Spider-Skot

Hey, hey, hey! Haven't been around for awhile. I've been working on a guitar I'm planning on submitting, but after looking at this month's so-far sole entry, I'll wait till next month! Dude (Guitar Maestro), that axe is sweet! I might put mine in anyway as long as there's a retard poll. Even the amateur ones here look pro any more.

Anyway, I'll be around soon. I'm finishing up the neck and after I get it done and get her strung up, I'll be back with pics

Skot

Damn. I thought that was my idea I thought of doing something like that and using wood putty to blend the edges into the contour of the guitar. Of course, it would have to be painted in that instance, but it would be bitchin'!

I had to go with the Myka. That is a gorgeous guitar. As soon as I saw it, I knew I should have withdrawn mine and tried again later

Delete this post. I'm an idiot

...and I thought MY camera was bad! Weeehooo!

Hi. I realize everyone's probably already seen this one, but i figured I'd see how it fared in a contest This is "Thinskull 1", or TS1. TS1 is an old '80s Kramer Striker. It is a laminated body, which makes carving like this SO much easier, especially since I didn't have my Dremel yet when I did it.

It has a set of Seymour Duncan H/S/S with 5 way switch, 1 volume, 2 tones and a coil tap switch. Floyd Rose II double locking tremolo.

Anyway, here are the pics with some explanation for anyone who hasn't seen it.

I used razor blades and chisels to carve the black areas down, which left the other areas higher. I used wood putty to build up around the eyes and cheekbones, and also horns coming from the eye sockets up to the top of the skull. I got the crackled finish by painting the whole thing black, then clear coating it. I then used gray primer over the clear coat and it seperated leaving all these cool gashes in it. (It's something I did by accident once, but remembered the results.) Then a final coating of clear. The neck is also painted black and buffed to a good shine.

For the headstock "Thinskull" logo, I printed out THINSKULL at the right size and font, then I cut the letters out. I used Elmer's glue and dripped it on each letter until it filled the letter to the edge. After that was dry, I glued it to the headstock and painted it red. I really like the contour of it. I'm really starting to dislike flat surfaces

I had to do a good bit of sculpting on this one because I had the 5-way switch and coil tap switch to make way for. On TS2, I just covered them all up

Well, there ya go. Thanks for looking

I've tried Krylon on my guitars, and have not been pleased with the results. In my experience it marks very easily, takes FOREVER to cure and is just not really very durable.

The Duplicoor, on the other hand (never used the Mirage, but have been using the 'car color' line) seems to make for a very durable, hardened finish. I have one body I painted a metallic charcoal gray a little over 2 years ago. I've never gotten a neck for it, but it's been through 2 moves, been knocked over and everything, and there's barely a mark on it. There's not even a clear coat on there yet. The Duplicolor 'car color' clear coat is what I use on top of all of my paints now. I can't say enough good stuff about this paint

Hope this helps

SKot

Dude, that is extremely cool, wicked, awesome, kickass and a whole big list of adjectives. I'd better not let my buddy Robert see that or he'll want ME to do something like it (in red) and I just don't think I'd have the time or patience...maybe I'd just send the neck to you Of course, with a tutorial, ANYTHING is possible Good work.

SKot

Alright...well, here's another kicker for ya. I tried a regular 22 fret neck on it just to check the scale length, and it doesn't match up. Ibanez wouldn't have made a short scale 24 fretter would they?? I'm going to e-mail them and ask. See, I'm afraid to try a regular AANJ neck, because those are contoured for an offset heel. The heel in this thing is symmetrical. I'll figure something out. If anyone else knows, keep the info coming. And thanks, GEdward for the info. I figured that the only diff between an EX350 and an RG350 is the body. That is what you meant, right? I had an EX350 from probably '89 or '90 that had the regular square neck joint. I also had 2 RG550s from '91 with a square neck pocket. As far as I know, Ibanez started making the rounded ones about '93.

