Stolysmaster

Please note: I didn't made that claim. On the other hand, it was made from a very experienced luthier that I have had the oportunity to talk to and he knows his stuff. He have used Birch extensively. Have you used Birch? If not that seems lika a "tone voodoo claim". Not intended to pick a fight but I thought that was a comment that lacked some substance to it... If you read my statement again you will notice that I said "Hard to imagine...". Another one of my previously owned Artists had a Birch back, so i guess I "have used it", and there was no "claim" in my comment. Speaking of "substance", I appreciate the thought prevoking comment above from Westhemann, even though he admits some problems with the "tightness of grain" theory.

I just spoke with someone else who said the same thing..."a lot of work!" I am trying to save and use the top because I only know two wood working guys and neither of them know how to carve a top like on an Artist or Les Paul. If I could find someone to trace this body and make a new one out of all mahogany, INCLUDING a carved top, that would be my ideal solution.

WOW! I just figured out what I'm gonna do: I'm going to slice the entire Birch back off the body, all the way to where the maple top starts, and plane it smooth. Then trace the body onto a nice 1 1/2" thick piece of mahogany for the new back, glue the mahogany back on, then sand the edges all around flush with the top. That way I will have a guitar that is mosly mahogany, which is really what I want, and the back will be two pieces at most. What do you think?

Hard to imagine that Birch and maple sound that similar because maple is seems much more dense and heavy compared to Birch.

The use of Birch for the two layers for the body back is a curiousity to me as well. It just seems so unusual for a guitar body back. Birch plywood, however, is very common for speaker cabinets, including my old Klipsch Heresy stereo speakers! I once read that Birch gives a slightly hollow mid sound with nice tight bass and ample highs, but don't have any experience to confirm that. Maybe Birch was in abundance in Japan 30-35 years ago.

i was wrong...I counted again this morning with better light, and the back is actually 8 pieces, not 7, bringing the total to 18 pieces for the body!

Haven't visited here for quite a while, but I thought I'd see what opinions I could get on this: I purchased a 1980 Ibanez Artist earlier this year with the notion of sawing off the maple neck, ordering a new neck made by Doug at Soulmate to my specs, and having a local guy cut the tenon, mortise the body, and glue in the neck, then refinish it in nitro lacquer. I've done this with two custom made guitars already using necks made by Doug, but NEVER actually sawed the neck off an old instrument. I have owned three Artists prior to this, but have only kept one from 1982 that I refinished in nitro. I do not like the necks on these vintage Artists very much; too thin for me, frets too small, etc. Anyway, upon stripping the original ultra thick polysomething finish I discovered that this Artist AR-50 body is made of 17 pieces of wood laminated together!! Thats right; seventeen. There are five pieces across the middle layer, sandwiched in between five pieces making up the maple top, and seven pieces making up the back. I've never seen one with so many pieces. The middle and back sections appear to be made of Birch, which I have read was fairly common on painted AR-50's (this one was black). Before I cut the neck off and striped the body, the guitar actually sounded pretty good, even with the original thick, crap finish. Does anyone have any thoughts on whether using a body made of this many pieces and that much glue is a good idea, regarding tone that is? I just thought I would throw this question out there, even though I remember that it did seem to have good sound and sustain when I first got it. Maybe I have just answered my own question, and should realize that the tone will probably be even better with a new, thicker mahagany neck, and refinished with nitro lacquer!!?? Any opinions?

Obviously, thats "Gibson's", not "Gobson's"!

I thought I would post a pic of my latest creation. It's what I call an "Explorer EC Special". Mahogany body back from Gobson's Kalamazoo factory, circa 1980, I bought off ebay about 10 years ago. It warped after coming to Colorado, so I planed it down and put a 1/4" flame maple top on it; total body thickness is 1 5/8" now. The neck was made by Doug Darling at Soulmate for me a couple of years ago; Mahogany with rosewood board and Celtic "Triqueta" inlays, and deep tenon going to the center of the middle pickup. Pickups are Lollar Firebirds for neck and middle, and a Lollar Mini-humbucker for the bridge. Tuners are Planet Waves locking, and the bridge is a Callaham stainless with set screws for locking onto the posts, and it has a 5-way Strat switch, master volume and master tone. All finished in Nitro lacquer. Be sure to click the magnifying icon to enlarge the pic and get a better view! http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j34/Stolysmaster/DSC01840_edited.jpg http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j34/Stolysmaster/DSC01278_edited.jpg http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j34/Stolysmaster/DSC01245_edited.jpg http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j34/Stolysmaster/DSC01276_edited.jpg

