Sami Ghouri

Hey all! I need to find an online distributor/supplier for good top wood (flames, quilts, etc) that ships internationally. Do you guys know any? Also, if possible, one with an international shipping calculator like the one that stewmac has. Btw, are those stewmac top woods good? the figure looks very faint! has anyone tried them? Thanks a mil! Sami

now that i see it finished, it's not that bad actually!!!! i personally wouldn't buy it but if i see it i wouldn't turn green or shred the person holding it..... quite interesting!!!

since we're already bombarding poor ol' kpcrash with n00b questions... i wanna have my share! i'm using minwax polycryllic clear...... and i made the shtoopid mistake of not waiting for it long enough to dry (eventhough it said 3 days on the can and i waited for 5) so some parts ended up peeling like very dry old plastic.... i waited for it to dry again and tried sanding those thin flakes and it seems fine now! should i be concerned??? and apart from this, how many coats do you usually apply? coz it seems that the recommendations on general tutorials are made for ppl who use proper equipment and don't need a lot of level sanding coz when i worked with the number mentioned i mostly ended up sanding through the clear at least! and are all acryllic clears so f'in hard to apply? when i was working with polyu life was beautiful! however not so beautiful for white guitars! hence the reason for using polycryllic... it even foams sometimes and NO i'm not applying it too heavily... the nozzle sprays like you wanna wash a car with lacquer not get it to stick on the surface!!!! /rant

i have the same problem but i don't have a cat... so i doubt that's the case... but then again i ahven't put an effort to rectify the problem yet so i probably should stay quiet =P

fair enough!!! will steer clear then!!! thanks!!

i never got to dissect that rich again due to the lack of time but it's on my list of things to do. So i'm sorry to say that i can't prove if the methods mentioned work or not. i'll definitely check out the site you posted, once that rich gets back on the morgue table.

note to self: DO NOT HIJACK THREADS! but since meranti is being discussed, would it work for bodies? how heavy is it??? i found loads of it for a cheap price at some local wood dealer, but i couldn't go and see it... this might have been discussed in some other thread so i'm sorry, but i ONLY WANT one, single word answer from anyone who has experience or knowledge regarding this wood.. good, bad, just alright?

ironically, i'm facing the exact same problem! i have a V-ampire and i get the same noise ONLY from my BC Rich which is equipped with an EMG KFK set. it's even clearer when i flip the booster switch so i'm guessing it's my internal wiring that's causing the antenna effect. are you facing this problem with ALL guitars? or just this particular one u're using? do a small search on a thread called Bollywood made pickups =D that's the topic i started, might be helpful!

i'm currently gonna try Minwax's polycryllic. it's water based so once sprayed it shouldn't be that harmful. i believe i can let it dry in my bedroom..... if i don't post in about a month, take it as a sign that it wasn't so bedroom friendly afterall.........

i did it with plywood instead of MDF.... simply printed the shape to scale, glued it with spray adhesive on a thicker piece of cardboard, fixed it on the piece of ply, traced it with a permanent marker on the ply (the edge of the cardboard was about .5mm thick which was good enough for the marker to trace) and voila! i rough cut then sanded with sandpaper and a sanding block.... i got a pretty good template!

since i haven't had the chance to try an amp with so much true tone in it (eventhough i've tried SO MANY pickups, but they sound a little different on my setup) i'd say: my 81/85 KFK set in my warlock for low tuned DM (for exactly the same reason Wes mentioned, bass notes bite) surprisingly, the stock DMZ/IBZ pickups that come on my prestige RG for shred work.... yes they're not blazing high output but they're VERY clean and accurate! at least that's what i think and these aren't "for sale" pickups anymore, but i got this Aria Pro II standard LP copy and it came with black metal covered HB's which sound GORGEOUS for clean sounds.

