johnsilver

Cool. Thanks Setch. Good to know.

Hey, I'm starting to feel a little self conscious here. Yeah, that's it. The back room. He didn't tell me it was ratty. I just assumed... Good idea and I would if I could. I like the Line 6 equipment. One Flextone is in Shreveport and the other is in San Antonio. Not sure when I will see them again.

I can't answer your question about routing off binding. I had a similar problem and took this approach. I recently removed binding that I had glued using CA glue. I used the CA remover and applied it to the edges and gently pressured it off bit by bit. It took a while and I did pull off a couple of very small pieces of the body - splinters really. Then I routed out the channel to make it slightly larger and to clean it up. I reinstalled the binding although this time making it slightly thicker to match the channel. I was laminating the binding so I could control the thickness to some extent. For the tear out, I filled it using a wood putty bought from StewMac. The finish is going to be an opaque finish so this was ok for me. May not work in your application.

Name your favorites.....

Wow. This is great. Everything from boutique amps with nothing but vol and tone knobs to Line 6 digital amps. Now, its all so clear. Drak, the "purity" of your recommendations appeals to me. Wes, the Marshall 1960 cab has a fair bit of road rash but still sounds fine. My oldest son used it for years. Then youngest son used it until he got a Line 6 4x12 cab. He goes to school in San Antonio and had it up there for several years until he deposited it back here a few weeks ago. In fact, he interned in Georgetown, TX this summer and had it there. Went to some metal club in Austin - happened to be Satan night or something. Right now, its a TV stand. Scott, two of my sons have Line 6 Flextone II heads. My oldest ran it through the Marshall 1960 cab for his metal band. Youngest is using his now for his band - I don't know enough to characterize his music but I do know he drop tunes a 7 string and produces a crushing sound. Got a couple of votes for the DeVilles. Cool.

BTW, good call.

Chrome plated brass bridge perhaps??? Your new turquoise dye perhaps???

I agree.

The Duncan Designed pups are built in Korea according to SD specs but using locally sourced materials for wire, etc. IMHO, they are better than the stock pups of some Korean made guitars. ESP for one is making some kick-a** guitars with Duncan Designed pups. Here is what the Duncan site says about the Designed series and the HB104s you referenced. "While USA-made Seymour Duncan and Basslines pickups are intended to fit on instruments with list prices over US$800, the Korean-built Duncan Designed pickups are intended for OEM use on guitars and basses with retail prices between US$300 and $800. The Duncan Designed club members include Fender/Squier, Jackson, ESP Ltd, Schecter Diamond Series, Hamer, and Aria Pro II. The HB-104 is a high-output blade humbucker that's based on a design we created for England's Patrick Eggle Guitars. The guitar was short-lived, but the pickup lives on in some recent guitar designs from Schecter and Jackson." So with that, I can't answer your question on how those HB104s would compare to a Screamin Demon and a Full Shred. I agree with PR3va1L that a Full Shred in the neck would overpower a Screamin Demon. I have a Screamin Demon in the bridge and a 59 in the neck of my alder Tele. I like it - good versatile combo.

Boy, this could be fun. I think it is a fair challenge. BigD seems to build much more quickly than Drak, probably by each individual's personal preference, so I think it is a valid handicap for Drak to have to speed up his building and finishing technique. Anyway, who knows what kind of stuff the old maple tree will be depositing in September. And BidD would not have entered the guitar in the GOTM if he wasn't happy/proud over how it turned out. Let the games begin...... Couple of questions for Drak. Where the heck do you get quartersawn purpleheart? And if you are veneering top and bottom, will you bind top and bottom?

