Neven

Hey all! I'd like to share my latest build with PG members. I've been here on the forum since 2003, but not posting much. Mostly collecting knowledge and drooling over others projects. Of course I tried (and made) a few meanwhile, and I am buliding as a hobby, for myself and without pressure and obligations, so it's been a joy most of the time. Let's start with the latest one. Since I'm a big guy (195cm, 120kg), every guitar feels like a toy in my hands, so I wanted to build something a bit oversized. I've tried building thin superstrats before, but didn't bother to finish them because when they started looking like instruments, I've felt that it's the wrong direction for my builds. So I decided to try with a 7 string 26.5'' scale RG-ish guitar, with wider neck (53mm at nut and 70mm at last fret). I also upscaled the body for few percents, to (sort of) keep the aspect/proportions ratio of a standard 6 string RG. I kinda don't like the looks of big bulky necks on a small standard RG body, which is what goes on with factory builds. Hope I explained well what I'm trying to do. Specs: - RG shape - 7 string, 26.5'' scale - maple/sapele/maple neck with angled and reversed maple headstock and 2mm ash headstock cap - ash body, 2 piece - Gotoh tuners in black - Fixed bridge, black, unsure about manufacturer cause I got it for trade - EMG 707 for bridge & neck position - padouk fingerboard, 24 extra jumbo frets, offset aluminium rods for inlays, filled with padouk dust & CA glue. - volume, tone & 3way toggle switch, Ibanez JPM control layout. - bone nut - 53mm width at nut, 70mm width at 24th fret - metallic silver finish w/ graphic, and transparent matte lacquer (not sure how it's gonna look, metallic & matte together?) - black dome knobs - matching headstock. Unsure about the pics per post limit, so I'm gonna go with 5 at a time. MDF template with layout Body after sawing and some sanding, with pickup cavities routed Body and neck blank with truss rod inserted Truss rod slot closeup Gluing the fingerboard

Here's update... I decided against the color-scheme I was trying to achieve, because I was not satisfied even after 5-6 retries. This time I mixed a dark wine color and did the black grain accenting before spraying. I am pretty happy with the result because I managed to achieve a dark color but still have the grain and the figuring very visible. The photos don't show the exact color well (it is darker in person) beacuse I took them after midnight in a room with a flash. I'll try to shoot some daylight photos next time. Few short notices - the binding is scraped only on the front of the guitar, the sides are not cleaned yet. I also put the 12 fret inlay in and replaced the headstock veneer with a more figured one.

A quick update on 6string project, in case anyone's interested... Did a second try on body staining, not quite happy yet, but I'm getting closer. I'll redo it first chance I got. In the meantime, I did a little work on the neck: installed a martin-syle truss rod, glued and trimmed the rosewood fingerboard, installed side-dots. I veneered and stained the headstock, but with stain on it doesn't look any special, so I'll redo it with a nicer flamed maple veneer. I also stained the body cavities darker. The sides and the back of the body are not finished yet, and also the binding is not scraped clean fully. Cut to the point...

First take on the 6string body staining. Ash will be slightly darker, and this is also only stain, no lacquer yet.

Yes Wez I know, but still thanks for the insight. I used regular flushmount jack inside electronics cavity, so there was no need to do this multi-purpose way. I LOVE his idea, and it sure helped me with "where to put the logo?" issue, because it was too big to put it on the headstock. The guitar will probably (and hopefully) never be for sale, but I still like to sign my workpiece, as everybody else, so the logo is a must.

Thanks Wes, not really my idea, I just did a slightly different approach to Blackmachine's idea. Not sure if someone did it before them, but they (he?) are the ones who inspired me.

Routed for FloydRose and bridge humbucker Rear trem cavity and rear bevel routed Truss-rod access routed, Floyd and humbucker testfit (with and without pickup ring). Btw, trem is obviously used before, I need to paint the fine tuners black again. That's it so far, I hope to get the rest of the routing done before weekend, so I can start staining the body and continue to work on other projects.

Top glued Neck rough cut Body sanded to line, added cream binding, neck pocket routed: Armrest contour/bevel routed. A small patch on the side will be hidden with burst

Another project started few days ago, again highly inspired by Ibanez and Blackmachine guitars, but still slightly altered. Specs so far (don't have all the parts yet): Ash body with flamed maple top, maple neck (with probably rosewood fingerboard), original floyd rose (chrome). Pictures to follow... Ash body (2 piece) rough cut Flamed maple top joined and with marked centerline Top rough cut to have better access for clamps

Here's a small update on the 7string... the whole guitar is getting last coats of lacquer, i drilled holes for neck ferrules, and done a logo-plate on the back of the body, got the idea from blackmachine again, but done slightly different. I routed a small recess in the body, glued the plate with a decal in, and then soaked it all in the lacquer. Here are a few pics untill i wetsand and polish the guitar.

