SoundAt11

That's really, really clean work and the woods are so cool. The PRS-esque shape and carve are very tasty, great headstock shape to. I've never seen Maple from down under before, the color looks really nice, very easy on the eyes like Mahogany (I've always though cleared Maple looks to bright) and the fretboard wood, wow, I've never seen that either. You guys need to start exporting some Aussie wood to the states :-)

Hey Simo, I saw your your name for a new thread and just had to look, you and Prostheta are probably my favorite builders, always clean work :-) I'd completely forgotten about that Mahogany and the neck blank, but it's awesome to see them put to good use. That Ziracote is insane, like Walnut but way cooler looking, it's a good color match for the neck and body.

Finally Updated! http://new.photos.yahoo.com/soundat11/albu...460762331528186 I went with a 1/4" Canarywood top. I glued it up as a bookmatched top and then realized that I preferred the unmatched BACK better, so that is what you see. For those of you that haven't worked with Canary before (ie everyone), it's very nice to work with, similar to Black Walnut, nothing like those "Hard Maple" rumors, it can't really be compared to Maple at all and has a deep resonant tone like Walnut. The pictures (bad lighting) don't do justice to the guitar. http://new.photos.yahoo.com/soundat11/albu...8804287486348/5 In person, the Canary top looks fantastic in the sunlight. http://new.photos.yahoo.com/soundat11/albu...8804287486357/6 You'll notice that I'd added some cutaways in the back and trimmed down the heel. It's extremely comfortable and fits me like a glove. Next on the list is mounting the Bridge, Routing for the Pickups (2 direct-mount humbuckers), routing the control area, and adding a PRS "cove" cutaway.

That's a very good deal there :-)

That's a very nice deal, although I'd suggest putting the neck, body, and pickguards separate on Ebay. You'd be surprised what people are willing to pay for individual parts (ie someone might want the neck, but not the body or vice-versa, and is willing to pay for it).

The past few days, I've added more wood to my inventory than ever before. Mahogany Body Blanks are back, every possible size of Maple neck blank, Ribbon-Striped Mahogany Neck-Thru blanks, JUMBO Basswood body blanks, Walnut neck blanks, and plenty of "bargain" mahogany and maple necks to, that along with a whole lot of Limba and Exotic woods already in my store. Plus, I've added Milligan & Higgins Hide Glue to my Store, always a popular seller and the standard for luthier glues. http://www.soundat11.com

Hi P, I wouldn't dare try forcing cupped wood to bend, remember that bloodwood drop top that cracked? It was from clamping it and it split. What I now do is plane the wood it back flat. Imagine the wood is cupped in a C shape (ie plainsawn or flastsawn wood that is arched up in the middle). I start by running the piece with the raised arch center through and planing that side flat. Then I flip it over and run it through to plane down the 2 raised edges. So it goes from C to | You lose material, but if the other option is a permanently warped piece of wood or a cracked piece of wood, then it's better to have a thinner top that's flat. Now for Riftsawn wood that's got a twist in it, a wide Jointer would be best. Otherwise, you can always use a palm sander or hand plane to get it as flat as possible.

I justed added a PURPLHEART neck blank, 1 Piece African Mahogany body blank, and 2 pieces of Genuine Honduras Mahogany. Next Up this week: Milligan & Higgins 192 Gram strength Hide Glue, high clarity, high quality spec

Over the past few days, I've added: African Mahogany body and neck-thru blanks, Hard Maple neck and neck-thru blanks, Black Walnut, Limba (Korina) body and neck blanks, Bubinga, Bloodwood, Canarywood, and Padouk neck blanks, Purpleheart and Wenge laminate strips. And I'm not done yet, look for a lot more this week coming week and some awesome new wood and supplies next weekend. You can check out my Ebay Store by going to http://www.soundat11.com Will

How about a big box 'o wood scraps for $25 plus shipping :-) One these day's I'll sell of all my scraps like that; I can relate, they're EVERYWHERE!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=140071936184 more sizes (neck-thru and Strat/tele thickness) coming soon. This stuff is NICE, very clean and clear white Hard Maple from the Eastern US. Also, just added some 47" long African Mahogany blanks to, more to come soon: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=140072297552

There's plenty of US sellers of American Basswood that would be willing to ship to the UK, myself included. Basswood is fairly light and inexpensive, so that would offset some of the shipping costs (that and if you're not in any hurry, then you can use a slower and cheaper shipping rate).

I know, I know, it's definitely not going to sound like a Les Paul Standard. But that's the general direction. Gibson used maple necks with ebony fretboards on some of the LP Customs (see Zakk Wylde's) in the '70's, along with the mahogany/maple body, so if I'm ommitting the maple top and using Mahogany (or something warm and bassy sounding), then I'm getting close. I'm only using the Maple neck because I had it for a few years (from before I knew much about different tone properties of wood) and had to do something with it. With it being Maple and Ebony, it's going to be bright regardless, but I know I want to do everything I can to combat that and try to tame the highs and make the tone more open and resonant. Previously, when that neck was a full neck-thru (before I cut the body sides off), it was extremely bright and compressed. I'm hoping with less maple (technically, it's now a "deep set neck"), a thicker body of chambered mahogany, that it'll be smoother and more mellow, tone-wise. I use high-output humbuckers and rather thick strings with a high-gain amp, so that helps with getting a pretty heavy tone. I've considered swapping in an Alnico 2 mag in the bridge to tame those highes and boost the mids. The Walnut is an excellent suggestion, based on my experience, it and Wenge have a ton of bass, but still have clarity (which would be perfect). Rosewood would also be good, I'd just need to find some wide and thick enough. Now I've got some woods to think about. Any more suggestions from out there?

