Mors Phagist

Crazy awesome guitar, and the finish is great. It kind of reminds me of an Amoeba. XD

Thanks for the pics Ryan. I wish that the Neck pic wasn't so blurry, but I was in a rush. I'll try to get more when I clear Coat them.

Also, Not my hand in that pic. My hands aren't Fat and Stubby like my brother's. XD

The first build is always an intimidating one. I remember mine as I'm sure we all do but it's just like everything else where you have to learn it to get better at it and judging by the pictures of the 7 string you showed me you have learned a lot. I'm glad that fretboard worked out, let me know if you need anymore I would have to know before August though since I will be out a shop then for the next 9 months.

Oh crap, I forgot that. I will also be out of shop at that time at the U of M.

I started on this body roughly a year ago, but haven't had much time to actually work on it until lately this year.

Body: Soft maple

Neck: Honduran Mahogany

Fretboard: Walnut (Courtesy of Juntunen Guitars)

Electronic Panels: Black Walnut

Nut: Camel Bone (Thanks again to Juntunen Guitars)

Tuners: Gotoh Tuners

Pickup: Dimarzio D-Activator 7 Neck

Bridge: Set string through

Frets: Jumbo Fretwire

Front view, with soon to be PRS on its left

Back, with Walnut Panels

Neck Front, should've got a pic of the back carve also

The parts have yet to be ordered, although I have them all in various online shopping carts. Hoping to order them Sunday.

Very excited for this build, everything is lining up nicely. Plan to clear coat the body slightly before routing pickup cavity, as to get a jump on all the coats I need to do. I should've put the neck into the pocket, but its a very tight fit (Which is awesome), and is difficult to pull out of when in all the way.

Ill try to get more pics soon.

I decided to start building last year in December because I had a product development class, so I decided to try my hand at luthiery. Five months later, after stumbling my way through the build, I eventually ended up with this.

Angle Shot

Side Shot

Mom Holding guitar for back shot

Body: Pine

Neck: Maple

Fretboard: Fretless red Oak

Hardware: Scrapped from some generic asian strat with a curvise "B" as the logo.

Had to paint the Neck and Headstock due to router tear out and putty filling. Twas a shame, as it was really nice looking before that.

Problems include over routing, dings and scratches while still in progress, the strings lean toward the low E, Lack of frets, and overall crappy tone.

But, I am now much more educated in the way that guitars functions and are constructed, and am currently working on much more serious projects, such as a 7 string with Maple body, Mahogony Neck,and Walnut Fretboard, and a PRS with Maple top, Mahogany body and neck, with Walnut fretboard and veneers.

This was a learning build for me, and it helped me immensely. Also, I probably couldn't of done it without help from this site. Thank you Project Guitar!

When I first saw the top without finish, the first thing I thought was "Plaid".

Awesome build, and I love the one piece construction. I also like how its a shade of purple, just like Black lights are actually Blue to Purple.

Awesome inlay, and I really like the design of the body. Reminds me a bit of a PRS combined with some 80s guitars.

No band saw?

Thats got to be awful having to use hand saws. Do you plan on cutting the actual body with a hand saw?

Holy Crap. Those are crazy awesome.

Did you build them for someone or for self use? How much do you want for the Demon?

For my second build the neck is almost complete, and I think I should stain the fretboard. I tested out multiple stains today on some scrap, and I found one that would work well. Boiled linseed oil also gave me decent results.

If I stain the walnut, do I have to add a layer of poly? Likewise for the linseed oil? Or can I leave it as is afterward?

Very excited about the way this build is turning out, and I would like to bring this build to its fullest potential without screwing it up.

Love these build threads, very in depth. I find it really unfortunate of how much wood is wasted when you make a neck though.

I tell you man, Gibson are the pinacle of guitar building for me, Les Pauls are the pick of the bunch. My Opinion anyway. But this is not the first one like this I have seen new from the factory, Realy tiks me off you know. Like getting a new Ducati that handeled like crap of a harley that was a rough ride.

Maby i just didnt know any better when I was younger & getting into the whole guitar thing. But its just kinda depressing when you idol sucks

I actually was able to tour their factory in Memphis. I don't know if I was impressed or dissapointed.

All industrial line, specialized and mechanized. Very impressive from an industrial view, but you lose the individual care that specialty instruments have. Or maybe Ive spent too much time in these forums and working on so few guitars.

That is a crazy cut of walnut. Good luck with it, and it seems its too late for me to suggest anything until we see the results...

