GermanFafian

Beautifull

Hi there;

About a year ago or so I was itching for a new build as I had done 2 previous "experiments" the 2 years before and decided to make a copy of my favorite guitar. A Stratocaster !!!

I'm not a vintage gear kind of player but there is just something about the Strat that drives me nuts and I'm sure many here can identify with the feeling :wink:

Anyway. So I decided to build me a Pine Wood Strat to test the "tonal Caracteristics" of this often neglected wood and after looking all over and being torn into this or a different tone wood. I came across Mr. Ron Kirn's fantastic web site. The tutorial on making a Spruce strat just made my mind up.

So after a year of preparing and getting a few tools here and there along with the required hardware, I present to you;

"Anna Lee"

BODY; Valsain Pine Wood, a local variety of Pinus Sylvestris .L That comes from a local Forest in the Valsain area of Madrid. Somehow it is famous for the quality of its Pine Trees whatever that might mean.

NECK; A GF neck as I have a slab of Tiger striped Maple but lack a couple tools to make the fretting and neck in general, but those will come before the summer and then the neck building will be begin.

Pick Ups; GF Vintage Strat Pick ups.

Bridge; GF Standard with Bronze block.

Tuners; Wilkinson bought in GF.

Finish; Shellac sanded to a satin feel and then waxed on with a mix of Bee`s and Carnauba wax.

Here is a short sound test I made of the guitar while I get a "real tune" done;

Anna Lee Sound Test

Thanks for looking and Mr Ron Kirn and many others for the inspiration.

Next up?

Another build but what woods should I use?

Excelent project and similar to one I have still on hold.

PLease keep them pics coming!!!

Cool project.

As for the top. I'd go with the third option but that's a personal taste

Great looking job!

Felicitaciones

Plus.

Bug holes will give you "natural micro resonating chambers"

Black, white or grey .... that Limba is very nice looking.

And that neck is just a killerrrrrrrrr.

Cool project even though I'm not too much of a friend of that shape.

Still. Very cool.

This will be one very interesting build.

I'll keep an eye on it.

I like the first one better for the sake of being different. And Ash LP sounds like a fun way to prove the design with a different approach.

Things to think about:

Finish?... Not sure about maple top. Back and neck will be natural. Nitro or Polyurethane?

Make it hollow or not?... Mahogany I want is light, but on the other hand I play a lot without amp.

Any advices would be appriciated

Feel free to post any suggestions.

This guitar is for me and I want to make it a fun build

What about Shellac finish and a hollow chambered with no F-holes?

I'm just deeply in love with shellac finishes instead of more polluting Nitro or Poly basically because Nitro gives me a rash

I apply it just like Nitro with a gun and I get some great results.

Good luck on this project. I will keep an eye on this thread.

Now I just need to prep it for finish.

What kind of finish should I do

Nice job so far.

I would personally go for an oil and wax finish but that's my taste.

A clear finish would be good option.

Go for a shellas finish and if you then don't like it clear you can sand the shellac to use as sealer and then apply any other colored finish on top

This job is looking awesome.

Just like you previous ones.

Can't wait to see the finish.

Great looking axe!

I just looooooove Rosewood!

I would go for 3 coats of Tung oil in 3 weeks then take off all excess and a final coat of Bee's wax mixed in with tupertine. That's how I finished my Wenge neck and it feels smooth and clean.

Great job.

BTW; How is the sound?

Will it be all Maple?

Or are you planing on different wood for the wings?

I'm starting the plans for my next project and it took me forever to decide on the woods to use.

I'm buying the Oregon Pine wood and the Maple next week.

Nice solution if you don't have a proper bender.

Thanks for sharing

Yes!

That was it!

Thank you very much

Does anyone have pics of what the 3D method yields?

Do a search for sorbera and it will probably yield some threads with some of his amazing work.

I posted some pics for a similar tutorial in my blog GermanFafian Sorry it is not a really good example as it was done on a Swamp Ash guitar, but you'll get the idea.

BTW the site is in spanish so you'll get to practice painting in another language

Hi there.

It's been a while since I posted here as my new job takes lots of my time.

Anyway. I just re-started my Paulacaster guitar project and I wanted show a friend a video tutorial on how to apply a green burst and shellac finish I once saw in this forum. Somehow I have done all kinds of search with all possible word combinations but just can't find the darned page with the video.

All I can remember is that it was a funny guy and that the video was in a sort of wood/carpentry site. Oh and the guy plays mandolin at the end of the video.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as It would help me out in showing my friend how to go about finishing his guitar without me actually doing it.

I will start posting pics of my build as soon as I get it going.

Later,

I have gotten some very nice looking tops with the above mentioned method.

I guess it has something to do with practice and messing up lots of wood. I think that Sorbera dude is using it and his guitars sure look good.

Anyway. It is a good starting point nonetheless.

Not bad for a first try.

How much Borax did you se in the water?

I am about to do this to an old Wah pedal but I am not sure on the amounts thata are needed for this.

I used to have a formula of grams/liters, but can't find the darned notes I took.

Cool job again.

Excelent looking timbers and clean job.

Congrats

About guitars and finishes, or people? :-D

It's good to hear - I hope you can use this mass of info to do your guitars justice!

About all three

Well. Thanks a lot for the replies.

I have learnt more than you guys might think from reading this thread.

Finally finished it!

Did it in poly to resist all bumps and hits it will receive

Here is a pic of Steve having his first strum at it

Later.

I think the thickness of a finish has more of an effect on sound than type of finish.

That's basically what I think and was called a Moron

Drums don't sound as good or as pure if you have a piece of duct tape on one side of the skin, or a dent. It becomes a more complex and generally less desirable sounding system. Like a trumpet with chewing gum and a few old socks stuck in it.

You know what I mean, really.

Probably.

Not getting it really as electric guitar finishes seem to interact less with the acoustics of the sound in general. At least to my ears

You will get a lot of different opinions on this, mixed up with unsubstantiated claims and pseudo-science. I have yet to see one reliable source with any scientific proof being able to claim one finish 'sounds better' than the other.

First rule when learning about guitarbuilding on the internet is to be weary of all your sources. .............................................don't take any one persons claims as facts (unless the person really has the evidence to back it up).

I am trying to be as impartial on this as possible but there seems to be so much speudo-science as you said. I read here somewhere that PRS uses car finish for their guitars but haven't been able to find proof of that either. That should kill any tone from the guitar for sure yet their guitars sound great.

Prostheta, couldn't really find that explanation.

I also believe that physical contact to the instrument would be a much bigger factor than what finish you apply.

I could not find any explanation either. I apply the finish the customer wants and what suits him the best in the best possible way.

I hope I did not open a can of worms here