StratDudeDan Posted July 23, 2004 Report Share Posted July 23, 2004 well, i began my first build two days ago. it is a 1-7/8" hollow-bodied SG. i am using an aspen top, a hollow brazillian mahogany (my grandpa has almost 50 board feet of it he's just feeding me) core, and a maple back. the top is 1/4" thick, the mahogany is 7/8", and the maple is 3/4". i am putting a neck through on this beast, keeping the back two pieces but routing out room for it, then having it run flush with the top. i plan on using a carvin neck, cutting my own 5 & 1 tuning peg headstock, design in progress now. the top pieces are rough cut, awaiting sanding, and the right (if you're looking at the top) side piece of maple is in a close but not quite as far along state (about 1/8" to sand off in order to get to shape on a couple places). i have the day off work tomorrow, so i'm going to take some pics and get some work done. i stained some scraps of both the maple and aspen, and i'm going to post pics of the colors i'm choosing from and let everyone here help me out in the decision process. after all, i'm building based on my wood-working experience and having my questions answered through here, so i'm going to "give something back" by letting everyone here decide some feature about it. again, pics will be up tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flat Earth Guitars Posted July 24, 2004 Report Share Posted July 24, 2004 Wow! I like the sound of this guitar....a hollowbody SG is something I've never seen. I can't wait to see the images! Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvertonessuckbutigotone Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 again, pics will be up tomorrow. tommorrow was like a week ago man! im anxious to see wha it will look like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePlague Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 it was 2 days ago. but yah, i want to see pics of this too. also never seen a hollow sg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvertonessuckbutigotone Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 it was 2 days ago. but yah, i want to see pics of this too. also never seen a hollow sg. i know it was only two days ago, but it seems longer because i keep checking back for updates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted July 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 my bad on the lack of pics, guys. my great-grandma had a stroke, then came in town w/ my g-ma two days later, so i was taking care of her this whole time. i have some time on thursday, and a wee bit on wed. if i remember, i'll get those pics up and maybe even get some more work done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
litchfield Posted July 27, 2004 Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 Sorry to hear that. I hope everyone is OK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted July 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 yeah, she's tough. on her 89th b-day, she played baketball w/ my brother and i. talk about a hardass... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefm Posted July 27, 2004 Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 A hollow SG They're usually a little neck heavy already!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted July 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 k, i got everything but the mahogony cut, i'm waiting on that just 'cause, well, i'm tired. i got all my pictures taken, but i can't find my USB cable, so i'll try and find that by tonight and get it pics up, if not, tomorrow, thursday for sure. the maple back was a pain in the arse to cut. i kept throwing and breaking blades on my jig, then sanding it to shape was a whole other story. however, i triumphed, got it cut, rough-shaped (needs some detail shaping and fine sanding still), and the two pieces of the back are glued now, waiting to dry in my vice. the top is also cut, awaiting detail shaping and fine sanding, and the mahogany should be cut by thursday, in the same state as the other pieces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted August 8, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2004 k, i'm giving up on my camera, it's just totally freaking out so i'll just write to keep everyone posted, then borrow a friend's camera eventually. so far, i have everything cut and almost exactly where i need it to be. unfortunately, i just put a new motor in my van, so i don't even have enough money for switches, a pot, and a couple of caps for the electronics, much less $200 for a Carvin neck, so i can't make much more progress until i can. btw, in case any of you are good samaritans, i need 2 on/on, 2 on/off/on, 1 500k audio taper, 1 .01uF, .22uF, .47uF cap (1 of each). i've got a jack, wire, and solder. if i can pay shipping, i will. anywho, once i get the electronics mounted, i can start getting the top glued to the core. sometime this week, i'm heading over to my uncle's shop to thickness everything. then i gotta start making money so i can get the pups and neck. my plans (after several long conversations with my fellow players and people who know my style and sound) is to get a Carvin C22 for the bridge, then a Carvin AP11-2 for the neck. i'm going w/ a n/hum/s coil tap for the C22, followed by a 3-way pup selector, giving me basically a strat setup, but with a couple more options. pre-set tone circuits run by means of a pair of on/on switches (if you're interested i can give you my schematics. they're simple, and nice for people that don't want to mess w/ tone pots when switching from ryhthm to solo a lot). i'm also going w/ the blue with a white stripe. my friend is mixing my paint for me, so there will be no other guitar or in all reality, anything with these colors. should be kinda neat. the blue won't be as metallic as i thought it was going to be, rather almost pearl. really pretty. the white is kind of a "vintaged" white look, so it's like it's aged, just not a whole lot. complements the blue very well. i'll try and get some pics up soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted August 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 (edited) finally got a working camera! the body so far is: the "pieces" of the body are seen here. some other pics (from the mahogany i started w/ to the drill and sanding bits i was using) are all here. EDIT #1- changed the first pic link so it was the correct one. EDIT #2- i would like to say that i am very interested in as much praise/criticism/advice/etc. as can possibly be dished out, noobs and pros alike. this is pretty much a learning guitar for me when it comes to what building techniques will work, what won't, and how to get something done from start to finish for once. i am amazingly open and do not take offense easily. if you have something to say about anything, lemme know. if you have a question so you can ream me or say "hey, that was a good idea," please ask it. i really want to learn something from this instead of just doing it. Edited August 30, 2004 by StratDudeDan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american_jesus Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 mmkay, you're doing a neck through right? if i were you, i would have put the top as a solid piece, covering the neck through part, unless you're doing some nifty laminations. also, are you going to bevel(i think that's the word) the edges, so it's like a normal SG, or are the sides going to be sharp like they are? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slipperywombat Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Mmmm... this could be fun! Is it just the pic, or is the rear actually a bunch wider than the gibson after which it is modeled? In regards to the Carvin neck... don't they come with a strat-like headstock? How's that going to look? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Mmmm... this could be fun! Is it just the pic, or is the rear actually a bunch wider than the gibson after which it is modeled? In regards to the Carvin neck... don't they come with a strat-like headstock? How's that going to look? nope, you can order a blank too, for no extra charge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted August 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 mmkay, you're doing a neck through right? if i were you, i would have put the top as a solid piece, covering the neck through part, unless you're doing some nifty laminations. also, are you going to bevel(i think that's the word) the edges, so it's like a normal SG, or are the sides going to be sharp like they are? for the neck through: i'm leaving the center open until i install the neck, then i'm putting other pieces of alder over it in order to flush it out. i'm not staining this and have no desire to put a transparent finish on this one, so i really don't care about grain. bevel: sort of. it's not going to be quite as "into the body" as gibsons are. i'm going to go 1/2" in and 1/4" down. also, the "points" will be rounded a bit more. they're actually very sharp and slightly scary right now... Is it just the pic, or is the rear actually a bunch wider than the gibson after which it is modeled? actually, the body is shorter. it's the same width, just 3/4" less in length. not sure how that happened in all reality...but it did. so i was like, okay. just go with it. the insides were already cut and hollowed, so i couldn't just bring in the bottom half of the guitar at all, plus, i like the weight of it now. a little more than my strat body, center of gravity (for the body) about 2" closer the the bottom than the "points." In regards to the Carvin neck... don't they come with a strat-like headstock? How's that going to look? i am getting the blank headstock, and i'm working on either a 4-2 or a 5-1 design that will somehow go with the guitar. don't know yet...i just get tired of seeing 3-3 and 6-inline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted September 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 got a question for you guys. should i put a tuno-o-matic or a fender style bridge on here? the tom is more of a classic SG look, yes, but that's not necesarily my idea here... the fender has more versatility when you're setting it up, and IMO tunes better. if you say tom, w/ a stop tailpiece or strings thru-body? this will be non-trem, fyi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asm Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 i think a string thru tom would look pretty good. since the body is 3/4" smaller id go with the smallest bridge/tail combo to not draw attention to hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Going to have to change your name to SGDudeDan. I say use TOM for what it's worth.! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american_jesus Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 definately say string througn with a TOM. they look great, function fine, and well...kick arse. so yeah...string through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 String thru TOM!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted September 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 String-thru TOM it is. gonna start looking for parts today, hopefully will have them ordered within the next week or so. kinda running on a short budget and just "collecting" parts for the electronics, which is the next thing i'm gonna get taken care of, so once i have everything i need in one place, i'll be set. the wiring schematic is in this thread. a single coil neck w/ a humbucking bridge. the original plan was to use carvin pups, but as i'm going to be using transensors on my next project, i was contimplating buying those instead. dunno. that's still 2 "phases" down the road... once the elecs are in place, i should have enough money for the neck, which will drop in shortly after. then i'll get everything glued in place, route and drill for the pups/bridge, install pups and wire the thing, finally, brige and tuners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slaughthammer Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 did you think abaout a wrap around bridge? it might look good on this guitar... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted September 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 (edited) did you think abaout a wrap around bridge? it might look good on this guitar... not sure what that is...if that's the tailpiece that connects to the strap button, then yes, i did think about it. passed it up because the white stripe that will be going across the body would be covered up if i did. if you mean something like a Bigsby, then no. i have not thought about it, and a: i don't want a trem on it, b: i really am not looking to impress anybody with this. i just want to learn from building it and get myself a decent guitar to play around on and maybe show off at concerts and such. Edited September 1, 2004 by StratDudeDan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american_jesus Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 look at prs's. the single bar on top of the guitar is a wraparound bridge. very unobtrusive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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