westhemann

You really have to take that stuff with a grain of salt...people say all sorts of things with no real basis for it.I really believe the quality is the same,but jackson is also trying new options and finishes lately,which is a good thing.they are one of the few manufacturers that still at last check don't offer a model with emg pickups...time to catch up.

The fretboard is flamed maple.It is painted translucent cherry red with a couple of glaze coats of translucent yellow

It is only slightly off kilter(the grain.) Bubinga has a wierd grain...

I run a light coat of oil on all my fretboards(except maple,which I properly finish),but that is just for my piece of mind.

I always try to run the grain as straight as possible through the body...on my exploder I ran it along the longest part of the body(tip of upper bout to tip of cutaway) if I remember right.it sounds great...not at all muddy,but the bubinga is very dense

I don't want to get into a debate here,or perpetuate a revival of the distant past,but I now realize how ahead of his time "the nameless one" was... you see,I just got a visit from my future self(yes,I am still great looking in 2032)...he bought a Nintendo Timecube(that is what they call the time machines they will market starting in 2030) and he(I mean futuremii)tells me that in his(my?) time that ALL of the major guitar manufacturers are inlaying pieces of square veneer straight to the bodies of their flying vees...they call it " the litch factor" and it became very popular after wood became endangered,since it adds a "woodiness" to the carbon fibre guitars of the future...it is very sought after,I assure myself. interestingly enough...the ones with Imbuia as the main wood used in these veneer inlays are considered "collestor's items" and all have the serial #"1"

I have never seen any clouding that did not go away upon clear coating.But I always keep it pretty thin. If you touch it before it sets,it makes a white mark...but like I mentioned,it goes away upon clearcoating.

I use ca glue or thin epoxy

Super glue does not cloud up.

Powder coating is,in fact,the way it is done...look at Jonathon Esque's blue seven string with the all white hardware and the paw print inlay...it is in the GOTM archives. There was a guy who was powdercoating on this board,I was going to have some hardware done at one time,but it was so cost prohibitive that I did not ever do it.I think he sold his equipment. I am not sure how long the powdercoating would last under the heavy handedness of my trem work,so I would hate to spend alot only to have it wear off. as far as frets go,there is no chance....unless you have a way to make ceramic frets.

Uglogirl...In hardware stores there is a product called "teflon tape" over in the plumbing section...it is a very thin but very tough tape in a white roll that is used to wrap pipe threads...it also works very,very well for ANY application such as you describe.I have used it on trem bars as well.you can wrap it as thin or as thick as you desire to tighten up the bar as much as you need,and unlike locktite it leaves no mess.if you keep the tape around the threads only,it is also invisible.most threaded bars are a bit sloppy,and teflon tape is the best fix. I like my bar to flop around so that it is out of the way when not in use...but i use 2 small wraps of that tape to stop it from rattling and clanking when I use it.

You need to email scott if you want a response quickly,but I do know that he can get the ZR trem(not zp...stands for zero resistance) it is an entirely different rout from the edge though,from what I understand.

I have made a few dumb mistakes on tuner placement before i settled on my specific headstock shape...you can use the tuners backwards if you have to...but for me it really drove me crazy. mmmm...The Invader is super high output,so you may have a noticeable difference in volume when switching...have you considered hot rails in the neck position? I hae used the invader before(before i switched to emg)...it is a good pickup,but I prefer the jb...it is still hot enough for anything,but it produces much less background noise and it matches better with neck pickups.

Not really...you seem to be doing allright for your age....only thing I would rather not see is the way you put your pick in your mouth to do simple tapping with the index finger on your right hand.You seem to handle it pretty well,but you can save time and potential dropped picks by tapping with your middle finger for the simple stuff like that(a la kirk hammett in the 80s),but that is pretty minor.I think you sound pretty good and at least you have talent,unlike most I run into. The type of guitar makes no difference unless you are a goofy old primadonna like me.If you are comfortable with it and it keeps all 6 strings in tune,that is all you need. I wonder if your fret hand positioning at the speed you play is going to cause tendon problems as you get older and less flexible...but that is all I can think of.I don't want to just give you the same old standard drivel if you are honestly seeking critique... too bad AlexVDL isn't around anymore....he plays much more your style than me,and I would bet he could help you in ways you never thought of....that dude has a natural gift I wish I had...I have to work long and hard for everything I do. you might talk to Saber on this board if you honestly want critique....He and I can't seem to get along in any discussion on this board,but he has alot of talent in that area,and I have a feeling his tecqnique is probably pretty damn good.

Hey I have been through Spring ,Texas I think...on 71 on the way to midland,right?

I am going to completely disagree with the others...I think you were very smart to cut the wings and shape them before glue up.I always try to do as much of that as I can on a neck through as there is nothing worse than trying to shape the sharp edges of a vee next to the neck while it is attached.I think most of these guys may not realize that,but I have done it both ways,and the best results come from the way you are doing it.especially with the neck being completed. I think the work looks very nice and you are going about it in a very intelligent manner.obviously you are thinking each step through before you "get after it" as far as the wiring,you need to plan your wire path and electronics cavity.I find on a neck through the easiest thing is to place the input jack in a straight path bridge pickup-control cavity-input jack so that you can run a long drill bit through the input jack hole and drill the wire path from the cavity to the bridge pickup,if you see what I mean? Plus another thing you should have done before glue up is to place the wire path from the bridge pickup to the neck pickup by routing a groove into the side of the neck blank at the body portion on the lower bout side of the guitar,if you see what I mean?drilling those holes after the body is glued on a guitar with no pickgaurd is mucho difficult. I also use the cutoff pieces as clamping blocks as you did.

I just rub the deforned edges on a bit of sandpaper...only takes a second.But i nip them off with a chisel after the glue sets,so there is not much deformation,and if you angle the chisel right,it comes off pretty much flush.

I have played USA jacksons of both era...I noticed no difference

I always get a response from Brian via email....maybe he was out of town at a convention or something....

Happens every summer break,christmas vacation,spring break,etc....kids surfing the site from boredom.unfortunately I don't know the specifics on how Brian purchases bandwidth....if you are concerned maybe you could email him and ask.

I am not around the forum much at this time(busy with stuff),so I miss alot of topics...so if you guys do set up a meeting in austin,p.m. me to let me know.

sure...King and Hanneman both.But I mentioned Hammett first because listening to Kill Em All is what made me buy my first guitar.It wasn't until a couple of years later that I discovered Slayer

I know you guys will make fun of me but I still like the early works of Kirk Hammett other than that...Satriani,Stevie Ray,Skolnick(testament days),you know....

Don't get me wrong...I like Ibanez...just not that model.The mahogany rgt japan guitars are very nice...more expensive though.

The post is guitar related and is in the right section.Thanks for the concern but it is fine.