ScottR Posted September 25, 2013 Report Share Posted September 25, 2013 The maple is starting to look realy sweet Yeah, that's a tasty piece all right. I would think that little tear out would also be covered by the width of the knob. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliemc Posted September 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2013 Yea good point Scotty. Knob will cover it all up so no worries there realy. Had this thing together today to check everything was still groovy after the finish went on, (12 coats is kinda thick) & I gotta hand it to that there strandberg geezer. it sits real nice in a seated playing position, he's definitly on to a winner with these things. But personaly, I would find it hard to get used to while standing up, its just so small & light it feels absolutly freaky . I mean FREAKY DEAKY BABY, I can just about handle my Alpha or Black lotus models, they are small guitars that melt into the player's body. But this thing is on another level all together, its almost like playing air guitar a little. If small light gitirz are your thing you simply have to get one of these things. Non-existant guitar in a standing position. real nice ultra comfortable thing for a seated position. But, it still didnt hinder my playing (or what I laughingly refer to as playing these days). despite being a mad thing in a standing position it was still very natural feeling in the hand. Considering I prefer heavier guitars like a Les Paul (8 lbs min) thats prety good. Ultimate little "sit on the couch & do scale & chord exercises all day long" gitir. cool. just need to polish & assemble it properly now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliemc Posted October 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 Got some more time to muck about with this this morning. Started the polish/buff phase (my least favourit after wiring ) Its not finished but you get the idea. Top, fine polished - swirl & buff to go. Back. Same as front, just initial fine polish with swirl & buff to go. The sides havent realy been touched yet, I might get to that later today. But for now its coming along OK I rekon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 This is going to end up both gorgeous and odd looking at the same time. No offense to you or Mr. Strandberg, I find all headless guitars sort of odd looking. It's like......something........is missing. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 This is going to end up both gorgeous and odd looking at the same time. No offense to you or Mr. Strandberg, I find all headless guitars sort of odd looking. It's like......something........is missing. SR Hey... dont.... lose your head over it... Ahhhh i crack myself up.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 I used to hate all this style guitar, but lately they've been growing on me. This one is looking great! Should be very happy with the way it's turning out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliemc Posted October 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2013 I know what you mean about hating the ergo guitar thing. I used to think it was all just for show "oooooo look at me Iv got a weird shaped guitar" Until it was pointed out to me that my preferance for a flat playing surface on the back of my necks, as it provides a more stable platform for playing - was an ergonomic modification. It may not be as radical as a full trapazoid like Rick Toone, but even a flat back with rounded sides is kinda ergo. Then it was pointed out that seeing as I design my bodies to move the neck & hardware into a position where you have less of a stretch with the fret hand to reach the nut, sit comfortably against the body & be stable on your leg when sitting - iv been dabbeling in the ergo thing for ages & hadent even realised it. So I figured screw it I will see what the result of the entire ergonomicafication (if thats even a word) of a guitar would be. Hence this boden-ish build. To be honest, i was impressed with the result as a dry build. Now that it is almost finished Im interested to see how it performs as a completed instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliemc Posted October 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 Finished this one up. Im fairly happy with how it came out, even if it is a bit light & small for my usual tastes I missed GOTM this month, maby I will try this one in decembers batch. might be interesting. Either way Im call ing this one "Ode to Olagh" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 (edited) That looks great. Whered you get the hardware? Im building a headless and all i can fimd is the 300$ hipshotset! Is it too late for recessed wooden cavity covers? Edited October 26, 2013 by bob123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliemc Posted October 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 well no. I could recess the panels but im kinda sick of recessd panel at the moment. I prefer covers that are proud - for now anyway. Either way, the stacked colume pot on this one is almost as deep as the guitar body, so recessing a 4mm thick panel would have it right up against the cover. I dont like doing that, its a squeeze as it is in there without mashing things any further. The tailpiece is an ABM. found on thomann. head piece was from thomann's online store aswell. Having made this I rekon I could make a better "headless - tune at the ass end" setup myself. not a lot to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted October 27, 2013 Report Share Posted October 27, 2013 Cool thanks for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wisdom727 Posted October 27, 2013 Report Share Posted October 27, 2013 Nice work, Paulie. Let us know what you think of the trapezoidal neck profile. Is the truss-rod access on your neck just in front of the brass headpiece? I built a Strandberg-tribute last year (with