frank falbo

Phil's got some design elements that I couldn't ignore. It really shows a lot of thought and care went in at every stage. What stinks is most of the others had that too this month. So I really did want to vote for others, too. There is no criteria here, which is the beauty and curse of the voting process. But for me, my criteria is probably most like wes'. I'm looking for artistic design, (which Godin nailed, too) and that doesn't mean I'm anti-tele/strat/soloist because artistry can be what you do WITHIN those designs. I'm looking for implementation/craftsmanship (most of you nailed that, too) and least important is what I like personally. I'm sort of anti-cliche, so saying "here's a tele, but with fancy wood" probably isn't enough for me vs. an original build like the Crucible, Godin's piece, Phil's bass, or even the Egress. Perry, I guess my only apprehension for you is that you've won twice already, it's your main job, and we all know you're a fantastic builder. So unfortunately you're going to really have to wow me before I'll support a third win. Your top finish is amazing, but it's still "just" a carved top soloist. Plus I feel someone at your level should make that neck transition a little sexier, and perhaps flow it into the cutaways more smoothly. But between that and your green one last month, you've convinced me to put zebra pups in one of my RG's. So you can take credit for that. Godin amazes me. At your age I keep trying to figure out who's helping you and how much they're doing, because I'm in disbelief. I was 17 before I was building with curves like that. The Crucible would've gotten my vote if the shape was a little more flowing. I like the cutaways to flow into eachother, and to have a bit of symmetry. The Crucible, not unlike the Schecter S-1 has what I've termed a "dog leg right" in that it throws your eye to the right in the cutaway section. That's a personal thing and is no reflection on the guitar. It could have just as easily been a tie between that and the bass. Way to go Phil!

Don't forget the Gotoh Floyd either. Gotoh makes the Ibanez Edge trems, and the Gotoh Floyd is simply their version of the OFR design with some improvements, like offset intonation adjustments and a tension adustable arm. Any of the ones Scott mentioned + the Gotoh are fine. Most others are inferior in some major way.

I have solid carbide .025 but they're expensive. Let me know if you need some. I use them sparingly. I have some .022 end mills, but they're near useless, and only used in an emergency. The drills are more stable than the end mills. And for wood, at that size, it really doesn't matter what the flute is like. So I use drills. On wood they operate exactly the same as end mills. But for PCB they would be useless.

It's already been explained why that wouldn't work, but here's how it can work: (and does because I do a modified version) Route your neck pocket to the desired depth. Then take it to the drill press, and wedge the body. Do not angle the table. Just shim or wedge the body from the underside to create the desired angle. Then use very shallow passes until you've routed all but the back 1/16" or so of the pocket. Sometimes I'll "final depth" the whole pocket. But on an existing factory guitar, if I need to maintain the neck height in the body, I'll just route the angle only. You have to go slow because you don't have even 1/2 the RPM's of a router. (mine's variable so it's set pretty fast for this) Use sharp bits and watch for tearout at the front of the cavity. If the guitar is already painted I'll use a Dremel sanding drum in the chuck to first sand away the finish, leaving a little rabbet all around the front of the pocket, then route only up the that point. You can use pattern bits too, but remember once the neck pocket starts to taper down, the bearings are useless. Your table has to be big enough to accomodate the whole guitar body across the entire movement, otherwise the joint is compromised. If it's not, make a jig or a table extension. The jig can just be two sheets of MDF, with a wedge or a threaded insert to "dial in" your angle. As for the gap at the back of the pocket, its eliminated when I'm building from scratch, because I also allow the drill press to make that slight undercut angle into the back of the pocket. It requires a couple more passes, and can be done with the pattern bit. On a factory guitar mod, it's irrelevant, because the screw holes are already in place. Removing wood to match the angles at the back of the pocket would only result in more of a gap. Then you wouldn't have contact anywhere along the back of the pocket.

If it were me, I'd prefer the contrast. As long as they were the same basic hue, I think it would be cool if the body was a lot darker. Even if you stained the body with a real light shade and mizture of a chocolate brown, I think that would be great. Otherwise, I'm sure you can find a piece that's close enough to fool everyone. But you have to see the wood fresh cut. If the piece has been out for awhile, the surface will darken a little. So if you found an exact match, you may find the body to actually be lighter once you've worked it. So maybe bring a little 120 grit in your pocket and hit the corner a little.

