x189player

None of the above, I'd go with a Tech21.

It sounds like a great idea! My advice would be this: finish it first in yellow, then add the center red with transparent dye (kinda like backwards of a normal sunburst). Then add the band of outside green with transparent green dye. IN that case you have green over yellow and red over yellow, both of which should work fine. I would suggest you use reranch spray dye for teh sunburst, and don't hesitate to tell them what you're intending so they can advise the best materials. http://www.reranch.com/ I'd suggest you also post to their forum, the sunburst refin junkies there will be all over the idea with interest and advice: http://reranch.august.net/phpBB-2.0.4/phpBB2/index.php

I'm curious about the book- from reading reviews on Amazon, it appoears that the people who love this book don't know much about music theory,a dn found this book a good way to learn. Those who didn't like it already knew the theory and didn't find it helpful- and that would be my case. I know music theory very well, but could always use help learning to be a better soloist. Do you think this book would be helpful for more than explaining music theory? If so then I'd be willing to check it out in more detail.

It shouldnt be hard at all. The only thing is deciding what (if anything) your selector switch will do. I don't have an exact diagram for what you're describing, but here are two that are close: http://guitarelectronics.zoovy.com/product/WDUHH3T2101 this one is for just two pickups, but it'd be the same if you connected a third pickup to one of the other two. this gives you two volumes and one tone. Here's another one that isn't quite what you're asking, but it's interesteing, and it makes use of the selector- http://guitarelectronics.zoovy.com/product/WDUSSS5L2101 With this one you add a pull switch to one of the knobs that converts from a regular strat layout to one in which the neck tone is a neck voume.

oh yah and i don't put downt he speedy licks either- just that blues helps you work the speedy licks into context better, at least it did for me.

You said lead guitar. Does that mean playing fast? Shredding is what it is, but it isnt' everything. THink about it, players like Page and Hendrix and B.B. can rip you in half with a single wailing note. How? not by playing it and just letting it ring without bending. Playing lead with great tone means great control over bending, and that in turn leads to vibrato. And you need to listen to the roots of lead playing, which is old blues. I'd suggest you get an album like this- check out disc two track two: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...=glance&s=music or this great (cheaper) collection: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...=glance&s=music and teach yourself at least one song from it. they're not hard, its' like early stones only even simpler- yet they scream, Muddy is a monster. It's easy to fumble too fast through licks and fall flat. Much easier to bend and wail and grind in the dirt and howling of blues- and then people will call you a lead player. it's all about tone and feeling that gives you credibility. To heck with playing fast.

I love my trademark 10, and that's essentially a sans amp plus a power amp & speaker. you'll love it.

slide pots are hard to find, but you can source em from Mouser and a few other places. faders are even harder to find, but I'd be happy to hear if anyone has a source. I love blend pots and wire them on my guitars instead of 3-way switches (on non-resto jobs). I find that normal knobs aren't so good because it's hard to tell where they're set, visually or even by feel- I used to end up cranking them back and forth to see where they were in their travel. ...until I started using chickenhead knobs- they're perfect for blend pots, you can see and feel exactly where they are, I can even remember fave settings. and they don't take up so much room visually as other knobs. I know, this isn't what you were asking for, but it's an idea... btw, blend pots are internally wired like this:

well, teachers do indeed have to take the good with the bad, and they need patience, and a desire and even duty to help those in need. take it from me, i'm a teacher for a living (yes it's true, I don't play and build guitars for a living). but teachers also are humans, and in order to survive they need to be able to vent the considerable frustration entailed in helping. if you don't complain, at least to get it off your chest, chances are you'll get fed up and quit helping. I don't mind newbies, I don't mind dumb questions. I don't mind that people ask the same question over and over and have to be told to go look it up. what I do mind is immaturity. this sometimes manifests as childish or hostile behavior, and that much is obvious. but the other way it manifests is as sheer ignorance of a subject along with more interest in fantasies about it than willingness to look around and see what people are doing. For instance, the 14-year-old without a job who decides to build his first guitar, and comes up with a thousand dollar shopping list of all the best parts he 'needs' in order to make his first guitar, so he can learn to play. Is it surprising nobody is interested in givin him advice about which 500$ pickup to buy for a guitar that is a fantasy at best? there's nothing wrong with armchair work, except that it gets annoying to people who are actually getting things done. Maybe some people need to be told to go find a beater basket case guitar for $100 and learn to build guitars by putting it back together. But what do I know. When I was 14 I encountered a lot of adults who didn't want to take me seriously, or give me the chance to learn from their experience, and I hated it- so despite all my ranting above, I'm still likely to want to try to help. A lot of forum regulars are young, and some of them are quite accomplished and make amazing guitars better than I could- and a lot more have way more enthusiasm than results. But yeah. immaturity is a way bigger problem than inexperience or ignorance. And I've met some 40-year-olds who were way less mature than some very serious 12-year-olds, so go figure. I'm glad this place has as open an attitude as it does.

There are indeed many cool fonts out there that make good basis for logos. The SKL logo above is based on one of them (I'd have to go look to say which one) with additional treatment on the serifs to more closely match the font used by Ibanez, as requested.

I like the combination of coil tap and phase, gives a lot of tonal range from quack to hum. the push-pull pot is wired like any other DPDT switch. some as using a toggle, only more stealth in apperarance. here's a diagram for coil tap and phase wiring:

how bout this? if you like where this is going, let me know any changes you'd like and I'll PM you a larger rez version you can print a decal from.