Thanks for your comments! A small update on 7string today: Started profiling neck, hammered the frets in and started dressing fret ends... Still got some sanding to do, and have to redo neck heel because I've got a little carried away and now the neck pocket is a bit larger than neck heel. Repairable with a little veneering and resculpting. Have to be more careful next time.

pozdrav susjed! Stewmac has much !MUCH! better prices, but there are few articles that I needed so far and Stewmac didn't offer them so I had to order from Rockinger. Regarding the shipping time, Stewmac's packages come to my hands in 10-15 days max from US, and it takes about the same to recieve one from Germany. It often takes more time for our local post to find it's way here than to recieve a package from other side of the Earth. You can easilly compare prices for yourself, for example Schaller floyd (50€ cheaper in SM) or tuning machines, slotted rosewood guitar fingerboards (18€ cheaper), whatever... I hope it helps...

I'd like to see how big the case is for this one... Probably one of the craziest builds I've seen around here. And that's not necessary a bad thing.

About the 7-string: body is made of ash+sapele central core, and ash wings topped with figured maple. Body is 38mm thick. Pickups are (I believe) Ibanez V77 and V87 (taken from RG7420) Neck is maple with padouk fingerboard and slightly figured maple headstock veneer. Bridge is 7-string black tuneomatic bought from Rockinger, string-thru body. Gotoh machineheads. Nitro lacquer. Here is a body photo prior to lacquer, after color-staining (red-cherry-black combo)

Hi there everybody! My name is Neven and I've been reading here for last 8 years, and of course I also have built some guitars in the meantime, so I figured why not show some of them here finally? After all this is the site that got me into guitar building, and is my main source of information and inspiration. I don't build guitars for living, I make them for my own pleasure. I buy wood locally, and buy hardware from Stewmac or Rockinger, or sometimes get some used hardware as (sort of) a payment for repairs or repaints... It is not all top-notch, I work with what I have available, but it makes me happy. For those who are interested and have a few minutes, you can look at my site: Tailcutter Guitars, it is mostly in croatian but I'm sure you'll manage... The site is always "in progress", it doesn't yet contain all of my work but I'm trying to put it all together. For those who open topics and look only for pictures and don't read, as I sometimes do myself in a hurry, here are a few teasers: Padouk Petrucci-inspired guitar, not yet wired... Blackmachine/Ibanez S inspired 7string in progress: Also in progress, update to follow in some time: - Sapeli ParkerFly inspired 6 string - LesPaul inspired flat-top 6 string - Blackmachine inspired 6 string flame top - EBMM Petrucci inspired 6 string ash body - ESP Michael Wilton inspired 6 string - Ibanez RG/JPM/ESP M inspired 6 string walnut body - 6 string strat and 6 string reverse headstock strat and many more...

don't worry, the holes are already filled. i will install new anchors anyway, be it ibanez or replacement. i sent an e-mail to vwall, so i'll see how complicated is to buy from him.

thanks guys, but what about those at stewmac?

hey people i broke one tremolo post on my ibanez edge trem i think it would be easiest for me to order replacements from stewmac, but these are the best i could find: http://www.stewmac.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi?a...atalog/sku.html i wonder if anyone of you has any experience with them? is this the same anchor diameter like on edge? filling old holes and drilling new ones wouldn't be a problem. i could buy a pair from you guys, or even just one used (or new) post+anchor, but i would send you money by mail because i have no credit card ( i would buy from stewmac through a friend who buys stuff from them often). any ideas or recommendations? thanks

hey sheriff_dave the finish on this guitar was very thin, so it wasn't a big deal to do this. it was finished in about 2 hours. i decided to do it when the wood started to show through paint on the curve where your hand lays on the guitar, and i also wanted to find out how many pieces of wood it was made of. anyway, my friend has a rg550ltd, and you can clearly see in one place (where that guitar misses a chip of paint) that the paint is much thicker. on my guitar you could hardly feel the difference in height of the painted and stripped part, which wouldn't be a case if the paint was thicker. i'm not sure i would recommend it.

even if it wouldn't dry the paint, the hairdryer isn't allowing you much control over the swirl looks. i'm sure that a wooden stick is more suitable tool for that job.

that is one really sweet guitar. i wish that one day i'll be able to find a nice veneer over here. it is almost imposible to find a nice piece of wood or a good quality paint in shops here. one day i'll order some nice veneer from the states, and that will be a fiiiineee day anyway, i like your burst too... i made one myself, and i had a pretty hard time getting it even on all sides. and it won't cover much quilt at all, since it is a rear routed body. keep up the GREAT work, and keep us informed with all the nice stuff coming out of your shop...

i am also always interested in alternatives, mostly because i have to paint on a balcony of an apartment building, so the smell of paint goes to few apartments near mine. anyway, your guitar sure is a beauty. i like the neck especially . i would love to make a neck from scratch one day myself. if it's not a secret, how much did you spend on wood and hardware? what power tools did you use, etc?

IRON MAIDEN, june 17th, open air!!!

yes it is... btw, thanks to all for your comments. it feels good knowing that people like your work. and thanks to brian for his site and tutorials, it gave me so much motivation, that i can't wait to do another project. shame it has to be on the same guitar.