Remember, loving the tone of Ash doesn't have diddly squat to do with the sound it will make as a neck. The neck bears a big load, and is undersized for that load, hence the truss rod. It's making the tone under 100+lbs. of tension. You might do better to understand that since you like the tone of Ash so much, you should find a neck wood that will give you as much "body" tone as possible. In other words, a neck that will take the least amount of frequencies away. That could be an Ebony board with Bocote, or a multilaminate neck. Not necessarily a neck made from Ash. If you have to install carbon rods, you've diminished the natural tone of the neck wood in the process. That may be good or bad depending on what you want out of the body.

They're great pickups, and they are near impossible to substitute or duplicate, because he uses neodynium magnets and larger pole pieces. Even the Duncan Quarter Pound pickup is similar only in looks. The USA Schecter pickups are probably similar. They come from the same school. I would treat them as a distinctive choice, and if you wanted that sound, get those pickups. Otherwise expect something different. The attack and the response curve are different just from the construction method alone, regardless of the turns or wire gauge.

Yeah, Carvin doesn't "make" any acoustics, so it'd be awfully hard for them to make the Tokais. I imagine they're coming from the same factory, but the inlay alone is meaningless, and I don't know of any financial relationship between the two names.

Right! all those famous records, all those various favorite guitar players we have, they're all idiots. They need to all dump their signature pickups and custom winds and switch to these. Remember, there's no "best" in art. And if your pickups are urinating all over your EMG's I'd have that checked out.

If that isn't biggest load...Nothing else comes close. Sure, it's going to take a while to find a perfect one for YOU--it took me nine months to find mine...It's impossible to have sharp fret edges on a bound fretboard where the frets don't even go all the way to the edge... ← I agree with his statement. He may be exaggerating or over generalizing, but the essence of what he's saying (that for $2k you should get perfection-every time) is true. The grain coming through the finish is more a condition of their lacquer than "quality". I don't mind that part, although they definitely don't take enough care with their finishing. I'm sure you'd agree after your 9 month search. Yes, you can have sharp fret ends with binding. I'm not trying to be confrontational, but Gibson has them all the time. The fretboard shrinks back, and then the fret crown sticks out. Otherwise you get a big "scallop" at every fret end. It depends on how short they nip the tangs, and whether the binding hugs the fretboard or lifts away with the fret end. I don't know where you're located, but a lot of Gibson's problems are regional. They aren't using good, dry cuts of wood IMO, so various climates will cause Gibsons to die on the vine. Here in the Chicagoland area Gibsons are throwaways. They get every problem you could get, from fret issues, to neck joint humps, neck twists, etc. So it is possible that we're both right, depending on where you live. No hard feelings. Back on topic, as for the "LP tone from my Strat" it all depends on who you want to fool. You can fool your audience pretty easily with an Alnico II/Custom setup in there. Its the guitarists you won't fool. Everyone here is discussing the nuances. It's true you'll never get a Les Paul "tone" from a Strat, assuming the definition of "tone" is the combination of everything-response, dynamics, EQ curve, etc. But the final product, after its through an amp and to the general listener could be very similar. But the feel and dynamics will still be way off. So a $350-$600 Korean is still your best bet. And some of them already have Duncans, or at least some good stock Alnicos.

I use my fret pullers sometimes, and get a good squeeze on it while gently rocking it back and forth until you hear that glorious cracking sound. I prefer jiggling and rocking it to tapping it. With blunt blows you're more likely to take some wood and/or finish with it. Definitely score the finish if there is any around it. Some guitars are finished before the nut is installed so then it doesn't matter. But you can't expect a finish to crack right along the line of the nut unless you score it. I'll usually score it a little above the nut line. Then the nut breaks free, but I have a little finish bump I can file down to total perfection. So the new nut sits flush with the old finish. Dan Erlewine once illustrated the "saw in half" method and said to just pinch them together with pliers from the top. I can't see that working all that well. I'd think its more likely to break into pieces. If you do saw it in half, I'd say give it a sharp tap, instead of squeezing it together.

I've got a short block here. Mighty Mite should sell them, too. The Ibanez Lo-TRS has the short block, so the MM lo-pro floyd does too. Cutting and drilling is a total waste of time, because these parts are available.