Thanks for your input. I will try and explain my situation. I currently own four set neck guitars; a 1982 Ibanez Artist that I refinished in nitro, a 1995 Gibson Flying V, and two that I built (well, Doug at Soulmate made the outstanding necks for me!) I sold my last custom built Strat about ten years ago. There are things that I'm recording and playing now that kinda require a Strat like sound, and I will be trying to duplicate that sound live as well. So, I decided to build another Strat! I ordered the neck from Warmoth cause I liked the last one I got from them, ordered an unfinished body from B.Hefner, and hardware from Warmoth and Callaham. Putting this one together will be a piece of cake compared to the time and effort my last two set necks took. Of course, the spraying, sanding, and polishing of the lacquer will take the same as the last ones, but no sawing, routing, tedious measuring, or any of that sorta thing on this one. I'll just be drilling holes for the bridge and pickguard. Aside from that, Ed Roman may very well be a nice guy; never met or communicated with him. Thanks for the heads up on him stopping in here, but since I did not write anything disparaging about him personally, I really couldn't care less if he reads what I said. He and I could certainly be civil about agreeing to disagree on stuff, at least I can. There have been a lot worse things said about him on this forum than what I wrote to be sure!

Thanks for the reply Tim, I am begining to come to the same conclusion; that the traditional screws are probably just as good for tone as threaded inserts. But as far as those who say that "a bolt neck transfers tone better than a set neck because the glue acts as a insulator."...I have never found or heard with my own ears any evidence of that being true. That's just MY experience, but I've been playing for over 42 years now. Ritchie blackmore has been having his Strat necks glued in for many years without any sacrifice in his tone. I know that Ed Roman believes that glue interferes with tone transfer in a negative way, but I've read several of his theories that I think are total BS! I've always wondered where he came up with "The glue between the neck & body of a guitar will prevent 60% to 70% of high end tone transference". Where does Ed Roman come up with such ridiculous assertions? If this was anywhere close to being true, then any time a fingerboard is glued to a neck the glue would prevent the guitar from having any brightness! Anyway, no decision has been made on the "glued-in neck" thing yet.

Since my latest thought is to glue the neck into the pocket after all adjustments have been made and everything has settled, I guess my original question would no longer matter...Huh?! Still thinking about all the options though...

Thanks for that input, I see what you mean about the pressure being concentrated where the screws actually join with the neck. My neck plate is a stainless (chrome plated) one from Callaham (they're "Cryogenically treated" you know!...whatever the hell that means) so it's a bit more rigid than stock, but probably not much of a factor as you stated. After I get the neck on with string tension for about a week and have it situated and playing nicely, I am thinking about doing what Blackmore did to his...gluing it into the pocket!

I'm in the process of building a Strat using a Warmoth neck and a B.Hefner body, and have come to the point of decision on the "bolt-on" neck situation. I'm looking to get some feedback on the advantages, if any, of going with threaded inserts and stainless machine screws, or the traditional wood screws. I have done some searching on the forum here, and have come to the conclusion that using the neck plate in either situation would probably be beneficial, in that the plate will distribute the tension across a wider area. I have also decided NOT to put a finish on the contact area, and leave that as bare wood. I just have not reached a conclusion yet on how much of a "sonic" or tone/sustain benefit would possibly be achieved if I go with the inserts and machine screws. Any informed feedback from experience and/or "scientific" perspective would be appreciated.

I've never seen it used as a tonewood. I have seen it used in garbage east asian furniture. Based on that, I would not buy it unless I had the plank in my hand to inspect prior to purchase. Thank you very much, masterblastor! Good info to know.

I see that you and I at least partially agree that Honduran and "African" Mahogany sound similar; as I said, that is MY experience based on the "African" species I happen to have heard, and on numerous occasions. Thanks for educating me to the fact that there are several African species referred to as Mahogany. It makes me wonder which ones I was listening too. It goes without saying that there can be "different planks" of the same species that sound differently. Of course. BUT, as I have stated before, generalizations about species CAN be made when comparing tones; acknowledging that there will always be some exceptions. I will point to your own comments to back up my assertions regarding these generalizations. Hufschmid discounted his own "experience" with his own statements and by misquoting me; an indication that he does not pay attention and is more interested in trying to impress others by displaying a pompous attitude. I have much more of a problem with that than I do with the fact that his experience may differ from mine. I see no problem asking a question and not expecting to be answered with a condescending and asinine response. I was, and still am, wanting to here from someone's experience how Toona Febrifuga usually compares in tone to Honduran Mahogany. Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree.

He's not adoreable at all, but extremely pathetic. This guy calls YOU a "know-it-all"!?? What a joke. And it seems that he is the one who has trouble reading previous posts: I did qoute him stating the word "depending", but he did not bother to read that. I NEVER used the word "warm" to describe the tone of mahogany, as he states. I have simply related my experiences, as I stated earlier. My experience tells me that Honduran and African Mahogany generally DO sound similar to each other. I started the topic because I am not familiar with "Vietnamese" mahogany. That should be obvious to a critical reader of my posts. I was playing guitar, and determining what contributes to tone and how, LONG before this genius with a chip on his shoulder was even born. It will be interesting to see what brilliant tidbit he comes up with next in order to try and convince us he even has a clue! But I do have a bit of advice for him..."Increase the fiber, decrease the caffeine".

