Finished First Carved Top- Pics

[jay5]

So I just finished up my first carved top. I thought it turned out pretty well but there is somthing about it that is really bugging me. I made the body template some time back and I thought it looked pretty cool. I kept fighting with the waist area trying to get it to look right. The final shape has the waist slightly offset and less noticably, about 3/8" fatter on the treble side. I didnt anticipate this being an issue until I carved. The first pic shows the carve and all looks pretty well. The second pic however will obviously relay my area of concern. You can see that by making the carve even in relation to the perimeter, I now have a pretty odd looking thing going on with the carve and the neck pickup. I don't really have any plan of changing the body shape at this point. Sometimes I look at the body and it doesn't really bother me, other times it really gets on my nerves. So my question to you all is whether this is really noticable and if so how much does it bother you. Going a step further, what would you all do? Thanks!

Pic #2

Pic #3

Damn! Hang with me while I try to downsize this pic!

[al heeley]

I think you have a stunning top there and a beautiful build. There is nothing more critical than the eye of the creator

If it gets on your nerves then you will always be annoyed if you don't change it. No-one can answer that question except yourself!

Looking at yuour pics I'd be really proud if I had created that body.

[jay5]

Thanks for nothing Al J/K, I appreciate your input. Thats really probably what its gonna come down to. Like I said, sometimes I dont mind it and sometimes im like *** did I do?! I think Im gonna put it away for a while and see what I think in a few days. Im sketching out a pickguard on a piece of rosewood as we speak, might do the trick.

[imgettingcloser]

I wouldn't change a thing, looks good to me.

Edited November 25, 2006 by imgettingcloser

[jammy]

Dont change anything, no. That looks great!

[GregP]

+1. Looks vunderbar.

[verhoevenc]

You did the EXACT thing that I did with the MeuX build awhile back. And it too gets on my nerve... even more so because I spaced the f-holes not in regards to the center line, but in regards to the perimeter.... so the f-holes don't look centered right lol. But yeah, I do live with it, and don't get me wrong I still love the guitar... but the first thing I did was go re-do the template with the fix for the next one (MuStangX... has been curing at the parents' for 6 months now... should probably buff it some time and put it together ). But yeah, I think that a pickguard will get rid of 90% of the awkwardness that it's showin'. Give that a try, cause beyong that I can't see anything else really working except routing that side in a little farther, and re-doing the carve (which will also make your lover horn "sharper" and smaller... which is another thing to think about).

Chris

[pukko]

That's a really nice guitar you're building! I did a mockup to see what it would look like with pickups. I don't know what finish you're going for, but one thing that would hide your problem a bit would be to burst it. Here's a couple of alternatives:

Let me know if you want me to try other colours, I'll try to fix that.

[Hydrogeoman]

Your guitar is looking VERY nice man! I think you could let it go as is, but I know what you are saying about it bugging you. So..... I'd fix it. If you are like me, it will continue to bug you after it is finished, and even though no one will probably notice it, it will be the first thing YOU notice everytime you go to pick it up. With that beautiful top, I think it would be worth the extra effort to get it just the way you want.

Good luck!

Greg

[jay5]

First off, thanks to all for the kind words! As far as "fixing" the problem, I am hoping I can come up with a pickguard that I like, I think that might be a good medium. In addition Im gonna make a new template and try to reshape it a bit on the spindle sander. If I can come up with somthing decent looking I might go that rout, but well see. Pukko, I REALLY appreciate those mockups, puts my mind at ease a bit! I was planning on doing a trans turquiose if you wouldnt mind rendering one up, just for kicks. If you're feeling creative I wouldnt mind seeing what an LPish pickguard might look on there too

[Prostheta]

I think that the slope-off from the neck pup to the neck angle not being on there makes it look misleading to the eye, but that is genuinely awesome work. Perhaps the area near the traditional LP toggle could be lowered slightly but that's just personal opinion.

Well crafted dude!

[pukko]

OK, here we go: one without pickguard, one with a LP-style and one with a modified Heritage pickguard. The Heritage version could cover more of the problem area, might be something to consider.

[pukko]

Another observation: For some reason I don't think the problem is as noticeable when you see the guitar in playing position. I flipped the photo 90 degrees:

[Bigtommyb]

its really not noticable... when i first read your thread i was like wat the hell is he on it looks awsome... then checked the other pics and realised what you meant... I would leave it as is noone else is going to notice it unless you point it out to them.

That blue colour is sweet but i dont like the pickguard ruins the decent wood.

[johnsilver]

Jay, that's nice work. That's an awesome top. I also really like the headstock shape.

FWIW, I think that guitar looks much better without a pickguard. Its obvious the shape is bothering you. Given that, my suggestion is to to ahead and correct it rather than hide it. I think you will be happier in the long run.

Pukko, you da man with the renderings. That really helps visualize the finished product.

[jay5]

Thanks again Pukko! Yeah, the heritage style is definately the one, and you're right, in the playing position it isnt as noticable. I think what I'll do is procede on as is (still a bit of refining on the carve anyway, upper bout being one area) and make a pickguard just in case. It doesnt bother me quite as much as it did originally so I think I'm gonna be ok. Thanks again for all the input !!

[biliousfrog]

I think that what you're doing is concentrating on part of the guitar rather than the whole & I think that it says a lot about how noticable that area is that you needed to point it out in a second pic....hands up, who noticed it in the first one?...anyone?

I remember a guy making a wardrobe at a furniture place that I worked at....it all measured up perfectly, everything was spot on but for some reason it looked wonkey...more trapezoid than rectangle. He spent the whole day measuring it & asking people to check it when it was irrelevent really, it looked wrong & the client wouldn't accept it no matter how much it was measured.

What you need to do is decide on whether it looks right rather than whether it IS right. Personally, I think that it looks great.

[jay5]

Again, thanks to all for the help! I've got a few options at this point. I am working up a modified temlate that shifts the waist on the treble side up and forward, making about even with the bass side. This should shift the line of the carve closer to where I think it needs to be. In addition, Im still doing a few pickguard shapes. Finally, I am planning on softening up the edges of the carve in the waist area so those lines don't "jump" so much. I think that a combination of these things might get me closer to what I'm looking for. Thanks again to all! Expect an update in a week or two.

[Mickguard]

Yeah, it took me a good while to figure out what you're on about...I thought you were talking about the area from the neck to the treble horn...that's what looks weird to me. Especially the skinny little finger that remains on the horn after the carve.

The asymmetrical carve on the front near the pickup doesn't bother me at all. I didn't notice it, in fact. To me it seems right. The only thing you might do is soften the edge of the carve line to make it blend a bit more.

But pukko's pickguard idea not only hides that carve line, it also helps balance out the weirdness in the horn area.

I've been working on a stain/burst thing for my current project. I took the guitar and hung it on the wall in my living room (next to my other guitars) and I've spent a few days looking at it, living with it, adjusting the burst. Stepping back a bit really helps you see the whole guitar, not just a little detail.

Anyway, how many times to do I have to say it: pickguards BRING OUT the wood!

[GodBlessTexas]

Add another vote to the "It looks right" camp. It's an asymetrical body, even beyond a normal single cut design, so your carves are coing to be different. You either have a carve based on the center line which puts the treble side carve too wide, or you carve based on the perimeter (which is the correct choice in my opinion) and end up with similar sized carves but an overall off-center look, but given that the waist areas on each side are at different spots, this isn't a problem; on the contrary, it's how it should look.

Personally, I think you did the right thing and it looks gorgeous. It's like a cross between the ESP/LTD single cuts and a Washburn Idol. I personally wouldn't change a thing, but that's me.