westhemann Posted December 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2010 Well I was thinking a topknot may look cooler than horns..kind of a samurai demon thing... I have enough bubinga to build 10 necks,but I don't think it would sound that great without something to tonally balance it out...but I don't know. I build most necks of mine out of "other than maple"..but the bubinga/maple explorer sounds so good I wanted to reproduce the tone in a lighter and smaller instrument...so we'll see..but bubinga is a great body wood.Maple is lighter,and I wanted a lighter neck than a solid bubinga one would have been,but I wanted a light colored wood to offset visually with the body,but still strong enough to make super small... I actually planned this neck to be 1 5/8" at the nut and 2 1/8" at the 24th fret..a full 1/8" less wide than your standard Fender or Jackson.(it is those dimensions exactly) So for this one,maple made sense.Of course,I also have two solid limba necks in the works,and two maple/mahogany/maple/mahogany/maple neck lams glued up...and each blank makes two necks back to back....glued them up two years ago.I like to let it all sit if I can for a while before I plane it to final dimensions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2010 Really that is a decent body weight. I have sapele that weighs that much... now I am starting to think about a full on bubinga guitar Keep in mind if I made a body this size out of alder it would weigh about 1.5 to 2 pounds at this stage....bubinga is HEAVY...my explorer is probably 20% smaller than a standard explorer and still weighs about 14 pounds... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted December 7, 2010 Report Share Posted December 7, 2010 Not that my opinion matters at all since we clearly have radically different tastes, but.... Personally, I think the horns look stupid. The Samurai top knot would be a LOT cooler. Then again, I really dislike anything resembling demonic/Satanistic appearances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2010 Ha...I was just testing out the topknot thing..it could be pretty cool if I get the topknot right.. but it is still going to be a demon samurai with the rotting teeth and the red eyes... I kind of think the horns look stupid,too..not because of any demonic thing(I don't believe in any of that,the whole demonic thing is to me just sort of a metal thing..just imagery that sets the mood),but because it just looks kind of lame...like it's trying too hard. I kind of feel like if you are afraid of the imagery then you probably miss the whole idea of what faith is really about..but that s just me.I know what I have experienced and I know that no iconic imagery is going to alter the balance of my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2010 Maybe I could put a tophat and beard on it and make it demon lincoln... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2010 By the way,I thought you liked Hellboy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted December 7, 2010 Report Share Posted December 7, 2010 Really that is a decent body weight. I have sapele that weighs that much... now I am starting to think about a full on bubinga guitar Keep in mind if I made a body this size out of alder it would weigh about 1.5 to 2 pounds at this stage....bubinga is HEAVY...my explorer is probably 20% smaller than a standard explorer and still weighs about 14 pounds... I gotcha. I think I could do it with some well placed chambers in a 33mm thick body. Just gotta think about if I should. As for the neck I have been entertaining ideas of hollow carbon tubes to reduce weight and stiffen the neck. <end hijack> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted December 7, 2010 Report Share Posted December 7, 2010 Maybe I could put a tophat and beard on it and make it demon lincoln... Just put a dewrag on him, and maybe some pointed ears... SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2010 To be Demon Brett Michaels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted December 7, 2010 Report Share Posted December 7, 2010 Hah. I actually had your picture in mind when dewrag popped into my head. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2010 Naw if it was going to be me I would have to give it a bigger nose...and I don't have that much shell... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2010 Oh by the way...that cd jewel case I used for the control cover?Those things come $40 for 200 of them and you can paint the inside any color to match yor guitar body...if your cover plate is small enough to fit on one anyway. But it is very thin plastic...I am going to clearcoat mine to add thickness. http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/pro...ack-?sku=955018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted December 8, 2010 Report Share Posted December 8, 2010 I'm not afraid of the imagery. Fear implies it holds some sort of power, which it does not. I just don't like it. It represents the opposite of what I put my faith in, and therefore is not to my liking. A zombie samurai with pulled back lips, bloody teeth, and the wild eyes might be cool. If you're looking for a bubinga body without the weight, why not dive into my super-thin experiment? It's pretty close to being able to be a guitar. I'm waiting for RAD to have the time to play around with an almost-surface-mount modern HB design. After that, it'll be ready to go. We're hoping to have a finished product in January. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2010 If you're looking for a bubinga body without the weight, why not dive into my super-thin experiment? I know I mentioned it,but after the final sanding and everything,the body now stands at 15/16" thick at the edges,and 1 3/16" at the thickest part of the carve,officially making this (IMO) a super thin carved top. About as thin as you can go with a Kahler trem and a set neck. And after looking at it for a while,the topknot is going to stay...demon samurai is a "go"..I am going to do the hair by carving it into the wood and filling the carve with ebony dust.Same thing for the rotting teeth...carving into the faux ivory and filling the depressions with ebony dust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2010 I think I got the top knot I want nailed down.What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted December 8, 2010 Report Share Posted December 8, 2010 If you're looking for a bubinga body without the weight, why not dive into my super-thin experiment? I know I mentioned it,but after the final sanding and everything,the body now stands at 15/16" thick at the edges,and 1 3/16" at the thickest part of the carve,officially making this (IMO) a super thin carved top. I think I'd have to agree with that one. FWIW: My body ended up 15/16 with a set neck, no carve. We'll see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted December 8, 2010 Report Share Posted December 8, 2010 I think I got the top knot I want nailed down.What do you think? Yeah, I think that's it. Don't those ususally have some kind of wrap tied around the part closest to the head to make it stick out like that? Save any of that recon dust? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted December 8, 2010 Report Share Posted December 8, 2010 give the grinning guy a skullet............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2010 Don't those ususally have some kind of wrap tied around the part closest to the head to make it stick out like that? Save any of that recon dust? Yes...I do have that dust. I know it's hard to see,but I drew the "wrap" in on that picture...on the first pic I forgot that part and it just looked like a cheerleader's pony tail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted December 8, 2010 Report Share Posted December 8, 2010 Well....get on with it then. It's gonna look cool. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2010 Well....get on with it then Give me a break man...I am going to have to get some carving tools for this... It's gonna look cool. Thanks...I hope it does..but I should orient it north/south right?not east/west? Meaning it should look upright on the headstock when the guitar is hanging on the wall not in playing position? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted December 8, 2010 Report Share Posted December 8, 2010 That's what I would do for sure. His neck and the guitar neck in line....relatively speaking. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2010 These look nice.. http://www.amazon.com/Cherries-515-8575-5-...2841&sr=8-6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted December 9, 2010 Report Share Posted December 9, 2010 Those do look nice..... but they are probably too large for cutting that topknot. You're going to need something more this size to cut those tight curves cleanly. http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2001361/1...g-Tool-Set.aspx I have a set of these (or one of the smaller sizes) and they cut surprizingly well even on very hard wood. The thing to watch out for is the temptation to try to make a bigger cut than these small tools are made for. They can break if you overload them.....I need a new set come to think of it. . Like all your bladed tools they need to be kept extremely sharp to function properly. I always strop mine every 20 minutes or so and verify they are razor sharp on my arm or leg hairs. Soooo, I normally have large smooth patches on my left arm and both legs for the duration of any carving project. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 Yeah I checked the width of the topknot and I ended up getting a set of 1.5 mm micro chisels(of the same variety you posted) and a set of mixed width micro chisels...so i should be set once they come in.This weekend my goal is to finish fretting and possibly set the neck.(the best part for me is setting the neck..woo hoo) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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