i would've posted a pic but i'm pretty much avoiding the flames i messed up badly on the easiest parts of routing (i.e. pickup cavities) and i'd like to spare myself the feeling of ppl rolling their eyes everytime they see it hehe..... it looks pretty ugly with the dark putty on it now (had a lot of mahogany colored putty and no time to actually go and get a light colored one) but the burn is semi fixed, needs another application and sanding. i'm only left with the control cavity and i have to take down the neck pocket by 3 more mm's coz i was following the diagram on martin kock's book which said 1.6cm but the neck sits way too high over the body..... yes i was quite impatient it seems and didn't check exactly how thick my neck will be (even though the neck he was using seemed to have the same strat heel and thickness).... what do you advise me to do with the neck pocket? i was thinking place two blocks on each side of the pocket (since it's an RR so there's no way to balance the router on the neck pocket) and fix both the blocks and the body to a table and then -this is the part where most of you will shout BLASPHEMY- somehow cover the cutting edge of my routing bit (again, i don't have a template router bit) and then make sure that shield around it is enoguh to make it almost cut around the inside of the neck pocket and then i'll patch the difference by my files/needle files (which i've been able to do before due to a routing mistake which lead to the inside corners needing some filing and stuff............ i just hope the covering is solid enoguh and won't expose the edge and ruin my pocket *crosses fingers*

i do this rescuing thing a lot.... that's what got me into building in the first place. been servicing and repairing for quite sometime now.... but i thoguht i'd up the level a bit and make bodies for some of those necks i have. yesterday when i was using a belt sander, and allow me to say i STILL HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA how that happened, the belt slipped and caught the face of the guitar and burned through the long horn! i swear i have no clue how that was even possible! i filled it with wood putty yesterday and i'll see how it'll look like after sanding today..... i HAVE to find real woods and i'm planning on making/ordering templates..... the template bit is a must though, looked up the whole country and couldn't find one.... and hardware store ppl give me the weirdest look ever when i ask for the bit with the bearing above the cutting edge and they think i'm retarded....... will the grain still show after a while even if i CAKE the thing in paint and lacquer? i'm planning on using white enamel paint sanded flat and then minwax polycryllic clear.... would've used polyu but it has this horrible brownish tint that doesn't work with white paint at all... i'm hoping polycryllic will be better! as i said, i care more about the looks of this one than the sound..... as it's my first and my girl is still a beginner (and already has a good ibanez and doesn't exactly "need" a good guitar).... so any cosmetic advice would be HIGHLY appreciated..... thanks a mil!

well i did start my post by a gentle apology regarding hte choice (or should i say, the lack of) of wood =D...... the thing is i NEED it to look shiny and all eye candy material and stuff. i'm giving it to my gf as a bday gift and her bday si on the 26th of october..... i'm in the final stages already, just need a day or two more and i'll be able to start the finishing..... i read the titebond thing on THIS forum somewhere.... dunno which thread thoguh.... and no i can't get epoxy =( it seems that i can't get anything useful for guitars here!!!!!! no wood, no epoxy, not even the right routing bits..... it's a tragedy and i need to spend a fortune ordering this crap from stewmac and other sites that feel sorry for ppl who live in the 100% commercial world and ship them parts rather than full guitars..... not to deviate from the topic, but it seriously pisses me off how ppl here would rather throw a guitar in the waste bin and buy a brand new one just because the paint got chipped or because the bridge lost its luster!!!! it's driving the prices of equipment INSANE here!!!! bearing in mind there are BARELY any taxes!!!!! gah..../rant any more helpful ideas? the guitar iwll be finished in solid white..... with black bevels (it's an RR copy)

Heya! so i am almost done routing and beveling my first build. however, since i went cheap on this one (pine.... *gets the flame shield) since it's my first and because i live in the desert where timbers are pretty rare to start with..... i got many scratches and dents to fill.... (as well as SOME grain filling, that's how cheap that piece was in quality, but it still cost me $23!!) can i use titebond? i think it's pretty hard to sand though.... but i noticed that it makes the surface pretty indestructible... but i am not sure the paint will bond well with it...... so? if not, can i just use the usual paste wood fillers? but for a large space, wouldn't that be a bit hard? i couldn't find any grain fillers here... one last question, i screwed up the easiest part of routing, the pickup cavities.... mainly because i don't have a template bit nor a template guide NOR a template to begin with, i almost had to free hand it and i FAILED.... so now the neck pickup has an eaten corner where the screw will bite into the air..... titebond and sawdust? or a mixture of titebond and wood filler? i know i'm being a pain and a total n00b...

connect two diodes to the tone pot and you have the black ice. look it up for exact wiring. it's just VEEEERY simple and easy. clip ur signal and you have this "subtle overdrive" sound. no need for spending the cash =D

i did the same finishin setup on my Aria Pro II 1979 standard les paul when i refinished it. the stain is SEXY.... but the polyu will yellow big time. and it's kinda lacking grain wise.... but hey i really gotta check this CA grain filling thing !!!!!! sounds very tempting but i gotta be UBER fast!!!!