Anyway, I'm back off on the hunt

SKot

I found out what this thing is It's an EX3700 from between '93 and '97. I'm having a hard time finding much information about it though. I know that the neck that belongs on it is a 24 fret. The weird thing is that this one doesn't have the extended fingerboard like most 24s I've seen. As far as I can tell it only extends about as far as a 22 fret would. I found one of the 3700s on eBay. Here's the link EX3700

If anyone knows any more about this type of neck, like whether it came in Rosewood, (or even if a standard neck would fit it) stuff like that, let me know. Thanks

Skot

Anyone have/know where I can get a neck for an Ibanez EX3700? As far as I know, they're the only EX series I know of with the AANJ-type heel, but not offset like the RG/Jems. Any info is appreciated.

Thanks

Skot

Wow. Thanks for the nice comments! It took me probably 3 weeks or so to do the sculpting and another week or so for the paint job. Then it hung up in the owner's house for 2 years. This thing plays great. The neck is a little fat for my taste, but the action is good and the Duncans are sweet

Thanks again

Skot

That is just beautiful. The finish looks so deep you could dive into it and swim around for a little bit

Skot

Okay, so you're probably wondering what the hell an Ibanez EXJem 13DBK is...well, I'll explain I bought an old Ibanez EX body from eBay. After looking at it for days trying to figure out what to do with it, I decided to make what is, as far as I know, the world's first EX series Jem. So I printed out all of Brian's "Turn your guitar into a Jem" tutorials and got to work. Cut out the handle and moved the output jack. I figure out my own method for doing the Lion's claw because I don't have a regular router. I used my Dremel with the smaller sanding heads. After all of that, I decided to make it look like the 7DBK, which is on of my favorite Jems at the moment. Of course, I can't call it a 7DBK, so I'm using MY favorite numer and calling it a 13DBK. I used my favorite trunk spatter paint to get the texture and painted it black. I got a local plastics place to make me a mirrored pickguard. They only charged $35. I had the little spike on the horn go up further than a standard EX pickguard because I think it looks silly. I still need a neck for it. This thing has a strange neck pocket I've never seen before, like an EX version of the AANJ. The screw head inlays should be easy enough. I'll probably drop some Breeds in it later on too, but I've basically done all I can do until I find a neck.

Here's the pics. Enjoy

Hey, guys. How's it going? Well, I posted pics of the guitar I call TS2, (Thinskull 2) a couple of weeks ago, you know, the skull looking one with the wicked headstock... Well I also promised pics of his big grother, TS1. I actually finished modifying this one first, but the owner never took it to get it rewired. I finally made him give it back so I could rewire it myself

TS1 is basically an old '80's Kramer. Not sure of the model though. It has a set of Seymour Duncan H/S/S with 5 way switch, 1 volume, 2 tones and a coil tap switch.

Floyd Rose II double locking tremolo.

Anyway, here are the pics. Hope you like this one

I used razor blades and chisels to carve the black areas down, which left the other areas higher. I used wood putty to build up around the eyes and cheekbones, and also horns coming from the eye sockets up to the top of the skull. I got the crackled finish by painting the whole thing black, then clear coating it. I then used gray primer over the clear coat and it seperated leaving all these cool gashes in it. (It's something I did by accident once, but remembered the results.) Then a final coating of clear. The neck is also painted black and buffed to a good shine.

For the headstock "Thinskull" logo, I printed out THINSKULL at the right size and font, then I cut the letters out. I used Elmer's glue and dripped it on each letter until it filled the letter to the edge. After that was dry, I glued it to the headstock and painted it red. I really like the contour of it. I'm really starting to dislike flat surfaces

I had to do a bit more sculpting on this one because I had the 5-way switch and coil tap switch to make way for. On TS2, I just covered them all up

Well, there ya go. Thanks for looking

Nice work, everyone. Congrats to Drak for his win last month. I'm re-entering my Ibanez Destroyer because the pics I had of her last month don't do her justice. So I got new pics

There ya go. I think these pics are way better. I hope you agree

Skot

I had to give my vote to Steve's purple/red PRS style. That's one beautiful guitar. The V looks very nice too, but I've always preferred painted guitars over natural woodgrain.

Oh, and thanks for the vote, Rob

I'll be back.

