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wierdOne

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Everything posted by wierdOne

  1. I've purchased and read through the Benedetto book... and am about to embark on the long journey of creating an archtop.... First step (as I won't get around to actually building the instrument for about 6 months) is to acquire wood and allow it proper time to acclimate to my room. First off..... Should I buy Kiln dried wood?... I don't really want to wait 5-20 years for the wood to dry out... secondly... where do I buy instrument grade wood? thirdly... Alot of these places online offer planing and jointing.... um... what exactly are they offering? fourthly... because I can't actually pick up the wood and "tap tune" it... what questions should I be asking about the wood? I'm actually looking to build a few all Mahogany or Korina archtops... 1, because I love the wood.... and 2.. because I imagine it to be a little cheaper to work with than flame maple...
  2. MickGuard... yeah... I know.... Archtops are huge... I've been playing on big guitars for the past 3 years.... and boy are my arms tired.. actually... I was having trouble with my shoulder hurting when I'd lay down.... It hurt for the past 2 years or so...... until I switched to the PRS... It's such a thin guitar that my arm doesn't have to hang over the body.... It took a while to get used to, but now.... i can sleep with no shoulder pain... (i'm pretty big boned, so the weight that my arm was exerting while pulling away from my shoulder must have been more than my shoulder liked to handle..)... anyways... i really believe that the thinner body cured it.... So.... I looked into purchasing an Aria... and found a coveted 1980's herb ellis model... what some people seem to think is the "most underated factory produced jazz guitar ever built".... I almost pulled the trigger... but the shoulder started feeling better... and I started thinking..... I'd like to have an archtop guitar.... but with a thinner body.... the only one that I've seen is the hometown hero Myka's guitars. I'm checking into them as we speak.. Setch... sadly I'm aware of how much money a "good" archtop is.... I've got a 50+ year old guitar playing buddy that has over 180 guitars.... The guy literally has a problem (mentally)... he's obsessed with purchasing high dollar guitars.... He obviously is single..... He's plays a custom built archtop for his gigs..... it cost him 6,000.00.... he says that's his throw away guitar.... he's not kidding... he's got a 5 or 6 1950's teles, strats, an original flying V, archtops galore.... and most of them are in PRISTINE condition.... he spends sooooooo much money on guitars..... don't know why i posted that... guess I just wanted to say that I am aware of how much (you as) luthiers time and skill are worth..... Thanks guys for all the suggestions..... after I find the guitar that will hold me over for a while.... I've decided that sometime next year I'm going to attempt to go down the long road and attempt to build myself an archtop guitar... I'll probably get benadetto's book.... use scrap wood for the first few guitars...... collect the tools as I go.... gain experience... and maybe in a couple of years from now take a real stab at building the real guitar...
  3. oops... sorry I didn't know about the picture posting rules... I'm a part of 6 or so forums.... so i honestly never read the rules.... I'm a multimedia dude by day, and although the pics are big.... i compressed them in such a way that the file sizes are extremely small... anyways.. yeah.. the q-tuners rock..... GREAT pickups... I a/b'd them with Bartolinis/LindyFralins/JoeBardens/EMG's and a couple other well known humbuckers..... the q-tuners give my guitar a piano like quality... each note is HUGE... the acoustic... well... there's no easy way to put this... the body is tapered from bottom to top.. so it's 4" (or so thin at the top and 5" or so at the bottom... this makes the guitar lay back on your belly to make playing more comfortable... well.. to compenate for that.... Jake tilted the neck back 5 degrees... so the neck and strings are in a normal position.... he's using a weird bracing technique where the bridge is actually supported by the bottom of the guitar (where a strap button would go) this allows the top to vibrate more freely.... so the guitar is SUPER loud.. for it's size... it's truly an amazing work of art.. anybody else got collection pictures..
