wwood

Currently: Strat(s) - Tube Screamer - Fender Champ with Torres mods (bedroom use) Future: Strat(s) - Tube Screamer - Fender (Twin/Vibro/Super etc...) It's amazing how refreshing it is to keep things simple and actually listen to, and appreciate, your own playing style uncluttered by effects. Not to say I don't like a few pedals, but I'm moving towards a more natural/raw sound - my sound! Cheers wwood

I love the design of the Harlot, in fact all your designs ooze quality along with your craftmanship. Look forward to seeing this one finished. Are you a one man outfit as you seem to be quite prolific? Cheers wwood

Hi, You'd be better looking at some of the older squires. I have an early 90's Korean strat and it is very high quality, pickups aren't the best but as for materials and attention to detail it is right up there. The trem has a steel block and fender stamped saddles, the neck is a gorgeous piece of birdseye maple which has aged nicely and with gotoh machineheads. Just need to get round to changing those pickups. See if you can find 1 or 2 of the old Korean tele's to have a look at. Cheers wwood

Thanks Robert, Yep the wire is still connected to the eyelets, I'll have to get hold of a multimeter and check the coil as you suggested. Cheers wwood

Hi all, I've just changed pickguard on my strat and all of a sudden my bridge pickup isn't outputting: The diagram below shows exactly how mine is wired (standard factory wiring) None of the wires have come loose or are damaged, everything looks exactly in order. The neck and middle pickups are working fine. I'm sure it's not a selector problem as when I select the bridge pickup and tap the soldered area (pointed out in green) it makes the expected tapping/clicking sound, although when I tap the polepieces or magnets they make no sound at all. Could I have a dead pickup? If so should I expect to hear the clicking sound when I tap the soldered area? Any help appreciated please. Cheers wwood

Hi Mark, Try the guys at: http://www.auroraproject.co.uk/ I recently got a JEM pickguard made to replace a damaged one and it was a good quality replacement. If you select the fender strat model and use the dropdown menu you can see the other models available, RG, JEM etc... Alternatively you can choose your own configuration. Cheers wwood

A Tubescreamer type pedal is pretty vital IMO. You can get some kits from BYOC: http://www.buildyourownclone.com/ Some of them sound pretty tasty. I think the kits would be a good introduction to building pedals for someone with no electronics experience (such as myself) I've ordered the Screamer kit from their EU distributor It didn't come in particularly cheap but if I can re-create their version I'll be more than happy. I'll let you know how I get on (if I don't destroy it) I've always wanted an MXR Phase 90 too, just for that sweet Albert King sound. So for me, vitals would be: Tubescreamer x 2 Phaser Wah Envelope Filter Also like a Tremolo but I know it can be a bit of an acquired taste. That should keep me busy for a few years! wwood

A router plane...sometimes called an 'Old Woman's Tooth' They can usually be had for a few pounds on ebay but they are usually better suited to much smaller work like inlaying/marquetry. A power router really is the best bet, you could get reasonable results as mentioned with chisels, files, scrapers, blocks of paper with sandpaper stuck to them but unless you're well practiced with hand tools it's a difficult ask (imo) If doing it this way hog out most of the material with a drill/forstner bit then all you really have left to do is clean up the sides. wwood

Worth a look into this: http://www.dbkeighley.co.uk/masters/basato3.htm wwood

Thanks everyone Much appreciated wwood

I think it looks great and is on of the better relic jobs I've seen lately. Headstock looks sweet, it's got a real tarnished look about it which suggests a life of smokey gigs The body looks very natural too, although it could do with some more belt buckle rash on the back and strumming scratches on the front (a'la SRV). What process did you use to age the bare wood? All-in-all a great job! I have no probs with relic jobs, personally they help me worry more about playing and less about trying to protect the guitar from scratches, although having said that I never worry about trying to keep finishes intact. It's about the sound surely, and personally I think the added mojo helps you play harder. wwood

Hi, Although I'm ok with a soldering iron I'm rubbish at getting diagrams right. Guitar as follows: FRED in neck Tone Zone in bridge 3-way toggle 1 volume (push/pull) 1 tone (standard) I want to wire the controls so the 3-way toggle will give me neck-both-bridge and I can then use the push/pull volume to coil tap the pickups. I've thought about it as logically as I can (my brain hurts now) and I've put the following diagram together: Would someone with a better understanding than me be able to confirm if this looks correct before I heat up the iron? Many thanks for any help wwood

Figuring is not an exact science, it's all in the eyes of the grader, the most important thing the grader should have is consistency. The grade mainly refers to the strength of the figuring, i.e. the visually stronger the flame/quilt/crotch etc. the higher the grade. There are also other aspects to take into account though, such as the quality of the wood, the uniform pattern of the figure, the defects etc...but for most purposes the higher the grade will mean the stronger figure. hope that helps wwood

Looking good. Especially like the way the plastic parts have come out. I'll be following this with interest. wwood P.S. This page might help with some techniques http://www.srvguitar.com/

Hi, I wonder if anyone could tell me about the Ampeg V7 combo as I'm having a little trouble finding out info on this amp. All i've really got is it's an early 80's 100w 2x12 with "possibly" 4x 6550's and 5x 12ax7's After that I'm stumped, it appears it may be similar to an Ampeg V4 which I can get more info on. Help appreciated wwood

Thanks for the suggestions gents! wwood

Hi all, I've recently obtained some very old sorby chisels and ibbotson planes. They're still wickedly sharp, (a testament to old steel I guess), but overall not in the best condition. The steel had some light rust which I removed using baco foil, but I can't remove the deeper grease and grime from the pitted areas within the steel. Does anyone have a suggestion for this? The wooden bodies are in reasonable condition, scratches and pits but no major chips. They were too dirty to handle on a daily basis but I've cleaned them up using turtle / car wax as is recommended, they still smell of 100+ year old wood, grime & sweat, but I kind of like that. I intend to use these tools as often as possible, they are there to be worked. I don't intend to sell them but at the same time I don't want to take any abrasives to them and clean them up beyond all recognition. I'd like to remove the grease and grime from the pitted areas in the wood and steel. Can anyone recommend a process? I have tried a couple of suggestions from woodworking forums but they were just a little too "softly softly" and didn't have much of an effect. I understand their suggestions, but they were coming more from a collector/restorers standpoint and not from someone who wanted to use the tools as were intended. Any advice appreciated Regards wwood

Their red, yellow and greens are also soluble in Methylated spirit too. wwood

It appears that Craft Supplies have Mylands Green Powder Dye Stain in stock This might be what you're after. wwood

Here possibly? http://www.mykaguitars.com/tools/neckcarvejig/default.htm wwood

RGGR, I don't see anywhere in this post where Venom300 asked his choice of build to be lambasted and I really don't see any need to criticize so harshly. Anyway, You don't have to use an Ibanez neck (although it would be easier if you could find a cheap replacement on ebay) but what you do need to make sure of is the correct scale length, unless you want an overhaul. The pocket size and neck screw configuration can always be adjusted, although this isn't always straightforward, but as long as you're confident you can do the work... If the neck pocket is too large for the heel of the neck you purchase you can fill the pocket with a block of wood cut to the dimensions, similar to installing a set-neck but without the neck, then you can re-route the pocket to the dimensions of your neck heel. (I must emphasise, accurate measurement is the order of the day here, measure again and again until you're double sure) You could also glue shims made of wood into the pocket, you see this more commonly with acoustics that have had neck re-sets. A quick google brought up this link, although personally I wouldn't use this technique http://www.angelfire.com/music2/construct/page1EOM.html Also, take a look over at Frets http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/pagelist.html#Luthier You'll find plenty of good advice there, aswell as here on the site and forum. If the difference is extremely minimal (which is more likely) then a few coats of lacquer on the neck heel or thin veneer shims may do the trick. If the pocket is too small then simply route it bigger, again measure, measure, measure and make sure you're fully aware of your centre line. If the neck has pre-drilled screw holes in it you can open these up a little more by using a larger drill bit then glue in dowels and trim/sand flush then re-drill your holes to the required placement. I'm not 100% if the 270 has the AANJ neck joint, if it does you can shape the heel of your replacement neck accordingly (providing there is enough material to work with) by using tools such as a rasp (and rifflers), surform and sandpaper. The best advice though is don't be put off. If you want to have a go at it then have a go, just make sure you understand the steps involved, take your time and get a few practice runs on scrap wood under your belt. There's plenty of reading material on the net that can help you with your venture. All this is academic though if the neck fits snug! As for the pickups, it's a lengthy debate. It all hinges on what sound you want to achieve but I would suggest worrying about the pickups later on, they're not important at this stage. Best of luck wwood

I've always liked the Gibson Nighthawk / Blueshawk shape, kinda like a sexier LP. http://www.wolfgangguitars.com/Gibson%20Nighthawk.htm wwood

I recall seeing one (a caul) made from the end of a wooden radius sanding block just sawn off, might have been someone on this suite. wwood

If it's any use to you, Craft Supplies stock the 2" rotary microplane, although a little more expensive than in the states... Clicky here And here for the rest of their microplane stock wwood

Awesome work! Love the ravelle, did you get the Limba in the U.K.? ww