Sardine

"MaccaPherson" Was dubbed such by my classmates at Southeast Tech, due to its resemblance of a McPherson guitar. This was not intentional, but the name just kinda stuck. The body shape is identical to a Maccaferri guitar, best known as Django Reinhardt's weapon of choice. The cutaway was modified for easier upper-fret access, and the bracing patterns for the top and back were completely redesigned. The decorated sound-port in the upper bout is mostly for visual appeal; most of the porting is provided by the large side-port. Mr. Juntunen, I don't recall if we met, but I remember you guitar from the show at Red Wing. My compliments dude, you do very clean work. You have a sweet instrument. Details: Back and Sides: Indian Rosewood, the sides being extras from the McPherson factory Top: Western Red Cedar Neck: Honduran Mahogany with Bloodwood laminates Fingerboard: Ebony, bound and inlaid in Bloodwood Bracing: Original bracing pattern, in Sitka Spruce with Indian Rosewood caps on the notches Bridge and Tailpiece: Bloodwood Link to photobucket album, includes detail shots of the bracing viewed through the side-port. http://s1023.photobucket.com/albums/af353/RFJGuitars/Maccaferri/ Congrats to all who have entered so far, these are some seriously cool guitars. Rock on, Rob

Done! I didn't have time to shoot a gloss finish, so it's currently semi-gloss epoxy. I may topcoat it at a later date. Sounds good, has great sustain. Weighs too much (8.4 lbs). All in all I'm pretty pleased with it. I'm glad to get it done in time to bring it to college (leaving tomorrow morning). Rock on, Rob

Those lines and that strip of walnut veneer makes me think you are planning to do some kind of EVH style inlay. Whatever it is is, it'll be interesting. Rock on.

Isn't borrowing from and expanding on each other's ideas how we develop new ones? When was the last time you played a lick you can honestly say was completely and fully your own? Uninfluenced by any you had heard before? Something to ponder. Rock on

True, but the baseplate is steel, as advertised. I checked one with a magnet. I wouldn't bank on it staying in tune after heavy use though.

1.9 inches. My measurements were a little off when I was gluing up the blank, so it's thicker than most. I'll just say it's to improve sustain.

Here are some pics of the contoured body, with the pickguard. Packing it in for the night now. Rock on

The lower horn is tele style. I just copied a tele body from a frankenstein I made a while back. The strat pickguard still fits it fine. I've almost got the contours finished. I'll throw up some pics in a bit. Rock on

Pic of routed body: Scrapped the idea of doing a hollow body for simplicity's sake, so now it's just a bare-bones plank. I still love it though. You can see a couple of minor router marks in the bottom of the pickup cavity. It bugs me a little, but considering a did the pickup cavity with only a straightedge and the electronics cavity freehand, I'm quite pleased with the results. The neck pocket patch turned out perfect. I'll know it's there, but unless I point it out, I don't think anyone else will. I've been messing with wiring ideas and come up with a cool mod which will keep the standard strat control layout, but vastly expand pickup selection options. I'm calling it the Super Secret Tone Mod. I'll explain it later, when I find out if it actually works. Rock on

So I've routed the pickup cavities and neck pocket. For the pup cavity I went with a ginormous swimming pool route, to allow for potential mods and cut down weight a little. I had a minor goof-up with the neck pocket, which I've patched. Once that's dry I'll trim it and route the cavity for the electronics, then on to the contouring. Rock on

Cut out the body and routed it to the template. Next I'll be routing the cavities for the electronics, as well as the neck pocket. I'm hoping to get the majority of the "heavy duty" woodwork done this weekend, so I can move on to the finish sanding. Pics coming tomorrow. Rock on

To be honest, it was going to be straight mahogany until I saw the maple at Lowes. For what I spent on this (not much at all), I really can't justify the cost of kiln-drying a $25 piece of maple. I'll just sticker it and let it acclimatize to my workshop. In other news, I've almost finished the templates for the body. Also, in the interest of expedient construction and tuning stability, I've decided to leave off the floyd for now. Still thinking along the lines of a pair of Les Pauls for next summer, maybe I'll make one with the floyd and one with regular hardware. So, new specs: Mahogany hollow body Maple neck Hardtail bridge Electronics still the same. Finish either clear or Gibson cherry red. Rock on, Rob

You're right! Another look reveals that the maple is still settling in, so although it pains me to leave it off, this one is looking like it will be straight mahogany. I think I'll make it a hollow body. I just checked out a mahogany thinline tele that was pretty cool. Maybe I'll make a couple of Les Pauls with the maple next summer. Rock on

This will be a quickie, since I only have about 7 weeks before leaving for college. Hopefully I'll get it done in time. Specs: Body: African mahogany with curly maple top. Probably no pickguard. Neck: Guitarfetish all-maple tele neck. I chose to buy rather than build due to time limitations. Electronics: 3 GFS Lil' Killers, 6k, 10k, and 15k. 5-way switch, volume and tone controls. Hardware: Guitarfetish floyd rose and basic tuners. I had the bridge lying around anyway. Will probably block it. Finish: Clear on the mahogany, probably dyed on the maple. Still debating over color (not blue ). May try staining with red wine. Some shots of the wood: Mahogany was purchased at Rockler, and the maple was a Lowes Special. 25 bucks man! I was able to get some surprisingly good grain matches too. Rock on, Rob

I may crack this one yet..., #3 could be butternut. The color and grain look about right. #7 I think may be redheart, although it seems a bit dark. As for #5, If it's not bubinga, the only other wood I know of with similar grain and color is cocobolo. Seems awfully light though.