Jester

"DRIFTER"

Hello all! Haven't been very active in the forum past few years, but I've been building guitars on a steady basis.

Here's my latest creation for a friend at work. A 6 string PRS (again...) style carved top electric with a jazzy vibe.

Specs:

Body:

PRS DC style hand carved Arctic Flamed Birch top with mahogany wings.

Body depth at bridge 55mm and at the edge 38mm.

Stained to a smoky/foggy/misty grayish blue color with faux binding.

Neck:

7 piece masur birch/wenge neckthrough.

Matching masur birch veneers on both sides of the headstock and in the tailpiece.

Ebony truss rod cover with a pearl inlay of my newly designed logo (yay!).

22 fret 25" masur birch fretboard with brass side dots.

Dyed beech veneer between the neck and fretboard.

Finish:

Nitro on top, sides, back, fretboard and headstock face.

Danish oil on back and sides of headstock, neck, truss rod cover and tailpiece.

Hardware:

Hand carved ebony/ masur birch tailpiece with a wooden hinge.

Tailpiece design shamelessly "borrowed" from Myka... (sorry David!! I promise this is the first and last one)

Sperzel locking tuners. TOM bridge.

Dunlop straplocks. Chrome/brass fittings.

Bone saddle.

Electronics:

Very basic setup. Seymour Duncan '59 set.

One volume, one tone, 3-way switch.

More pics:

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The "customer" plays in a group called 'Foiled'. Their style of music is similar to U2, Coldplay, Snowpatrol and such. He wanted to have "infinite sustain no matter what in a PRS DC style without being too jangly and twangy (i.e. single coil strat)." So that's what I set out to design and build and this is the result. So... what does it sound like then?

It sounds great!

Nice and tight without too much bass. A tad on the warmer side of things, nicely balanced volume and tone on all strings. Sustain met his expectations and then some! It's pretty loud even when unplugged which was surprising considering the weight... Yeah, it weighs a TON, (havent weighed) but he wanted sustain above everything else. I'd say a little heavier than a standard LP.

It's nice to see that my skills are evolving as I build (my opinion). With every instrument I've noticed improvements here and there on the quality of fit, finish and workflow. Hardest build I've done to date and also the most satisfying! Don't have any 'In Progress' pics, but when in doubt, ask away. Cheers!

Thanks everyone who voted for The Ivy. It feels really great to finally be a Featured Member

And sorry for posting so late that the poll had already been closed. I've been away serving my country.

Didn't even get a chance to vote...

Anyway, I have another project on the works. More about that sometime next year (sadly )

Yeah, I admit that the new photos are a bit dark, but I don't like to take my guitars outside when it's cold and dark and windy.

I'll see if I can get some better pics when my sister decides to show up. (she's a professional photographer)

Untill then, these will have to do.

I've posted pics of the finished guitar on the GOTM for april. Go and take a look!

All feedback is welcome.

The Ivy

Chambered quartersawn one-piece mahogany body.

1" thick bookmatched carved flame maple top.

25" scale flame maple bound ebony fingerboard with jumbo fretwire.

5 piece flame limba and wenge neck with a scarfed, bound and veneered headstock.

Seymour Duncan SH-10 (bridge) and SH-2 (neck) mounted in wenge pup rings.

Gotoh tuners, TOM and tailpiece in gold.

2 volume and 2 tone pots with a 3-way switch and gold knobs.

I finished this one in october last year, but never got around posting here about it until now.

Also note that these pictures were taken around the same time so the backplate has been sorted out.

Here's the build thread: http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=25927

The guitar plays well and sounds warm and punchy so I'm very pleased with the outcome.

It feels very light and comfortable even though it's about 2.5" thick between the pups.

There are a few things I would have wanted to do better, but my time was very limited as I build this

in school as my degree work. I wrote about 20 pages about the build process. The whole project was rated as 5+/5.

Let me know what you think!

Hi and welcome to PG!

Really nice looking guitar you got there on the works. I really love those celtic design details!

Looking forward to see more of your stuff!

Nice!

Very well explained and seems to work too! I'd build one of those, but I'm trying to scale down the use of power tools.

Less noise, cleaning and need of space.

But I'm sure someone else will find this useful.

Forget about jigsaws and whatnots. Bandsaw is the way to go. It significantly improves the overall tone and sustain of the guitar! While sawing , the bandsaw blade releases little pieces of metal into the wood, therefore adding mass and therefore improving sustain! Also the figure of the wood gains more depth!!

Seriously...

It doesn't matter what you use to make expensive sawdust/kindling. Use what ever you have available/feel comfortable using.

Also, using proper grammar will improve on the quality of replies received!

Did you seriouosly mess up your neck pocket or is it just the picture?

Really nice! I know who gets my vote!

Search for local cabinetmakers and ask them if you could use/they could plane your boards for you. It might cost you, but nothing compared to a new planer.

EDIT: Nice design btw! Could use a little fine tuning, like that lower horn looks pretty fragile and the tail end thingy could be a little smaller.

Still looking forward to build pics!

What's with the red strings? Haven't seen anything like those before.

The beauty shot - a la Jester ;-)

*humbly bows*

The bass is looking gorgeous! I say GOTM.

Why can't I make a decision and stick to it?

Know the feeling.

To put it short...

Glue more wood to the heel of the neck, shape, re-drill, and you're done.

Got a new camera and it rocks!!

This weekend I'll be wet sanding the guitar.

-Back-

-Headstock-

-Volute-

-Heel-

-Control area-

-Top-

-Top-

-Artsy shot-

and signed for great justice.

Comments?

They have free software downloads at the same site.

http://www.guitarbuild.com/modules/mydownl...isit.php?lid=31

Here you go.

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it. Finish the whole thing and see if it is a problem. You can always fix it later.

And you know what they say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

well I have the body made and I am starting to do the finish. it isnt lookn pretty yet but hopefully ill get it there

Damn, that would look great as a carved top! I just might have to steal your design.

Oh, and +1 on the scratchplate. Looking great!

Steiger's harp guitar got my vote. No doubt the most interesting gotm candidate in a long time. The craftsmanship looks top notch!

Sound samples maybe?

RSguitar got very close too, but I liked the look of the guitar alot more when it was in the finishing room. The pickup doesn't fit very well in the overall picture and the headstock looks weird (to me). Other than that, awesome guitar!

I've been reading alot about these things (mostly lutes) and someday I'll hopefully be able to make them. They just scream 'handmade'! I actually made one of those parchment roses a few weeks ago, from paper though, but it came out really cool.

Here's a link if you're interested: http://crab.rutgers.edu/~pbutler/parchment.html

I'll be soon getting the "Historical Lute Construction" by the late Robert Lundberg.

Great looking bass you got there! That wenge looks awful pale. Was it sapwood that you used?

I'm REALLY lovin' that truss-rod cover! How did you do the text?

I can't see the problem. Just take a handheld drill and drill a hole. You can drill almost parallel to the top surface.

Or is this the angle you're talking about? Either way, I just don't see a problem there.

Looking really nice! I love that top. I did a similar carve on my prs build.