ChaosInc.

Im actually doing something similar to a friends guitar, I went through all the options of filling the pickup holes and such with epoxys and woods and in the midst of it, it was suggested to plane the top down 1/4 in thenglue on a 1/4 in top to have it completely smooth with no lines, then just rout what u want to put in(bridge type, pickus etc...). What i understood from it all is that just about anything u use will expand or contract over time and the environment that its in, so its possible that all the work sanding, preping and painting will be very noticable after time, with a new top that would be almost eliminated, it would just be the outside body edge that might show some lines after a while. Just my 2 cents, might seem like more work but actually its alot easier once u make ur templates, and would look so much better in the long run.

Here is another one without the monkey grip wit diamond plate, a little different caution sign, again lol needs to be cleaned up to look better, lol i love photoshop outside areas are real messy hard to find the light colored specs to erase them, lol. cheers enjoy http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/2113/jem77brmrcopy9tm.jpg

Ok here is one i did, kinda quick one didnt touch the headstock. needs to be cleaned up a little bit but u get the idea http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/453/jem77brmrcopy8mf.jpg

I love playin around with photoshop, ill see what i can come up with. cheers

Ok i like all the debating on the epoxy, tops and blocks, i still havent decided on what to do with it, waiting for all the hardware and stuff to come in so i can do the work and fit and fine tune the stuff while i go. I said i was lazy as a joke, i actualy like to make things look the best they can with the tools that i have. As far as him being a "good friend" hell ya, and i could tell some stories to prove it. He knows i like to take my time with things and says i have way too much patience. I know this is a far cry from building guitars but i put alot of time and work into model cars, sometimes taking weeks to do one. Anyway i like the drop top idea, but i dont have the tools to do it properly, the venere also sounds like a good idea and reinforcing the controle are wouldnt be a big problem its only gonna house the vol/tone and switch, im gonna move the jack to the lower left so it will have lots of wood for support, but im doing this for nothing, except the experience, in my spare time. Now that being said i know now what i want to do. Im gonna route the area of the controle cavity strait through to the back, route out where the pickguard would normally be down 1/4in , use a 1/4 pice of top to fit the area, route the pickup holes back in and start to get it ready for paint. Does that sound like a decent idea?

Ok came up with another idea, i showed the guy who owns it some guitars that i did in photoshop with some graphics on em and i think the drop top would be a good idea but i also think it might be a little difficult going with plaining the top and the vener sounds good but i dont like the idea of shiming the neck to match up with the bridge hight. So i thought about just making a pickguard out of lexan or similar material and recessing it into the body, making it look like it doesnt have a pickguard, possibly hiding the lines within the graphic. I think the cavity is deep enough to do this if not it wouldnt take much to chew a little more out. Not real fancy but it will get the job done. he wants to go with the hardtail again, but im tryin to convince him to go with a sring through and a tom, would give alot more room for the graphic design. He's a big Iron Maiden freak so think im gonna do a trooper or Number of the beast graphic on it, im gonna show him both of em in photoshop mockups(hardtail and TOM). Hes going with EMG's too, wants either an 81 or 85 in the bridge and then sa's for singles, He wants to have or be able to have a real bluesy sound. Hopefully i wont mess it up too bad, lol. ill post some pics in the right section when i get started.

Thanks guys, im gonna talk to the guy who owns it and see what he says, i like the idea of adding the top to it, lol, but im lazy too so im lookin into the marine epoxy too. Cheers

Ideas are welcome from anyone no matter how much experience they have, thanks a mil. Here is a pic of the body http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/1176/dscf01076cq.jpg

OMG, lol i never even thought of just laying something over it completely. Can u get "drop tops" on ebay, or what exactly would i be looking for? Thanks

Darn i was kinda wihing there was an easier way to do it, lol. the cavity is a pretty crazy shapecutting some wood to fit in there would be a royal pain in the butt. Is there any other liquids that i could pour in that might be a little less toxic but still hold its shape and stay durable over time. Its gonna have a solid color on it, and im gonna have to strip it down to bare wood. Anyway thanks again.

a friend of mine asked me to do over his old Ibanez raodstar, he said he got it used back in 84. He said i could do prettymuch what ever i wanted to do with it, cause its in pretty rough shape, lol. What i was wondering is if i could fill in the areas under where the pickguard is(or was he doesnt have it anymore, all thats left is the neck and body) with fiberglass resin, just pour the stuff in and let it cure for about a week then start sanding and re route the electronics cavity in the back.. will the resin get a good bite on the wood if i clean all the paint out? will it shrink and cause problems with the finish later on? Thanks all. As soon as i get some batteries for my cam ill post some pics of how rough it is, lol.

Too expensive, i think im gonna go with either the 75watt spiderII or the peavey studio pro112.

Im gonna be getting a new amp soon, and i have a couple in mind, all depends on how much cash i have when it comes time to do the deed. I just sold an ancient peavey studio pro 50, lol so just about anything will be better than that. What im looking at now is the newer transtub peaveys and the line 6 spiderII series amps. If i get the cash for new im lookin at the peavey studio pro 112(65watt) or bandit 112(80watt), or the line 6 spider 1x12(75watt) AxeMusic.com has some wicked prices and free shipping on orders over 199Cdn, anyway thats the new. The used stuff on ebay im lookin at is the line6 210's or 212's or the peavey trans 212s depending on shipping prices and man they can get prety outragous. Reason i ask is I really like the effects u get with the line6 series and the addition of the pedal boards make it even better, but, i was eventually going to get a board anyway either a boss gt6 or the line6 xt live which will give me just about any effect i want which would make the line 6 amps effects a waste. I dont play in a band this is just for home use(when the wife has the kids out of the house, lol) or when i just go to play with friends. I had a peavey Renown once and although it was hell to lug around i loved it(450watt version) it eventually died. So thats my speal, any advice is welcomed. Thanks

my First Guitar was a Yamaha se 203 strat style, my brother is using it now as his first, but that was almost 20 years agoe, i dont know about the cheaper ibanez guitars but i have a Jackson JS1 now, i paid too much for it but i think its probably the nicest playin guitar ive ever had(sad yes i know, lol) and i see them on ebay going for 100-150 US.

Actually i was lookin at the jackson jt580s there are a couple of them on ebay. i got a jackson js1. thought that the jackson bridge would compliment it nice, the only reason i would block it really is because ive read they are a real bitch to set up properly, and i cant find a tut on how to install a locking nut in the place of the normal nut that i have, i know someone who is ablsolutly awsome with woodworking but i havent mentioned anything to him about workin on my guitar. im not worried about the routing as much as i am the finish. but hey ill take everyones advice on this one, lol until i get brave i guess. Thanks all