Build #2

[Xanthus]

That looks so sweet! I've been seeing alot of V builds around here and Ultimate guitar lately. Very well done can't to see it all finished

Why thank you sir I'm glad people are showing interest in my thread

And that's actually why the thread's subtitle was "yes, another flying v build" because at the time I started (circa 1yr ago), the board was flooded with V builds haha.

I'm hoping to get the first coat of oil on tomorrow; haven't had much time these past few days. I've taken to stealing my sister's camera, so the picture quality will improve, no doubt. I still can't take an artful picture for the life of me, but that's another story.

[Xanthus]

So we're done!

99% hahahaha

I've got a fret/action/nut height issue to work out, and I'm waiting on a new pickup to arrive before I rewire the whole thing (PAF Pro/Tone Zone!!!), but other than that, I'm all good.

I've got some pics up on the Fotki, and some "special" pics coming next Monday that I hope to get scanned........

As much as I promised myself I wouldn't do it, as much as I thought that it was "dumb" for lack of a better term, I finally broke down and did it. After much back-and-forth, a lot of deliberation, I ended up naming the guitar. I signed it, numbered it #02, and named it "Jennifer" after my recent ex-girlfriend. The finish date, 7/17, was consequently the date of our anniversary. It would have been 4 years this July.

I also used the bridge pickup space to do a "dedication" of sorts. Or like, a credits page. Yes, I realize that being a lefty, having a thick-tipped Sharpie, and a deep pickup cavity don't always make the best match From top to bottom are Greg, my friend's grandfather who let me use his equipment for the rough shaping/cutting, and for holding my hand through the Explorer build, my own grandfather Sal, for giving me a ton of woodworking advice and letting me steal almost his whole workshop of tools, and my own dad, Gary Sr. for his general advice and electronics help, as well as convincing me every month or so not to smash the unfinished product. I have to say for a car guy, he could probably hold his own in the construction process. He's catching on fast

More outside shots include the front, the back, and the headstock. And of course I couldn't possibly get through any major part of the building process without messing up, and the headstock is where the final mishap mis-happened. I was cleaning out the holes with the drill before bringing it inside to be assembled. I realized I cleaned out much more gunk with the drill going forward, than in reverse, so I had switched the rotation over. Well, in what I'm blaming as "youthful exuberance," I was going a bit to fast reaming out the holes on the headstock, when before I knew it my bit had popped right out the front of the headstock, through the pin hole for the D string. It was probably my fault in the first place for drilling the initial holes too deep, but..... hey, what're you going to do? The washer on the top barely covers even any of the hole, but the tuners definitely distract the eye, and pull it away from the "whoops."

Last is a picture of the operating table, complete with a big rubber mallet. I assembled and wired the thing over the course of a day, in the living room, while watching the Disney channel. Yeah, I don't know either, but it happened.

Final thoughts:

Something's up with the wiring. I'm getting the huge string-buzz-whenever-i'm-not-touching-the-hardware issue. It happened when I was replacing the old killswitch, or life-switch, as I've come to call it. Seeing as I only soldered/unsoldered two wires, I don't know how this issue crept up on me. Everything else is wired correctly, and I don't see any ground loops. I'm hoping it'll solve itself when I gut the whole guitar and rewire it when the Tone Zone comes in. I've given up on trying to figure out what it is, because I have to tear the cavity apart anyways in a week or so. But I'm looking forward to the new pickup (the PAF Pro just isn't hot enough for me, and the Zakk Wylde harmonics aren't jumping out as much as I'd like. also, it's a bit trebly. Or maybe just not bassy enough.) and a working killswitch. I ordered new pots from StewMac, just in case one of the pots is burnt out, which would be causing the buzz. My dad said he might have hit one of them with too much heat (we had to switch soldering irons in between).

What I AM impressed with is the P Megaswitch. The in-between sounds REALLY do it for me, in a way that I wasn't expecting. I can't hear much difference between the two, other that one is a bit more trebly, and the other a bit bassy. I really like position......... 2? Depending on which way you look at it. The one closest to the neck pickup. If I had more space in the electronics cavity, and I was really adventurous, I'd get a SuperSwitch and wire it as such:

5: bridge

4: bridge coil tapped

3: Strat-ish P Switch sound

2: Neck coil tapped

1: neck

But I'm not that adventurous.

