j. pierce Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 Haven't been on this forum in a while - (been building more pedals lately, and actually playing the stuff I build, at gigs and such, which is a nice change from being a bedroom guitar hero) and seems I missed a lot of really cool builds from you folks! I had a couple of projects that I haven't touched since I finished spraying the finishes at the end of the summer, so I finally got around to fretting and buffing and wiring and making pickguards and all that goodness. One of them is still waiting on a few minor parts before it's done, but I've got one of them finished, and my father took a few pictures for me, so I thought I'd share: http://homepage.mac.com/sfjoshua/PhotoAlbum4.html It's not quite as red as it looks in some of those pictures, and I think the neck and body are a little closer in colour - the camera brought out the hues in the guitar a little oddly. It's still got a few minor touches that I'm not perfectly happy with, finish kind of things, but I'm getting better. the visible neck joint was originally planned to be hidden by a second pickup, but somewhere before spraying, my friend changed his mind. I was going to make a little pickguard for it, but he said he likes it. This is sort of a gift, not a build for a "customer", although my friend is reimbursing me for materials. I certainly have a long way to go before I could build guitars to actually sell to people (not that I think that's anything I'm particularly interested in) but it was a good experience to try and design something from scratch with another person and try and meet their requests. I was surprised when I played it for the first time - it's one of the best playing guitars I've ever played, and I built it! Sounds great too, even unplugged! So thanks to all the help from folks here that let me accomplish something like this. The one piece body is from Soundat11, and is a great piece of wood. The neck is leftover wood from another project. Rich was kind enough to send me some cutoffs after I decided I wanted a mahogany headplate to cover up the "ears" on the headstock and keep the black-trim-on-mahogany look on the rest of the body, and I think that nails the look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
custom22 Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 Looks really good. You just gotta love a simple but classy natural guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielM Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 yeah that is a very nice looking guitar, simple stylish and natural. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prs man Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 I love the grain in the mahogany nice job. the neck joint with no neck pickup looks nice and clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 Nice work! Reminds me of GodinSD's guitars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted December 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 Nice work! Reminds me of GodinSD's guitars. Yeah, I've been a big fan of his stuff on here; honestly, I had the design worked out (and the body cut as well, I believe) before I had seen his guitar with a similar shape - I certainly wasn't trying to steal his look or anything. Not that I think anyone would accuse me - his are so nice! - but I do feel a little weird about it. Thanks for the compliments guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted December 18, 2006 Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 Maybe you like Milk Duds too? It's a shame you can't do something about the neck joint --right now it looks like a mistake....I bet you could do something simple but cool to turn that into something really elegant -- like add an inlay of sorts with your buddy's name, or match the area with the same trim as on the headstock. Something like that...probably wouldn't take much effort for you, and the guitar would look finished then. You wouldn't even have to build it into the guitar-- you could prepare a few small veneer-like plates, let your friend choose which one he likes best, then just screw it on (or glue it in place). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted December 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 Maybe you like Milk Duds too? It's a shame you can't do something about the neck joint --right now it looks like a mistake....I bet you could do something simple but cool to turn that into something really elegant -- like add an inlay of sorts with your buddy's name, or match the area with the same trim as on the headstock. Something like that...probably wouldn't take much effort for you, and the guitar would look finished then. You wouldn't even have to build it into the guitar-- you could prepare a few small veneer-like plates, let your friend choose which one he likes best, then just screw it on (or glue it in place). I've been thinking something like that - I have some pieces of ebony on their way for headplates and such that I'm thinking of seeing if I can't do something to cover it up. It honestly doesn't look quite as bad in real life as it does in the pictures (something about the camera seemed to up the contrast of the two different woods - like the back shot, the neck isn't nearly that much darker than the body) but I'm certainly not thrilled about it. It was the day after I routed the pocket he decided to be adamantly against the neck p'up. I don't know, he seems to like stripped down, (and often butchered and battered!) guitars with things like this showing; he likes the look, who am I to complain, but I don't like seeing it like that. Certainly if I was trying to make a name for myself as a builder I wouldn't let this leave my hands. (Althought it is kind of nice when people can see exactly how tight my neck joint is ) I've been trying to talk him into a small LP Junior style pickguard (although it'd also have to be floating like a regular LP one because of the carve) to cover that up - I'm going to route something out this week and see what he says. I'm usually pretty pro-pickguard. Milk dud's just get stuck in my crooked teeth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yahilltrade Posted December 18, 2006 Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 wow! i really dig this guitar. what gauge strings are those, they look reallllly think and look like they hold alot of tone. i love the finish and the heart inlay. does it have a zero fret? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted December 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 wow! i really dig this guitar. what gauge strings are those, they look reallllly think and look like they hold alot of tone. i love the finish and the heart inlay. does it have a zero fret? The strings are D'Addario 11's. (Not huge at all really, I think the sunlight reflecting off them makes 'em look bigger). Yeah, it does have a zero fret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tirapop Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 About the neck p/u repair... and you friend probably wouldn't like this, but, on an acoustic it's where the sound hole is. Visually, you could put in a rosette and it would look balanced. I was thinking of something Celtic, to say sound hole without resorting to a big circular dark inlay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yahilltrade Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 ^ that would be cool but mabye not so celtic? mabye inlay a heart with ebony or something to match the inlay on the fretboard? just a thought. p.s where you from j? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
another doug Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 In my opinion, there are only two options: leave it alone, or install a neck pickup. This guitar is so sleek and clean that anything other than necessary hardware would kind of spoil the effect. Any kind of decorative inlay or pickguard wouldn't fit. Just my 2 cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yahilltrade Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 ^ i see what your saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoundAt11 Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 Hi J, Thanks for the mention That looks really sweet, like an LP mixed with a Jaguar. It's gotta sound really fat with all that mahogany and the P-90. I've got a project on hold similar to that shape: http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...mp;hl=soundat11 Just haven't ever figured out what top wood to use and if I want to chamber it, so it's still undone. Will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.