Blackdog

Thanks guys !! I have fixed the small crack in the lacquer on the headstock face. And I'm still not quite happy with the bridge pickup sound. I put Gibson Classic 57s on this guitar A normal one (8K) at the neck position and a 57 plus (9K) at the bridge slot. The neck position sounds full, loud and complex. Just the way I like it. But the bridge position sounds a little anemic in comparison. I replaced the Alnico II magnet with an Alnico IV and it improved something, but still not quite what I'd like to hear. I think I'll have to get an Alnico V in there... Looks like tomorrow we'll have some good weather and light here, so I'll take some pictures for the "finished" thread. How to do the dishing for the controls was something I asked in this forum for my first build. Several options were offered, but the one I adopted and the one that seems to work for me, is to use of a round-nose router bit with a top mounted bearing. It's a 1/2" diameter bit, with 3/4" cutting height. With the top mounted bearing you use it to follow a template. Then the top edges are smoothed off by sanding. The advantage of this method is the ability to follow any shape, not just round, and any size you want.

Hey, Thanks !!! So you're saying this is some kind of Holy Paul.... Shall I call her Santa Paula then ??

If it doesn't make any sound in ANY of the 3-way toggle positions, then you have a short circuit to ground in the signal path from the switch to the jack. Check for wires that may have dented and could be shorting to ground. Check that the braided wires are not shorting anything along their path. Specially around the exposed blades of the switch. For this configuration I usually wire it differently (to minimize the risk of braid short circuits: I run the pickup wires directly to the switch, and wrap the braid of both together with some normal wire that I solder to the grounding lug of the switch. I try to keep these wires short. If you don't want to cut them just coil them and wrap them in the empty space of the cavity where they will not short to anything. Then from the switch lugs I run the hot and ground wires to the volume pot, and then wire the tone pot and jack as usual. I don't quite like that long pickup wire going all the way around the cavity. That is a potential cause for short circuits, and even ground loops. Hope it helps. BTW: the black and green stain really came out great !! And good idea about the jack. Is that a Tele type jack in there ??

Epiphone necks usually have scarfed headstocks.... I personally think that a scarfed headstock is better. Gibson continues to build their necks the same old way because they want to please the traditionalist crowd with regards to neck construction. Back in the 70's, when they added a volute, they were criticized because of that (among other things). What did they do? Remove the volute. True, it's about pleasing the traditionalist in this case. I'm not arguing against the scarf construction. It's simply that I don't quite like how it looks. It's a personal thing, I prefer to build a reasonably strong neck without resorting to scarfing. Still I reserve the right to change my mind at any time... And back to topic: In those days you mentioned, Gibson were also criticized for reducing the headstock angle from 17 to 14 degrees. Go figure !! Now people venerate the Les Paul, with it's one piece mahogany neck, but back in the day it was meant to be a cheap guitar. For the good stuff Gibson used laminated necks of 3 and 5 pieces. Usually involving flamed maple and ebony. No scarf, but much stronger structurally.

Thanks, guys !! It's true, this top is amazing. I'm already looking forward to making my own. I think I'm going to follow the same carving pattern and quite possibly the same color. I have assembled it already. The nut still needs a little attention and it has no truss-rod cover yet. Also the little crack on the headstock face needs to be repaired. But it plays great !! And sounds very good at low volumes. I still need to spend some more time playing it at a more realistic volume, and comparing against other guitars to know where she stands, sonically speaking. It has a very good sustain, that's for sure. And acoustically is quite loud, no doubt thanks to the big chamber in there. Looks killer too. It's going to be hard to see it going with the new owner.... Soon I'll finish it and will take take good pictures for a Finished Build thread.

Nice, VERY nice !!! That carve and the extended horns really made that body specially nice and modern looking. Some seriously flamed neck too !! What kind of bridge are you going to use ??

Well, now it has been finished. I had significantly less problems that on my previous one. I had a small problem on the headstock face that will require touch-up. A small pore let some water in when wet sanding and developed in a 5-6mm long crack. I'll see tomorrow what's the damage and how to correct it. But it should not be too difficult. So still not perfect. But I think she looks pretty good and is going to be a mighty singlecut !!! While the lacquer was curing I did most of the fretwork, so it should be about right when I string her up. I'm looking forward to assembling and calibrating her. I'm really enthusiastic and curious to hear her voice !!! In a few days she'll have some strings on and will be a guitar for the first time.

I'd say leave it like that. One piece EIRW necks are amazing !!!

Epiphone necks usually have scarfed headstocks....

For my first build I bought a partially done neck blank and the angle was already cut. It's around 10 degs. I used Grover Locking tuners on that one (very tall posts) and the break angle at the nut is very gentle. Sometimes that's a good thing, it makes some guitars ring better. It's a one piece flamed maple neck, BTW. For the following builds, I made the necks from scratch and I've been using between 12 and 13 degs. None of these are scarfed, two of them are one piece construction (one rosewood, one mahogany) and the third is a laminate of Korina and rosewood. So far the only one finished is the rosewood neck, and it's working fine ion terms of string break angle at the nut (Sperzels on this one). I don't want to use too steep angles because I personally like non-scarfed headstocks and for the better ringing reason given above.

I wouldn't know about the price, but it looks quite nice to me. If I were to use it myself I would go for 5mm faux-binding, and work the top angle to have around 10mm total maple thickness at the body/neck joint line, assuming the PRS shape. That should give you enough material for a sweet carve. Regarding your question about the template I did it myself. I worked from a full-frontal picture of a PRS Santana from a catalog and scaled it to have the same width of a Les Paul. I think it was explained in the build thread. @jer7440: Quite a nice PRS you've built there !!! I like the string-thru implementation.

