WezV Posted March 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 i just wish i could get more like this. its a little knotty but the tone and weight make up for that.. and in fact i think only one knot had made it onto this guitar with my recent LP i also used old stock mahogany but it was very different to this... even with a 1.5" body i was still a heavy little beast and much darker than this. possibly one of the best sounding guitars i have built... but now i wonder how it would sound with the mahogny i i am using for this... if only i had more to find out. i wish mahogany wasnt so variable, and i could just pick a bit knowing what to expect before all the other studying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted March 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 top all attached and trimmed to shape, inlays are just white crayon for the time being side view: i also have the neck 90% carved and have made a rough start on the transitions and rear carving. Fretboard is radiused. headstock is rough cut but i am wondering whether to veneer it black as originally intended or go for a quilted maple veneer and blue finish to match the body... i will finalise the shape and get some pics once that has been decided. I have also got the bridge plate design sorted. Its taken a bit more time because the fan is greater at the bridge and i also want the piezo wires going from each saddle to look neat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted March 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 OK, here is the bridge plate with all the holes drilled and the ghost saddles test fitted here it is cut to shape and mounted to the guitar - i think i will get some black bridge screws for the plate as those chrome ones really do nothing for it.. although i will leave the saddle bolts chrome as it will match the pickups nicely in other news... neck carve and transitions are starting to come together nicely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted April 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 i have all the routing done on this now and am ready for the final stages. which are fret, carve and sand. sand and sand some more!! here is the inlays, green abalone bars the routing and control layout and a parts layout although it was at this stage that i realised i might need to make the control cavity 3mm deeper since me top is 3mm thicker than i normally use : controls are: Bridge volume with Push/pull split (crawler) Neck volume with Push/Pull tap (MQ) Master Tone Piezo Volume with push/push tone presets 3 way switch for Mag pickups 3 way mini for Mag/mix/piezo here is the cavity now gonna be crowded but not as bad as i expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 Unless this is being made for sale/commission, I fear your priorities are misplaced. You have a Corvus to build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted April 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 it is a commission. i must admit i am wavering on the corvus for the time being. i still want to build one, i have done for a few years but i have other things that have to come first. I am making myself a bass which was going to be corvus like but one of my close friends has just started playing bass again and he aint up for playing a corvus!! i did consider last night that i should have a crow themed tattoo down my other arm... maybe that will have to be my corvus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 it is a commission. i must admit i am wavering on the corvus for the time being. i still want to build one, i have done for a few years but i have other things that have to come first. I am making myself a bass which was going to be corvus like but one of my close friends has just started playing bass again and he aint up for playing a corvus!! i did consider last night that i should have a crow themed tattoo down my other arm... maybe that will have to be my corvus Wez this is a super nice build. I'm watching your bridge progress, as I am right at this stage now for a very similarly angled multi-scale bridge. I'll put up a build thread in the future when I get some more done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted April 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 did you see the last one with a similar bridge http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...scale&st=75 it had a much smaller footprint but i lfet this one larger to fill the triangle of space between bridge and pickup as i feel it would be more apparent on the light top... i also needed a bit more room to accomodate the piezo wire holes.. i didnt want to squeeze them in too close in case it weakened the bridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 did you see the last one with a similar bridge http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...scale&st=75 it had a much smaller footprint but i lfet this one larger to fill the triangle of space between bridge and pickup as i feel it would be more apparent on the light top... i also needed a bit more room to accomodate the piezo wire holes.. i didnt want to squeeze them in too close in case it weakened the bridge Yep, I saw that. I'm thinking of milling one out of ebony, but more of the Hipshot kind of baseplate. Mine won't have piezo, and it will have 8 saddles. My angle is very similar to yours actually - it's a 28"-25.5" with the straight fret at 6. This last weekend I finished a compound scarf joint successfully, and I can't be more thrilled as that wasn't easy. Also, I am going to slant my single pickup, splitting the angle between the bridge and last fret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted April 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 i havnt bothered with a compound headstock angle yet. so far have had the straight fret at 5th, 7th, and 9th and the small triangle on the headstock hasnt been a problem. Infact on two i rounded it off slightly and veneered the headstock - i think i am the only person that knows its there. it might be something i have to get my head around if i move that middle fret closer to the bridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 Wes, very nice build,love to see it finished.I have been working on a fretless guitar myself,and am in the process of blending birdseye maple into the fret board.I have moved and am only now getting back into the mood to build.One day I still hope to have a beer with you.hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted April 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 good to have you back around dean... we need a build thread!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Wes,I will start one soon....I am doing this neck ,pretty much from scratch.It has taken me a while to decide on how I wanted to do it.Your build is just beautiful,I love the way you are doing the bridge,it is like the neck keeps on going.Very cool.I was reading, you spread the bridge out a little,are the strings still going to cross the pickups through the center of the pole pieces.Also ,you matched that veneer just perfect.Keep posting pictures,and keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted April 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 cheers dean the strings will pass over the poles just fine, the wilkinson saddles are slimmer than normal saddles and designed to have a gap between them - this is spaced the same as a wilkinson trem so i made sure to order a trem spaced pickup for the bridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted April 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 right. despite the whole world acting against me today i managed to get this guitar just about to the point i wanted for the end of my easter holidays. top is rough carved whole thing i also got the pickups as i said above along with a few others (strangely monotone selection for me) the pickups for this guitar are black covers with chrome polepieces... should nicely match the black bridge with chrome saddle screws, the black sperzel tuners with chrome posts. i was consiering tonight that it needs ebony knobs with a little silver dot on top as a marker - just to tie them in with everything else!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted April 19, 2009 Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 Black hum with chrome polepieces.... drool.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted April 19, 2009 Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 Very nice Wez, that is my favorite quilt figure! I got to start shopping around a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
six_stringer Posted April 19, 2009 Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 Wez, I have been thinking of making a similar bridge using those Graph Tech Wilkinson saddles myself and I thought I would check with you first about your use of those saddles. First of all, I don't own a Wilkinson trem but from what I've seen of the pictures and diagrams the base plate has little recess's for the height adjusters of the saddles to rest in. This would seem to help keep the saddle from rotating on the allen head bolt while bending a string. On a homemade bridge without these recess's I would imagine that if the saddles were right next to each other there wouldn't be much if any movement but if slightly spaced it seems there could be movement while bending strings. I know the saddles don't move on my 7 string neck through baritone with the strings through the body but it's a regular strat type bridge with the shorter and wider saddles resting side by side. Did you have any issues with the saddles while bending strings? As always, you do fantastic work and I look forward to more of your builds. Thanks, Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranman106 Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 Nice. Favors the Ibanez Iceman. I love the shape of the Iceman! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted April 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 Did you have any issues with the saddles while bending strings? no, although the saddles can rotate a bit when stringing up. as soon as string pressure is on they stay in the right place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 Wez,looking good...has the buyer seen it yet? I remember when I was getting my snake made,a young guy asked how old the kid was getting it made.haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
six_stringer Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 Did you have any issues with the saddles while bending strings? no, although the saddles can rotate a bit when stringing up. as soon as string pressure is on they stay in the right place I figured that would be the case. Just wanted to make sure that it worked for you without any issues. Now I will feel better about trying it myself. Thanks Wez, Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted May 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2009 mike just sent me some in progress shots of the finish - this is obviously pre flatting out, just to show the colour really Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Buttman Posted May 25, 2009 Report Share Posted May 25, 2009 That's awesome color! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmth Builder Posted May 25, 2009 Report Share Posted May 25, 2009 AMAZING! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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