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SJE-Guitars

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Everything posted by SJE-Guitars

  1. SJE-Guitars - the 8 String Monster Well I've got a vote already! woohoo . . . probably be the last but cheers to whoever voted! Metalhead28 - "INVADER" I have to say when I say the inlays and the overall plan with the arcade button etc. I thought this would be absolutely killer . . . however I have to say the theme is completely lost with just a natural wood finished body. I know the customer curtailed things on the budget but this was crying out for a full on airbrushed graphics finish on a solid black finish. Don't get me wrong here it's a great looking guitar but the theme deserved so much more! oblaty - I like it very reminiscent of an ESPs but it's just lacking something that just grabs my attention enought to get my vote avengers63 - Avenger mkIII I don't like the headstock, the colour, the tortoise shell . . . just ain't my thing. But body shape is nice enough and at least you've used black controls, bridge etc rather than the usual gold! guitarnut - The Texas Tele Got my vote. Great looking guitar and as per usual your normal excellent craftmanship - I echo the words of Killemall - I really aren't a tele man but this is nice! Sardine - OM-18 Exceptionally clean build with very classic lines and wood choices - however that for me is the problem to my eyes for an acoustic to grab me it has to be something different than stands out from the crowd. Mr Buttman - Gecko Very nice take on an explorer - it was a toss up between this and guitarnut who got my vote and the only reason this didn't was because of the control knobs . . for my some plain chrome knobs would of won it for me. killemall8 - Explorer Good looking build - but can't just put my finger on why it doesn't grab me as it should. Our Souls inc. - the Comicaster Fun looking thing but I just can't but help to thing how the coating will scuff up and look rough with use. I ain't a comic book person so I wouldn't even look at it twice in a shop - on that basis it could never get my vote.
  2. Sounds like: 1) He doesn't know what he's talking about and 2) he's done a crappy job on the nut and you need another new nut albeit a properly cut one! 1 11/16th (42.9mm to us metric folk) and 2 7/32 (56.4mm) is the standard 'wide' Strat string spacing. If it was fine before he did the nut it pretty obvious he's screwed it up! Obviously IF you've change the neck or made the neck yourself and not made the neck to the correct dimensions then this IS the problem . . . but the fact you've taken it to a tech to have a nut installed says the above it most likely correct!
  3. Same teeth . . erm I mean guy . . . :D
  4. What a bizarre choice of name for a goth/shock nu-metal band - kind of sounds like a South Park episode title! I ain't got a clue about Ibanez Trems either . . .
  5. Yes - I understand fully all the outside of the magnet influences on the sound of the pickup - however since I am starting winding my intention is to build test pickups to work on the tones I want and a major part of this is going to be the magnet type hence I want to get a full range of Alnico magenets (and C8s). The pickups I am intending to make are not attempting to replicate traditional pickups in anyway different windings, slugs, base plates etc will be also included in the testing. But thanks for the link (more possible supplier links the better!)
  6. Great - that answers the 2, 3 and 5 questions - any idea on the Alnico 8? Yep fully understand the they won't make a huge difference to the sound - however I am just looking to get the 'standard' pickups before varying grades. I won't be mass produdcing pickups but being in SE Asia the price of buying them from 'traditional' vendors in the west would be far more expensive - basically over double the price per magnet. Thanks for the link.
  7. Right well I am discussing with a magnet company over this side of the world about getting some custom magnets produced (nothing is ever easy!) and I am getting confused over which grade of Alnico's are which! For example everyone knows that Alnico 5 is an Alnico 5 right . . . well no not exactly there is actually 3 grades these being LNG37, LNG40 and LNG44 - each one have slightly different properties. Then in the Alnico 8 range there is the LNGT18, LNGT32, LNGT36J and LNGT40 . . . in this case there is considerable differences between the properties. I've search around and cannot find any answers to which are the usual grades used - does anyone have a reference? Cheers in advance!
