zyonsdream Posted June 25, 2007 Report Share Posted June 25, 2007 Well, this guitar was a labor of love for me. It was a complete R&D from the ground up which included several unforeseen issues that made this one of those guitars that "didn't want to be built." For example, the body meets the neck at the 12th fret on the bass side so this neck shim was extra long and the neck angle was a bit of a guess. The bridge was changed on me in mid build so I had to make a shim for the kahler to compensate for the TOM neck angle that was already complete. The technical stuff: Solid Zebra-wood wings oil finished Black Walnut neck through design with two graphite rods and a HotRod truss rod. Kahler hybrid tremolo with an aluminum shim and behind the nut locker. A set of Seymour Duncan live wire pickups going to two stereo outs for recording purposes. The guy I built it for loves his Ibanez XV500 so this design is styled after that: I clam little originality on this build! Since bandwith is seems to be a hot topic I'll just post one picture and then link to my website. Since the shape is outside the norm, I'm interested in what people have to say. BTW, I have a bass verson of this with a Padauk neck. http://www.zdguitars.com/evxproto.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheIRS Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 That is one gorgeous instrument!!! Seems like a nice metal monster. I find the shape to be quite interesting and i always wanted to make a guitar like that. Nice work!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 Very nice stuff. I like the look and layout of the entire guitar, good stuff. Quick question, how is zebrawood to finish? Did it soak up a lot of oil, more than other woods? J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyonsdream Posted June 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 That is one gorgeous instrument!!! Seems like a nice metal monster. I find the shape to be quite interesting and i always wanted to make a guitar like that. Nice work!! Thanks for the kind words. I used teak oil and I have to say that it built up quickly but in the future I'll use boiled linseed oil as it's generally the standard in oil finishes. It took about 1/2 quart to finish this guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travismoore Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Wow nice guitar! Nice woods ! =D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 i haven't been on the forum for over a year, just came back to see how things are and had to post when I seen this guitar, I usually prefer a strat/gibson guitar shape, something a bit more mainstream, but I really like this guitar, there's just something about it. Nice work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibsonsg26 Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 thats pretty expensive wood to use how much did the wood end up costing id love to use zebrawood but my shop teacher told me its like 15 dollars a board foot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travismoore Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 15 dollars a board foot. Wish i could get ti that cheap lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyonsdream Posted June 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 (edited) 15 dollars a board foot. Wish i could get ti that cheap lol I got enough 8/4 Zebra wood to make two of these for a little over $200.00. (that would be 3 or 4 standard tele or strat shapes) I'd have to figure out the board foot cost but I'm to lazy. When I figure out my board cost I just figure out how many guitars I can get out of it and then divide the cost by that number. I got it off of EBay from Thoag. http://myworld.ebay.com/thoag Good prices, fast shipping and the wood was pretty straight when I got it. Ran it through the plainer and jointer a few times and I was ready to go. One thing about Zebrawood though. IT SMELLS LIKE COW DUNG when you are cutting it and sanding it. However, once you get done sanding it starts to go away. It will fill your shop and get stuck in your head for sure. Once you finish it the smell is gone. Quite the stinker though. I'm going to make a small run of these with Walnut wings and maple neck through. They will likely have TOM bridges with passive Seymour Duncan's. They can be custom ordered in this config but obviously with a Kahler, Active live wires and solid body exotic woods, this version won't go cheep. Also, It means alot to me to get some positive feedback. I know I don't post here alot but so far I like this forum. Rock on! Edited June 27, 2007 by zyonsdream Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tubab0y Posted June 28, 2007 Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 i think i can get it for $13-14 a BF, but nothing thicker than 4/4. shame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibsonsg26 Posted June 28, 2007 Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 the only thing i dont like about zebrawood is it doesnt always have great grain the guitar you built does but ive seen some schecters that looked pretty dull I love the look of it when the grain is nice but if its not then its just so so i love the grain on yours though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyonsdream Posted June 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 the only thing i dont like about zebrawood is it doesnt always have great grain the guitar you built does but ive seen some schecters that looked pretty dull I love the look of it when the grain is nice but if its not then its just so so i love the grain on yours though. I agree with that but I think the fault isn’t with the lumber but more with how it's finished. I see a lot of zebra topped guitars that are cleared with nitro or poly with no stain what so ever. The wood I used was very bland when dried and although nitro would give it a wetter look, it wouldn’t have done much to make it "pop." I used teak oil which gives wood an amber tint to it so it really pulled out the grain. Some times when you have a subdued grain you have to play with it a bit to get the grain to really pop. IMO, zebra should never be finished without the grain being enhanced. It's just too dull Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travismoore Posted June 28, 2007 Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 Ya but i think sometimes the how the grain looks just depends on where the tree grew and under what conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyonsdream Posted June 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 Ya but i think sometimes the how the grain looks just depends on where the tree grew and under what conditions. It’s possible. If you look at lower side of this guitar you’ll notice that the grain runs darker because the darker laced grain is running closer together than on the top half of the guitar. It almost starts to look a little hazy or muddy when you look at it. I guess that’s the nature of two different toned interlocking grain patterns running the same direction on one board. I found a picture that I took of the wood completely dry so you could see the contrast in color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travismoore Posted June 28, 2007 Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 I foudn with the peaice of zebrano i used on my bass it was different from the stuff you guys buy in america. The grain on my peice was looser and also has alot of contrast from light yellows to dark browns. http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t75/Travis_Moore123/ pictures arnt great but gives u an idea of what i mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTU 7's. Posted June 28, 2007 Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 I like, it's a real metal machine. The woods are amazing and the acces of the high access it's awsome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyonsdream Posted June 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 Yah Seymour sends a set of resistors with the pickups to choke back the horse power if you can't clean up your tone once they are installed. The guy who bought it wants to be able to pull off "face melters" so they were wired full bore! Nothing but crotch kicking tones from this one LOL. Watch out Marshall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwood999 Posted June 29, 2007 Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 Nice job id love to here it rip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyonsdream Posted June 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 Nice job id love to here it rip It's being delivered Monday morning to it's owner and i'm sure they'll put something together with it monday night. I'll get a copy of it and post a link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielM Posted July 1, 2007 Report Share Posted July 1, 2007 looks fab. not too keen on Metal guitar shapes, always a bit too pointy for me, but I'm loving the Zebrawood. I see what Travis is saying, especially comparing the Zebrawood you've got, which is nice and straight, to mine which I'm using on my current (and seemingly everlasting nearly a full year from when I started designing!) http://s112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/Ne...nt=DSCF1507.jpg as you can see it's much much wilder, and consequently a real pain to route! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyonsdream Posted July 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 http://www.zdguitars.com/songs/EVXdimage.mp3 For those who wanted to hear a sound sample. This is one take through the guitar rig. It's an impromptu jam from a band called Dragonlips. 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.