  4. I only made one of the guitars... and it's actually the best sounding electric out of the group.. EVERYONE comments on the tone of the guitar.... The Marchlewski Custom was built by my friend Jake Marchlewski... he's only 25... you'll see the pics of it down below... I was going to attempt to build an acoustic, but he built this one for me... I feel guilty for owning it because it's such a great instrument.. Here's a pic of my current set of tools.. each one has a specific purpose... (I acquired them in order from left to Right) The Mexican strat was my first electric... The 83 tele elite was my second electric (the active electronics went kaput... so until I find replacement parts.. it's a wall decoration...) The Epiphone Broadway (I got for Jazz gigs) in the middle was dying (Needs new pickups and electronics... my next project)... There's the Q-tele..... In order to play my jazz gigs I had to have a reliable archtop jazz guitar... I live in florida, so the weather is HOT and HUMID... and wooden guitars don't like that very much... so I decided on a Rainsong JZ-1000 (the graphite jazz box)... It's an incredible guitar... because it's graphite... the top is completely flat... there's no internal bracing... but the guitar vibrates like a 10,000.00 archtop.... apparently Rainsong made less than a hundred of these because the Jazz community wouldn't embrace graphite... I personally loved the guitar.... but the (impossible to find since Shadow only made 100 units for Rainsong) bridge on that broke, and I'm forced to do some major surgery on the guitar... I sold a few guitars to acquire the PRS Hollowbody to get me by on my gigs while I fix my Rainsong... (I don't really like the PRS... It's a fully hollowbody guitar, with a soundpost (block of wood directly under the bridge) that allows the bridge to be bolted on to the top.... It plays like a cross between a 335 and an Archtop.... It's as stiff as an electric but the body resonates like a hollowbody..... hard to explain... It sure is pretty... but that's about it.. the red acoustic is my first guitar... the Rainsong WS-1000 is my gigging acoustic... and the crowning jewel of my collection... the Marchlewski Custom... It's an incredible guitar... I'll post the pictures of that below the collection picture.... anyways.. The collection looks impressive... but it's really just a collection of broken dreams.. the amps are for different gig/studio situations... that's an akai dps 24 in the lefthand corner... that's about it. The Collection DIY tele more tele more tele the Marchlewski Custom front the Marchlewski Custom side the Marchlewski Custom neck the Marchlewski Custom back the Marchlewski Custom butt wedge 1 image per post, maximum 800x600 pixels.Review the image posting rules before posting anymore pictures.
  5. so are all of Myka's "archtop" guitars really semi-hollowbody guitars like a 335? here's pics of one he's making.. It's got a block of wood running through the body.... I'm a huge fan of archtop guitars and how they feel when you pound away at the strings... they feel alive.. hard to explain.. but when you go to play Wes Montgomery style ocatves with your thumb... the top of the archtop flexes and breathes... when you're playing a semi-hollow body it just feels... well.. stiff... like your playing an electric guitar... The action on semi-hollowbodies is to die for.... but.. there is a major difference in feel.... Myka's guitar
  6. In regards to archtops, what's the difference playing/tonal wise? I know the structural differences.... but ear wise.... any difference?
  7. I became a member here last year sometime when I was building my first telecaster. (I completed it... I'll post a picture at the end of this post for anyone that want's to see).. Well... I play Dinner Jazz in local restaurants. I need a guitar equipped with 2 humbuckers (preferrably coil tapped) to be able to coax a good Jazz tone, a good bluesy tone, and a good country chickin pickin tone from the instrument. I realize that I can do that with a telecaster, but everytime I bring the telecaster to my gigs... my tips drop dramatically... The sad fact is, people aren't really listining.. they're seeing me... and when I'm holding an archtop guitar, they're seeing (in their minds eye) what a jazz player should look like. So.. the question.... Is there anybody here that makes (affordable) archtop guitars that are equipped (or equippable) with 2 humbuckers? If so, what are your prices? I can't afford a 10,000.00 Bennadetto or a 5,000.00 Gibson or Epiphone... Eastman Guitars don't have 2 humbuckers.... Here's my Q-tuner, Graphite neck, Graphtech Ghost equipped custom telecaster. The sound of this guitar is unbelievable. It looks a little grimy because I took it after a gig.. I'll take some better pictures soon...
  8. actually.. right after i posted, it dawned on me what you were talking about... being a newbie sucks..
