Kyle Cavanaugh

I definetly liked what I heard playing a guitar with an 85 neck\81 bridge! Definetely Hard Rock\Metal! I've also heard of people liking the configuration in reverse better. They're supposedly the same pickups except the 81 uses a ceramic magnet and the 85 uses an AlNiCo of some sort. Two volumes and a tone is very possible. If they didn't come with instructions for this setup I could probably help figure things for you. The installation looks to be a breeze and only requires slight soldering, but I'd recommend having someone show you how to solder and\or have an ESP certified luthier install it (if they exist) especially if you are worried about voiding the warranty. I'd honestly say that if he quotes you for anything more than half the price of those pickups, I'd say he's taking advantage of you.

I'd look at what's offered here, first. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_suppl..._polishing.html I'm guessing there's places to get these tools cheaper too. I stick to masking tape, 600 grit sandpaper, and 0000 steel wool to get the job done, especially since I don't want to pay 8% sales tax!

I think the subtle differences in wood color looks great! Clear finish all the way man! I want to use Curly Cherry as a top on the next guitar I start. Maybe by that time I'll have big enough cajones to build the neck, too! Hmm, maybe a Cherry neck... As for GodinSD, I think I've heard of people converting their Fenders to a set-neck by drilling the screw holes wider and using dowels to make a stronger joint. Sounds like a stupid idea to me personally what they did though It wouldn't be too hard to make it look stock still. As for removing it for repairs, well, . What about making a nice dovetail on it like an acoustic or something? Bolt-on's are the way to go for me personally, though.

If by saying "active on bridge" you mean it will just be the bridge pickup turned on all the time (as many hard rock\metal players do), I'd recommend not even routing and installing a neck pickup. I understand you probably want it to look like Randy's guitar somewhat, but consider these factors: 1. More labor must be put into it for something you won't use. 2. You'll spend a lot of money on a nice pickup you'll never use. 3. You'll have better strength and sustain in the body without having the neck pickup routed. This would especially be good to have in a guitar that has as little wood around the neck joint as the Randy Rhoads shape. BTW, Krylon can be clearcoated but you should make sure the clearcoat is stronger than the base coat and doesn't have some sort of chemical reaction (if they're different types) that would destroy the finish. Also, if you're putting sanding sealer on it, I highly recommend getting some Primer and spraying that on first, I found that out the hard way refinishing a body that I stripped down to the sealer. It started pealing and flaking off real quick. I think it was harder than the paint which would explain it.

Great, as your work always is! Have you tried building a levithan with one of those new Speedloader bridges yet?

We wouldn't have so many new inventions if it weren't for those slight variations\improvements made to existing design. We wouldn't have the humbucker, the solid body, heck, not even the electric guitar. Saying that, I encourage people to be creative and try something new if you have an idea. By the way, I think there is a loophole to help protect your intellectual property without having to get a patent. Something like mailing documents describing your invention and such, saying you invented it and all that, just like patent papers pretty much, to yourself, your attorney, and an unbiased witness. Then if you ever have to go to court over your idea being copied, you can have the postmaster general confirm that the date stamped on the packages are correct and that they were before the other made use of such technology. Where's that dude who's taking law classes? Maybe he can explain better or correct me.

thanks for your opinion, I can kind of relate to what you're saying, it makes perfect sense. BTW, I saw the original Green Meanie that Vai used with DLR in the mid 80's at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and it is beat as Hell! I heard one of the roadies would spraypaint the thing in his hotel room shower every couple of shows and cough up green junk later because he wasn't using a resperator mask or proper ventilation. Talk about trashing hotel rooms! Imagine if someone lit up a cigarette! Anyways, I might try posting this topic on the Jem Site, as well, forgot about them. And just another note, my dad got lucky the other day and won a pair of tix to see Steve Vai next week! I don't care a whole ton for his music, but for free, I'm in.

Thanks for the reassurance on the Carvin necks guys! I've got a bolt-on one on it's way right now for my next guitar I'm building!

Six-ways are really easy to come by at electronics stores and such, but I'm sure if you search www.mouser.com, you'll find one. They've got it all. Shipping might cost more than the switch (I'm guessing $5-6 USD), if that's the case, I'd buy a couple, not to mention they've got bulk rates! By the way, you don't necessarily need the rotary switch to install them "correctly", it's all a matter of whether you want the added versitility or not.

Hi guys, I'm currently in the process of converting a Strat-type guitar into something similar to an Ibanez RG. It won't be an exact copy, because it can't, but I won't say much more, it's going to be a surprise! I was thinking of painting it Grey Nickel like they do on the RG570. Showing my current progress to one of my students during a lesson, he thought it'd be awesome with a monkey grip. However, this thing has no pickguard, only a bridge humbucker, in a mounting ring, and I really want a Grey Nickel paint job. So, would this look neat or would it be so awkward that everyone would want to puke seeing it? I'm pretty much just debating over whether I want a monkey grip or not, but what do you guys think?

