RestorationAD Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 (edited) Decided it was time to build a King V. So I bought a cheap King V body from ebay and started making my copy. I then used this project as an excuse to buy a new gibson V for research purposes... I did mean things to the template guitar. Including screw a 1/4" acrylic sheet to it for a template. The real King V is made from Padauck, Wormy Ambrosia Maple with Mild Flame, Purple Heartwood, and my enemy Cocobolo. It is going to sport a newer JT580 Jackson trem, Jackson tuning keys and one single Seymour D Custom. CoilTapped with a 500k pushpull. Looks like a Tung oil finish for this one. The beater JS30 King V is made from mystery wood, and hardboard. I scored a really nice flamed shark fin Jackson neck for 100 on ebay and a 40 dollar nightmare Jackson neck for the beater. The beater neck had been bolted, glued, and painted into some monstrosity to look like a neck through. I bought the wasted remains and cleaned it up. I have a slew of 80's parts that I am using. I am fogoing the stock TOM in favor of a vintage Kahler Flyer. I am not sure about the pickups yet. I have the original Jacksons, a set of JC80's w/20db boost out of my Model 5, or a strange set of German Ultrasonics I might use. The tuning keys are cheap allparts circa 1989. After stripping the neck and cleaning it up I lost a mm or so. It went from a 43mm to a 42mm nut. I am refinishing the neck with superglue /clapton style=""/. The hardboard top of the V will get the same Superglue treatment before paint. Wicking the hardboard with Cyanoacrylate makes it hard as a rock. I have used this technique on Basswood and Poplar guitars before finishing them because it is not as heavy as an epoxy or poly. Linked to picture... King V Check out the rest here http://smithlx.blogspot.com/ Edited February 20, 2008 by RestorationAD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 I am documenting them out on my blog as best as possible. Here are some current state of the union pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 That King V looks so unhappy it almost makes me cry..... In other news, the padouk one looks fantastic, and the radical carves you did on the Model 5 are awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 The King V was a sacrifice... Like a phoenix she will live again. In white with 80's parts... it will be great when she lives again. Should I put flames on it? Like the new Michael Schenker model or James ESP? The Model 5 is now a favorite guitar of mine. I destroyed its historical worth... but from my research it was not a collector anyway. Wait till you see my 88 RG470. She is a real beater with 3 hums. For the record I bought the Model 5 for $200.00 in a pawn shop in 1995. I bought my 88 RG470 for $100.00 at a pawn shop in 1992. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 Here is the online album for the King V Here is the link for the Jackson King V beater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 White with black and silver flames would look cool! Like the MAB Dean, methinks. What version Kahler did you put on the beater? I'm looking into getting a Hybrid for a future project. At the same price as a Floyd, I say why not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 The kahler is a Flyer I have had since 88'. But if I was going to put new on I would do this model... 7300 Kahler Hybrid -- http://www.wammiworld.com/7300.html That way I could swap it for the 3300 series Fixed system if I wanted. http://www.wammiworld.com/7330.html Not sure I would buy it from wammiworld though... have no clue if they are reputable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted January 26, 2008 Report Share Posted January 26, 2008 The 7300 was the one I was looking at, yeah. And the hybrid can be set to be a fixed bridge by turning one of the screws. The guy from Wammi is actually a member on this forum. Check out the cool pinned thread on the solid body section, it's really informative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 King V updates: Strings and trem fitting. Also going to adjust the Locking nut as it is too high and screwing with the open string action.... overall it plays well and is loud without a pickup. Sounds very maple and hard. I am going to use a nice clear pickup like a Duncan Custom or a PAF or a Jazz. I have several Seymour Duncan Jazz pickups and enjoy the clarity... My theory is get the signal to the amp clean and true let the Boogie takes care of the rest. Tested the finish by wetting the body and taking pictures. I am thinking I will tung oil it after a vintage amber stain? I also test fitted the electronics cover. Really think I am going to use magnets instead of screws. As always the images are here http://public.fotki.com/restorationad/king-v-project/ And the blog is here http://smithlx.blogspot.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 Fixed the trem route, sanded the final curves and edges in. Progress. Ordered some vintage amber stain from stewmac... it seemed too dull after sanding last night. Plain tung oil will not do it justice. I am going with high gloss Tung Oil. So the guy over at TK Instruments talks about polymerized Tung Oil? It sounds like he heated it in a crock pot before applying it. Anyone got any ideas? Ordered a Duncan JB for it. IF It sucks I am getting an Iommi Gibson for it. Updates later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted February 4, 2008 Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 I thought I've seen poly tung oil already made, no? I'd check your woodworking/hardware store. The JB is a nice pickup. I dunno if the Iommi pickup is what you'd be looking for if you want "clean and true" though. From what I've read, it's a pretty high powered pickup. Unless you want clean AND high output, I dunno. I don't know how much my word is worth, because I haven't installed and tried them yet, but I got a set of Dimarzio PAF Pro's to run through my modeling amp. I was recommended them because they're not too high output