As long as you route minimal depth for the neck pickup, and you have some side support, you'll be fine. Remember, you're using Maple. So whatever thickness rules apply to Alder, Mahogany etc. don't necessarily apply here. You'll have no need for side support or rods. If you're using normal P-90's you should have more than 1/4" behind them. Are you measurements for the P-90 sitting flush with the body top, or have you allowed for the fretboard and string height? As for your neck attatchment method it sounds fine, just go as close to the top as possible. Leave only about 1/8" if you can.

I remember those guitars. I flat out loved that design. The pickup configuration is silly, and I don't know what they sound like but that guitar looks great to me. Very original for it's time. I'm not saying it looks anything like a Maxxas, but they seem to share a similar attitude. It's like it bridges the gap between Ibanez Roadstars (RS525) and the Maxxas, not in looks, but vibe. If anyone had one I'd trade some stuff for it pronto.

Am I missing something, or might it be easier to get a similar look by shooting a lacquer clear over the guitar and then getting THAT to check? In other words, use that poly as your basecoat/sealer. I don't know all the details of your project so forgive me if I'm way off.

You can make your back first, and hollow it out like a thinline, then make a tracing of the solid parts and transfer it to the spruce. Then you can carve away at the spruce, both from the top and back freely before you glue it down. I think its a great idea, especially because when you think about it, the spruce will be making up a good bit of the center block if you do it that way. Otherwise, you're trying to carve the spruce out like a regular jazzbox, and then have the lacewood match it perfectly in the center as well as the outsides. I think it will sound better if the full original thickness of the spruce is left in the center. It will be a great guitar.

You say matte finish, is that because you sanded it or steel wooled it? Does it match a Dimarzio visually? Would you like any trades for that Custom/59 Hybrid?

Yeah, you can comment on the essence of disagreements overall here, but don't bring the actual debate here, because here we're speaking in generalizations. I have to agree that there is some "blind leading the blind" here, and usually it gets caught and remedied. I see a lot of posts where bad information gets parlaid into more bad information. Sometimes not only should the original poster use the search, but also those who offer answers! I've found that the people who are looking for the advice are usually respectful of all the information given, while the "advisors" sometimes pit themselves against eachother. Although inconvenient, at least it fleshes out ideas. Its kind of funny when one of our resident "experts" gives a good answer to something, then some lightweights put unnecessary posts after it. As if they have 2 cents to add.

Nope. Here's their site, but they just list their pickups. Maybe they were called "pickup adders" or something. I'm sure it was something clever. Sorry. http://www.adderplus.com/prod01.htm

They're a great invention, and they work very well. I don't use them because I have tons of guitars with various pickups that I've chosen intentionally. So I don't need/want to alter the sound of any of my pickups. I have the flat black ones which provide increased output and punch. I like them on flat pole pieces so they make direct contact with all the poles. They'll still work with a stagger but the effect isn't as pronounced. Plus the volume fluctuations between the strings are still there, if not augmented. They also eliminate dropout between the poles. If I had one or two guitars, these would be a great way to have an instant variance at my fingertips. I have a humbucker one too BTW, although you can also use two singles next to eachother. Most of the Lace Sensors and these APC pickups' advancements are in the magnetic field. There are other things too, but if you can control the aperture, you can really outperform stock pickups. The Dimarzio stacked hum cancelling single coils have a metal "U" channel around the top coil. It shields the pickup but it also directs the magnetic field. Then look at their Virtual Vintage 2.1. The U channel drops off across the bottom three strings. What a great idea. These pickup toppers are built around the same understanding. In the early days of guitar customizing, some companies made pickup boosters that were just stronger magnets to put under the pickups to jack up the strength. But then you have all the negative byproducts associated with ultra powerful magnets. Lindy Fralin sells a strat pickup baseplate to warm up your bridge pickup. It's all just magnet fun.

My local shop resawed (grammar?) some bubinga for about $15 I think, and it was well worth it. If you've never resawn wide stock, don't do it-ever! unless you have practiced and learned your tools backwards and forwards, that is a job I wouldn't do. As for that Maple, I had the same problem with about 1 1/4" piece of solid quilt. Not even bookmatched, just one piece about 14" across, and 4ft long. So I made a thin 7-string guitar, and I'll use the other half for a thin 6-string bass. A thin Maple body will be bright and lively, without sounding thin and weak like a full thickness Maple body can. The 7-string is very open and snappy, and the low B is absolutely perfect. But 1 1/8" is pretty thin. I'd resaw it. I thought about hollowing it out from the back and putting a back on it, but I didn't do that because I wanted the quilt to show through on both sides. You'll get two 1/2" tops, and that's a great payoff for that piece of wood. Although I do love the idea of an asymmetrical resaw for a drop top and a 3/4" mega top. If it were any thinner I'd say leave it, but 1 1/8" is perfect for a resaw. If you're not after an LP sound, then I'd back it with Swamp Ash myself. That's a great sound combination.