Simply draw out the shape you want on it, cut with a hacksaw, sand it smooth to at least 320, refinish that part of the neck after you put masking tape on what's already finished, as well as the fretboard. Just did such a job yesterday with no trouble at all! Hey maiden69, that neck looks awesome with the painted fretboard!

Yeah, basically. I think I've seen ones made of leather somewhere, and they have a zipper or something for easy removal I believe. Can't remember the website, but the guy does some crazy stuff with engraving and riveting them and such! A bit too Country-Western looking for me, though. Also, the name of the guitarist for System of a Down is Daron Malakion. (sp?) I believe they have another album coming out in mid-May, can't wait!

That looks really cool, either way! How thick would you say the veneer was? like paperthin? I'm assuming this is an actual Ibanez and not homemade? I've actually been tempted to try covering a guitar in denim literally covering the whole body, stiching on the edges, then put some sort of clearcoat on it to keep it looking like new. I feel comfortable in jeans, so why not? Has anyone heard of this being done before?

Anyone from Europe ever try Sycamore? JC, I've heard it's similar to Maple. Oak and Hard Ash have very similar grain pattern and similar density, but I think Oak might have a little more midrange to it. I think Ash is just an American tree. Oak is really heavy stuff and I'm not so sure if it's make a very good body soundwise. If you go this route, might want to consider routing some hollow chambers in it and giving it a top or a back to cover it up. This will reduce weight and increase it's ability to vibrate. Here's an example of what I mean, these guys have a neat method! http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/bodies/strat...on=strat_hollow

That's was a thought of mine, too. BTW, No I don't, but my ex-girlfriend does!

I think I should e-mail Jason about maybe making an e-book and selling it right off his website, since he already has a store front there. Why didn't I think about that?!?!?!

Real purdy! If one of those Casino Guitars washes up on the shores of Cali, Fender will throw a fit! The headstock shape is trademarked in the US and some other countries. Ya know, people sell Fender decals pretty cheap over E-Bay or you could make one. I bet noone would tell the difference then!

Guess I got it just in time! Sorry to hear, bro. MIMF says that it's just out-of-print and to check at a later date. I'm assuming it'd mean he either sold all of that batch and is going to need time to print more, maybe not having the funds either, but I'm not drawing a conclusion, that's how rumors get started. Trust me, I know how much rumors can hurt a person from personal experience...

Well I hope all it is is a wood kiln! I don't think there's too many Jewish people in Southeast Asia to start with. By making the comments he and I just made, we were not intent on hurting anyone's feelings and don't endorse Neo-Nazism; I don't at least. Anyways, that is some killer stuff! Shows you they aren't just taking a hammer and chisel and slapping something together! (although I totally knew that already) I think it'd make Fender and Gibson soil themselves!

I might want to add, I noticed on these Bill Lawerence stacked singles I have, that there is two coils, the one on the bottom being taller than the top, both with about the same width, and wired in series. I think this means they'll have the same inductance while having different peaks, preventing the two from canceling each other out sound wise. Just like the Dual Resonence technology DiMarzio has, only that involves varying guages of wire in each coil. They're driven by a pair of thin ceramic magnets in between the coils.

I think "Worm" should be "Warm." Worms don't really make much of a sound unless you take a ton of live, slimy ones and put them all in a tank, and I don't think you could make a guitar sound like that if you wanted to! Well, there is the wah pedal... Sorry, I'm not trying to pick on you, I just like a good joke! I'm assuming it's just something that got screwed up in translation! BTW, I'm loving all these guitars you've made and are making, it kind of discourages me, though!

Looks cool! That thing didn't happen to come with a schematic did it? Just curious...

You might want heavier gauged strings, for normal or Drop D tuning I'd go with 46-10 sized strings, thicker strings if he wants to go a lot deeper. I use 56-12's on a guitar I tune C to C (instead of E to E). For Scale length I'd go with 25.5 inches (about 637,5 MM as I'm sure you're Europeon). If you want the ability to use really low tunings with the lighter gauge strings, you could use a longer scale, like 700 MM or 28 inches.

Oh OK, I thought corpus was "corbus" Noclue what that means if it even is a word. If he wants a Hetfield type sound (which Rythym Guitar and some Lead), here's what I can say. James uses EMG pickups (the things under the strings), an 81 model closest to the bridge and a 60 model closest to the neck in a mahoghany bodied six-string (there are cheaper alternatives if you are and\or he is strapped for cash). However, he might want two 81's if he's really into distorted stuff and leads mainly.

I think it looks killer. A product is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay. I'd build one\buy one, and I'm not even into pointy guitars all that much! You really should ask what your friend\client wants in his guitar, the design of the body alone doesn't say enough about it. BTW, what's that Latin translate to? Something about the devil, I know that much.