redwhiteandthemaple

Nice list.

Ah btw..

I was told by the builder that it has a lite coat of sanding sealer on it.

I guess you don't need to buy more sanding sealer; plus, it's optional anyway.

Also.. so are you spraying the finish from cans? or from jars? or brush? You won't need lacquer retarders if you're just spraying from cans.

An alternative for the benchtop buffer is this polishing pad. Using these for polishing compounds. You might not really need to coarse or medium if you've done your coats right and (water) sanded it before buffing. Micro sandpapers do the job well.

For the pickguard, I personally like to have pickguards on flat tops otherwise I'd scratch the finish alot. An alternative for pickguards and still showing the quilt is this.

Good luck!

Awesome, Thx alot!

How do you like that Budda? Nice axe by the way

Yea, how do you like the Budda?

And I'd ask your son for an autograph in case he became famous or something, because we all know all the great musicians had great inspirations, and I think a great dad can be more than plenty of inspirations.

But I'll wait few years, until he can write ABC's.

The LesPaul Jr.'s are slightly smaller and yes, it is flat.

But they tend to have set-necks which might make it a little trickier than bolt-on necks where you can make the neck and body seperately.

Or you could just make the LesPaul Jr. a bolt-on neck, which I believe is what Epiphone does with their LesPaul Jr.'s.

Nice topic and thx VDL for all the good responses.

I've got few questions about relicing.

1. How do you do back of the necks? I'm guessing it's similar to the fretboard worn marks.

2. Any hints or tips about cracking the finish? And getting that "tanned" effect? I've heard that shooting compressed air to cured poly finishes (light coat) will give that crack effect? Or leaving it out in the sun for days and days? But it seems there are tons more, and more effective methods out there, which most of them are very well kept trade secret..

Thx for that link Southpa, really liked what he was doing

So checked out his website, quite the guy.

Although saddened at the fact that Canada will never get to see him..

KNEW IT! Thx for the replies.

Damn.. It's pretty crazy that Jeff Miller ripped at least 5 Variaxes apart for his projects...

Although, I don't really see the point of having 5 Variaxes..

But I think it's not that they're not in demand, but Line6 REALLY don't want to sell them separately just because then their large profit on the Variax guitars would essentially crash..

Actually, I think it's safe to say that Line6 is phobic of such idea.

http://warmoth.com/guitar/line6/line6.cfm?itemID=5

It says Variax bodies are $100 plus whatever you choose (strat or tele)

And it says that you must buy a Variax guitar to get the electronics.

So does this mean.. you're basically getting the electronics and routing for $100? Doesn't make any sense...

Too cheap..

A lot of people have been looking for the Variax electronics (I know I have..)

Care to look? And tell me if I missed something?

Thx

I just want the friggin electronics..

That thing looks more like a weapon.... with flashy colors...

Haha. Not a fan of the pointy concept, but it sure does have the effect of terrifying people

I guess I'll take the strat of the 3. There. *vote

Simplicity at its best. I just love the flow and the touch! And how it still retains the beauty of wood.

I'm jealous you can still work outside in November, as soon as it turns about Oct., my garage turns into... well, a garage... well before it was a 'woodshop'..

I get the feeling that you're building this guitar for the sake of gauging your capabilities. Which is.. of course, neither a bad thing or a good thing by in itself; however.. The people who build because they love guitars will have higher motives and stronger incentives because their intrinsicity allows them to do so.

Anyways, I just swung around my sword, but if you aren't standing where I think you are standing, no harm done.

Now, about the project..

I'm guessing you're going to use a preradiused and preslotted fingerboard?

One thing that's bugging me about this project.. Chrome finish. What's your level of expectency? It's hard to do chrome finishes.. Although it's Krylon, it may be easier to use, but you'd be trading off lots of quality.. If this is your first time finishing, that'd be even harder. Just remember, they don't charge those ridulous thousands of dollars for chrome finish on automobiles for nothing.. And even so, it's stability is relatively low too..

you SURE? Doesn't Toneworks AX have preamp? Then you have the option of just plugging in, that'll be the same as slaving them.

I can put my GT8 through any cabinet...

I don't know about ZOOM pedals much.. but does yours have preamp?

then why not just buy cabs, and slave them?

you won't need effects loop or anything like that... everything happens inside your pedal (if you have preamp) and speakers just make the digital signals audible..

but I don't guarantee quality results..