There is a pickup company named APC, Adder Plus Corporation. They make great pickups to this day, but they had different pickup toppers back in the mid 90's. I have a few around here somewhere. Maybe that's what you're thinking of. They had flat black ones, but they also had some where the metal showed in a jagged fashion. They manipulated the magnetic field. APC's pickups are like that too. They do a lot of magnetic field manipulation. The company is run by Mel Lace, who's Don Lace's brother, and a lot of the Actodyne technology is ripped off from Mel. I consider APC the "real" Lace.

If I'm using water based aniline, often times I'll use the first coat of stain, or a lighter mix of it as the "wet and sand back" medium. In my experience, wetting and sanding back can reduce the effect of the figure. What you've basically done is to activate all the natural variances with clear water, then sand them away. If you do that too many times, you have a flatter looking surface that doesn't pop out as much IMO. Each time you wet and sand back with clear water, you produce a more uniform surface, which in turn accepts stain more uniformly. For figured tops, I want the randomness of stain direct to wood. I don't want a smooth, even color. I can get that with shader coats if I wanted. I end up getting a similar effect as a black pre-stain because the dye penetrates and collects so deeply into the figures, the way black would. I often use a highly potent mix of the final color for the first stain and then sand that back rather than using black. Black will kill the flash. On veneer you don't have much flash anyway, because there's no depth. A black pre-stain could help or totally ruin the piece. If the black just goes into the little pores, but doesn't absorb into the figure, then it will look cheap. A prime example of this is Epiphone's "boneyard" finish, compared to the USA Gibson version. Besides being a Koean factory guitar, it's a veneer. So it almost looks like a picture of a guitar up close, not the real thing. For a veneer, I'd say no moisture prior to staining, like Drak said. Then, don't sand it down too much, leave it a little furry until you get your sealer coats on there, and sand those back. Sanding to too high a grit also kills figure, and depending on the figure, sometimes using a scraper helps lift it up.

The only possible reason I could think of is if you were famous, and you already owned a great vintage instrument, and you were associated with it. You wouldn't want to play your great old guitar every night live, so you'd have replicas made to keep the vibe going, and to eliminate the possibility of theft or damage. Then you could bring out the real one secretly for special shows and sessions. Take Willie Nelson for example, he could have replicas made and that would be fine. If he showed up on TV with some brand new Taylor I'm sure people would start freaking out. It's part of his identity now. In the furniture and housewares industry, they've been aging and antiqueing for a long time. There's just something about referencing an older time that brings about certain feelings. I can understand it with furniture to some extent, because it might invoke a state of mind that you associate with your grandparents, or your childhood, or whatever. Or you just think it's the latest fashion trend so you're buying into it. But for guitars, I think it's ridiculous. I have great respect for this instrument, so to me, I like my guitars to look as new and clean as possible for as long as possible. And if it's going to show wear, I want it to be actual wear.

In my experience, the stain will tend to float on the top 1/64" of the surface. It only seeps past that and into pores around the edges where the top starts to curve around and endgrain is introduced. If you want to test your luck, stain a piece of wood and then cut it into strips. You'll probably find that the stain hasn't bled too deeply in any particular area. So I do Perry's #1. But I actually stain the top before I flush cut the edge. Either I'll leave a little overhang, or I'll leave the whole guitar oversized and do my finish sanding on the sides after I've stained it. Even if I find I want to add more stain later, it's easier to know that I don't have to go right up to the edge, because the color is already there. I can tape it off 1/64" short to allow for some bleed. The guitar in your pic is sunbursted, so the shader coat is masked off. The top may not have even been stained orange first. On most average factory guitars, they aren't even staining the tops. They're sealing them first, then spraying tinted clear/bursts with the binding edge masked off. That's an ultra clean way to do it, but I never liked tinted tops. I want the wood to be stained directly.