Hey guys, thanks for the tips. Lots to think about. Yes, they do. I did some limited checking. I also checked a few sources for the Dr Z Carmen Ghia. Reviews are great. They are priced at $1249 for a combo. Look really cool. I didn't find any used in a quick search on the net. I'll look more later. Damn!!! I hate being caught out. You are absolutely right Drak, and I do KNOW it as you pointed out. I am just a bottomfeeder by nature ( ) and always find a way to "cheapen out" at the time of purchase. I know I need to fight that tendency. Thoughts about Fender Blues DeVille Reissue or a Fender Blues DeVille 40Watt combo? Also, what would your answer be for an amp head if I had a Marshall JCM800 Lead 1960 4x12 cabinet sitting in the spare bedroom? Right now it has a TV and a lacy doily thingy on top. Not getting the tone I'm looking for from that combination

I hope that you will enjoy building your own. Word of warning - its addictive. Best of luck.

Let's say you already had a guitar (alder body Tele, maple neck & fretboard, 2 humbuckers - SD Pearly Gates bridge and SD 59 neck) but no amp or effects. What type of rig would you buy for under $500 if you wanted to set up for Blues? What would you do differently if the limit was $1000?

Agreed. However, your response carries with a level of sophistication in technique and readiness missing from the original post. I stick with my post.

It is possible, but would be quite a bit of work. In addition to the refret job as Batfink points out, you'd have to route out the dots while making your trapezoidal inlay pockets. This will all be more difficult on an already built neck because the fretboard is already radiused and the neck back has already been profiled making it difficult to hold the neck steady while routing, etc. My suggestion is to learn to love, or live with, dots. Alternatively, you could make or buy a replacement neck with trapezoid inlay. Don't know about this guitar so don't know if has a bolt on neck, which would make neck replacement easier.

If you're still interested in a plan, try this It has good detail overall including neck joint.

Sounds like a Squier. My first was a Tele because I wanted a Tele. Also because my son has a 60's Tele and I got the specs from it. Also because my prep reading indicated a Fender style guitar may be easier for a first time builder. Mine is an alder body, maple neck and fretboard I made, 2 humbucker style. I recently tore it down and stripped it and am making a few mods, new multi-layer binding, new pups, a home made pickguard and a new finish. So I guess it isn't technically finished yet.

It is just a regular single edge razor blade, you know, the kind that has one sharp edge and the other edge has a metal cover over it. The cover provides a nice place to hold the blade. I bought a whole pack of them at the hardware store.

I used this Dremel guide to cut the binding channel on a LP style body (because I was stupid and didn't cut the channel before I carved the top). I had to take several passes to get it done (it was a 7 layer binding) but it came out great, even around the horn. It's a little scary because it isn't very stable, but it can be done if done with care. Good luck.

I apply binding to the fretboard after radiusing it and getting it to near final sanding. After applying, I scrape it close to flush and then lightly sand. I then come back with a single edge razor blade as a scraper and clean up the binding. Based on where you are now, I'd suggest scraping it to get close and then sanding. If you have a new scraper, you will need to turn the edge as Mr Alex says. I'd still come back with a razor blade scraper in the end.

The big Guitar Center on Westheimer has contacts for guitar techs / luthiers. I haven't used them so can't recommend them.

I was thinking this exact question. Drak, I seem to recall you using epoxy on spalted wood and it came out beautifully. I can understand using epoxy then as it adds some stability to the wood. What would be the advantage of using epoxy on something like mahogany? Does it add depth and clarity vs paste grain filler? I guess if you sand it back to the wood so only the pores are filled, then stain or dye would do it's job normally? Perhaps me needs to do some home testing.

Grizzly $483 all in. Cool article TGwaH. Thanks. It recommends the saw above in the $400 - $500 price range.

I saw the Line 6 Spider II 30W with a 12" Celestion speaker yesterday at Guitar Center for $199. Was thinking about telling my son to go get it for me. He owes me $200.

It sounds as if you have a guitar with a natural color neck i.e. not dyed or tinted and with some sort of clear finish on it. If so, my suggestion to smooth the roughness (I'm assuming the roughness is in the finish, e.g. little nibs) by lightly rubbing with 0000 steel wool. It will retain the satin (matte) nature of the finish and smooth the nibs. Hope this helps.