On my current project, it's a deep set neck (all the way to the bridge) Maple neck with Ebony fretboard, 25" scale, with a chambered Mahogany body. The bridge will be a hard-tail with string-thru. This is my rebuild of a formerly neck-thru guitar (full-length Maple neck with Mahogany sides) that was too bright and tight sounding for my tastes (basically, like a 70's Les Paul Custom bright). I'm looking for something fatter, thicker, resonant, and heavier sounding (think Les Paul Standard). The Mahogany body is currently 1 1/2" thick and I'll be adding a 1/4" top. I know that tops that thin don't normally matter, but with the body being chambered by a large amount, I figure the top will influence the sound more than it would on an unchambered body. So basically, I figure I need woods that have the opposite characteristics of Maple, which is the sound I'm trying to de-emphasiize. Would it be best to just go with a Mahogany top or try something like Wenge, Walnut, Purpleheart, or Spruce that are known more for their bass and resonance? I'm open to any suggestions and appearance. I just want it sound good.

Thanks, I hope to have some more Limba body blanks in a few weeks, just need to get to Jan. 1 before I can order anything else.

Thanks for the kind words, Jon. I've been impressed by the batch of basswood I've got. I hadn't worked with it before, but it's so easy to cut, is lightweight, but most of all, there's a good amount of figured pieces in there. I never knew that Basswood could have flame. I really need to reshoot that picture of the most recent set, the color is off (bad lighting) and it doesn't really capture the look of the wood grain (and the light figuring).

Just added many new Limba neck and neck-thru blanks for a total of 13 of them, plus some figured Basswood.

OK, well, I didn't get a chance to post any pics of this project lately, but I have been working on when I get a chance. Presently: Neck was trimmed back to end of the bridge p'up route, reshaped the heel, and glued the neck in place using hide glue (pics taken of the process), which worked great. Body has been chambered and weight relieved (for places I couldn't get the router) and added a tummy cut, knee cut, and easy-access heel area (it's starting to look like a JEM on the back :-)). Ordered a hard-tail bridge for it. Next, I'm trying to decide on the top. I've got a Canarywood set aside that should sound awesome, but I'm afraid that with all that maple and ebony, the guitar will be too bright. Canary is on the bright side, so I'm considering a figured Mahogany top. Basically, anything will sound fat and thick and crunchy. When I can find all the pictures taken, I'll post links to them.

Hi J, Thanks for the mention That looks really sweet, like an LP mixed with a Jaguar. It's gotta sound really fat with all that mahogany and the P-90. I've got a project on hold similar to that shape: http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...mp;hl=soundat11 Just haven't ever figured out what top wood to use and if I want to chamber it, so it's still undone. Will

For the next 7 days, ending at midnight on Tuesday, December 26th, I'll be offering $5 off of any item (or combination of items) costing $30 or more before adding shipping costs. Just type in the -5.00 discount at checkout, it's that simple. Merry Christmas, Will www.soundat11.com

Not at the moment, I may get some veneer in a few weeks, though.

Wow! That's really cool looking. The shape is really cool looking, sort of a hip retro funky look, something like they'd have on the Jetsons, but with a Ric vibe. What kind of headstock do you have in mind (maybe the matching Rick one)? Before I shipped out the blank, I tapped on it for a while and that is one deep sustaining piece of wood, so it's gotta sound huge when you get it finished. The ebony fretboard (nice inlays, sorta halfway between the Jet wax/waning moons and the Yamaha compass inlay) ought to give you some brightness and clarity, good choice. very nice:-)

It's been awhile, but I'm back with some more neck and body blanks, bookmatched tops, and fretboard blanks. In addition to the Limba (Korina), African and Honduran Mahogany, and Basswood, I've added: Zebrawood, Bubinga, Canarywood and a pretty, flamed Maple billet. I'll have some more items listed in the next few days, Thanks for looking, Merry Christmas

Wow! It's coming along great. I wasn't quite sure how it was going to look, but the Padouk looks perfect next to the flame Maple. The neck with the perfect headstock shape and fretboard (people really need to give Bloodwood a try) still looks as beautiful as before. Do you have some photos of the oiled Padouk and Bloodwood taken? It'd be interesting to compare the two. The last time I sprayed lacquer on some scraps, it sat on top of the Bloodwood and wouldn't absorb well (no pores), but it soaked right into the Padouk really quick (huge pores). So I'm curious as to how the oil works.

Pretty Clever, that's close to a non-reverse Firebird (and awesome sounding and looking guitar). That's a good plan, though, you can't go wrong with a lot of Mahogany with some Maple and Ebony thrown in, it's going to sound great. That ribbon-stripped Sapele neck is just totally insane, that's awesome. I really need to get some of that, it really makes the African Mahogany look so boring.