skipmurphy

Don't take Crafty's remarks to heart, I will put some clips up soon of what a Mahogany RG sounds like.

Okay so its been a long time since the last post or update. Well Pollen season in Georgia really sucks when you have to spray your lacquer outside. On top of that, the humidity is so high here I don't even want to try it. And finally after 2 months of waiting, I got my Air Norton. With all that said, I went ahead and put the beast together. for more pictures go to: http://www.puttcentral.com/images/blue/ The first try went a little rough. The set up is: 2 independent Volumes (1 push/pull) 1 Tone 6 Way rotary switch ______________________ the sum of the above = Big Headache for Rookies. I finally got the wiring correct on my 3rd attempt to have this combination of tones with the Dimarzio Air Norton and Tone Zone: 1. Bridge Humbucker 2. Bridge + Neck Humbucker 3. Neck Humbucker 4. Neck Single Coil 5. Neck and Bridge Single Coil 6. Neck Humbucker + Bridge Single Coil All that with a push pull on the Neck Volume to reverse the phase. Its been fun, its not finished, but there's an update. I have not wet-sanded this at all, and it has not been polished. Just really thin coats of nitro. I will finish and add my headstock logo in the fall when there is less heat/humidity. Thanks Guys!

Thanks Maiden! I actually really had no clue that "RG" was the actual style. I more or less just thought it to be "Strat-Like"

Its actually a Carvin Neck - thats why the headstock is different, but I still don;t know what the rg is. My initials are J.G.W. so you get: the picture above is photoshopped, but I am going to use Jehle's technique of making a logo for the headstock.

lol... whats an RG shape? I have mocked up the guitar... and the neck fits fine, as does all the pups and the electronics, but I still don't know what you mean... I will post some more pics soon. I am actually getting pretty close... I need to throw a couple more coats of nitro on the body, and then finish the logo on the headstock.

I'm interested to see how this turns out, but get another body. You already paid for the top, and it looked great! I can't believe you fabric-ed over that with a curtain! Just kidding about the curtain... but I think the "Brazilian Hardwood" looked fine, but bottom line... its up to you! Keep us posted!

Your friend is very talented, but I would have to compliment the staining which helps the images pop. Nice Work.

can't wait to see more! The quilt looks great. Are you going to go with rotary switching as well?

Yes that is a carvin neck. I got burned by ebay on my first project guitar. (I think the guy put the truss rod in with lock-tite). That pic was actually taken before I hit it with Nitro, so it pops alot more now. Cudbucket - The stain is ColorTone Liquid Stain #5039 from StewMac - And I read about that poor guy and the trem stud. I feel for him

New Headstock Pic

Thanks Marzocchi! Its got a SD Custom Custom in it right now with a concentric pot for Volume/Tone. Its got some good tone to the wood when not plugged in, but like I said before its pretty muddy when plugged in now. I cant wait to get that pup in the right position.

Now that I have my feet wet in the forums - I will show you what gave me the bug. About 6 months ago my buddy had a guitar sent to him from a friend and in the bottom of the box was a 3 piece maple body that the guy had made 15 years ago in shop class when he was in high school. My buddy didn't want it, I offered him the $7 that was in my pocket. I call it the Butcher--not because its bloody or mean, but because it reminds me of a butcher's block. I purchased a neck on ebay for about $40. Now what did we learn from this project? A rookie could heed this advice: 1. Drill Pilot Holes. (yeah you can't see the broken screw thats underneath the neckplate, but you know its there.) 2. Buy a Decent Neck. (sure it stays in tune, but the fact that the truss rod is frozen in place kind of sucks. I still had to pay $40 to have the frets dressed). 3. Use Proper Ventilation Nitro Cellulose lacquer when sprayed in the backroom of your office will smell up your entire office. 4. Measure Make sure your pickup cavity is in the right position. (this guitar sounds pretty muddy) 5. Mount the neck before you mount the bridge. (The body came with a bridge in order for the right scale length I purchase a new bridge and moved it back. Now there is a hole in the body.) 6. Pick-Guard material will cover holes in the body (in case your bridge is in the wrong position) Sure some people say duct tape works too, but if you are going for low-class instead of no-class, use the pick-guard. This is actually going to be the guitar I probably experiment with. I now have a router to work with so I will be moving the bridge pickup back and adding a neck pickup in the future. And you can see the strip of glue where the pieces where joined on the arm-rest. The original maker got a little excited with a belt sander, so I will probably paint it a solid color and try some new things. But only after I finish the Blue one.

Maiden - I love that quilt! If anyone can point me into the direction of a cheap(est) quality wood supplier that would be great. I really don't want to pay $150 for a piece of ASSH!

Great job with the tape man. It looks great so far!

Maiden - That guitar is gorgeous! I actually purchased 2 bridges, one TOM and another Hardtail. Where the neck sets in the pocket now - the hardtail fits perfect, and I wouldn't need to rout the body. Routing is actually something I am very comfortable with at this point. SO... I think I will end up with the hardtail, but I really like the looks of a TOM with the strings through the body - with small top ferrules. I can save that for the next one