TemjinStrife

Nope, that's a totally different builder. Here's one of Misha Mansoor of Periphery trying out Darren's guitar though:

It looks even better in person... almost like the sand ripples you get in a stream. Hopefully I'll get to see and play the finished product in a month or two!

Any word on this?

I'd definitely be interested in a neck/bridge combination. That takes a lot of the guesswork out of making the helical ergonomic stuff work!

http://www.woodviolins.com/html/CobraCello.html I really want to get a decent solidbody cello one of these days, but I don't trust my luthier skills enough to actually build one.

Wow... very measured and thorough. Great work! By the way... Carvin supplies Stew-Mac's neck-through blanks. I say this because if you decide to get another one, Carvin allows you some limited customization of woods, inlays, and the like.

Beautiful. Everything fits together very well and looks great. Simple, elegant, yet enough fine detailing to keep it interesting. I would be curious to see how it looks with chrome covers on the pickups, though... but I'm kind of a sucker for covered humbuckers.

I have played cello for 14 years. Friction tuners are a *****. If I could easily change them for the geared type on my cello, I would.

My own (admittedly stylistic) concern is that a flat black body will look too "austere" alongside the very colorfully patterned neck. Perhaps a yellow Biohazard decal or inlay behind the bridge might help tie things together better (although it could be tacky), or some sort of yellow/black finish would work best. I'd say try a swirl on some scrap wood and see how it comes out... you never know!

Again, I'd say try some BareKnuckle pickups seeing as you're UK-based. They're pretty competitively priced (in the UK) and they sound ASTOUNDING for sixes and sevens, so I imagine they'd be great for 8s.

I'm definitely interested in a floyd-style headless replacement bridge.

Just so you know... Warmoth's Explorer shape is NOTHING like a Gibson/ESP/KL shape.

I have a Spirit "broom handle" with a strap button on the heel and two on the back, one on each of the protrusions on each side of the R-Trem. The dual buttons balancing when leaned against stuff is more important on that guitar since it doesn't fit on standard wall hangers (due to the total lack of headstock)... but it's nice to have the option to re-angle it. The guitar does tend to lean "outwards" a bit more when using the lower button... but again this is probably due to the general lack of a lower bout to hold it in place. My friend also has a Godin singlecut that he stuck dual strap buttons on... on that guitar changing the strap location changes the perceived weight distribution. The higher button pulls the guitar up and towards you, but allows it to swing more freely. The lower one locks it in a bit more (especially if the strap cuts across the upper bout) but it 'feels' more neck heavy.

Beautiful instrument. Great work... I can't wait to see her finished!

What are you going to finish the body with? I'm seeing kind of a black/yellow swirl or streak mentally... but a satin black or a wenge top would look great with the color combination.