Purple Haze
Here is "Purple Haze", my second build. I wanted to increase the difficulty after my first build "Birthmark" by using a bit more fancy wood, trying my hand at a stain, another bridge and generally better material and hardware. It was however built with the same tools in the same communal workshop, but I did build a jig or two extra for accuracy. So I ended up with this:
- Roasted swamp ash body
- Flamed maple cap and Angelus stains
- Rosewood neck
- Pale moon ebony fretboard
- 25.5" scale, 24 frets
- Jescar 57110 frets
- Schaller Hannes bridge
- Planet Waves autotrim tuners
- "The Discoverer" set from Gorilla Pickups
- Ibanez 5 way switch (Neck series, neck parallel, neck + bridge, inner coils only, bridge series)
- Volume pot only (250k) make from the same blank as the neck cause why not
- Neck shape is kinda modern C to Dish, 19mm 1st fret to 21mm 12th fret
- Osmo hardwax oil finish on everything
- 2.75 kg
- Currently tuned to DADGAD down half a step (C# etc) with 10-52
The build story can be found HERE . As you can see, it roughly is a Blackmachin-esque body (low weight, comfortable to me) with my design of a 3+3 headstock (I think it's prettier an more stable than an inline for tuning) and an overall inspiration from the Mayones Qatsi (the signature model of John Browne, a guitarist I really really like).
Beside a few minor (cosmetic) hiccups, the guitar turned out better than anticipated. The playability is great and I achieved the goal I set out when I started building: it plays better than my Ibanez Prestige and can get an even lower action. I am very, very happy that I went with a rosewood neck with an Osmo finish as it really is a match made in heaven for the hands. Sound-wise, the pickups are right up my alley with a rather aggressive but not overwhelming bridge, and a very polyvalent neck pickup.
Why "Purple Haze" you might ask? Well look at the color. It's also one of the first Hendrix Song I heard and liked. Lastly it's a reference to my teenage years spent in the Netherlands, which is fitting for a second build really (you might or might not get that last reference). There is also for me a small Easter egg, as the back plate is engraved transparent Plexiglas so I can get a reminder to work on my soldering each time I pick it up.
Anyhow, picture time!