Best advice yet. Thanks, I think I will. That way I should be able to find some mahogany from somewhere in the Americas. Don't think I can go wrong with that if it's been here a while and dry. I'll just have to spend for the template before I purchase the wood.

All things can NOT be equal because like I've mentioned, every guitar is unique and every piece of wood is unique I'm happy that you can say that "hard maple and ebony will usually sound brighter and tighter than Honduran/African mahogany and Indian rosewood; all other things being equal." To me this makes total non sens and is just bruhaha The Mahogany family, especially the sapelli specie is probably THE most bright and tight sounding wood you can get depending which boards you select, and I think that I would certainly not be using it if it sounded "warm and muddy" like most people who have no experience using it tend to believe because of those general guidelines that you mention, in fact I was one of the very first to build full "mahogany" 8 string guitars But of course this is my opinion which is of course subjective and based on my personal experience as a builder. I specifically wrote "Honduran/African mahogany", not refering to the sapelli species at all. But, if I understand you correctly, no generalizations regarding the comparative tones of different woods can be made at all..."just bruhaha"....except, of course, Sapelli, which is "THE most bright and tight sounding wood you can get depending..."...Right. All I can say is that my experience is different than yours.

My question assumes "all other things being equal"; of course. Obviously there are many factors contributing to the final sound. But it can be said, for instance, that hard maple and ebony will usually sound brighter and tighter than Honduran/African mahogany and Indian rosewood; all other things being equal. Woods DO sound differently and we CAN make some generalizations about their tone; it is given that there can be exceptions to these generalizations. I'm just wondering if anyone can make a general statement comparing the tone of Vietnamese mahogany to Honduran/African mahogany; all other things being equal. Your point on moisture content is very well taken and something I had forgotten to consider! I live in Colorado, which is drier than most places, and wood can sometimes warp from drying out too fast here if it comes in with a high moisture content. I have actually had this happen. Maybe it would be best if I select some local blanks and buy an Explorer template, then cut it out myself, knowing that the wood has been here in Colorado a while.

Does anyone have any experience with Toona Febrifuga (Vietnamese mahogany)? I'm wondering how it sounds for solid bodies compared to Honduran or African mahogany. I'm thinking of buying one of those Explorer bodies on ebay. The seller is in the UK, but says the bodies are made in Korea using "Vietnamese Mahogany". The pictures look good, and his Explorer bodies weigh in between 4.5-6 lbs. Any info would be appreciated.

I was revisiting this thread and realized that I don't think anyone has mentioned Frank Gambale. He was not one of the ten I mentioned over two years ago, but I have always thought his playing was amazing.

I usually play Dean Markley, DR, or Ernie Ball. I was using 9-42's for the last 5-6 years, but I have recently gone back to using 10-46's because I like the tone better. The 10 set is definitely a little thicker and beefier sounding, and not quite as thin as a 9 set. I play through bright amps - hand wired 2204 type circuit designs - so I'm still not missing any treble response using 10's. Surprisingly, it only took me a small amount of time to get used to the extra tension of 10's again, even though I typically use a wide finger vibrato. I find that the extra tension actually helps me play a little cleaner during faster runs as well. As pointed out earlier though, so much of this depends on your individual style, sound, tuning, and what you are trying to achieve in your own music. I use either standard tuning or Eb. My style is Hard Rock/Heavy Blues, so none of what I have to say may apply to you. Even though strings have gotten more expensive in the last few years, they are still relatively cheap when it comes to experimenting to find out what works best for you...so I encourage you to experiment! And when you have found what you think you like experiment again in six months; you might be surprised how things may change if you are a young/new player now.

Thanks for the comments. I still may go with the HSS pickup combo. I'm leaning towards a reddish top of some sort, and I do like your idea about dying the back "heritage cherry". On the motifs: The Triqueta (or Triquetra), contrary to what many Christians believe, predates Christianity and was a Celtic symbol for many centuries before Christians ever spread their religion into northern Europe. It is also actually found in some Norse imagery as well. It is agreed upon by many historians that Christians did not adopt this symbol until about the time of Saint Patrick, in order to try and bring more "Pagans" into the new religion by incorporating some of their own imagery. The Celtic and Norse cultures mixed to a large degree in northern Scotland and the Outer Hebrides Islands - where much of my ancestry originates. I am considering using both motifs because my blood is a mix of those cultures; Celtic (predominantly) and some Norse.

All this talk about pickups and no one has commented on my pics!? Any comments regarding my proposed finish suggestions? Or, about whether I should use cream or black pickup covers? The hardware is already purchased and is gold. Any thoughts?