Not Your Daddy's Es335

[zyonsdream]

Well in my world of pointy guitars, the ES335 has always stood out as a rounded design that I always liked but...I just had to make an ES335 inspired pointy-ish guitar. It was originally slated to be a walnut back-side and maple top with a neck through lacewood neck but it ended up being something completely different due to a massive hidden crack in the lacewood.

Here is a picture of the inside

To keep everything lined up I traced my template and then marked a few places to make sure everything would line up when it came time to route the edges. After routing out my cavities I glued the maple top on, lined my template up and then routed the body. I originally wanted to clear the guitar and keep the wood natural but I wasn't happy with the treble side maple. It just didn't have the same quilted birdseye that the other side. I also hated where the treble side of the fretboard met the body. I like the whole fretboard to sit down farther but I was willing to deal with these defects just because it was my first attempt at a semi hollow body.

Then, when I was shaping the neck, it happened, I small crack started showing up and then a big crack showed up! The neck was junk and unfortunately I had already shaped the heel. There was no way to salvage the body and make a set neck or bolt on. So, I threw it in the scrap bin and there it sat for almost a year. A week ago I had a little time and went back to this build. I sliced the wings off and replaced them onto a solid walnut center piece with a maple cap.

Then I decided to have a little fun with it since I really didn't have a neck ready made for the job and I didn't want to put any more money into it than I had to. I found an old 24 fret neck from a PBC guitar and decided to make it into a set neck. I reworked the headstock to make it my own shape and then used hardware i ha around the shop to finish the job. I used an old chrome cover over the Guitarheadz active pickup and an old chicken head knob just for fun.

The TOM bridge worked nicely on it even though original plans were to add a floyd to it. A semi hollow with a Floyd...would have been cool, maybe next time!

Since the guitar ended up being a learning expernece for me and somewhat a hodgepodge of parts I decided to give it a funky finish. I always wanted to try a stone burst so that's what I did. I started with the green center and burst it with black stone and then used acrylic matte clear coat.

I decided that it would be fun to break out at open mic blues jam night so I set it up for some George Thorogood slide guitar!

The original shape did end up getting distorted a bit with all the rework so I included a shot of the template too.

He is the final concoction .

I still have to get a battery box for it.

I know it isn't the best execution but some feedback on the shape would be cool!

[bluesy]

I don't usually like pointy bizarre shapes, but that one I like. I think it's the f-holes that make it good.

I also had imagined a guitar done in stone. I have some speaker boxes finished with it. It looks good on the guitar too.

[ElysianGuitars]

i'm personally not feeling it. lemme see if i can photoshop up my recommendations, as its hard to put in writing

[zyonsdream]

I don't usually like pointy bizarre shapes, but that one I like. I think it's the f-holes that make it good.

I also had imagined a guitar done in stone. I have some speaker boxes finished with it. It looks good on the guitar too.

I thought about doing some odd style F holes but I decided that going traditional would sort of seem even more extreme given the styling cues of the guitar. It sort of kept it grounded for me. Stone finishes are really cool and relatively easy to do. I've been getting a lot of interest in them and been doing a lot more of them for people. The color choices are also growing and once you hardcoat them, they are just as rock hard as any other hard coat. Use a matte finish though as a gloss finish makes the stone look fake.

Thanks for the feedback.

[Geo]

Wait, you painted that beautiful maple?!

It's not an ES-335.... but a very cool, funky lookin' guitar! Good choice on the chickenhead knob, I love that look on a guitar.

[riffster]

I don't care for it too much but that does not matter because many others will, and what counts is that you like it. That is what building is all about. I am wildly confused why you would paint over a beautiful birdseye maple top. Only 1% of the maple in the world is this type of wood! Where did you get that maple cap anyway? Looks great cause I don't see any heartwood or mineral streaks.

[zyonsdream]

Hearn's hardwood in souther PA. They are expensive but they have good stuff. I ake a trip down about once or twice a year for supplies.

I painted it because the treble side maple had very little BE in it once I thickness sanded the top and it had almost zero quilt to it. It wasn't my choice to paint it but the left side looked great and the right side looked bland. It's my fault really, I didn't completely thickness sand before I glued the top on because my planer tends to get temperamental with thin wood.

I plan on making another one that will not be painted. I have a couple nice pieces of exotic around that might make excellent tops. I believe I might make one with a Canary wood top.

Edit: I also forgot, When I replaced the lacewood center I used a walnut back but I also used a scrap piece of ambrosia maple so the center piece looked out of place with the BE maple. This was truly a salvage job in all respects.

Edited July 7, 2008 by zyonsdream

[riffster]

Sorry to hear about that top. Thats unfortunate. I understand now . I am planning on a birdseye build myself. I am looking forward to see your next build with the birdseyes. Hopefully you will have better luck next time.