbetween pics: the body, shaped and sanded the body during spraying the body with pickups installed Hi, I like the look of your pickups! Could you explain this method to avoid using pickup's rings that you can see in the pic the body with pickups installed, please? I would like to do something similar but I don't know if you need a body thickness to avoid screwing the pickup screws to the guitar back side, etc. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted October 18, 2007 Report Share Posted October 18, 2007 It looks like more or less standard direct-mounting of the pickups, Jorge. The special touch is the care he took to make the cavities exactly accomodate the pickups, including the polepiece screws and what seems to perhaps be a bar magnet under the single-coil. The rest is normal direct-mount pickup strategy... just get screws that aren't as long. Awesome-looking guitar, though! In the world of "superstrats," it's always the natural finish ones that appeal to me, and this is no exception. Fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTU 7's. Posted October 19, 2007 Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 Very nice work, i saw your work on sevenstring also. Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted October 19, 2007 Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 (edited) Oh yeah Scott, your guitar is full of woody goodness Edited October 19, 2007 by Muzz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jorge Fernandez Posted October 19, 2007 Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 It looks like more or less standard direct-mounting of the pickups, Jorge. The special touch is the care he took to make the cavities exactly accomodate the pickups, including the polepiece screws and what seems to perhaps be a bar magnet under the single-coil. The rest is normal direct-mount pickup strategy... just get screws that aren't as long. Thanks Greg! Could you give me more info or some link about the direct-mount pickup strategy? How long the screws have to be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted October 19, 2007 Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 (edited) Jorge, all you nned to do is draw the guitar to full scale, then draw the pups were they go and count for the distance fro mthe poles to the strings, this will tell you how deep you hasve to rout the pockets. Once that is done a small screw is all you need to hold the pups in. Some people use a foam under the pups to compensate for poor planning or measuring. Nice guitar Scott! Edited October 19, 2007 by Maiden69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted October 19, 2007 Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 This basically just says what Maiden already said: Could you give me more info or some link about the direct-mount pickup strategy? Nothing to it. Pickups get screwed directly into the wood. How long the screws have to be? As Maiden says, they have to be as long as they have to be. There's no way of knowing for sure what size you'll need. You don't have to think specifically in "guitar world", though-- you're screwing one object into another. That's it. The screw needs to be the right size for the pickup's mounting hole, and it has to be the right length to secure the pickup without going all the way through the wood and poking out the back. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jorge Fernandez Posted October 19, 2007 Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 Thanks GregP and Maiden! I think I'll give it a try to the direct mounting method! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 Do you know if they offer that selector switch cover in any gold, or is it only in black? And have you seen them made by anyone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bancika Posted October 26, 2007 Report Share Posted October 26, 2007 It looks great! The only thing I hate on S series is the switch, it's so ugly and bulky...but if you like it that's ok Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott from _actual time_ Posted January 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 thanks all for the nice replies. i should've checked back with this thread sooner! Do you know if they offer that selector switch cover in any gold, or is it only in black? And have you seen them made by anyone else? i have not seen anyone other than ibanez make switch covers like that, and they only make them in black. the only way i can think of to make a gold one would be to use that super-thin gold foil that you can apply to things by rubbing it and peeling away the mounting paper. you would have to be really careful doing it to get an even layer onto a rounded object like this switch cover. if it didn't work, you could just scrape it off and try again. you could also paint it gold with model airplane paint--that might be the best option. you might want to clear-coat it afterwards to make sure it wouldn't rub off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorenzo Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Great work, scott!! Since I'm going to build an S copy too, what kind of body did you buy from warmoth? Taking a look at the bodies outline it seems that the more S-like is the Soloist. Than, excuse me my english is not yet enough good to understand everything, when you said you bought a blank body from warmoth did you mean a body without shape at all? If so how did you get the exact design of the S body? Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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