Top looks nice on it. I like it when you first glue a top on and then cut it to the body. Its a good feeling when you see it start to come together.

For my 3rd build, Ive started a PRS style guitar, with a figured, although non-flamed or spalted, birdseye maple top. But, due to slip on the bandsaw when dividing the top, I ended up with a top 1/4" rather than 3/8" to 1/2". But, I glued it onto the mahogany regardless, as I had an idea.

Basically, the carve will be the same as on a PRS, although I will go through the top in the carve, such as where you almost need to break through with the neck cut away. So it will almost be as if the guitar was made of multiple layers with the carve, albeit there are only 2, as you have the body wood, the top carve, and the flat part of the top.

Has this been done before? Is this ingenuity or stupidity? I think it should yield a unique effect on the guitar.

Awesome news, and great design. And yeah, the timing could've been better. But perhaps it could cause some of a buzz for the guitar... Or a radioactive hum... XD

Well, the Phillippian Mahogony neck is a no go. I was routing the truss rod cavity with a milling machine, which should've made it no problem. It wasn't a problem until the bit slipped down and went through the back of the neck.

But, Ive got another cut of mahogany that Ive wanted to use, and I'll be more careful this time. XD

About the grain, this picture fits the profile of my cut. The neck would be extending North to South from this. The wood below would be the majority of the body, with a bookmatched White walnut top, also similar to the one below. If someone could identify that mahogony type, that would be great too.

Mahogany

White walnut/Butternut

But yeah. Is the grain going to be a problem if its something such as that?

How exactly did you cut the headstock angle? When I made my 7 string neck I had to bandsaw it and then put it to a sander after gluing the two pieces.

And also, how are you supposed to cut out the neck with the headstock already angled? Your not going to be able to bandsaw it... :/

Hmm.

So it seems I need an alternative body wood. :/

This is an unfortunate setback, but Ill see what I can do. Thanks for the forewarning though.

To Juntunen, Yeah, the butternut cuts real soft, so ill be careful with it. Should be easy to carve though. This piece in particular should look pretty nice, and Im hoping to stain it. Ill post pictures sometime, as I actually have capabilities to take photos now.

Since its 6 strings, I suppose I could use my other oak fretboard, but I didn't slot it and its already shaped, so slotting it would be difficult. So a new fretboard, done correctly, will work much better. And Dalton is up now for spring break, so we should be able to pick up that FB pretty soon.

So, you guys don't suggest having perpendicular grain? I'll see what I can do, but I would like to try this, as the cut of mahogony is fairly nice.

Also, I think I'll make it a bolt on, as I think I will need to adjust this build, and a set neck will be difficult to alter.

Currently working on a PRS Style build, and Im wondering how this combination of woods would turn out.

Philippian Mahogony for the Neck. Its less dense than I would have preffered, but its got a nice baige brown for the fretboard/neck carve and then a more hardwoodish Dark purple for the headstock.

The body is 3 pieces of mahogony with the grain facing perpendicular to the neck. It was the only way I could utilize all of the wood of that piece, but the grain is nice looking (Although it will face the back) and is a fairly dense piece.

The top is White Walnut (Butternut), which has already been bookmatched into a half inch top. Its rather unique looking, and although it doesn't contain any quilting, flaming, or ect features, it reminds me of the Swamp ash tops that PRS has made. It should be pretty interesting though.

I have yet to decide upon a fretboard, although I'll check what would work best with what comes out.

I could also use some Suggestions for some quality pups that would work well with this instrument, although I understand it would be difficult to estimate how it would sound from the woods being used.

I have an Ibanez Xiphos with D-Activators, which could work. I would go with waiting until you buy them before continuing. It just seems like a safer idea.

When making a guitar with a top, should I glue the top wood to the back wood and cut the body out of the single piece? Or should I cut the Body out of the mahogony (In this case) then cut the top out of the 2nd wood and glue the two together? (After bookmatching, if I decide to go that direction)

The first way seems less labor intensive, and I have a bandsaw strong enough to cut the laminated piece, but what way is proper or better?

I was just about to bring up the Ibanez S series. But lets see... I would have to say, if you had a set bridge, and minimum electronics, such as a single bridge pup, I think the only limit would be the thickness of the pickup and how deep the neck would have to lie in the body, although you could fix that with a through neck.

So I would say the depth of the pickup, with another 1/8th inch or more on the back.

Hey what if you freeze dried the neck first, or dipped it in liquid nitrogen or cryogenicly froze it. That may destroy the wood fibers as well without the burning smell.

Hey, it was just an idea.