and they have a pretty flat frequency response. Basically, my POD will do all the coloring, which sounds like the setup you're thinking about. I'm not going to dissuade you from the JB, though, because it is a good pick, but the Iommi pickup IS a Gibson, and therefore you'll probably be asked to donate a kidney for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted February 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 Decided not to donate a kidney. Bought the JB... if it is good enough for Dave it is good enough for me for now... I think I have a SD Jazz pickup laying around somewhere if the JB doesn't work. I used Dimarzo for years <they came stock on my Parker Fly Deluxes (94&95)> with my Boogie amps they always worked well. For the record I have filled the grain and stained it Ebony. I will be sanding it back tomorrow <I think> and finishing it with a Vintage amber. Then it gets 2 maybe 3 coats of Formby's High Gloss Tung Oil.... The beater V has received 2 coats of Flat White and a coat of flat black. I am going to sand back the black and see what I can come up with. I lowered the neck pocket by 1/16" and changed the angle to 1 Degree. The string height is now right for the Kahler... I probably won't finish this one this week as I am concentrating on the King V. post pictures soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted February 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 Pictures are up.... http://public.fotki.com/restorationad/ And randomness http://smithlx.blogspot.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted February 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 Staining ebony to bring out the grain is a good idea on anything but ambrosia. It is a good thing this is just a practice build to get the skills back in order. It swallowed the Ebony stain and turned Black. Sanding back the black was a bad idea for this project. So I did my best to salvage it. Stained it vintage amber after I sanded it back... I am not worried though as this V was for me. I didn't use any of my highly figured wood on it. Padauk is not my favorite wood to finish. It is nice to work <except for the tear out, splitting, tool burning, and chipping.> and looks good stained dark. Ok so this one is nearing completion. I have some other plans but they are simple also so it will be a while before building the real deals... neck-thru Maple/Wenge/Mahogany Vs. Pictures soon... I got tired of screwing with the Beater V so I just relic'd the black and white finish. It looks like I have owned it forever. I will put it back together when it finishes curing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted February 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2008 Beater Update: I actually like the Relic paint job on it. I thought I wouldn't. Wired up all the electronics and did a full assembly last night. The W. German made Ultrasonics are a no go.... I think they are toast. Anyone got a wiring diagram? I will put the JS30 Jackson pickups in it for a while <no need to waste good pickups on it until it proves worhty>. . The Kahler has to come out and I need to look at the route for it. It seems to be rubbing or it really does not like the 11s I put on it. The neck is straight and plays pretty well. However the R3 Floyd nut is really high making it feel like the action is bad. I am not going to lower it though as I am planning a refret for the neck. King V update: I now have 3 coats of High Gloss Tung oil on it. I will let it cure until next week.... What is the best way to polish out Tung Oil? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted February 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 Ok pictures are in the albums. Blog is updated. King V is still curing... and it looks like it is dirty. I am not happy with the finish at all. I hope hardware makes it look better. Beater: Great News: I fixed the Ultrasonics>>> They were severely out of phase. I spent an hour with banana clips and a soldering iron till it was fixed. Bad News:I have to move the Kahler back about 1/8-3/16", The damn intonation is right at the end of the adjustment for the Low E. Also am going to move it to 10s as the Kahler springs do not handle the tension of the 11s well at all. Pictures - http://public.fotki.com/restorationad/ Blog - http://smithlx.blogspot.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted February 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 Live King Live! King V is basically done. I have some minor things to fix like backplates, etc.... So how does it play? FAST. I was able to set the action so low it is uncomfortable. I had to raise it. The Jackson neck is WIDE and FLAT with a composite radius. I am really glad I used the JT580 tremolo instead of a standard Floyd as it matches up to the neck perfectly. The frets are BIG, makes the neck almost scalloped in feel. Without an amp the guitar is pretty loud and resonant. Not as loud as my Gibson V but much clearer in tone. Almost bell like. This thing rings like an D28 acoustic on the low E. It is on... I think the maple top on the padauk is much brighter and tight <ash like> sound than a maple on mahogany body. The JB Seymour sounds like Dave Mustaine big time. It is articulate and resonant and sounds good tapped with the push/pull Volume knob. It is clear on the low end and growls like a demon when pushed yet backs off nicely when needed. In general this sounds different than everything else I own... it is going to be a great addition to the arsenal. as always pics and blog... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted February 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 Headless... do I hear a Headless Guitar? Next Build should be a Headless Guitar. I got a Floyd Rose Thing on Ebay for CHEAP! And we are going to do mean things to it.... I have a really cool idea for the floyd rose string problem <not being able to use regular strings>. Stay Tuned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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