Help Me Decide

[avengers63]

I'm going to take apart the Tulip, pictured above. It doesn't balance well and I just don't like it as much as I thought I would. I'll be keeping the neck for some undecided use later, but the pup, bridge, pit, and jack are all going somewhere else.

I have an Epiphone neck, maple/maple with an explorer headstock that I'll be using on this project. I'm thinking to angle the pup in the gunslinger position.

Here's the list of templates I have:

PRS, Les Paul, SG, Tele, Carvin Strat, Firebird, Flying V, Jackson V, 335

I could also make a close resemblance of something else by hand.

Remembering that it's an explorer headstock, a single motherbucker, and a wrap-around tailpiece, I'm leaning a little towards the flying V or something completely fabricated and off the wall, like the Gibson Corvus.

Also, should I go for wood porn, paint it, or some combo? I currently have mahogany, ash, goncalo alves, sapele, and walnut that could be used for the body. I have others that could be a top.

Tell me what to do. Consider this to be design by committee.

[dpm99]

Let me just throw out a very off the wall suggestion that I'm almost positive no one will like except me. What if you chopped off the first five frets or so? It would require fretboard removal, and I'm not sure what you'd do about a truss rod, but it would sure be a fun little guitar with a huge sound.

[avengers63]

Why would you suggest that?

After sleeping on it, I thought that I could also do a basic stripped down guitar, like a melody maker or LPjr. Just a slab body, one pup, and no frills.

[Crusader]

Cut the necessary parts off the body so you end up with a straight-through neck- then add to it (what you would need) to make a Telecaster. You already have the headstock

This way you wouldn't need to interfere with any working parts of the instrument

The only problem I can see is gluing end-grain at the base but I don't think thats a huge issue

[dpm99]

Why would you suggest that?

After sleeping on it, I thought that I could also do a basic stripped down guitar, like a melody maker or LPjr. Just a slab body, one pup, and no frills.

I don't know. It's a weird idea, and I don't know that I'd do it myself necessarily. But it would give you a mini neck to match you mini body. You could travel with it, play it in the car, whatever, and it would still be a fully functional axe (minus five frets). I wouldn't try to talk you into it. Just thought it was interesting.

[Woodenspoke]

Great Idea to strip off your older builds and move on. I have a wall called my wall of shame, filled with older instruments stripped for parts. Not all my own.

Given the bridge you have always lends itself to the models you mention as does the single pickup. I have always been partial to the LP Jr shape.

However I would just design your own body as these shapes are just the basics these days. I have been looking at bass design as the new trend in guitar body shapes, look through some web sites and some of the current builds here. These shapes can be modified to work with a single pickup design. probably work better with 6 inline pegs as well, which I would not like on any Gibson style body.

[avengers63]

Really... Spoke is the only one with a body style suggestion?

I'm really giving heavy thought to one of two things:

1) A Gibson Corvus and paint it orange.

2) A Jackson V, but do some serious rounding to the points and edges. And paint it orange.

[RestorationAD]

Now you said V.... that is worth while and easy enough. You need to fix the epiphone headstock... make it pointy if you build a King V.

If you build the Canopener ... I mean Corvus I am going to taunt your build thread...

You should build a Mockingbird or a Bich if you don't build the V.

I have always like the Single Cut Melody Maker. Nice simple....

Edited February 27, 2009 by RestorationAD