103801061982 Posted April 1, 2016 Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 (edited) Well, I'm a long term lurker I guess so thought it may be about time to share what I've been up to. Having spent a month on a course building an acoustic guitar (and then finding out I suck at playing acoustic), I thought I'd see if I could build an electric. Its a really nice change of pace from building amplifiers, but I've found it a very steep learning curve. I've approached this in totally the wrong way as I've pretty much changed everything along the way. Black Limba body, Zebrano drop top and an Ovangkol neck. This is what I was shooting for, but some pretty horrific tearout has led it to be a bit more pointy that originally intended. I was kind of unprepared by how many cracks were in the billets I had. Ebony bindings gingerly bent with an iron. not quite ready for bending rosewood sides on my own yet. This is where I'm at now starting to look a bit like a guitar Badly made string lock Not really happy about the lower horn at all, but pleased that the binding went on gapless. The biggest boob on this which got be really kicking myself was not cutting the fret slots deep enough before binding. I'm hooked and am already planning the next build - though I'm trying to tell myself strings on this one before starting the next. Cheers Matt Edited April 1, 2016 by 103801061982 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted April 1, 2016 Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 Looks pretty good to me, Matt. Even the lower horn Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted April 1, 2016 Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 This guitar is really cool! I think the lower horn looks good as well, but I understand how you feel when something doesn't turn out exactly as you want. Please keep us updated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted April 1, 2016 Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 I also think that it looks great!! Building amps huh? Post some up sometime, I'd definitely like to see some of them. Ive buit quite a few speaker cabinets and just picked up enough birch ply to make four more 2x12's, I've always wanted to get into amps but I have no idea how electrical works lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
103801061982 Posted April 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2016 Cheers gents. Ive spent this morning drilling for the string locks. Really regretting not sorting this out before gluing in the neck. Lesson learned. I've only a few potato quality pics of the amps. Here are a couple of mine a heavily modded xtc blue and red channel that got cobbled into a slo style chassis. Nice sounding amp if you stay away from the extremes. plenty of chewiness. This is a dumble 183 type circuit and my first build. nice cleans with some really sweet harmonic sustain but the drive isn't really my thing. cant really describe it very well and I know its not the amps fault. The amp in the second pic is an SLO clone that I built from a kit. That ones currently in bits. didn't get on with it - too fizzy IMHO, but as far as construction goes, I'm sold on straight heaters and bus wiring. I'm far too easily distracted my new projects. Only one of these is currently in a headcase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted April 2, 2016 Report Share Posted April 2, 2016 I like your guitar a lot! I'm not really a binding fan, but it works beautifully in this build; really ties the woods together. Were it me, I would enlarge the scoops you've carved in both cut-aways to the point that the body wood is revealed from the front view. This will: 1) make it more comfortable, 2) balance visually the body wood reveal you have below the bridge (which I really like), and 3) make it more obvious why the binding does not continue through the cuts to the neck. You might even like the treble horn better.....though it looks fine to me. Very nice first build! SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted April 3, 2016 Report Share Posted April 3, 2016 Great to see a fellow amp nut here. I got into this guitar-building malarkey via DIYing tube amps too. Like you I also tried the SLO100 lead and Ecstacy Blue channels, but my experiences were the opposite - I didn't mind the SLO100 preamp if I jacked up the plate voltages, but the Ecstacy I was always a bit 'meh' about. You've got some tidy looking work going on there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
103801061982 Posted April 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2016 The SLO was a shame because I really wanted to like that amp. Maybe I should reassemble and fiddle about with it. One of the things that unnerved me a bit about the xtc is the high power amp voltages I ended up with. Its stable enough and I've been running and pushing the same tubes for ages in it and it hasn't complained once. This is the amp that talked me out of messing around with diode clipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
103801061982 Posted April 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2016 Hello gents Scott, I took a file to the lower cutaway and pared it back a bit and you're right, it does look a bit more balanced. As for comfort though I try to steer clear of the meedly meedly notes at the dusty end. I'm shocked by how comfortable multiscale is. Its now strung up and actually playing nicely. Since this pic, I've taken the bridge saddles back to the brass to match the string lock. Think I'm calling it a day on this one bar a couple of bits of touch up and some oil for the board. Already thinking about the next one. I'll try to do a proper build diary next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted April 5, 2016 Report Share Posted April 5, 2016 Well done. Very nice first build. Addictive, ain't it? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
103801061982 Posted April 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2016 Very much so. I found with the amps that I started to enjoy building more than actually playing - hence a house full of un cased chassis'. I now want to build a fretless 8 with a high a.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted April 6, 2016 Report Share Posted April 6, 2016 Man, that is really a great looking first build.. Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted April 6, 2016 Report Share Posted April 6, 2016 As the others have said, very well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 6, 2016 Report Share Posted April 6, 2016 That's a really neatly-packaged instrument. I often look at them in "how I would use them" and that seems like a "player". Sounds weird to say that, but some just seem too fiddly to me and a distraction than an instrument. I think I'd miss the tone control for the neck though, but that's just me. Good work with the binding too. That's often a stage that a lot of people mess up or have disappointments with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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