Skot

Thanks for the info, guys. The listing I saw the pups in had the model numbers exactly the same for both bridge and neck. (ESP LH-100) They're on the way to me now as far as I know, so I'll let you know what I find out

Skot

Looks to me about 15 degrees with the low E posts being farthest from the bridge. Hope this helps.

Skot

Thanks, guys. Glad you like it

BLS, you mentioned getting an EMG and painting it to match...I actually have a white Ibanez pickup on the way that I'm probably going to put a cover on and do exactly that, which was actually my original intention. You think just like me

The neck is actually a Johnson neck I got from eBay for $36, (can't afford to chop up a real Fender neck) but it's really not a bad neck at all. The heel's just too thick, that's all. I'd probably buy another one.

I'll be posting pics of Thinskull 1 by next weekend. I have a boatload of parts from StewMac on the way to finish it up. You think this one's cool, TS1 is a beast

Skot

Sounds great. I currently have the Seymour Duncan that came out of Thinskull 1 in it right now. It's probably the simplest setup you can get. 1 pickup, 1 volume. My next one's not even gonna have a volume knob. It'll have an on/off switch for the pickup and that's it. Just kidding. I don't really see where plywood gets such a bad rap, because I think it sounds pretty decent. I have one I built out of solid maple that doesn't sound as good.

Hey, guys. I just wanted to post my latest finished geetaur (my friend's spelling...like it? ) This is actually the second guitar I did similarly, and I'll post pics of Thinskull 1 after I finish wiring it. In case you're wondering what the hell Thinskull is, it's a 2 man band that my friend Robert and I are working on. (We're giving up on drummers...LOL) Here are the pics followed by an explanation.

Here's what I did: First of all, I think plywood bodies DO have their good points. The black areas were all carved in 1 layer deep into the wood using a razor blade and small chisel (very tedious. I didn't have my Dremel at that point). I love plywood for this because you can keep it fairly even that way (it came in handy later when I found out the neck I ordered was too thick to sit properly in the pocket) So, I carved the skull out and then around the eye sockets and cheekbones, I built ridges up with wood putty and sanded them smooth to add contour. Without that it would have looked kinda plain. The area where the armrest in wouls have been impossible to continue the lines of the skull, so I made it look like it had been bashed in there. This used to be a trem body, but I filled in the bridge section of it and made it a hardtail. I left the spring cavity open though...I have plans for that hole. (that didn't sound right, did it?) And once again, I used my trademark car trunk liner spatter paint on the back and sides.

For the fretboard, I used a red plastic clipboard as my inlay material to spell THINSKULL, putting the letters in the normal fret marker positions. Ingenuity at its best . I did the standard inlay thing, using the Dremel (and Brian's indispensable tutorial..you rule, dude!) to cut out everything. The white skull looking thing at the 12th fret is actually plastic epoxy mixed with white paint. If the pics don't show up well, let me know. I have some better pics of it before I refretted it.

I also used my Dremel (I'm really starting to love this thing) sanding drums to carve out all the barbs on the headstock. I still haven't put my logo on it yet, but I have forever, so...

Anyway, there ya have it. Thinskull 2. If you like that one, just wait till you see his older brother.

Thanks for looking

Spider-Skot

Hey, I have a stupid question. I'm looking at buying some pickups for a couple of guitars I'm working on. What I'm looking at is a set for bridge and neck. They both have the same model number, but they're listed as bridge and neck. Is there actually any difference between the pickups themselves that distinguishes them as such, or could I use either as a bridge pickup? Here's a link to the page on eBay

ESP LH-100 bridge and neck pickups

Thanks for any help.

SKot

Hey guys...me again. I came up with this killer design last night and I wanted to share it with you to see what comments/suggestions you might have. It'll be an archtop solid electric with neck thru body and Les Paul type pickups/electronics. I call it...."The Guiturtle" (Dedicated to my sister...she LOVES turtles )

Ain't it cute?

Skot

I just got the Larry Robinson book too. There are some beutiful pictures in there, but nothing really all that inspiring to me, personally. Besides, I doubt if I would even attempt anything that intricate until I had been doing it for at least 20 years