Made In Indonesia (anderson's First Build)

[Ricky Anderson]

well, it all started with this

an old drawing of mine, about 4 years ago.

when I designed this, I wanted a guitar that will feel comfortable to my body when I'm playing it, standing or sitting.

(after lurking around here, I found out it looks similar to Ola's design )

but it's ok, I think.

he's a better builder, anyway

then became these

since I have no woodworking experience at all, I decided to go to one of the best luthier here in Indonesia.

I asked him if he would teach me how to build a guitar in a proper way.

he said he could, then he asked me to re-draw my design in 1:1 scale.

I didn't know it could be so hard to draw a full scale, it was pita, but I did it well .

so, here's my full scale drawing

yes, it's a multi-scale guitar, 24.75"-27"

3pcs mahogany body

2pcs maple top

5pcs mahogany-maple-mahogany-maple-mahogany neck, AANJ joint

24 frets ebony fboard

so, enjoy guys!

ps.

this build is almost finished, I just didn't have enough guts to put it here until now

and sorry for my not so good english, it's not my mother tongue, though.

and in case u guys are wondering about my name "Ricky Anderson", I got it from my grandma.

she is a half swedish (that's what I believe).

[dean 2]

Very good start....If it was easy ,everyone would do it.Looking forward to some pictures.

[Ricky Anderson]

I'm back

after the drawing, I cut a template out of plastic board

then I made the body (mahogany)

and maple top

here they are

[verhoevenc]

Dude, for a first build this thing has some ELEGANT curves (no offense to other first builders). You seem to have an eye for things quite early in your building, congrats.

Chris

[Ricky Anderson]

it's time to spread some glue

and I call this camp of clamps

about the chambers, nothing special about them.

I made them just to reduce some weight.

will it affect the tone?

honestly, I don't care too much about it, because my main goal for this build is just to build a guitar that is playable

[Ricky Anderson]

Dude, for a first build this thing has some ELEGANT curves (no offense to other first builders). You seem to have an eye for things quite early in your building, congrats.

Chris

hi Chris, thanks man

I dreamed about this guitar since I was 18, I think, and I'm almost 25 now, so it's quite long time

maybe it seems too much for a first build, but I got a lot of help from the best luthier here.

back to the woods

here it is after the clamps:

do you guys see a face on above image??

yeah, I like to play

[Ricky Anderson]

move on to the neck

actually I forgot where did I put the rest of the pics of this build, so here's what I found:

neck blank with truss rod channel

and with truss rod installed

after that, I glued the ebony fboard.

rubber band instead of clamps?

I got exactly same question, but the man who supervised my work said it's ok, so I just follow him.

after I removed that rubber, it looks ok

[Ricky Anderson]

hi, I'm back again

here's a pic of hstock design:

and well, the hstock itself:

I don't know why, but every picture that I put on flickr came out smaller than its original size

[Ricky Anderson]

couple of shots of the neck shaping:

it's done

about the shape, I put asymmetrical shape on this one.

I did it little by little, until I feel comfortable when I put my hand on it.

the thickness at 1st fret is 20mm and 22mm at 12th.

but it doesn't feel too chunky, maybe because it's a very wide neck

Edited August 26, 2010 by Ricky Anderson

[Ricky Anderson]

back of the neck, weted (is that a correct word?):

back of hstock:

and I made a thumb rest, so I will feel comfy when I play on the upper frets

[FrostStorm]

That's a nice one! You're very pro-ish for a first time builder. Looking forward to seeing it finished.

[Ricky Anderson]

ebony fboard (so shinny ):

with frets on:

view from hstock:

[Ricky Anderson]

That's a nice one! You're very pro-ish for a first time builder. Looking forward to seeing it finished.

tackar mate

recessed tuner holes:

with tuners on:

[boundsteelblues]

Nice cars! Build too.

[Ricky Anderson]

Nice cars! Build too.

thanks about the car, but they're not mine

both are my mentor's

alright, colouring time (colouring?? yeah )

I'm using dyes for this build, because I want to finish it fast before I go back to the states.

first I applied some amber:

then very dark brown:

sanded back:

and put some more amber:

sorry for some small pics, I have to alternate between imageshack and flickr, because some pics don't work on imageshack

Edited August 26, 2010 by Ricky Anderson

[jimmy g]

very nice. I don't see many darkened (dyed) maple necks, but I like it. I may do something like that on my next.

[Benje]

nice build...nihdia.jpg should be proud

[Ricky Anderson]

nice build...nihdia.jpg should be proud

who's this guy?

first poster and said it's a nice build

well, he's one of the best builder here in Indonesia

I told him to put his works here, but he never do it, maybe he's just too lazy to do this kind of thing

jk

here's an example of his bulid:

you can see more of his work in Depok

*I can't believe I hijacked my own thread

[Ricky Anderson]

back to the body

neck pocket routing:

pickup cavity:

that's all, I forgot to take most of my building progress, I was too busy with the woods

[Ricky Anderson]

back to the body:D

I put some nice (at least for me) spots on it, like this:

this:

and this (a la PRS):

do you see my van halen shoes?

I like that curves, especially on the lower horn, so my left hand won't get "cut" when I play on the upper frets.

and I'm still wondering why not all guitar manufacturers do it, I mean, every guitar player will feel more comfortable with this kind of shape instead of sharp edges, like on ibanez rg

that's why I carve my rg, event though it will reduce its resale value

(I don't sell my main guitars anyway )

Edited August 28, 2010 by Ricky Anderson

[Ricky Anderson]

time to show some holes , eh?

here we go...

ferrules:

controls layout:

it's gonna be 1 volume, 1 killswitch, and a 5 way selector.

bridge holes:

hang on guys...

[Ricky Anderson]

if u guys are wondering what kind of bridge I'm gonna use, it's gonna be like this:

bridge with individual rail, I ordered them from a friend of mine last year, I told him what kind of bridge I need and he made it, cool guy

cnc made, 100% accurate

he made them before he started his own guitar hardware company, so mine is one of his first ever product that he sells.

kinda prototype, no brand, no stamp, one of a kind

duralumin rails (he told me it's a hi grade aluminum), brass & composite (teflon?) saddles.

yeah, I got 2 sets of saddles, but I'm gonna use brass ones for this one.

he has his own company now, called Aldridge Empire, very good quality.

one of his works:

you can see more of his works here Aldridge Empire

Edited August 28, 2010 by Ricky Anderson

[Benje]

nice build..nihdia.jpg will be proud

my english is limited

[Ricky Anderson]

howdy howdy \m/\m/\m/

quick view on the neck

oiled:

polished (after like 9 or 10 layers, can't remember):

under sunset light:

wish she's here with me

hey, it's ok for metalhead to be a little bit sentimental, right

[Ricky Anderson]

back to body again \m/

after final sanding:

a little bit amber: