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i didnt type 'spam headstock' in the above post - i just compared the headstock shape to part of the male anatomy

everything seems to fit together better - literally fit together better and also work well aesthetically still very much your style, but the style is working - like the inlays which are very much your style, also done well and match well with the body colour sorry avenger - hope it doesn't cause offence but usually there is something that turns me off - like the visable backplate mistake on the dragon or the neck alignment issues on cherry blossom, spam headstock on the mirror iceman. 1 or 2 things on each one that took away from it the one thing i have spotted on this is the ghost of 12th fret dots - not really off putting on an ebony board... but the first thing i spotted was how well everything seemed to fit together (as shown in the shiny shot)

as long as you know which you prefer to work with, that is all that counts! although i predict the black plastic box will cost you votes in GOTM... might get some back with a nice demo vid of the system (maybe just because i like demo vids of these things )

i love the guitar - not sure the synth pickup is doing it any favours though. looks like the borg got hold of it, i would have been tempted to ghostify it http://www.graphtech.com/products.html?CategoryID=2 either that or build a borg themed guitar

looks good! gotta say, things seem to be coming on in leaps and bounds for you recently.

i seem to remember blue being for bridge and red for neck. wire length and a resistance reading should confirm that they also (at least used to) stamp them with an R or an F... but its not R for rhythm, its R for rear (bridge) and F for front (neck) yes, even if you use two identical pickups they are still sensing different parts of the string. Have a look at the string vibrating, you will notice it is moving a lot more over the neck pickup than the bridge pickup - this is the super basic explanation for why the position we put the pickup in affects the way it sounds It is also why we tend to use a lower powered pickup for the neck. if we used pickups that were the same output it gets harder to get a good volume balance between bridge and neck because the neck is sensing a lot more movement - i.e it is louder.

just what i like - i really do dislike epoxy potted coils - i just dont think they sound good, but wax followed by epoxy makes some sense

yeah, i almost like it - but not enough to make me want to stop you from finishing teh carve I have some RAD pups - awsesome, well built, compete with the top end stuff i am used to!!! cant say better than that

good work RAD! - anyone looking at making pups needs to see what you do to realise who involved even just the final word on 'potting' is - when they start to realise that eveery step is important in the same nuances then hopefully they will realise what a bargain you are right now

**** it - i promise to build a corvus style instrument most people that actually play guitar (or bass) like within the next year. i think its possible,, i think its definitely conceived - its just a case of putting a working design out there! if i dont, please call me a twat - it is within your rights to do so!!!

i like the schaller - but like kahlers they should really make it clearer that the saddles need to be raised a fair bit to get the most out of the bridge... i had one of those schaller's set relatively low (not bottomed out) and had some problems with the strings popping out of the roller - then having to reposition the roller to get string spacing correct again!! just not enough downward pressure on the saddle if its left in the lower 3rd of its adjustment range

when i was young i had a buzz in one of my amps - at least that is what i thought it was. nearly got to the stage of buying new speakers as i was sure one had gone. turned out to be a piece of glass in the front of a gas fire about 1m away vibrating at certain frequencies! first thing i do now is try different location for the amp when i think i have a problem. its not just loose things IN the amp that can be vibrating but 'crackling' makes me think its electrical problem. dying caps and dirty pots are the usual cause but dont rule out dodgy leads or anything that can be causing interference - again, moving the amp to a different location may help narrow things down

i treat myself to a new shinto rasp every so often the first one i had is properly dead, blunt and gone. but i still have a couple that can still carve your average mahogany or maple neck with relative ease and one that a lot newer and sharper for the harder woods

i would still pay a little extra for the gotoh string through version. I am not totally against top mount, just with this style of bridge i always feel string through works better

i like the coloured potting and that pickup shape will add an individual look! needs a better bridge though - really dont like those particular top loaders

not really - but a truss rod would also, judge the wood you have - which to me looks very pale for an ebony and that will inform finish choice... obviously you will get a better idea of that once its smoothed out here is my mac ebony neck - sanded to a crazy high grit with a little danish oil applied somewhere along the way for the record - warmoth say certain woods dont require a finish. IMHO this is misleading. the fact they dont require any kind of finish doesnt mean they wont benefit from one, and i suspect they say it to make things seem easier to their customers - a large number of who are going specifically with warmoth because they want things easy! as an example i had a Goncalo Alves neck from warmoth to work on last year. They say it requires no finish. It felt and looked dry to me, and that is how it had come from warmoth. I gave it a good soaking in danish oil, i rubbed it all back with 0000 wire wool and buffed it out with a cloth. So not a heavy finish, but something. the improvement was vast, smooth, slinky and warmer in colour... just what i really want from a 'raw' wood neck

well it might not be worth it for a squier strat anyway, but it is my favorite jazz pickup and you only really need the neck one to do that. check out catswhisker p-ups as well - another home grown brand but considerably cheaper and fully custom - so you could ask them to do an underwound jazzy P90 http://www.catswhiskerpickups.co.uk/index.html

pushing the budget ever so slightly - this is my favorite jazz pickup of all time! http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/pickups.php?cat=p90s&sub=humbucker_sized_p90s&pickup=manhattan edit - not tried the actual P90 version, the halfnote - but it is a bit cheaper)

redbear plecs are the closest i have found - pricey, but they do have a very nice feel and are very hard wearing. they also have that slightly grippy quality of tortoishell. sounds odd, but you dont have to hold as tight which helps with dynamics http://www.redbeartrading.com/ when you buy a lollar pickup you get a plec made from the bobbin material, the vulcanised fibreboard. it has very square edges at first, but with a little softening i actually quite like it. worth trying if you have a pick punch

here is a gold topped cheapo LP - a bit rough around the edges, but i like the overall look http://www.musicradar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=75839&page=18

here are a few the copper was distressed with a vinegar solution - first it cleans it, then turns it green, worked a lot better on the back than front. The aluminium one was applied in a different way to allow it to go badly wrong, crinkled and cracked all over the place... some black stain and a few sand throughs helped to complete the look

aluminium and copper are usually pretty cheap, these and faux gold are usually left a bit thicker than gold which makes them easier to work with. aluminium is usually used for a cheaper silver effect last one i did on copper just got a couple of light coats of acrylic lacquer to seal it - but i did the whole guitar and its already rubbing through slightly on the edges then i have a distress copper one thats got a full gloss finish and a really distressed aluminium, copper and gold one that was left very textured so just got a few coats of plastic coating before being rubbed down with wire wool

love it!

wow - we have gone spectacularly off topic this month! not entirely sure how tapering the headstock slightly thinner helps make it stronger, all benedetto says in the book is that it adds a "professional touch", and i can see why that is so - it does add a bit of aesthetic elegance. but it also means your D & G tuners sit ever so slightly higher :? anyway - the point is when i notice a detail like this i dont just blindly accept it as better. some of you all seem to think its arrogance that makes me question (or just want to discuss the ideas of) people who are clearly better than myself, but you dont get better yourself by blindly accepting or copying what they do without trying to understand why they do it that way!

lemon oil is often recommended - personally i think that is mainly a cleaner and doesnt do much long term. i prefer to use a light coat of danish oil - rubbed on and buffed up after a few minutes. this is done after a good rub down with 0000 wire wool to remove the cack (i use liberon brand wool- brand is important!) recently i have seen a lot of talk on other forums about rubbing fretboards down with a walnut - not tried it yet