  8. It's actually a Stephen's thing! Stephen's Stringed Instruments . . .
  9. A nice bumper month this month with some great work. scottyd - Unique Redeemer 4 Vic Fantastic stuff as with all your basses. Got my vote. Jaden - Blue Jean Very clean work as usual but not keen on the control location with just a single control knob - I do like the F hole cavity covers . . I really liked the pink Paul Gilbert styled beastie previously with the fake F holes . . keep'em up! hooglebug - Tri-caster D #09005 Very nice looking and super clean work - however the controls just seem to be randomly placed - which is the only reason it didn't get my vote. eshuffle - Emerald Snakepit Can't say this does much for me - very ornate and a considerable amount of work has gone into it however I far prefer original unique designs to an exact recreation of an existing model. avdekan - Chambered Bass MKI I do like this - although I find the top wood is a tad plain for a natural finish - also how MANY control knobs! jaycee - "Dread-Niamh" A very nice looking and clean build but nothing really grabs my attention. Boggs - RockBeach CB-II Some nice looking woods and very clean build - however the shape . . just doesn't do it for me - the horn styles don't match the rest of the body. avengers63 - The Retrotron Ahhhhhhh formica . . . it's certainly a novel looking guitar however as my father has been a trade shop/kitchen/exhibition fitter for over the 35 years of my life and I've seen and worked with FAAAAAAAAAR too much formica in my time and the very last place I want to see it is on a guitar!! Also there is many more attractive formica designs around! The other gripe is why didn't you shape the upto the body rather than leaving it square - I understand you bough the neck but surely a bit of customising to improve on the original wouldn't of gone amiss. Quarter - Beauty's Sister Absolutely beautiful work . . I'd just want to hang it on the wall and look at it rather than play it! As I've never played one and ain't got a clue what to look for on one I can't exactly vote for it!
  10. The best thing I can recommend is get a multimeter set it in the buzz out mode then touch one probe on a ground wire inside and then touch the other probe on any string or the bridge (anywhere!) and it should buzz. If it don't you know the bridge ground ain't good - they can be a bit of a bitch to get a good connect on the t-o-m studs - lots of heat required. Essentially as soon as you touch any part of the strings/bridge/metal bits - the guitar should be silent as you complete the ground link. A multimeter is your best friend in these situations! Oh forgot say the final article looks great - although for me I really aren't keen on the 12th fret inlay or colour of the inlay - a nice crisp and clean MOP inlay would of been my choice . . but hey it ain't my guitar!
  11. That'll be right outside the door of my workshop where I throw. . erm place not so perfect items .. But hey I've still got all my fingers even after using my most hated tool (the router table!)!
  12. I can't tell from the picture but I'll ask the obvious question . . . have you ground the wiring to the T-o-M studs?
  13. As for custom string spacing and big bobbins (aka 7 and 8 strings) well this is where your imagination comes into it own. Time for CAD based drilling templates and freehand shaping of bobbins templates (bandsaw/sandpaper/scroll saw whatever your poison). If all goes well for myself I will be getting some precision machined and drilled templates in stainless steel - which will make the whole thing a breeze. Oh nearly forgot to say if you want bobbins for 'adjustable' screw poles then you'll have to drill smaller holes and countersink for the screw head!
  14. Step11: Now to cut the slots - router table time! I use a 5mm bit (what that is in imperial I don\'t know) - anyway a standard humbucker bobbins slot is 5mm. Obviously you can do a 10mm wide slot with a 5mm bit. Here I was recreating a previously made one. So set your fence to the outer edge of the bobbin you are replicating (or just to your own size) - run it over both edges of each side and hey presto you have a perfectly centred slot. Just don\'t try do the slot depth in one go - with these kinds of hard woods either the bobbins with be chewed up or worse you finger as the bobbin is spat out. Step12: The slotted bobbins . . . but what are those long ones I hear you ask! That\'s for me to know and you to guess! Step13: Markup the edges with a mm or so to spare of the hole. Then take another trip to the bandsaw/scrollsaw . . . Step14: Using the thickness of the blade I then nibble the slot away . . Step15: Wow .. .. bobbins . . . well nearly the next thing to do it using a either sand paper or a coarse needle file (which is what I use) is to round us the centre of the bobbins and the end up looking like this . . .
  15. Step6: Even closer to a bobbin! Step7: The \'accessory\' you\'ve got to make! Aka a flat piece of wood with 2 piece of thicknessed/jointed piece of wood screw in place. To ensure both a true I then use the trusty chuck of glass with sandpaper to level the whole thing. Then to make sure the base is true with the top run you router over it taking off a mm or 2. Step8: Now using screw down your previously stuck together bobbins (if you pulled them apart after drilling . . . D\'OH! ) Step9: Router + tracing bit . . line up the centre of the bearing with the upper lip of the bobbin and go for it! Once you\'ve done the top drop the bear down to the lower lip and do it again. If the bobbin you are making is thin you might hit the problem that the bearing won\'t get down to the bottom lip before hitting the base the bobbin is screwed into. In this case the answer is make a thicker routing template from the plastic bobbin first then make your bobbins off that. Step10: Oooooh nearly a bobbin!
