mikhailgtrski

No "abrasive arm wrappings" or hard playing or belt rash... just my bare forearm. I'll buff it out and see if it reoccurs.

Thanks Rich, very good of you and Mattia to clarify this issue for the rest of us. I for one wasn't aware of the ramifications of being on the receiving end. Fortunately I'm done looking for any more BRW - got enough to keep me busy for years, at the rate I'm going. BTW - how's the electrical business "south of the border" these days? We're up to our eyeballs in work.

BRW means "black raw walnut" doesn't it? That particular BRW was quite old, cut well before CITES was even a thought, so it didn't bother my conscience. But I do understand where you're coming from, Mattia.

Acetone should remove it.

I found three very nice BRW fingerboards on eBay last year, shipped from Australia with no problem... And, no, I'm not parting with any of them.

Behlen's, gun, and I let it cure for 2 months before buffing... that was 18 months ago.

While cleaning/polishing my nitro-finished guitar today (with Preservation Polish), I noticed that the area where my forearm usually rests has dulled. Before cleaning I assumed it was dirt/grime on the surface, but it's actually a dull spot in the finish. Is this normal or am I sweating acetone? I'm sure it can be buffed out, but I was wondering if this has occurred to anyone else. Thanks, Mike

The Stewmac finishing book says to use soap only for final wet sanding, after all lacquer coats have been applied.

A well-built old-school amp kit with quality components will smoke a mass-produced PCB amp. Unless you like cold, sterile buzzsaw sounds.

+1 (and thanks Wes ) I built one from scratch: ...without killing myself (450vdc on those plates, boys)... but it took some serious time reading up on tube amp theory and staring at schematics for a good while. It can be done... but the built-in effects thing (like the Line6 and H&K) is seriously beyond the DIY scope... we're talking IC chips and all that junk... unless you want to try to integrate some stomp boxes into the thing... then I would ask why bother? Just build a good tube amp and use outboard gear if you want f/x. Not trying to discourage you - just telling it like it is. Really, check out the metroamp forum - lots of guys have built nice amps with limited experience. Just not with fancy built-in effects. Good luck with whatever you decide to try. Mike PS - if you like Gilmour, you'll like the HIWATT. Check this out: mhuss.com (site is down at the moment) - it's where I got the schematics and a bill of material to start with.

Smits Lindy Fralin Lots of others out there.

Based on your questions, I am assuming you don't have any experience with electronics. Building an amp, even from a kit with instructions, requires some basic electronics and soldering skills at a bare minimum. And you're dealing with lethal voltages that can easily take you out permanently if you aren't extremely careful. You need more than patience - you need knowledge... if you're willing to spend a lot of time to learn it, ok. But amp design/building is not something you can just jump into without a clue.

Something like you described is way beyond anything a DIY-er could manage, especially a first-timer. For what you described, the Hughes & Kettner Switchblade would fit the bill. If you really want to build a "big" classic tube amp, check out Metroamp. But built-in echo/reverb/chorus are not something you'll find in a DIY tube amp kit, anywhere.

MicroMesh might do the trick.

Sounds cool - PM me the details? I'd love to visit your shop... and if you have a place to play (loud) I can bring my HIWATT clone.

Wow, nice work as usual, David! And I like the new avatar...

I'd be wary of using alcohol-based dye over shellac (especially if you wipe it on)... alcohol is the solvent for shellac so you could end up with a mess. IIRC - One "traditional" burst method would be to wipe or spray the yellow dye on the unsealed wood, seal it (shellac or laquer washcoat) then do your burst with toned lacquer. There's also Myka's burst method - all done with water-based dye applied directly to the unsealed wood. Nice, but it's a slightly different look. FWIW YMMV....

Haven't tried any oil finishes myself, but my understanding is that dye can bleed through the tung oil, especially if you tint the oil. Blue hands after a gig would be no fun. Hopefully an oil finish expert will chime in...

Mr. Jehle's Cigar Box - a six-stringer with the coolest headstock overlay ever! Another good month - congratulations to all.

Depends on the amp and tubes, but to my ears tube power amp distortion is fatter, with more pleasing harmonics. It's also an important factor contributing to the "feel" of an amp... usually when you drive the output section hard the amp becomes much more responsive to picking dynamics and varying guitar volume levels. An amp with lower headroom might start to feel overly compressed or "squishy" when cranked, whereas one with good headroom (ahem... HIWATT ) will be very responsive while retaining the "punch". But it depends on the sound you're going for. My Lexicon (low-wattage single-ended Class A EL84 amp) is good for some things, but it doesn't have the oomph and clarity of my HIWATT (100 watt EL34). Mike

Ah, missed that part of the question. It's kinda funny, because -AFAIK- StewMac's Colortone dye is actually rebranded TransTint. I haven't tried it with anything else, but I would think that any similar waterbased aniline dye would be fine. You could (or should) check it out on scrap just in case.

"ColorTone grain filler can be tinted with Color Tone liquid stains or waterbase pigments before application." (from the directions) A little dye goes a long way - no worries about diluting the filler.

I started with just a 1000pF - same thing, more treble as I rolled down the volume. Chambered mahogany w/ maple cap, H/S/H with a single 250K volume - no tone pot. Added a 150K (I think that's the value I settled on) resistor in series with the cap, and now the tone stays pretty even all the way down. FWIW - I used a Mojo Vitamin T cap... sounds good, but I can't say if it sounds any better than a regular ceramic - didn't do an A/B comparison.

I don't know anything about the leather dye, but it can be done (following Myka's method) with a very dark aniline-type dye. Mask off the binding, apply 2-3 coats of 1 or 2 lb. cut shellac to seal it. Worked like a charm for me, no bleed at all. Seems to me that a pen (Sharpie?) would bleed just as easily as the dye.

Not certain, but I believe the regular Behlen's Qualacq is without the anti-checking additives.