  9. well... I just finished staining and finishing my first guitar... It's a white korina telecaster... I chose to dye it black n red.. with the red sunbursting into the black.... i gotta tell ya.... it was hard... but anyways... While looking at the wood before i ever dyed it... i knew that the wood wouldn't look as spectacular as flamed wood... so i asked around my area and found an interesting tip... the guy that told me this refinishes gun stocks... and man.. it worked.... (i also found something similar on one of the tutorials, but it was dealing with flame figures and how to deepen the look) here's what i did... after filling the grain and prepping the wood...... I stained the whole guitar black.. then came back and sanded it back until the majority of black dye gone... (since i was sunbursting, i only worried about the areas that were'nt going to end up black.. If you're using a porous wood like i did... the grain will be filled with black.. so the grain is highlighted... it's pretty cool... then i used the red dye on top... and bam... red with black highlights... bye the way.. i tried a couple of ways to do a convincing sunburst, and the best way (for me) was to dye the edges black... (and the grain of course)... then i sprayed red dye with a preval spray unit over the whole guitar... then over the red, with an old shirt I wiped a second black coat around the edges... this time i made sure to overlap the red further than the first black coat.... once the black dye dried, I used steel wool (000 grade) to blend the black and red... anyways.. I'd post pictures, but it's still at the luthiers... trust me... the black in the grain is REALLY cool looking... that's really the only advice i have.. cause in all honesty, i'm probably the member on this board with the least amount of experience...
  10. If i'm going to use a black dye (and try to get it as dark as possible).. will scratches show through ? I know the answers probably yes... Last night i spent 3 hours scraping and sanding off the wood grain filler. (i figured out that when someone says to clean off the excess... it means to clean off the excess... not leave a millimeter thick coat on the whole guitar.... don't ask..) .. and afterwards i spent a good hour or two sanding all of the dings and scratches i put in the wood during that process... i've got most of them out, but surrounding the area where the strap button is going (at the base of the guitar) are some scratches... i ran out of sand paper... i know i keep asking newbie questions.. and for this i am sorry... it's just... I really have no clue what i'm doing..
  11. I'm using a 16oz can of Nitrocellulose Clear Coat Aerosol wood satin finish that I purchased from the Guitar ReRanch... will i need more than one can? The link's below.. GuitarReRanch Clear Coat Aerosol
  12. I'm about to embark on a journey of dying a hollow white korina telecaster. The colors i've chosen are red and black. I'll probably try to do some sort of sunbursting.. I'm really foggy on how i should prep the wood... well... not on how.. but when i should... should i dye the wood first? or should i add grain filler then sand and sealer before adding the dye? I've read about some people doing both... I've got natural grain filler... and a can of sand and sealer aerosol... some black powder (add to lacquer) die, and some red powder dye. Lastly i have a can of clear aerosol lacuer satin finish... i purchased all of the products from The Guitar ReRanch... I guess all i need is a post or two pushing me in the right direction... I know it's going to be a slow process.. but i'd like to get started... (well.. we're about to be hit with a tropical storm, so i'll probably have to wait at least a week before the weather calms down) any info would help, wierdOne
  13. I'm about to embark on a journey of dying a hollow white korina telecaster. The colors i've chosen are red and black. I'll probably try to do some sort of sunbursting.. I'm really foggy on how i should prep the wood... well... not on how.. but when i should... should i dye the wood first? or should i add grain filler then sand and sealer before adding the dye? I've read about some people doing both... I've got natural grain filler... and a can of sand and sealer aerosol... some black powder (add to lacquer) die, and some red powder dye. Lastly i have a can of clear aerosol lacuer satin finish... i purchased all of the products from The Guitar ReRanch... I guess all i need is a post or two pushing me in the right direction... I know it's going to be a slow process.. but i'd like to get started... (well.. we're about to be hit with a tropical storm, so i'll probably have to wait at least a week before the weather calms down) any info would help, wierdOne
  14. I've got a set of Q-tuners on the way... and i'm doing a complete overhaul of my telecaster.. from what i understand, these pickups are EXTREMELY transparent.. so i'd like to get hardware that isn't going to mess (add any sort of interference) with the signal path.. My questions are: Is there a "best" brand of guitar pots? 3-5 way switches? 1/4 inch jacks? thanks
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