Electras and Westones also included some really wild original pointy guitars, like these:

Yep, those were the Electra MPC's, which you can find now on ebay all the time- nice guitars! There's pages about them here: http://www.therathole.org/guitars/electra/anat.html http://www.therathole.org/guitars/electra/

my advice would be to mock up the body, like in cheap plywood, and strap it up and check out the ergonomics. I love bodyless guitars too, but a lot lives or dies by the shape, and you can't tell until you actually wear the thing with a strap.

EQ-based effects like Wah should go before distortion. Distortion goes before the amp (distortion comes from amp preamp too). Time-based effects like flange, chorus & delay go after distortion, ideally in the amp's effects loop, or if miking or directing, between your rig and the house PA or recording console. The reason is that EQ affects the color of distortion profoundly and gives you control of your tone. And you want the noise of distortion to be part of what gets bent by the delay and stuff. That's the classic way to do it, obviously there are no rules but in general that will get you the most from your rig.

I like it! And... don't take this the wrong way... I didn't expect to. I don't like most peoples' original guitar designs, it's hard to come up with really new ideas that work. But yours does, man, it's got balance and beauty. good work! now go build it!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=7303629158

Matsumoku's last guitars came out in 86 (and a few 87). The rumor has long been that their factory burned, but that's apparently not true, more likely financial problems of some kind brought down the company (wasn't the late 80's the beginning of the big economic downturn in Japan?). Matsumoku was one of the makers involved in the famous 'lawsuit' era guitars, but unlike the others they went on to mostly produce their own guitars, not licensed Fenders and Gibsons. (but the term 'lawsuit' gets constantly misused on ebay to hype up sales). Unlike the others (like Fujen Gakke, etc) they were a small family business that made guitars in relatively small batches. Players of their guitars are unanimous that not only are they of great quality, but they also have a real feeling of 'soul' like they were made with care. This makes more sense when you realize Matsumoku was originally a family woodworking business which for generations made statuary for Buddhist temples. After WWII they got the contract to make wooden cabinets for Singer sewing machines, and around the 60's they started making guitars. Some of the labels made by Matsumoku include Aria, Aria Pro, Aria Pro II, Vantage, Westbury, early Greco, Washburn, Skylark, Lyle, and my favorites, which were made for Saint Louis Music: Electra and Westone. (some of these labels were also made by other factories, especially after the 80's.) Of all the Uncle Matt guitars, I find Electras to be the most undervalued- you can get a pro-quality instrument usually for under $200 in today's used market. Electra as a aname was so strongly associated with Gibosn copies that it never quite recovered and gained accepatance despite its high quality. Check ebay for Electra Phoenix, Electra Westone, and Westone Spectrum, and I promise you won't be disappointed. Their higher-end guitars have set necks and feel like they've been lavished with 'custom shop' attention. Matsumoku isn't the only japanese maker who turned out super-quality guitars, but they are among the most consistently good, and like I say, they have real soul. Today they have a cult following. I've owned more than four dozen Uncle Matt guitars of various kinds, and they were all superb. Even the most humble of them are really fine quality- even if the materials were inexpensive (like your plywood Cat) the workmanship and attention to detail are very good. And they do have soul... There are new Arias on the market now, not sure who's making them. Some of the Uncle Matt forum regulars have been tracking them down, but so far there's been a language barrier problem. Likewise the name Westone is being used for modern british-made (I think) guitars, but the quality is unrelated.

Repair and restoration. I brought old guitars back to life before I ever thought of making my own.

Better yet, show up for the forums on that site. You'll find a bunch of people there (myself included) who know that Matsumoku-made guitars, including Aria Pro, are the best kept secret as far as high quality, yet they command a shockingly low price. Guitars like yours typically sell on ebay for around 200$, far less than other guitars of similar quality. The Aria Pro name was also used later on for Korean-made guitars, and the quality was not the same- same for Vantage, Washburn, etc. So yes, there are guitars out there under that name that aren't great. Look for models made before 1987. I have one Aria Pro II (the rest are other Matsumoku-made) and although I find it kinda ugly (it's a ZZ, sort of a sculpted Explorer) it's a great player and would be my first choice for a working guitar- something I can get bottles thrown at tonight and play in the studio tomorrow. It's a workhorse with great action and superb sound. There are also high-end models with through necks, flamed tops, etc. but even the most humble of low-end Matsumoku guitars are excellent players' guitars.

what he said. wiring is easy, they're the same as rotary pots. the hard part is finding them; the sources above are great suggestions.

If you do replace the jack, put the old jack in a ziploc baggie and stick it in the guitar case. Not to jump to any conclusions, but when you say 'old strat'... well, it wasn't that long ago that what we considered old junk is now valuable vintage stuff. Keeping the old hardware with a guitar when upgrading is always a good idea.

which leads me to a question I've been wondering- is there any difference between the dyes used for guitar finishes, and the fabric dyes used for tie-dying, such as procion and other high-end jaquard stuff?

i have to speak up for the bocaster. i think it's a truly original design, and a dang good one. twenty years from now it'll look just as modern-or timeless- as it does now. some very stiff competition, some really nice guitars, some really beautiful finish work. but for me the bocaster has to take it for sheer good design. Cheers, Paul