ShatnersBassoon Posted June 14, 2020 Report Share Posted June 14, 2020 (edited) So a friend of mine, noticing a couple of my builds has decided to buy a bespoke guitar off me . He doesn’t have hugely exacting requirements, he told me he likes the feel of both his Epiphone Les Paul and his Vantage Strat, and that he loves the look of the PRS guitars. I therefore figured why not combine elements of all of these guitars, Fender scale length of 25.5, Gibson/Epiphone fretboard radius of 12 and PRS shape....so that’s exactly what I am doing. Got some nice woods for this build, Limba neck, English Sycamore body, Stripey Ebony fretboard and Poplar Burl top. At the moment the combined woods don’t quite add up to the right body thickness so I’m either going to shave off a bit of the neck at the heel end or I’m going to get a bit of contrasting ‘sandwich’ wood. I got some Ziricote for the headstock cap and inlayed my logo in there with some 2mm aluminium...took ages Probably finishing the Poplar Burl in Z Poxy and oiling the rest of it. Put a bit of mineral spirits on there and it really pops! So looking forward to this. Edited June 14, 2020 by ShatnersBassoon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted June 14, 2020 Report Share Posted June 14, 2020 4 hours ago, ShatnersBassoon said: Fender scale length of 25.5, Gibson/Epiphone fretboard radius of 12 and PRS shape....so that’s exactly what I am doing. Got some nice woods for this build, Limba neck, English Sycamore body, Stripey Ebony fretboard and Poplar Burl top. You are punching all the buttons. I can't wait! SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted June 14, 2020 Report Share Posted June 14, 2020 My sort of build this, following 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShatnersBassoon Posted June 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2020 (edited) 31 minutes ago, ADFinlayson said: My sort of build this, following Awesome bass in the current GOTM comp I’m toying with the idea of putting an aluminium inlay on the fretboard to match with the headstock cap theme. Do you think there would be any drawbacks? I’m thinking of when it comes to me putting the 12 inch radius in it, would the metal get in the way too much and inhibit the sanding? Also I’ve heard it might scratch too easily? Edited June 14, 2020 by ShatnersBassoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted June 14, 2020 Report Share Posted June 14, 2020 3 hours ago, ShatnersBassoon said: Awesome bass in the current GOTM comp I’m toying with the idea of putting an aluminium inlay on the fretboard to match with the headstock cap theme. Do you think there would be any drawbacks? I’m thinking of when it comes to me putting the 12 inch radius in it, would the metal get in the way too much and inhibit the sanding? Also I’ve heard it might scratch too easily? Thanks bud, I shall turn up with a clipboard nearer the time to canvas for your vote I tend to do my inlays after radiusing the fretboard then file the inlays as closed to flush as I can and just touch up the radius, the good thing about aluminium - if you get a thin piece like 1mm it can easily be bent to match the radius and clamped while glueing so you'd have a lot less filing to do, that's how I'd do it anyway 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ShatnersBassoon Posted June 17, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted June 17, 2020 (edited) So spent ages yesterday on the guitar refining minutiae such we getting the area where the nut goes nice and snug, nothing worthy of photos. I have however decided on a nice fret inlay, which I will be doing with the same aluminium as what’s on the headstock cap. It’s a Phoenix...that mythological bird. I think it looks damn cool Edited June 17, 2020 by ShatnersBassoon 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted June 17, 2020 Report Share Posted June 17, 2020 19 minutes ago, ShatnersBassoon said: I think it looks damn cool Me too. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted June 17, 2020 Report Share Posted June 17, 2020 29 minutes ago, ShatnersBassoon said: I think it looks damn cool It's amazing, even miraculous how a bird hatched in glowing ashes can look so cool! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted June 17, 2020 Report Share Posted June 17, 2020 I love that top and back! The back is super cool. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShatnersBassoon Posted June 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, komodo said: I love that top and back! The back is super cool. Not a bad weight either, 4.5 lbs before any routing. Pretty good considering it’s 37 mm thick. Edited June 17, 2020 by ShatnersBassoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted June 18, 2020 Report Share Posted June 18, 2020 This is certainly one to follow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShatnersBassoon Posted June 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2020 Decided on a ‘double binding’ of aluminium and walnut. So far so good. I got the metal from a friends old caravan Hard to make out the fact it’s metal from the photo, but when it’s all radiused and polished up it should look pretty nice 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted June 26, 2020 Report Share Posted June 26, 2020 that'll look tasty with aluminum inlay 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShatnersBassoon Posted June 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2020 10 hours ago, ADFinlayson said: that'll look tasty with aluminum inlay That is indeed the plan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShatnersBassoon Posted February 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 (edited) So lots of things have changed since my last post on this thread! After a series of mishaps I was left rather deflated and so I made different plans for this neck...quite an ambituous (or risky depending on ones point of view). Basically I have a load of carbon fibre panels in the house that I got for free (from a friend of my fathers). For quite some time I have played around with the idea of laminating it all together with some epoxy and making a solid carbon fibre neck (as apposed to the normal way of doing it which is wrapping it round a wooden core). Ofcourse, this means no truss rod! I figured hey, if its possible to make a glass neck like I have seen someone do, then this should be doable. So I went ahead, when it was all glued together I ran some sandpaper on a straight edge across it and it looked like what you see here. I loved the wave affect! Slapped on a Stripey Ebony board, inlayed some gold leaf in there and covered it with epoxy. Installed some Evo Gold fretwire. The frets aren’t angled by the way, it’s just how the photo came out. Shaped the back of the neck with an angle grinder. I didnt have quite enough (width wise) to cover the headstock wings, so I used some scrap wood I had laying around (no idea what it is!) Got to work on the body, single piece of English Sycamore with the Poplar Burl top. Edited February 22, 2021 by ShatnersBassoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 14 minutes ago, ShatnersBassoon said: I loved the wave affect! Me too! Your mishaps may have led you to something better. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 love that top... so much attitude.... it's like "I'm gonna be burl... on second thought I'm gonna be flamed maple... but I'm feeling a little spalty today... nah, I'm gonna be burled maple". love it. 7 distinct types of nice in that build. is that glitter inlay? lovely. carbon fiber neck? love it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShatnersBassoon Posted February 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 (edited) Yes lots of things going on in that piece of wood! Going to really pop when I put the epoxy on it! The inlay is old leaf with epoxy poured over it. Edited February 22, 2021 by ShatnersBassoon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 3 minutes ago, ShatnersBassoon said: Yes lots of things going on in that piece of wood! Going to really pop when I put the epoxy on it! The inlay is old leaf with epoxy poured over it. old leaf? I'm assuming gold leaf... did you type that with your pinky extended? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShatnersBassoon Posted February 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 Gold leaf although old swept up autumnal leaves could look quite interesting 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 50 minutes ago, ShatnersBassoon said: Gold leaf although old swept up autumnal leaves could look quite interesting "My whole gtr is made of old leaf! Fancy!" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShatnersBassoon Posted February 23, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2021 Incidentally, the neck rings like a bell when I do the tap test on it. Yes I know it’s all debatable, but I’m looking forward to how this sustains and sounds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted February 24, 2021 Report Share Posted February 24, 2021 that neck is cool 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShatnersBassoon Posted February 24, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2021 (edited) Unsure what to do in terms of a logo. It’s carbon fiber so I probably can’t just inlay in to it (maybe a straight line design using a disc on a dremel would work). Anyway...Toyed with the idea of either A - gluing a thin strip of wood laminate on to the headstock (I can’t go too thick because it’s already at about 16mm). Then inlaying something in to that B - A vinyl decal. Quick and dirty but ideal when pressed for time C - Maybe spray the logo on with a stencil D - Gluing the logo straight on there, maybe something made of metal Hmmm Edited February 24, 2021 by ShatnersBassoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted February 25, 2021 Report Share Posted February 25, 2021 B and D will give you the best chance at really clean lines. As another option, consider nothing. As a brewer and graphic designer, I know how people like to name things, have logos, etc. Many times though it seems forced. I rarely name my beers anymore, the are just “Belgian number 8”. That said, I completely understand the pull. Drawing metal band logos and guitar company names was what led me into graphic design. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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