ZekeB Posted January 12, 2019 Report Share Posted January 12, 2019 Learned a lot from my first build. Feel like that's an understatement. Altered my workflow plan based and I've started to procure some parts for my next build. This guy is going to be a laminate neck through. Whats going to be unique other than the body design is the pick guard. going to make it out of Macassar Ebony, and Zebrawood and then put an inlay in there. The body will have a matte black symmetrically rounded over top. I want the binding & purfling, pickguard, and fretboard to be really accented. Not sure on a fretboard wood yet. I'm thinking something with some good looking figure. Any ideas? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 12, 2019 Report Share Posted January 12, 2019 I like that design I'm probably not the best person to put a view on fretboard colour. Is this for selling or keeping? If I was selling, I would stick with how you have it above. If I was keeping, I would put a much lighter board on. See what I mean - I'm probably not the best person to put a view on fretboard colour! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted January 12, 2019 Report Share Posted January 12, 2019 looks really cool. I like the fretboard as is but it needs something imho... perhaps carry the binding around the fretboard and headstock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZekeB Posted January 12, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2019 Its for me at the moment. I have a few inquiries though so who knows. I agree with you mike and andy. I think a fretboard inlay is needed. Markers or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaumgarrett Posted January 24, 2019 Report Share Posted January 24, 2019 Looks slick! I think you could get away with the lack of neck/headstock binding with an inlaid fretboard.... or get away without fretboard inlays if there were binding carried through the neck/headstock. But I do agree with those who have said it looks a little bare with neither. Looking forward to seeing this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZekeB Posted February 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2019 I have the body wood. Made a visit to clark's lumber in Houston. Pretty cool store. I still need to get a laminate for the neck. I'm thinking Wenge against the mahogany? Any suggestions? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted February 3, 2019 Report Share Posted February 3, 2019 wenge against flamed maple light/dark might be pretty cool... just sayin'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted February 3, 2019 Report Share Posted February 3, 2019 +1 for Wenge + flamed maple, I did it last year 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZekeB Posted February 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 I love the contrast. How does a wenge body sound? Is it pretty heavy? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 10 hours ago, ZekeB said: I love the contrast. How does a wenge body sound? Is it pretty heavy? It sounds great, but how much of that is down to the wood is arguable/subjective. The main takeaway from this one is just how damn good the neck feels, I wouldn't hesitate to make a wenge neck again. Wenge generally is quite heavy, this body is quite heavily chambered and it weighs 9lb with finish and hardware. But I think in hindsight, I could have chambered it more that I did, I took about 20mm out of the entire upper bout, round to the behind the bridge, I didn't go any deeper because I was originally going to carve the back. If I was to do another one, I'd make it a semi hollow which should get it < 8lb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZekeB Posted February 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2019 Cut the body model and adjusted the size a little bigger to compensate the back side. Added about 1/2" to the body scale. Its surprising how much of a difference t makes. I'm going to do some more inlays with this one. Inlays are something I'm a lot more comfortable with and I'm excited about putting some color to accent it. Here's my design. Its going to a matte black so I'm going to run with the red and gold inlays. I'll add some fret markers on the boarder of the fretboard if it doesnt overcrowd the effect. Haven't decided yet. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZekeB Posted March 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2019 I'm going to go with a dome carved top on the Osprey. Its going to have some gold MOP purfling. Trying to find out a good binding to use. Would maple with black fiber then the MOP compliment against the black? I guess the question is does the maple have a gold color to it? I"m open to suggestions of material or sources. I want it to be gold binding ->black fiber 0.10" ->gold MOP ->black fiber .10" -> gold purfling (same thickness as binding). Maybe .20" on the black fiber if its not enough separation. Here's the effect I want to achieve with the top. Mayble a little more slight curve so the pick guard protrudes a little more. I'll make my covers out of the macassar ebony with the curve on the backside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted March 11, 2019 Report Share Posted March 11, 2019 aerodyne... I don't know how that series was discontinued. so beautiful. I believe they are a 38" radius. I can't imagine the work that would go into doing this by carving... but I wouldn't be surprised... will def look fwd to seeing how you do that. maple can have a gold color to it... I guess it just depends what you put on it. sounds like it would look great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted March 11, 2019 Report Share Posted March 11, 2019 7 hours ago, mistermikev said: aerodyne... I don't know how that series was discontinued. so beautiful. I believe they are a 38" radius. I can't imagine the work that would go into doing this by carving... but I wouldn't be surprised... will def look fwd to seeing how you do that. maple can have a gold color to it... I guess it just depends what you put on it. sounds like it would look great. you could do a carve like that with a small hand plane, like a no3/4. Route a rebate round the body for the outer depth first, then just plane from the centre out to the edge, if you keep pressing down all the way through the stroke, then it will create a slope, thats how I do the most shallow parts of the carve (behind the bridge) on my carved tops anyway. Then finish it off with a random orbital. