Jump to content

GregP

Veteran Member
  • Posts

    4,658
  • Joined

  • Last visited

About GregP

  • Birthday 12/29/1973

Retained

  • Member Title
    Pentatonic Pauper

Profile Information

  • Location
    Ottawa, Ontario
  • Interests
    English literature, education, long-distance cycling, watercolour painting

Recent Profile Visitors

2,504 profile views

GregP's Achievements

Grand Master

Grand Master (14/14)

  • First Post
  • Collaborator
  • Posting Machine Rare
  • Conversation Starter
  • Reacting Well Rare

Recent Badges

8

Reputation

  1. You can also recess tune-o-matic bridges if you like that bridge style but don't want to angle the neck.
  2. Really enjoying this thread! I also finally realized what it is I enjoy about Limba so much... it's "natural" looking without looking rustic. Same principle applies for figured maple, spalted anything, and a few other woods. But certain woods just end up looking too much like a hunk of cabin for me to enjoy. Limba hits all the right spots. Keep it up! Looking forward to watching this thread.
  3. @Prostheta Things are great, thanks! It HAS been a long while. Hope things are good with you as well. Really enjoying popping in here to see threads like this one. So many talented people out there.
  4. Side note: some of my searching just brought me to Pinterest... which in turn revealed a whole new realm of weirdness and delight in the headless world. Ever hear of a Washburn Wonderbar? Also saw some sort of Floyd Rose-based monstrosity (for now, link here: http://ebay.to/2rSZFVu) ... there are a lot of really creative things out there.
  5. Thanks for the reply, guys! Will check out that source. I got a detail wrong (will update original post)-- the "licensed by KD patents" stamp actually appears on the knife-edge one as well, though I'm sure I've also seen it on the Steinberger-ISH ones. Here are some links even for some of the ones you know about, to hopefully clarify for other readers (here in a separate post in case I'm accidentally breaking any rules... also warning in advance to future readers that these links WILL expire some day...): Ugly not-quite Steinberger-ish one: http://bit.ly/2sQN7ek (this one has just "Licensed by patents" Less Ugly not-quite Steinberger-ish one: http://bit.ly/2s2EYrd Nicely compact knife-edge one: http://bit.ly/2r40K8Z (well, the headpiece is kinda ugly... but I don't mind the bridge!) You're right about the CSL bridge to a certain extent. Though I've discovered that by a headless guitar not "sharing" the tension up to a tuning post, you can have strings slipping with a cheap Floyd nut (mind you, if you're buying a Sophia, you're well past buying cheap parts). Some of the aftermarket headless nuts would do the trick, though, or a custom solution more like what Strandberg does. The Steinberger "string adapter" after a Floyd nut would also offer the necessary friction to prevent the slipping. One of the cool things about "Less Ugly" and "Nicely compact" above is that they use a mechanism at the bridge that accepts the plain string end, so the ball is at the headpiece and requires no further "locking". But the tradeoff is that it's not truly a "locking" system anymore. As long as the "coarse" tuners are fairly fine and stiff it probably doesn't make a HUGE difference, though.
  6. So my current project ("nearing" completion which means a few more months at my current pace...) involves repurposing a Floyd Rose as a trem for a headless guitar. Anybody out there can tell you even before embarking on such a project that results will ALWAYS be sub-optimal if for no other reason than the lack of coarse tuners. But it was a fun project and I'm happy to be bringing it to completion. However, my interest in headless guitars is re-sparked and I've done some digging around. After my current experiment completes, I am considering firing up a "proper" headless project. Headless units are hard to find. Not sure if I'm allowed to link to e-commerce sites (especially ones selling inexpensive Chinese hardware) so I'll skip for now and hope that vague descriptions suffice. Here are what I'm able to locate as of right now: original Steinbergers are hard to find. Their latest guitars aren't trem-based, so even repurposing (for example) a Synapse means no trem. MusicYo licensed stuff seems to be out of production and unavailable right now. This USED to be the go-to cheaper option Hohner has licensed stuff which MAY be available if you order directly from their European site. Cannot order directly from their U.S. site The ubiquitous "Overlord of Music" headless bridge is found on eBay and other sites; it is cheap and cheaply made, but could present a viable option for a non-deluxe headless guitar. Seems similar to Steinberger stuff, and has integrated spring in a large unit A less ubiquitous unit bearing a stamp "Licensed by KD patent" is constructed differently and is less aesthetically pleasing IMO, but features roller saddles (partly offsetting the problems with the Overlord's all-pot-metal construction). Not seemingly Steinberger-compatible, but similar in construction with integrated spring and trem-locking feature An even less ubiquitous unit bearing a stamp "Licensed by patents" is more Floyd-like, with knife edge and studs and a good ol' spring claw setup (rather than integrated spring). I THINK this one would require additional routing (it is a full rectangle rather than a fat T-looking thing like a Floyd rout) but could otherwise been seen as similar to a Floyd but with worm-gear coarse tuners instead of fine tuners. Very interesting-looking! An AMAZING-looking but expensive selection from Coherent Sound In Light (some of the Sophia bridges are headless-capable but don't seem to include a nut assembly). We're talking $350-500 (or more) USD for the bridge. But looks fantastic I have experience with exactly zero of the above, and I'd be interesting in hearing more about the various options. Especially curious about #6 but I think I'd have to be able to provide a link so that users could say "Oh yeah, I've tried that one". Still curious about the Overlord of Music one because although it's expected to be a bit of a POS I'd like to know if it's at least "fine". I wouldn't want to install complete unworking garbage on a guitar (especially if it turned out to be a failed experiment) but I'm OK with "It does what it says on the tin." Of course, if you have come across other headless *trem* options (non-trem are somewhat easier to source and there's less to worry about) I would be curious to hear about your findings! Cheers!
  7. Thanks for the detailed reply, MJ! As chance would have it, I bought my finish earlier today-- decided to go with vinyl sealer and lacquer finish from spray bombs. But I'm still interested in trying out the poly some day.
  8. Gonna piggy-back on this thread for my own question. ;-) I understand the witness lines created by sanding through one layer into the underlying layer(s)-- but the comments about the "final spray" seem to indicate that they visually vanish with that final (non-sanded) coat. Is that the case? Like, if you sand through your layers of poly and get some crap-looking witness lines (but are working towards a smooth and level surface), does that final coat visually eradicate the lines?
  9. I had fun shaping with a grinder and flap-sanding disk recently. However, I have never seen at my local stores a flap sanding disk that has sufficiently fine grit. I was motoring through the wood and getting some burn while I was at it. Worse yet, no matter how smooth I tried to be, I was leaving some noticeable ... "lines" rather than a perfectly smooth transition. Fun, yes, but not for the faint of heart at that grit level, and I ultimately ended up working on the "carve" by wrapping some sandpaper around a rigid ball; or sometimes using my fingers, and working at it that way. What am I trying to say? Flap sanding disk seems like a good option if you can find a fine grit! But working just with sandpaper and a curved surface was surprisingly fast for the final stage of the rough carve.
  10. The local store (Richelieu) did not have the capacity to help on such a small scale; however, they redirected me to a local "decor" store, Bonds Decor, who carry the Mohawk line and also have their own line of products. Using their house primer, a Mohawk colour, and then a house clear, I should be able to do what I need to do! Thanks for sending me down the right path. I'll let you know how it goes after I hit Bonds and get around to the actual painting. ;-)
  11. Thanks, sdshirtman! Through their website, I found a local store that carries their product line. Will give them a call to see whassap.
  12. GregP

