imikeyi

Hi I have a Charvel Journeyman electric guitar. When I leave the volume on full, everything is fine. But, when I turn the volume knob down a bit, and then back up again, the whole sound cuts out and then slowly dimms back in again, cuts out 1 or 2 more times and then goes back to normal.. its a strange process that lasts about 10 seconds. It doesn't feel as though the knob is loose or anything. Anyway I was wondering, do I need to replace something (the potentiometer)? Or is it a problem that can be solved just by cleaning? If the former, can you recommend me a replacement part that will be suitable for such a guitar? Thanks Michael

Thanks for the heads up about the sealer... I will leave it then. But should I remove the lacquer before painting it white? I'm just trying it out for myself with a spare guitar I have for fun, so I dont really want to get someone else to do it.

Thanks for the reply My SG does have the factory finish on it but its an SG Special, not the more expensive models that have a pickguard etc, its just a plain black paint.. the reason I want to use chemical stripper is because i don't have an electric sander. And thanks for the idea about splatter, I might give it a try - those Kramer splotted guitars look cool!

Ok I'm stripping the paint off my Epiphone SG Special this weekend, and then i am going to refinish it as a 'swirl'. It's my first time doing this, so I have lots of questions to make sure I dont make a mistake. Firstly is regarding the stripping. I will be using chemical stripper. Once the paint is gone, can I handle the body straight away or do I have to let it dry or do I have to sand it? Because I know the chemicals are corrosive and dont want to burn a hole through my hands.. Once the body is stripped, I'm assuming I have to apply sealer.. how many coats would I need seeing as though I'm going to dip the whole thing in water (for the swirl)? Regarding the swirl, once I dip the body in and out, will the paint run? Should I keep the body vertical at all times when dipping and drying, or horizontal? And finally, would swirling in only two colours look good? Most swirls I've seen seem to have a fair few colours but to me they seem too harsh on the eyes.. Many thanks in advance

rather than start a new thread, i'll just say 'wow' i had no idea you built Francesco Fareri's 7 string guitar! (thats what it says on his website)

i think its a good idea.. maybe its psychological, but a guitar thats been worn in that much is just expected to play better..... imho hey i really like the way you did it, it looks how a real worn in guitar would look...

good idea, now when you play on stage people will be like, "***? is he playing air or something?" and you can say "no guys my guitar is invisible!"

hey if you turn your head right-ways, it looks like a ghost.. or a hand puppet..

yeah but how did you get the neck wood curved at the back? thats my main question

yeah i'm also building for the first time... but i'm not building the neck. if can buy necks from warmoth, but I recently discovered carvin also sell necks, and they're cheaper!

wow beautiful! thats saying something since i dont like jems much! love the colour, its electric blue, right? because its the same colour as my charvel which is electric blue

wow, there's a classical there worth $30 000!

wow, this is great, now I just may be able to make the charvel star style guitar I always wanted it says there are over 50 accessories, are these included? i'll have to look for a supplier in australia

What does this tool do? Does it cut through wood? Or rout it? Hmmm This definately may be worth buying for me because it seems to be multifunction!! Let me know

Wow thanks for the help guys, all I need to do is enquire about the ply top.. and I'll ask about the return policy too brian westhemann, when I started thinking about building the body from scratch I was planning on cutting the body with a handsaw the only reason I gave up on this idea was because the majority of body work/shaping was in the routing of cavities, which I need a router for and I can't really get access too. I was even thinking about chiseling the wood out! Heh in the end I decided it would be better to start with a ready made body.... I'm hoping one day I can build one from scratch like most of you guys have

Well, after deciding that I just dont have access to the tools required to build a solid body from scratch , I thought I'd buy one just to experiment with finishes: LesPaul style body. This is the only place I can find that's close to where I live. I want to buy the one in the link. It is 'alder' but I was wondering, are there different grades of alder? How can I tell it is a good wood? Hmm.. also it says there is an 'arched ply top'.. what does this mean? Does it mean it's plywood and would this affect tone? many thanks Michael

I think they'd be hard to play too.. Because the fret wire is obviously what causes the note to remain largely correct no matter where you place your finger in the fret.. but without the wire, everythings gonna sound sharp or flat!!

Hmm ok thanks I'll probably have to get someone to do it for me.. thanks

Hi I don't have a lot of power tools and I'm experimenting with making my own solid body (nothing flash, just something that works).. I've done a lot of research on the finishing, installing the bridge etc, but I'm a real newbie when it comes to carpentry/woodwork. So I'm wondering, how exactly do you get a cavity into the body where you can put the humbucker setup? I know you can do it with a 'routing machine' but is it possible to do it with traditional, nonpower tools? Also I'm similarly wondering how the neck gap is made (the place where the neck fits into the body), and whether this can be done with nonpower tools. Oh, and if the answer is no to those questions, can anyone recommend a cheap routing machine? Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question by the way

ur reading my mind!!!

Wow thanks for all the advice!! It's a lot to take in all at once westheman, Good point about the big companies using plentiful woods... it's kinda made me WANT to stay away from alder now thethirdeye, I'm in Sydney... would you believe I can't find any luthiers that do more than standard guitar repairs? There is seriously a market for custom electrics in Australia.. if I had a workshop (and skill) I'd quit work and uni and do this full time john, thanks for the info on Jarrah, that seems to be the wood I can most easily get my hands on so I'll probably give it a shot vh-guitarstore.com Ah yes i've heard about Lacewood; good idea maybe I'll make 2 bodies (1 jarrah and 1 lacewood) and let you know which tone i prefer One things for sure though, I'm steering clear from the mainstream woods now. I've actually read that some of these woods (particularly mahogany) aren't even going to be around for much longer..

wow they're impressive pieces of art!! thanks for the advice! I'll probably use a poly coat then.. so I can mix hand painting and spray

Hi guys I live in Australia and I'm finding it really hard to get some Alder wood. In fact I'm having difficulty finding any of the recommended guitar woods. Also, I don't want to import wood from overseas because I don't want customs taking it off me :-/ The types of wood I can get my hands on have weird names: blackbutt, victorian ash, karri, jarrah, meranti etc. (I have heard meranti is used in acoustic guitars). Is there any way I can tell whether these woods have good tone, apart from actually building a guitar with them and seeing? Does tone have to do with weight, colour, density or anything like that? Or maybe someone has had first hand experience with these woods and can tell me? Many thanks Michael

heh actually some questions have been bugging me a long time: does it have to be a certain type of paint? Can it be aerosol or brushed on? And, assuming I use a stencil to spray paint on the body, how do i fix it so it doesnt move while i'm spraying (because the body isn't neccessarily perfectly flat (contours etc)?? thanks

personally i like the look of the stop tail better