I used to slave into my 2x12combo from Boss multi-fx, until I got access to a decent tube amp

I know eh? It's a crazy world along with the fact that Bush is a president... Crazy world.

toneworks/korg ax1500 and all other multi fx pedals may seem very overwhelming at first especially if you are new to pedals or more intimidating if you're still new into the guitar world.

i've found myself saying things like, "wth is 5150? wth is a Rectifier? so many friggin knobs and such a small screen."

i've had the Boss GT8 for about a year now and i can pretty much fly through all the controls and actually understand each of its functionality, but i still have hard time making the exact sounds i want. since the multi fx pedals take you to a broader range of sound, i'm trying to take advantage of that, but it's hard. but i know it'll come in time (of experience).

after i've used the Boss GT8 for few months, i tried out many multi-fx pedals, and they more or less work in the same concept.

the way i learned to use it is actually read off the manual. i know we're known as the 'never-read-manuals-i'll-work-it-out-by-myself' generation. but i needed the manual to start me off.

some people, even professionals, prefer the single boxes. some people prefer simplicity.

personally, if i were to satisfy myself with the sounds that i like, i would need about... 2 dist. - OD - 1 wah - EQ - phaser - delay - tuner - limiter/compressor - flanger... Anyways, the point is I probably spend more than the multi fx.

i tell ya, if you learn how to use it properly, you'll enjoy it more. just like everything.. (like Halo2, it's not fun having a 0-25 record, but it's pretty fun if it's more like 17-8)

*ahem

think it over, but really if single fxs suit you better, then so be it. =)

I have a quilted(veneer) les paul, rosey inlays over the fingerboard

I have no question about it's construction, it is very well built compared to the guitars in its price range

and the sound is good too

Just make sure there's nothing wrong with it - cracks, frets, etc

Personally I like the Edges

Edge LoPro 7 Found Here

I know the headstock looks kind of dumb, I guess I was in a hurry to get it done and was too lazy to cut it into a better shape. But I learned a lot doing this kit, so when I do my next guitar I can do better hopefully. And thanks for all the kind replies.

+1 I can say the same after having built a Saga myself. For now I demolished it and rebuilding it/modding it alot. But I hope you learnt alot about finishing steps, because for me, that seems to be the hardest step of all. Plus, I think Saga kits are good for lots of experimenting and practicing on. Gonna make a neck next project?

Keep up the good work.

I don't recall EMG Hz's having coilsplitting...

Replacing the 5-way to 3-way should be easy

and the pots should be the same 500k, I'd assume if there were 2 Humbuckers previously, you wouldn't need to change 'em

I say if you have the money for the EMG-Ab's, go for a built-in tube drive/dist/midrange-boost/preamp or something like that from GuitarFetish, I'm guessing you want the AfterBurner for leads and solos, but I think you could also have more fun with those as well as getting the Gain you want.

I believe they have 4 kinds of single built-in ones. Found at their eBay store

Actually wow.. I didn't know they had this.

I have their Distortion, I like it.

And no I'm not a GuitarFetish salesperson, I just think EMG Ab's are little rip off...

Oh yea, and you probably want a batter case and probably need to route a new cavity for this if there's no space. Just a heads up.

My 2 (canadian) cents

Both look nice, but I think the bottom one looks a little better. It's rounder and looks more comfortable to play IMO.

+1

That would look comfortable as a candy with an arm bevel

I personally Love the look of the horn contours as it has a continuous transition from the lower contour to the top. I've always loved the Gecko Bass from Warmoth, but I like this one better... *saves the picture for future reference.

Will be looking forward to having this one built and of course, keep the pics coming! Best luck

I'd guess a roundnose bit + router

Btw, the control recess looks really small... what kinds of knobs will you be putting on?

and the top looks great. A hella nice figure, curly and flamed

what kind of bridge are you going to be using?

and how thick do you want the body to be?

Heck. it's free! just take and think later!

I'm always worried about the quality though. I've seen ONE in real life, seen many on the web. But the one I saw was a Danelectro with about 5 built-in effects. Now.. how I got to see/hear it is why I'm worried about the quality. My friend bought it off his friend from school for about 75 bux but he didn't like it so his friend just took it back (with full refund of course).

The effects, if I can remember correctly.. overdrive, phaser... not sure about the rest 3.. lol. but they were crap. End of the story.

but of course I'm sure there are other guitars with good built-in effects.

I'm planning to put this in my current project. Just a little crunch and a twee bit of lead tone.