    Hello!!

    Looking forward to seeing what you come up with! Is the unfinished body a blank, or in a particular style (tele, strat, etc)?
  13. So, there are a tonne of resources for doing a rattlecan (spraypaint can) finish on a guitar, but they invariably talk about products that are available in the States. Also cannot do mail-order from ReRanch or StewMac or anywhere else that doesn't have Canadian warehouses for shipping. I'm in a big enough city that I have all kinds of access to our Canadian versions of Lowe's and Home Depot. I also have Canadian Tire, There is a store called PartSource that I BELIEVE carries Dupli-Color. If not specific brands, it would be a huge help to at least know what TYPE of paints I am going for. My understanding thus far is that nitrocellulose is kinda rare to find and you have to be patient with curing it. Polyurethane is a good choice in general but is NOT available in rattlecans, or at least not without garbagey spraying performance. I don't mind recommendations that produce an "OK but not absolutely amazeballs" finish. I do want it to be shiney but it doesn't have to be boutique-level shiny. As long as I can add a few coats, sanding to smooth each time, and then do a final finish-sanding and buffing, I'm good. Heck, I'm also OK with brush-on solutions if they're not SUPER-tedious to sand back. Thanks for any pointers you might have for sourcing guitar finishing products in Canada!
×
×
  • Create New...