Skullsession Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 (edited) Hey gang....my name is James - from Houston. My buddy Scott is building my first custom, and I'm pretty excited. First...material specs. Neck - Brazilian Cherry (Jatoba) Fretboard - Ebony Tuners - Gotoh midsize Gold 510's Frets - Gold Inlay - Gold thumb markers with silver personal signature across frets 10 thru 13 Body - African Mahogany Carved Top - Myrtle Binding - Ebony Pickps - Still have time to decide, but will be metal covers. Bridge - Fishman Piezo loaded tune-o-matic w/powerbridge system Tailpiece - string through body Finish - Clearcoat Here's a mockup I did in Photoshop. The body is from the actual piec of the Myrtle we're using for the project. I can't wait to see it done and clear coated. This is just a mockup to show color scheme...the headstock will differ, as will the body style to a degree. This will be a LP style....not a true copy. Images of the actual build to follow. Edited April 15, 2009 by Skullsession Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Please don't mix gold and silver hardware. It just looks awkward, like it should be in a jewelry case at Tiffany's or something. That's the actual piece of myrtle? Very nice! Curious as to how it's going to sound, seeing as it's a softwood. It looks like a burl - will you have any inclusions to fill? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skullsession Posted April 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 No...there are no spots we need to fill. Of course, he hasn't started the sculpting yet - but it doesn't appear like it's going to be a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skullsession Posted April 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 (edited) Right...the top sort of led me to thinking about gold and chrome hardware down there. My first thought WAS to have gold pickup covers in both spots. Those are actually very good points about the knobs too. I could see dark knobs on there. It also might help pull some of the dark weight back to the ass end. I'll take a look at both pickups in gold....see if I like it after all. And yes...the bridge is going to be a piezo tune-o-matic. The last knob is piezo volume, and the switch below it is for controlling the blend between piezo/magnetic. Edited April 15, 2009 by Skullsession Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Yeah, I vote black hardware. I know I don't really have a vote, but I voted anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skullsession Posted April 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 After a couple of quick suggestions from the forum, I went back and looked at the color scheme. I'm actually much happier with this one....great suggestions guys. New mock up: Now...on to the build..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skullsession Posted April 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 (edited) Shots of the neck getting a rough cut. Brazilian Cherry - also known as Jatoba. This particular board came off of a pallet that we received at work - so it was a freebie. Edited April 15, 2009 by Skullsession Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 awsome, great mockup too im subscribed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 A few questions... Do you have a real pic of the Myrtle you can post? I'd like to see a pic of the real piece compared to your mockup pic, it looks great so far, I dig it. Can you explain the knob selections? Man, it just seems -so- busy. My builds are pretty knob-heavy as a rule too, but there is space between them and the overall layout works well. It looks like yours would be very hard to maneuver around, like you'd always be bumping one knob trying to adjust another. This is a part of building you want to be very careful about. I like African Mahogany, I have some quartersawn pieces that ring like a bell, fantastic tap tone. If it comes out like the mocker, she's gonna be a beaut! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 Can you explain the knob selections? Man, it just seems -so- busy. Taking a stab.... 2V 2T pickup 3-way piezo volume piezo 3-way Not complicated, but I agree, knob-heavy. It might be worth it to pick up concentric pots for the pickups, or move the LP 3-way to its usual position. Or both? Loving the mockup 2.0!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 That control cavity is going to have to take up half the guitar to fit all that in. You might simplify by having a master tone(or concentric), master volume(or concentric), and set the gain for the piezo by trim pot instead of with a volume knob. That'd give you 2 knobs and 2 switches, so you wouldn't even need anything larger than a normal LP cavity except for the piezo preamp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skullsession Posted April 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 A few questions... Do you have a real pic of the Myrtle you can post? Sure...here's the photo of the boards. Of course, later as you see the top during carving you'll notice that it looks pretty gray. In this pic, the boards have been lightly wiped with mineral spirits to simulate the clear coated look. It really IS that pretty... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 you should put a disclaimer before you post wood porn like that.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skullsession Posted April 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 Can you explain the knob selections? Man, it just seems -so- busy. Taking a stab.... 2V 2T pickup 3-way piezo volume piezo 3-way Not complicated, but I agree, knob-heavy. It might be worth it to pick up concentric pots for the pickups, or move the LP 3-way to its usual position. Or both? Loving the mockup 2.0!! Right....you've got it exactly. It's only one extra knob and one extra switch from the normal LP config...I don't really consider that knob heavy. But I do appreciate the ideas...and I'll discuss the concentric options with the guy who's putting this thing together. Though I don't mind 5 knobs and two switches on a guitar, I also don't mind reducing the real estate needed to obtain the same level of control. Thanks again for your thoughts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skullsession Posted April 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 you should put a disclaimer before you post wood porn like that.... LOL...I'm going to assume you're just talking about how pretty it is - unless you come right out and say that you see the same thing that I do in that grain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skullsession Posted April 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 (edited) On to the neck work.... BTW: Is it customary here to just post links, or is it good to go ahead with droping the photos in the posts? After the headstock has been roughly formed with a bandsaw: Shaping has begun on the neck: These show the headstock a little closer to the final size. He still has to lay on the ebony headstock plate....sometime. Edited April 16, 2009 by Skullsession Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skullsession Posted April 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 Here's a photo of the African Mahogany we'll be using for this guitar. It's actually left overs from when he buit another guitar. Here's what the back of that one looked like - gives you an idea what this new one will look like on the back. Oh...and the headstock from a previous build. Same shape, but mine will have the ebony plate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 That carve on the back of the headstock is crazy! Good work. -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 (edited) I could've sworn chisels were extinct by now. Epic job for whoever carved that! Although, putting such a huge amount of mass on an LP headstock, that to me sounds like it's begging to do a nosedive. Pic rules are 4-per post in this section; The rest should go into links. Edited April 16, 2009 by Xanthus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IPA or death Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Wow, this guy is good. A real artist (though I don't dare call him a "master" ). Looking forward to the progress on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAK Guitars Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 That top is killer! Almost looks like a face or skull or something. Good lookin build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 nice on the headstock. I'm curious about the technique used to go from the gouge/spoon to being flat... some kind of thumb plane or spoke shave? Nicely done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ae3 Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 oooooo nice headstock carve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skullsession Posted April 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 More steps taken this weekend. The builder (Scott) was out of town late last week, and actually came out to see my band this weekend...so I was surprised to hear he had moved forward at all. PLUS, I've been draggin' my heels on ordering the fretwire until I made some other decisions. Good news is that I ordered the piezo bridge and preamp late last week, and the fretwire this morning. BTW...I'm still urging Scott to sign up here to answer a couple of questions from earlier. He knows better than I what/how he's doing this stuff! And another view of the mahogany after glued: Here's a shot of the fretboard. Still not to correct thickness or width, and not stained. He's just making mock cuts and markings for me so that I can figure out the exact size of the HOOK signature we're putting on there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 You know man, I see sooooooooo many 'mockups' thrown up around here and the majority never get built, much less even started, that's why I asked to see the real wood. I've worked with Myrtle burls before, and that is certainly and definitely Myrtle Burl. Now I completely agree, your top is absolutely stunning and I love it to death! That is going to be one of the nicest guitars I've seen this year (IMO), I look forward to see it plugged in and playin'. Please post finished pics when she's done! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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