SB290
The back has Mahogany wings, Wenge and Flame Maple accents and a Bubinga “backbone”. The top is Quilted Maple. The neck is Birdseye Maple with Cocobolo, Wenge and Flame Maple accents. Fingerboard is Birdseye Maple with Crotch Walnut markers.
Frets are Dunlop Jumbo 6120’s. Tuners are Fender American Standard. Scale is 25.5 in. Bridge is a Schaller Non-Tremolo Roller. Knobs are Flame Maple and Crotch Walnut. Pickups are ceramic P-90’s from GuitarMadness with covers modified with Burl Walnut veneer.
This is my 5th build with the first 4 dating back to the 70’s. For myself, the guitar building is simply a rewarding hobby. I’ve worked on projects on and off, usually with a couple decades in between. I’m retired now having spent 20 years in the bowling business and another 20 as a secondary math teacher. Thanks to the housing market and interest rates of the post-COVID world in 2020 I’ve been able to purchase a house with a decent sized basement to house the tools I’ve accumulated over the years.
Back in the 70’s I earned a AA degree in electronics and got a job in a music store that catered to guitars.
During my time there I modified a couple guitars adding pickups etc. which was the initial spark to my interest in guitar making.
I also met a local man who had a violin shop. He was also a maker and he let me apprentice one summer. This got me started trying to learning about violin making, but in the 70’s crafts like this were still highly guarded secrets, no plethora of YouTube videos looking to be shared. I did however find a book on electric guitar making which at least gave me a start.
I began this build mainly by playing with the Birdseye/Cocobolo neck block I had made about 20 years ago. Once I saw it was going to work out, I figured I might as well make a body to go with it. I mapped out the design using the wood I had on hand and the same outline as my last project. For this one I added an extension to the neck pocket to gain access to the higher register frets. I like the simple way the P-90 pickups are mounted so I went with them. I chose to use the cheaper GuitarMadness ceramic versions; I figure they are good enough for my needs and would be easy to upgrade if needed. At first I just wired both pickups together, but when that didn’t work so good I added a DPDT ON/ON/ON switch for Neck/Both/Bridge configuration. I did some carving (more like rounding) of the body and chose to lower the area where the knobs are placed. Finishing has always been my Kryptonite so I went with TruOil and forced myself to take my time.
I posted a log of this build mixed in with ones from the previous guitar: https://www.projectguitar.com/forums/ topic/54390-starting-a-new-build-after-a-brief-pause/
-
1