The finish isn't perfect. I need to work out a better tru-oil technique. For the next one, I want the finish to resemble that on my Carvin, which is much more satin, and not nearly as many coats. On top of that, it doesn't actually FEEL like there's a finish on it, it just feels like wood. I mean, for all I know it's just oiled with wood oil and left like that. Who knows. I've actually been thinking about calling up their tech guys about doing some "touch-up refinishing" wink-wink, and ask what products/process they use. I might get an answer outta them.

That Earvana nut sounds awesome, but the slots are f****** TALL! That sucker really needs to come down to be playable up in the open positions. The fret ends need to be beveled, as well. A bit too prickly for me. The frets might need to be leveled as well. I can tell you that this is the last time I press my own frets. Fortunately, I know a guy down the cape who would gladly do the fret end, fret crowning, and nut height job for me, so I'm in luck. His quality is awesome, and I actually invited him to join the forums. I'm hoping he will

Final note: I got a Strapp strap for my StrapLoks (which were not easy at all to get on, but that's beside the point) and I have to say it's the most comfortable strap I've ever used. Ever. And not that the V is a heavy beast (I've yet to get it weighed with equipment on), but it makes the guitar feel like nothing. And my strap buttons lend for easy balancing as well, which I'm excited about. No headstock dives!

More pics up next week. A final thanks for everyone who offered their advice, and more importantly their constructive criticism.

-Gary

[Xanthus]

Small bump/update, 3 new pics of the finished product are up on the photo album. Small side note: They contain me in them I have recently got into doing a bit of modeling for a makeup artist in Boston.

The full story: My uncle's girlfriend works for Paul Mitchell. She's a pretty high up, doing hair and makeup for the company. She's compiling a portfolio, and wanted David (the makeup artist) to train her in his program. So she called me up to be one of her models. I figured music, acting, modeling, it's all different sides of the same coin really, and something I like to do. I figured I could use them for a portfolio, resume, album cover, or whatnot. This is from the second shoot I did, with a different student doing my makeup. David actually asked me to bring in my new guitar as a prop, so I got nice high-quality pictures! Hope everyone enjoys.

And consider that my official bid for PGs sexiest moderator The answer to your question is no, I don't have any shame.

Edited August 5, 2008 by Xanthus

[jmrentis]

I'm not sure you really wanna be crowned the most sexist mod?! Sexiest maybe, but most sexist might end you up with a bunch of hate mail, lol. Oh and don't worry I spelt it the same way and when I reread it, it looked strange and I realized it was missing a letter.

The guitar looks wicked, I like the natural finish it has, it really suits the build perfectly. I really dig the build, very nice! Did you get the electronics all worked out?

You are not at all close to the mental image I had for you. though I rarely am close. I think if you're going to throw in for sexiest mod, you'll have to challenge the current holder of that title Wes. We might have to have a glam off or something! Hahaha

Edited August 5, 2008 by jmrentis

[Xanthus]

Whoops!

Anyways :D B)

....a glam-off would be hilarious! I need to invest in more glitter and Aqua-Net. I showed the pictures to my dad today, and his first comment was "You need to get yourself a pair of leather pants." We might be on to something here!

I haven't got the electronics sorted out yet. Actually, on the contrary, I think I might have another problem. I got my stew-mac order today, and I bought new pots on the suggestion by my dad that he might have burnt out the volume pot by hitting it with such sustained heat. WELL, the SM pots are much larger than the pots I drilled the cavity for. MUCH larger. So I'll need to sand out a bit of room in the cavity before I install them. I didn't know Carvin's pots were that tiny! Even the EMG pots weren't this large.

On top of that dilemma, my Tone Zone is apparently WALKING from Wisconsin. Won't be here until Wednesday. So the project is on hold until then, but at least I can get my cavity situation sorted out in the meantime. And I got my new recording gear today too, so I have something else to fiddle around with.

I REALLY like how the finish came out, looks-wise, though application-wise I need to work on it. The first pic, on top of the trash compactor, is the worst as far as catching the imperfections in the finish, but the quality is so bad on the compressed picture that I ended up lucking out On the next one I want to emulate the Carvin I have, which I stated before.

It's always interesting to actually see who you're talking to online! And sorry I didn't live up to your expectations hahaha. It's pretty cool, seeing as I apparently don't live near anyone who frequents the forums as is, to put a face to a name to an avatar.

Speaking of which, now that I have guitar pictures, I should make myself a little 100x100 picture.

[Bryan316]

Two words.

LEATHER

PANTS

\m/