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted March 11, 2019 Report Share Posted March 11, 2019 10 minutes ago, ADFinlayson said: you could do a carve like that with a small hand plane, like a no3/4. Route a rebate round the body for the outer depth first, then just plane from the centre out to the edge, if you keep pressing down all the way through the stroke, then it will create a slope, thats how I do the most shallow parts of the carve (behind the bridge) on my carved tops anyway. Then finish it off with a random orbital. no your wrong, I couldn't. I could see how someone who has hand plane skills could tho (hehe). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZekeB Posted March 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2019 got my material ordered. Just need to finish up the refinish job I've got going so I can get into this one. Here's the back carve plan. Got a maple top from the folks you suggested on etsy mike. Thanks for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZekeB Posted April 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2019 Here we go. Fretboard cut and slotted. Here's the start of the pickguard. Zebrawood against the macassar ebony. Working on the logo inlay. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted April 29, 2019 Report Share Posted April 29, 2019 Ooh, that makes me want to add pickguards to my builds! Such a beautiful contrast and simple yet dynamic shape. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZekeB Posted May 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2019 I've been going back and forth on this. To do gold MOP purfling or just do the regular binding. Less is more or more is better. Its going to have gold mop in the pickguard and the fretboard. Does that seem overwhelming on inlays to you guys? I have the material just haven't pulled the trigger yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted May 2, 2019 Report Share Posted May 2, 2019 (edited) Less is less and more is more but which how much is too much? Gold on black looks always good but what colour is the actual binding going to be? If it's cream like it seems to be on the bass, then no gold purfling for me, thank you. A dark binding matching the top with a gold purfling sounds yummy. But of course this is just my opinion. Ivory/cream and gold can be a good combination as well as can be seen in some luxurious estates featuring golden faucets on a marble sink, marble tiles on the walls and floor, golden mirror etc... But there's no black in those I've seen. Edited May 2, 2019 by Bizman62 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZekeB Posted May 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2019 Either ivory or maple is the plan. Did not consider black. That sounds interesting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZekeB Posted May 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2019 Exploring the black binding idea with the gold mother of pearl. This is scaled to the material i have on hand as well. 3.17mm wide. And then there's the ivory binding alone: And finally the ivory and the MOP: They all have some striking features to me. The black binding with MOP is simple but striking. I think it still plays the the simplicity of the basic shapes kind of like the pick guard with an art deco feel. It feels pretty unique. Really cool idea Bizman The second to me is what you might expect from a black gold guitar which isn't a bad thing. Its got a good balance and its definitely a safe approach. And finally the ivory and gold is the super elegant feel to me. Really hits on the gold hard which works with all of the other gold hardware. What you guys think? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted May 3, 2019 Report Share Posted May 3, 2019 (edited) You sure have the right tools to view your ideas in beforehand! In the limited size of the images it's still difficult to determine which one looks the best and I really can't tell ivory from gold there. Further, is that just an outline dividing the two in the lowest image instead of a thin black stripe? Each of those looks like the headstock would benefit from the same sort of binding. For food for thought, think about where the instrument will be played. If you're going to wear black and have a dark background on the stage, a wide light coloured binding will better show where the guitar is. Vice versa against white clothes in a well lit stage the black outlines would better emphasize the instrument. It's all about contrast. Don't know if you've heard the history behind the TV white/TV yellow colour, anyhow according to one story it was invented to show the guitar as white on a black and white TV instead of an overexposed lump of pure white. Edited May 3, 2019 by Bizman62 Typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted May 3, 2019 Report Share Posted May 3, 2019 Ivory binding gets my vote, anything too elaborate detracts from the fretboard. What's the rationale behind 23 frets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted May 3, 2019 Report Share Posted May 3, 2019 I think any one of the three would look amazing. Your design skills are outstanding. as said... I can't tell the dif between mop and creme at this size, but if I had to choose the first one stands out to me. More importantly, I think we all get into situations where we look at something too long and start doubting our initial ideas (guilty here). I am coming around to the idea that in those circumstances it's best to not second guess yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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