HuntinDoug Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 I've been wanting to post build pics here for a while now, but I've been really busy here lately with inlay stuff. I have some cool custom stuff that may (or may not) hang at the summer NAMM show….the jury is still out on that. I have a few other guitar related “irons in the fire” as well. I thought I would document a set neck build. This is a custom piece “keeper”, so I may change things along the way. Here is what I have going: 1 piece Mahogany body w/ carved top Figured Maple / Purple Heart / Sapele Mahogany set neck w/ Voloute Macassar Ebony FB with Oak leaf & Acorn inlay at the 12th (12” rad) 25.5” scale w 27 frets (#149 fret wire) Gold hardware TOM Bridge w/Quick change tailpiece 1 11/16 brass nut & Gotoh Ibanez Artist style tuners Pup TBD Satin Tru-Oil finish The body shape is a design I drew up a while back based on an offset violin. I’ve seen other builders use a similar symmetric shape. This one has an extended upper horn that reaches to the 12th fret.The neck will be flat like an RG, but a fair amount thicker. With the 1 piece mahog body, and the combinations of neck wood, this thing should be a tone monster. At this point I’m well over half way done. Here are some pics: Basic shape & layout progress pics http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/a.jpg http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/b.jpg http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/c.jpg http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/d.jpg http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/e.jpg http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/f.jpg http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/g.jpg http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/h.jpg http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/i.jpg http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/j.jpg neck wood: http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/k.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntinDoug Posted June 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 Inlay closeup pic: other pics: http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/m.jpg http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/n.jpg http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/p.jpg http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/t.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntinDoug Posted June 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 Top carved to about 90%: other angle: http://members.aol.com/huntindoug/s.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 I have to confess I didn't care for the body shape in the first pic. Then I saw it carved, now it looks great! Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro_10s Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 The body shape really matches up with the Inlay on the fret board... looks like part of a tree or something! Crazy... Love it! nicely themed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aturner Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 I'm not a big fan of guitars that look like they could do some serious damage to you leg if you played it sitting down, but I'm digging the inlay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigred84 Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 Wow dude, that is really awesome. I like the extra frets and violin-like design. Looks well crafted too! How long have you been making guitars? or roughly how many have you made? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 Doug you spoilsport! I'm halfway through making a guitar shaped like that also!! I found that the horns end up looking a little "thick" and "clubby" if the carve isn't tapered off towards the ends. I love the Destroyer/Iceman flip at the back end....you do have a thing for ICs though after all :-D Gold fretwire perchance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigthemLows Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 Great carving! I like when people really carve a lot. Never a fan of just a 1/2" roundover and call it done. Unless it's a slab tele style guitar........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElysianGuitars Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 do yourself a favor and round the back of the points on the violin cutouts... otherwise they will kill your leg. you can see what i did on mine here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 Whoa! Get some clothes on that guitar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 Doug you spoilsport! I'm halfway through making a guitar shaped like that also!! I found that the horns end up looking a little "thick" and "clubby" if the carve isn't tapered off towards the ends. I love the Destroyer/Iceman flip at the back end....you do have a thing for ICs though after all :-D Gold fretwire perchance? That's exactly what I thought when I saw it, I had to do a double-take at your own build, Prostheta It's fine with me, though, I love the shape on both of the projects! Nice clean work, Doug! I've got a question, though. In pic "T" are you recessing the tailpiece too? At first, because of the order of your posts, I thought you recessed them and then carved the recess away, but then I realized something my kindergarden teacher taught me: T follows S. Nice timing, checking these pics too, because I was about 3 minutes or so away from asking if anyone ever recessed a tailpiece before, haha. Glad to know that it can be done, because I don't think I want a neck angle on my next build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 Yeah, the quality of the work is excellent! Did you laser-cut a template for the tailpiece routing, Doug? Very very cool either way. My own build is designed to be through-body and I considered recessing the bridge pretty much the same way - that said, I might not unless I go without pickup rings. I like the "lack of covers" look. That Sapele looks awesome in the neck.... Any more ideas on what you plan to do as far as the pickup is concerned? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 I'd definitely go without the pickup rings, Prostheta. The lack of pickup rings, the lack of a tailpiece, just less hardware in general would take less attention away from that awesome burl top I wonder, because of the curviness of the design and the carve, if rounding the lip of the cavities with either a roundover or sandpaper would make the design look more appealing than it already is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 I could bevel them I guess....anyway! We'll see uodates when I move forward on that project. I'm sure Doug'll be way past the finishing post by the time I even get around to binding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntinDoug Posted June 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 Thanks guys This has been a fun build so far. It's hard to come up with a shape that hasnt been done before. I drew this one up in CAD from scratch. I posted pics on another non build forum, and got slammed for copying an Abstract Guitars design. The only similarity is the violin cutouts. I just go with what I feel... This one isnt to bad to play sitting down. I'm gonna stick with 1 hum. I have the pup rout a little narrow, so the "ears" of the pup actually rest on the sides of the rout. It gives the pup a similar response as a direct mount. The recessed tailpiece was an afterthought that worked out well. When