perhellion

I looked back, and you called them "sun spots" on the headstock.

How do you avoid getting the outline of the pin heads?

I know it is too late, but I wouldn't have stripped it. The paint was too "clown burst" for a '59 Les Paul replica, but I thought it looked hair metal, even without the crackle.

I saw Norm Abrams make some molding with a shaper once where he was using a custom made bit. Someone could custom make any shape you want. Probably not cheap though.

As for the HM angle, that was Warren DiMartini of Ratt. Many of the copies (including some he used) were airbrushed (not real snakeskin). That was because the real snakeskin was hard to attach, not because of the sound. In fact, I remember Warren saying the the original sounded more resonant after skinning. He thought maybe the skin was really tight, like a drum head.

I found an article with Ken Parker, and the benefits of hardened stainless round (or half round, in Parker's case) are many. Unfortunately, his method for construction is not a home builder friendly method.

Wow, lots to answer.

1. Yes, TK instruments

2. Again, not the Stick

3. Yes, if anyone has a source for Parker half rounds, please reply.

4. Bending to radius not important, as fretboard will be flat. I love classical necks.

5. I had no idea there were other threads on "bar frets", but I'm talking about rods, not bars.

As for why, rods are easily available bigger than any frets. For example, Yngwie sig guitars use 6100's and a scalloped fretboard. The same vertical distance from fret top to fingerboard wood could be accomplished with a taller fret, but since frets that tall aren't made, in come the rods. And a stainless rod that big should last a long time.

Somewhere on the internet I've seen guitars fretted with stainless rods rather than fretwire. (And no, not the Stick) Any thoughts as to how to cut slots for something like a 3/32" rod? There are Dremel router bits that small (I think), but I don't see how to guide a Dremel to make fret slots.

Does anyone know why Jake likes the two different sizes of fretwire? I can see how the smaller frets might give your fingers more room where the frets are closer together, but Jake has really small hands (I shook hands with him after a show, and mine are pretty average.), so that's probably not why. The small frets are probably shorter also, so it would be like a fallaway (is that one word), allowing lower action. Anybody know for sure?

I dont know how important authenticity is to your customer, but two details spring to mind (one which I would consider important for the look and one which isn't) The not important one is Jake's use of two sizes of frets -- jumbos 1-11 and smaller ones 12 and up. The one detail I would want to duplicate is the headstock. The original is not a small Fender shape. It's closer to early Charvel shape. The difference is in the round part on the end. The Charvel end includes a little more of the circle than a Fender.

Just curious, how many sets of frets have you been through on the Steinberger?

Thanks for all the wood type suggestions. Persimmon should be tough -- it's what golf woods were made of when they were actually wood. So does anybody have any experience with wood bleach -- any sort, not just guitar necks?

Holly looks even better, but I don't think I've ever seen holly in lumber form.

The jatoba looks cool. I wonder if it gets darker with age like American cherry. Canary is too yellow, but I can see how it would be great if you like yellow.

By any chance, anyone have pictures of wood that has been bleached? If bleached rosewood will never be as light as maple, what color will it be? I'm just looking for a somewhat light color -- doesn't have to be as light as maple.

Any suggestions for a light colored fretboard wood that is not maple? I like maple but would like a little color and grain. If not another wood, has anyone wood bleached say a rosewood board?

It's not a conductivity issue. Think of all the plastic you see that has a very shiny, convincing chrome look to it, even if it is not actually electroplated. I think the plastic is coated with a film (like mylar, but probably more complicated). Somehow, the film must not adhere well to wood permanently due to expansion and contraction, pores, or moisture content (or maybe all three).

Even Ibanez had a tough time chroming wood. Satriani's original chromeboy looked great while new but didn't hold up well at all. Consumer replicas had bodies made of plastic I believe, specifically to take chrome better.

Anything is possible, but painting the tuners would be way harder than plug and redrill for the tuners that are already black. To get paint to stick to the tuners, all the chrome has to be removed, like by beadblasting. For beadblasting, complete disassembly of the tuner first would be the best way to go. Maybe you could get a cool look by replacing only the knobs with ebony or black ones.

I'm a big Jake fan. First, are your hands really small? His are, and the neck on the white modded Fender (and presumably on his signature models) is small also. It was a small neck with a narrow nut to begin with, and he had Charvel shave the back of the neck down some. Also, one unique thing about his guitars was two kinds of frets (not sure of brand or specs) -- but basically jumbo on 1-12, and smaller 12-on.

A lot of times, once you are allergic to something you may become allergic to something similar with repeated exposure. So, you may develop (or already be allergic to) sensitivity to other woods. I'd try to avoid the dust with whatever clothing or breathing equipment necessary in your case. Even if you are not allergic to a particular kind of wood, breathing the dust can't be good for you.

Any updates?

http://cgi.ebay.com/VERY-UNIQUE-PROJECT-GU...1QQcmdZViewItem

Saw this the other day (before this thread). I think it is interesting.

I've long admired the Ovation/Klein deisgn for looking really comfortable, but I've never seen or played either.

Couple of things I noticed here - you said you wanted to go thin but were concerned about the trem. If you want a hardtail, the bridge seperates into top and bottom halves, and you can use only the top part = much thinner.

You could also go thinner with a lock nut, a TOM, and a fine tuner tailpiece -- someone on this board did just that in building a travel guitar with a mandolin-shaped body.

Those guitars Adrian Legg plays are pretty much Klein shaped bodies with "acoustic like" necks. I actually contacted Klein when I noticed one pictured on an Adrian Legg CD, and they were quick to point out these were not made by Klein.

Simply, what would adding a resistor do to the sound of a pickup (without the electrical engineer info)? And are there any examples of somebody famous and recorded using a resistor like this? Is this use of a resistor somehow different than turning a tone pot down?

Lots of spalted maple (and other species of wood). It's the adding of the word "veneer" that yields no results.