Ola's permission). I used a Steinberg-clone bridge and headpiece from J Custom in Korea. They seem to be made well and work fine, although pricey. I used a Stew-Mac Hot Rod truss rod, and had to flip it upside down to align with the access hole in the headpiece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliemc Posted November 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2013 Trapazoid profiled necks are fairly cool. Second guitar Iv put one onto, & it still feels remarkably un-alien in the hand. Its freaky how quickly you forget that its is all angles & flat edges & just get along with playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliemc Posted November 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2013 3 days ago a customer decided on 2x humbuckers, 1x vol, 1x tone & a 3 way toggle, with 22 frets on a 25.5 inch scale. nice. Today, (about 4.30 in the evening) He rang to say he had a change of heart. he wants 3 singles, 1x vol, 2x tone, a 5 way blade selector & 2 micro switches. with 24 frets on a 25 inch scale. Below is his body as it sat yesterday evening. Lets see if anyone can spot the problem Anybody want to hazard a guess as to how far along the neck is ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 15, 2013 Report Share Posted November 15, 2013 That is just weird...who changes their mind about humbuckers vs singles?Two totally different sounds... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted November 15, 2013 Report Share Posted November 15, 2013 Well, who's known for changing their minds?........no wait he did say "he" rang me up. So are you going to charge him for the work and materials already done, Paulie? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 15, 2013 Report Share Posted November 15, 2013 I used a Steinberg-clone bridge and headpiece from J Custom in Korea. I bought one of those headpieces,but I have not used it yet.Figured I would pair it with a roller TOM and tuners at the body end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted November 15, 2013 Report Share Posted November 15, 2013 Who can change their mind so drastically in a few days. I think your customer doesn't really know what he wants. Either that or he wants a guitar that sounds like every single guitar on the planet incorporated into one! Maybe some coil splitting humbuckers would do the trick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazygtr Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 Adittional charges should apply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Workingman Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 Just slap two single coils togehter in the bridge postition, put a sing in the neck position and a realy ugly pickgaurd on it..... Charge double and take you name off it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 Reality check,guys...PaulieMC is a business man in a customer oriented business Most likely the solution is to shelf the existing body and neck,make sure the new specs are carved in stone with the customer,and start a new guitar.Then finish the existing guitar and add it to the lineup of already built guitars waiting for adoption...Who knows,after it's finished this customer may want it as well. I still think it's a strange change though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 I've had customers change their mind quite late into the process. I have a signed order sheet stating all the specs so for me it's actually quite easy to charge extra for extra work/parts. But the worst customer did change is mind about a series of things. And just a few months after I delivered the guitar I found it up for sale on the lokal E-bay. My guess is that those guys are totally sold on the concept of "custom made" guitars through the internet and interviews with guitarists and things like that, but they are totally in the dark about why someone actually orders a custom made instrument. That, and too much cash on their hands... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Workingman Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 Reading this and hearing of other problems that custom guitar makers have makes me think some kind of a short primer would be handy to give to potential customers. I am thinking somthing that reviews the options that they can take home to think about rather than the kid in the candy shop approach that some customers seam to be taking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliemc Posted November 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2013 When you start a build with me you get a full set of plans that i go over with you a few times to ensure you are happy. So small changes occur a lot. But big game changing total rebuilds are rare. Especialy as changes like this incure a cost of %75 of the commission value of that guitar. 1000 commission on a alpha means 750 euro fee for this body change this late. But scrapping the neck pushes it to double that. Obviously i only charge the one fee of 750 in these cases. But this is a problem build as it is the second guitar he has done it on. He is a friend of the family going on 30 years. And i just took the hit on the last one. But this build needs replacement body neck bridge pickups pots switch taking the mick i rekon. So despite the fact that its gona mean the loss of a comission. The loss of a friend. Tiking off my dad (its his friend more so than mine) & having a guitar just sitting here untill it goes to a store. He received an invoice of 1500 euro on top of the 1100 for the original guitar. The next few days are gona suck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazygtr Posted November 21, 2013 Report Share Posted November 21, 2013 It's your time, materials don't matter too much, but time is irreplaceable, your doing the right thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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