DUDE! if by arctic white you mean that flashy, perfect A4 kinda white, then STEER CLEAR FROM POLY! (check out my post titled very annoying problem)..... i'm gonna have to redo the whole guitar because the poly clear turned it BEIGE!! it's not even off white anymore!!!! it's closer to brown than white! and i barely finished a can! make sure you test ur poly on a scrap piece finished with teh same white to check for the shade..... god i hate poly for what it did on that guitar =( i'm considering minwax polycryllic for now, i'll see how it turns out! heard it gives a bluish hue to it.... u're a pretty experienced builder and i'm a noob thouhg, so i might be wrong but that's the response i got from many others regarding poly over white..... so just be careful bro!

i personally used ink jet transparencies and it was crystal clear however it didn't really satisfy ur second condition. it gave me a very hard time covering the edges and then i made a mistake and simply sanded its surface a bit and it ended up in severe scratches that were obviuos even after clearing again so you might wanna make sure you clear coat it high enoguh to be able to level sand and still not reach the transparent paper. if it wasn't for the scratches it would've NEVER looked like it was a sticker! so i'd say go for it but finish off with some thick lacquer like polyu or something.

thing is, i read all what the can said and it did mention "crystal clear" and i didn't see anything about ambering. however if it's the same blue can (which costs almost double the price of polyu minwax stuff) then i guess i better read my label more carefully. i tested it on an A4 paper and it didn't stain it with yellow (however i believe i did see some very faint blue hint there, but it was gone in seconds) AND THE DARN THING DOESN"T STINK AT ALL!! i dry those guitars in my bathroom and man the polyu almost made me throwup everytime! so should i just go for the polycrylic? i also noticed that it's much easier to get runs with it (well guessing it's because it's water based) and that it makes a small foamy spot at the beginning..... any ideas regarding that matter?

sounds good for experimenting, but i have to be done with this one ASAP! that's my main issue =( southpa, do u have ANY idea if acryllic is compatible with enamel paint? coz that's what i'm using, ACE white enamel paint. and i'm spraying the stencil with black krylon paint (the one that bonds to plastic. still has the same solvent i guess coz it does smell the same). and most important of all, is acryllic CLEAR enoguh not to change the shade of white? thanks for putting up with all the questions guys.

that depends on the amp itself. Some amps (like my behringer LX112) can completely act as a head disconnecting the internal speaker and running full force into a cab. But you have to make sure you have the SPEAKER outs in the back, not lineouts.... i think most marshalls do have that stuff too.... some line6 as well....

thanks guys.... anything other than the 2K stuff that i can't find here? i just need a properly clear lacquer.... and i'm gonna have to do this one for free since it's taken me WAY too long to finish this guitar and it's still gonna take forever..... please help.... i just need a clearcoat that's known to be clear (i'll still try and look for 2K, i hope i find it) thanks again! EDIT: what about acryllic clear? it doesn't have to be poly! i just need something that looks shiny, dries fast and is in fact "clear"

hey there guys, I just finished a guitar in the brightest white i could find for a customer. I have never done white guitars before so maybe it sounds stupid but after spraying about 3 coats of poly it looks off white now! Its really important that i get a bright white finish on this one. Is that normal for poly? Or is it that i was a bit heavy? And if its the latter, how do i fix that without ruining the stenciled design that i did? If poly would normally look yellowish then what should i have used instead? I really have no idea what to tell the guy when i see him! Please help! Edit: the guitar was sprayed today btw! It hasn't dried yet. Should i just wait for it for a couple of days first?

i plug straight into the amp coz it's a modeling amp with everything i need. The chord is a very well shielded, not so long ibanez low noise cable. other guitars don't have this issue. but now that i remember it, i installed the same set for one of my friends on an RR3, and if my memory serves me well it ALSO picked up some radio noise. however, both guitars had very long wires running inside the cavities. and i'm dead sure i didnt make the mistake of connecting grounds on TWO guitars! anyway thanks a lot for the replies!!!! i shall work on this when i finish up the other guitars that should've been done a month ago =S ppl are getting quite pissy with me.... not good... thanks again! Sami