GodBlessTexas

I'll fourth the Artcores. I don't own one yet, but I'm hoping for a AFS75T in transparent blue under the tree this Christmas after my wife and I came to an agreement about me buying anymore guitars this year. And somehow I ended up buying a piano. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Most people who would buy a Gibson are buying PRS guitars instead. They figure if they're going to spen the money, they might as well get their money's worth. I've always wanted an LP, but I've never found one that didn't have some really annoying flaw that made me unable to pay ~$1000 for it. The last Gibson I bought was a Gibson SG-1 back in 1994 when I graduated from High School and went off to college. I actually skipped my AP English final to go to the Guitar Center Memorial Day sale. I regret selling it, but a friend still has it and I'm trying to buy it back from him now. Remember the Alamo, and God bless Texas...

Yeah, that's what I mean. I've seen expensive custom shop guitars that were basically new instruments that they put sandpaper and other materials to just to make them look aged. I could understand if you wanted say an exact copy of SRV's #1 Strat, Claptons ES 335 (which Guitar Center is now selling as a limited edition), or a Rory Gallagher Strat. But doing it just to have the appearance of a vintage instrument confounds me. Maybe it's because I can put enough wear on a new guitar myself that I don't think I need someone else doing it for me. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Well, I'm certain that it's a RGX 421 neck. I'm not exactly sure what the body is, since they didn't have those kind of body contours near the horns, nor that many holes for controls. The only pick of an RGX 421 with the same 12th fret inlay I could find: http://www.rafzielak.za.pl/sprzedam-kupie/...a_RGX421-PF.jpg EDIT: changed to adhere to the board policy. The image is under the size limit, but it's not on my server. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

I just don't understand why anyone would want to buy a new guitar that looks like it's been used. I can certainly understand the appeal of a vintage instrument, but I can't understand why people want to pay extra money to take a new guitar patterned after an older instrument and beat it up so that it looks used. I'd much rather get the guitar in a new state and put that wear on it naturally by playing it; breaking it in, so to speak. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

One of SRV's favorite amps was a vintage Fender Bassman. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

The Ibanez basses are nice, but I cannot stress enough that the Made In Mexico Fender Jazz bass is probably the best value for the dollar. I picked up two in the last month for less than one costs new. One was a 2003 in perfect shape, and another was a 2001 that had been neglected cosmetically but is a really smooth player. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

RGX 421's had those inlays, but I never saw one with with a HSS pickup config. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

I used a ceramic one from Radio Shack. Why not experiment, because caps are cheap. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Awesome. It's even "mede in the USA!" Both of those look like abominations. If they sounded great, that would be one thing, but so far I'm not impressed. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Technically, all resins shrink when they cure. Epoxies just shrink a lot less, and West Systems is a good epoxy to go with. With their canisters and ready mix pumps it's almost foolproof to get the right mixture of resin and hardener. And by using the different hardeners you can choose how long you want for the pot to last. However, I'd be worried about the exothermic reaction of putting enough epoxy into a cover to actually seal a pickup. In coats, resins don't tend to give off enough heat to be a problem, because there's enough surface area to help dissipate the heat. But when you fill a container with it, it can get very hot. I've had West Systems expoxy resin melt plastic when combined with the medium speed hardener. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

That is not always true. I've never had a problem getting an obvious materials problem being repaired under warranty, even if I wasn't the original owner. Most reputable builders will repair obvious defects like this, provided the instrument was not a second. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

What I found on the web: It could also be a fake. I've seen a lot of fake Martins that supposedly came out of China recently. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

That is correct. It's always important to wear a proper dust mask when working with wood, even if you're working outside. Your lungs are important, and very hard to replace. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Better suggestion: Get an A/B/Y pedal so you can switch between both and then blend amps together for a wider variety of tones. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

I have a plywood guitar, which was one of my firsts and still has a very spot in my heart (BC Warlock copy by Tokai labelled as an Olympic for sale in the US), and it's HEAVY as sin. It's certainly heavier than my Strat. But as has been stated, it's not all that great for building guitars, and if I didn't love this one for sentimental reasons, I would have trashed it years ago. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

I used to do work in composite plastics (fiberglass, carbon fiber, kevlar, epoxy/polyester/vynlester resins), and we made plugs out of wood for molds. Wax will stick to wood if the pores of the wood are left unsealed. Even then, the seal may not last due to heat and other environmental factors. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Add me to the list. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

I had actually considered doing that as well, but haven't done it because I don't have a plunge router base. I think it would be an awesome look. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

To build a nice guitar, expect to spend a significant amount of time. I mostly refurbish existing guitars or take parts and build them into complete instruments, and even that takes a bit of time to do it right. If you're starting from scratch, with just hunks of wood and you haven't done any guitar building or woodworking, expect to spend a couple of months. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

That explains everything. My diagram (drawn by hand) was wrong. Thanks. I don't know why I didn't check the Lace website, but it made sense that white would be hot considering it is on every other pickup I've ever wired. Between my new son (that makes four kids now) and the lack of sleep that comes with it, I may well get this guitar fixed. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

A friend of mine at work, and fellow guitar player, had a Blue Lace Sensor that he didn't have a use for, so he gave it to me. Night before last I removed the neck pickup in my strat and wired it in. However, now it hums like the dickens when the pickup is selected. Since these things are supposed to be hum free, I guess I may have grounded it inadequately. I've got white going to the selector switch (just like the original pickup), and green and orange going to ground where the other pickup was grounded to the Vol pot. Everything else remained untouched. Any ideas?

OK, so I was reading the latest issue of Guitar World and saw the interview with Eric Johnson. In the interview, he's asked how to get good tone, and he says the key is to start with good transparent amplification, and build upon that with effects. Sounds simple, right? But, I've been playing guitar for 17 years now, and over that whole time I've never really been too happy with my tone. I've gone through a couple of amps in that time, mostly cheaper and mid-range solid state models, but all left me cold and unhappy. I sold my last amp off a few years ago, and only had an acoustic until last year when I decided to buy another electric. I'm now taking tone seriously, and the last part of that equation is amplification. Any advice on good amplification for around $400-500? Tube or solid state is fine, but what I'm really looking for is transparency. I could spend more, and might for compelling reasons, but I'm just a hobbyist. I've got money, but I've also got other things (wife and four kids) to think about before buying high dollar toys for myself. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

I always thought big leaf maple was pretty bright though. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

I second that, maybe with a smaller take on the body design with straighter lines. Also, I'd put the output jack on the bottom part of the U-shaped part of the back, and not on the bottom with the beveled edge. Or, you could use a strat style angled jack on the back. Also, notice that on all the pictures that the pickups are outside of the area they should be, drifting into the bevel. I know I probably don't need to say this, but make sure your dimensinos are accurate. Other than that, I like it. Also, if it were mine, I'd do sort of a blueburst, but have the beveled edges burst or fade to black. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...