seated, the recess keeps it from sliding out. One other thing I did was I added a piece of .125" thick ebony on the bottom of the fretboard to raise the action. Coupled with the recessed bridge & tailpiece, it should have a cool feel. Carl, did you get the package yet? Your gonna really like the "extras"! Post a pic of the violin build you have going. Here is the next one on the bench. The top will be carved very similar to the violin build. I think I'm going with a floyded 2 hum layout, & gold hardware. The fretboard is indian rosewood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElysianGuitars Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 direct mounting really doesn't do anything tonewise, its more for looks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntinDoug Posted June 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 Here is a closeup of the recessed bridge, and the inlay for the walnut build. I forgot to mention that I used the laser to cut a plexi template for both the bridge & tailpiece. I drew up the shape in a CAD program, then cut it out so there is a .040" gap on all sides when the tailpiece sets in the recess. The inlay is in 2 colors of pearlessence. It's an "intertwined" design I've had for a while now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 I f***in' LOVE that inlay, LOVE IT :D I'll be a geek and dredge up some childhood memories by saying that the design reminds me of the medallion from The Neverending Story. Obviously a lot different, but that's the first thing that comes to mind. Really really sharp, I love it. Are you going to have to cut through the pearl to make room for the fret tang? Because I don't see any gaps in the design. I'm debating whether or not to recess the tailpiece or just go with another stringthrough, seeing as I've changed my plans yet again, haha. Where did you get that tail, btw, it looks a lot different than other tailpieces I've seen, and looks like it could just sit in the channel and be fine. My concern about recessing the generic Gibson tail is that the string holes might be covered by the lip of the body. I don't think it would be a problem for most of the strings, just the outside E's. Got it! I'll just route a lion's claw into the body top, hahahahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntinDoug Posted June 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 direct mounting really doesn't do anything tonewise, its more for looks. It may not effect the tone...but it definately effects the sustain. Every direct mount I have played has had notably better sustain anyway. Personally, I like the look of a pup with a ring around it. Direct mounts without a pup ring look unfinished to me. Just my 2 cents. I have a dozen or so 2 color "intertwined" 12th fret inlays that I have drawn up. A few are pinstriping designs. Whenever I decide to take time to update my sorry website, I will have a few of the designs available as pre-cut inlays. I'm working on making .125" plexi routing templates available with each design as well. Here is a pic of the bridge & tailpiece in place. I have the inserts for the tailpiece set in, but not the ones for the bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElysianGuitars Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 direct mounting really doesn't do anything tonewise, its more for looks. It may not effect the tone...but it definately effects the sustain. Every direct mount I have played has had notably better sustain anyway. Personally, I like the look of a pup with a ring around it. Direct mounts without a pup ring look unfinished to me. Just my 2 cents. I have a dozen or so 2 color "intertwined" 12th fret inlays that I have drawn up. A few are pinstriping designs. Whenever I decide to take time to update my sorry website, I will have a few of the designs available as pre-cut inlays. I'm working on making .125" plexi routing templates available with each design as well. Here is a pic of the bridge & tailpiece in place. I have the inserts for the tailpiece set in, but not the ones for the bridge. i've done much expirimenting with direct mount versus ring mount. improved sustain is fud, i've done recordings to back that up. increasing the weight in your headstock is a real way to improve sustain. thats why sometimes you see bassists with these weird metal clips clipped to their headstocks. think of how a pickup works, its electromagnetic, in other words it responds to electromagnetic interference, ie the strings. it does not respond to woods, as they are organics, not metals, they don't disrupt the electromagnetic field. the only time you will ever see a change from direct mount to ring mounted, is if your pickup is microphonic, and if that is the case, its pickup replacement time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 (edited) Okay, just a peek into the can of worms instead of opening it again (it's open elsewhere I believe) but the strings are stretched across an uneven organic thing which will serve to interfere with the wobbly metal stuff going on via it's strange wooden response, surely? The whole balsa vs. concrete guitar is an extreme example of how the body interacts with the strings...perhaps not HUGELY but there is an interaction nonetheless. Okay, enough of that can. On with the show! Direct mount means no pickup rings. ROCK! Edited June 10, 2007 by Prostheta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 *scratching chin* I may in fact make my headstock extra thick on the back, and only "normal thickness" where the tuners go, if that's the case... The only thing is it would make the guitar more neck-heavy.... Ok, back on topic... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElysianGuitars Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 (edited) Okay, just a peek into the can of worms instead of opening it again (it's open elsewhere I believe) but the strings are stretched across an uneven organic thing which will serve to interfere with the wobbly metal stuff going on via it's strange wooden response, surely? The whole balsa vs. concrete guitar is an extreme example of how the body interacts with the strings...perhaps not HUGELY but there is an interaction nonetheless. Okay, enough of that can. On with the show! Direct mount means no pickup rings. ROCK! but that is strings, not pickups. it is definately true that woods can amplify certain frequencies in guitars, but thats still just the strings, not how the pickup is picking up said strings. try this, with no strings on the guitar, tap on the body of the guitar... what happens? nothing. because the pickup picks nothing up from organic materials. Edited June 10, 2007 by ElysianGuitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntinDoug Posted June 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 Ok... You have your "electra-magna-theories", and I have mine. Along with every other luthier or serious guitar player. EVH says: "tone isnt in the guitar, it's in the fingers"...That may, or may not be true. What isnt mentioned here is the rig, and/or patch it's being played through. You may not see any difference in a clean amp setting, or a direct recording, but when I have a rig set up with a warm overdrive, I definately see a difference. The difference is really noticeable when you are trying for a mild controllable feedback. I see no reason to argue about opinions Mine certainly isnt going to change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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