  16. Ok as promised and requested also here is a 101 guide on making your very own pickup bobbins out of the some lovely bits of wood you have lying around. The first piece of advice I\'ll give if you undertake this is be patient and don\'t try to rush anything and as with everything preparation is the most important thing - that is make sure the wood you are using is flat and square. On the word of wood you need strong and stable woods to particularly if you are going to take the lips of the bobbins thin. The 3 wood I use here are Laos and Siam Rosewood and Afzelia Xylocarpa - all 3 are dense and very strong woods. I have tested taking them down to very thin lips with these woods and it still took a strong press on it to break it. Oh flat grain is king here - Quarter sawn and you\'ll end up with the grain on the weak point. Also - this is the \'easy\' one - standard 50mm string spacing - no custom spacing or anything special. Anyway on with the pictorial! Step1: The bare materials Step2: Make out the bobbine outline and visit your bandsaw or scroll saw if you have one Step3: Oh look it\'s nearly a bobbin! Also word of warning for those using bandsaws make sure you either have a zero clearance fitting around the blade or do as I do and use a sheet of plastic. Otherwise a whole lot of mess of wood and blood could happen! Step4: Cut the bobbin to the depth you want - I was matching this to a previous one - you can make them to the plastic one or whatever you feel like. One cut I then use sandpaper on glass to quick get the surface true again. Step5: Using super duper doublesided sticky tape stick the plastic bobbin onto the freshly cut wooden one and then on the drill press drill out the holes.
  17. I hadn't actually noticed that until you mention it now and just looked at the picture again (you mean the ferrule just out of the stripes?) . . I am going have a look at the real thing and see what happened . . I took a whole load of photos today so when I get chance to upload them I'll make the bobbin thread. The ironwood looks even better now the hardened oil has been polished upto 12000 micromesh!
  18. Well I never knew Stumac sold the Schatten wire - I assumed they bought it in bulk and wound it onto smaller coils. I do not know what fourm I read it on but I did read of several people complaining that the wire wasn't evenly wound and caused numerous snaggs. Oh well best go straight to the source and the 44 gauge I used this morning was great to work with and wound faster than I thought I could. Tomorrow I shall make a new bobbin or 2 and record the evidence and post it as a tutorial . . . that is as long as I remember to take my camera to the workshop which I have a tendency of forgetting to do!
  19. In the words of a Staind song . . . It's been awhile .. .. since I would wind some pickups . . . erm anyway. . Finally after a few weeks not doing any work due to visiting family and waiting for deliveries I finally got around this morning to winding the first coil . . and it thanks to the Schatten coil wire it went like a dream. However as it's a buddhist holiday here I aren't supposed be working so the other 3 bobbins (well 7 . . . more on that later ) will have to wait until tomorrow I have to recommend Schatten coil wire to anyone who is after coil wire - cheaper than Stumacs and also have AWG44 (which is what this bobbin is wound with). I read a few places that Stumacs wire has a tendency to not be wound on the spool perfectly and snaggs, well Schatten coil wire doesn't this for a fine gauge wound so easily I was amazed - no snaggs, breaks - nothing, quality stuff. Anyway more soon! I am intending (been asked also) to do a 'How to make your own bobbins' thread at some point if anyone is interested?
  20. Frank Gambale! Blimey that name is a blast from the past! I went to a Frank Gambale guitar clinic about 10 years or so ago and he was pretty impressive. I've just looked at his site and can't believe how old (and chunky!) he now looks!
  21. I know the point you are making and ingeneral I think you're correct the Flying V has virtual always been a solid colour. However many people would of said the same about the Explorer until a certain James Hetfield started playing a natural wood coloured Ken Lawrence explorer. I aren't a particular fan of V's but this is looking great.
  22. Can I just clarify what my inital point was about as it seems this thread has snowballed into something more. I should also mention I've read the Strandberg site previously myself and found it relatively interesting as well. However at the end of it all he as many people on here (myself included) are looking to sell things and just posting a link to his site and saying there are pictures on it isn't exactly showing off his work as this forum is supposed to be used for. Anyway my initial point was why not just display the images using the image link option like everyone else? Personally when I click on a link and just see a link to a website I really have very little inclination to browse to it as it just looks like an ad. Maybe it's just my web-knarled eyes from using it for far too many years! As for the signature thing I read the forum rules when I joined and was happy to accept them and I think they are good as there is far to many forums around with rediculous amounts of a hotlinks, huge annoying signatures and the rest. It's one of the main reasons I enjoy using and donate money to this forum . Nothing personal was meant.
  23. Maybe the local name is easier ... mai tha khaa laai . .
  24. Well it looks like I might be getting some super special wood for the top! After making a new contact today . . . so back of the body will be a one piece Asian Padouk and the top will all being well be . . .wait for it . . . . . . . . . . . . Quilted Afzelia Xylocarpa! I'd never seen it before until today and it looks pretty damn great! Now I've just got to wait for a phone call to tell me what they got . . .
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