3/4" for a maple top is plenty. I have a McCarty and the top seems to be 3/4" at the thickest point. PRS use even thinner tops for the singlecut, something closer to 1/2". 5/4" seems like the size of the billet before resawing. That would end around 1/2" (12.7mm) bookmatched. I used a 19mm (3/4") top for my second build, and 17mm for the third, and there's more than enough material for a very deep PRS style carving. I would say that anything from 5/8" to 3/4" (16-19mm) will work great. I use the sandpaper flap disk on the grinder too, then I continue by hand with scrapers and sandpaper. Follow the link to my second build in my signature to see some pictures and explanations on how I did that one.

That is a beautiful guitar indeed !!! The cocobolo looks amazing under a finish. Did you have any problem with the lacquer sticking properly to cocobolo ?? I read here that the wood is so oily that sometimes it is a problem. Did you treat it with anything before lacquering ?? What kind of lacquer did you use ?? I have a Korina doublecut in the making and it will have cocobolo binding, that's why I'm asking. Great guitar, I'm sure it will sound amazing too. Looking forward to the updates.

I have a piece similar to these. I could get a top out of it (center-seamed, not book-matched). How is it to carve ?? I have the feeling that it's going to be a pain...

OK, I see most of the controversy actually lays to the nomenclature. I didn't mean to make a big issue of it, but let's say I'll call mine "Vari-Scale" and no one here dare to use this name without my written permission !!! My lawyer is watching you all, and he costs me a fortune, so he MUST be good !!! Seriously now, thanks for the replies so far, by all means keep them coming. I was thinking to go easy and not aim at too dramatic scale differences. Maybe 1 to 1.5". I was thinking about placing the prep mid-scale, to avoid having such a slanted bridge. But I can see the advantages of moving it towards the nut: keeping frets not too "fanned" (sorry! ) in the area of the fretboard that sees most of the chording action.

I've been playing guitar for more years than I dare to confess, but I'm still to see one of these in the flesh. Let alone play one... I'm interested in the concept and would like to include on in my future builds list. But how is it to play one of these ?? Are they specially good for some styles or good for basically anything ?? Are they a completely different animal to play or you basically hardly notice the difference ?? I'm essentially trying to understand what I'd be getting into if I build one. You experienced comments will be greatly appreciated.

Another example:

I think the dimensions given above work well for bolt-on necks. For the type of neck I have made (set, non-scarfed tilted headstock) the thickness of the blank is more like 48-50mm (for a 13 degrees headstock). Even if you scarf the headstock the heel is between 35 and 40mm usually. length will mostly depend on scale, for 25" scale 700mm is more than enough even for a decent tenon. I personally like quartersawn for a one piece neck, if you laminate it's probably less of a problem. I use ~6mm (1/4") fingerboards. Width of a 6-string fingerboard at body end is around 57mm, so anything wider than 60mm is good enough. Sorry for mixing up the units. I mostly use metric but for scale length 25" is clearer to me than 635mm.

Yes, the maple on this one is much nicer than I thought. And I'm liking this color a lot, I think I'll use it again with my future LP-hollowbody. There is no separate binding. What you see is just the edge of the maple top left unstained. I used a method posted not too long ago here. I can't seem to find it now, masking the top and cutting the tape parallel to the edge with a small tool, then lacquering the binding-to-be for sealing before staining the top. I know what you mean about the recesses of the controls. It's there to house the nut/washer and help in keeping the knob low. It looks horrible now, but it's invisible when the knob is there.

Your welcome. "Luthier" is probably too big a word to define me, but I appreciate the compliment. I can't help with the wood, I buy the figured tops from Germany. When I buy from StewMac I usually receive the goods in 48 Hs., and I'm in The Netherlands !! As for the dilution ratio of the stains I don't know if I emphasized this enough: TRY on scrap wood. Go slow and add drops until you get the color density you're after. Good luck and looking forward to seeing your build here.

I bought the dyes directly from StewMac, they are very good and deliver fast. The finish you want doesn't look too difficult. Mind you I have never done it, but I would stain black, sand off and stain medium grey. Then clear coat. You have to test on scrap pieces until you achieve what you're looking for. Grey is somewhat easier, because you only need to deal with black dye and different concentrations in water. It's not unlike the guitar in my previous post, that's a double stain in cherry red, with a second stain really saturated. With black I would go with a lighter second stain, but again you need to test on scrap pieces. A few drops of the concentrated stain in 10cc of water is usually enough for a guitar top.

Thanks to you all for the compliments. Yes, GR. The purpose is to enhance the flames. But you have to be cautious. If the first stain is too dark and/or not sanded off enough you run the risk of "fixing" the flame (as in less 3D effect). A normal 1-step staining renders the deepest 3D effect, but with a less dramatic flame. You have to try to achieve a balance. The two I have stained so far have been double-stained and I like the results. It's more work. Sanding the stain off is a PITA. PRS still double-stains most high price models. I read that Gibson did it for a while with their Custom Shop guitars and now they don't do it anymore. This is the top with some sanding sealer nitro applied. This should be closer to what the color will look like when finished:

Fantastic build !!! Obviously you've done this before, right ?? Is it too heavy ?? I chambered mine for tone, but also because the african mahogany I used was too heavy. Maybe I missed. Did you mention what color you're after ??

From the second picture posted I think he's using these dyes. These are the dyes I'm using, anyway. This is a two-pass cherry with clear top coating: You can see the process I used in the build thread (link in my signature).

Update time. The top has been stained. Like on the previous one we went for a double staining. This is the first staining, and after sanding it off: And the final staining with a hint of a sunburst: I also inlaid the logo on the headstock: It's actually meant to be the initials of my son's name: MA Next (messy) steps are the pore filling and sanding, and the application of the sanding sealer before gluing the neck to the body. How do you like it so far ? I think is coming along very well.