mistermikev

have some but haven't had the pleasure yet. Currently out in my garage getting sidetracked by a 10 space studio rack project... flamed maple... that tears out very easy!

right on. I don't think paudauk nor wenge require finish. think that would look great on that guitar. looks good.

generally if you are having issues with output it could be either an intermittent live OR ground. If you have a multimeter, test continuity between points. if it is dropping you should see it on your meter. also, show us pics. I wouldn't get too frustrated, its hard when you first start out because of the intimidation of not knowing what direction to go. More failures = more confidence as you get better at recognizing what's wrong right off the bat. I believe in you.

Ok, got them both out without damaging my finish. now... I could put this on my drill press, try to cut out an even 1/4" area for a dowel... but it's half excavated so... who knows how that ends. I could just fill it with epoxy. Not sure what way I'll go... what direction would you lean?

I doubt anyone is going to turn me on to a magic bullet here as I'm familiar with a lot of different ways so perhaps just some comisseration. I broke a body mount pickup screw, couldn't get it out... so drilled a new hole and switched to new screws. broke one half off on first attempt... that came out easy as some shank was exposed. widened the hole... then broke another off clean. now I've got two in there clean. sum biotch! i have tried filing a groove in the top and backing out with flathead but they are both broken right at the surface... so no go. on a #4 screw a reverse bit isn't going to help ime. they are in there pretty tight so I'm fairly sure how gluing on a piece using jbweld is gonna go. at this point I'm thinking of drilling small holes right next to them and seeing if I can pry them out... then fill in with dowel. my new screws are stainless. (orig ones were actually steel but then one mans steel is not another mans steel). woe is me.

right on... can't wait to see what you come up with.

yes, I know I said it privately, but publicly: nice work. this is a build I'd love to noodle on! Seriously off the hook.

love the body shape... reminds me of the neal schon jackson which i always loved. I am not crazy about the headstock... just don't feel like it matches the beauty of the rest of the design. Just one a-holes opinion so take it with a grain of salt.

oops, missed the link. nice call curtisa.

A) yes this can certainly be done and is quite simple. B ) my advice would be - just think of it like any other strat. if you aren't going to wire in any switching on the pickup... you could use any strat diagram you are comfy with. you just need to wire the humbucker in series (for seymour I believe this will be black is live wire, red and white get wired together and taped off, green and bare to ground). Now... your humbucker is just like any other single coil... black is your live - put it where a std strat wiring bridge live is(red in diagram below), and green/bare is your ground - put it where the std single coil ground is(black in diagram below). note, that as a humbucker, this will not cancel hum in pos 2 like a normal strat. you could do that by wiring in an auto split on the second half of the 5 way switch but to keep things simple for now lets just assume you don't want that. reference wire colors: https://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/the-tone-garage/humbucker-wire-color-translation std strat wires: https://diagramart.com/products/electric-guitar-wiring-standard-strat-fender-switch-electric-circuit

love how the little circle makes a mirrored offset circle. v nice.

looking good. def appreciate that mahog... just a really nice piece there.

thank you sir! def some subtleties to the top/finish - hard to get pics of. Thank you AD... will get some sunlight photos this weekend and will try to capture it better.

Thank you @ZekeB! My wife says this is the one she likes best so far due to the color scheme... def very warm!

here's the current state of things: working on the wiring... have some touch ups to do on the fret slot edges... and nut isn't glued down. def need to work up some better pictures... the rosewood on the pickup covers is hard to capture. It's interesting how a little difference in neck profile and finish (no binding) can make for a noticeable difference in feel. This is sort of a rounded C profile... and it feels fenderish... but with a 12" radius it plays sort of fast... my mind can't quite reconcile the two! Anywho, been a long journey but I can see the finish line:

I like the fact that there is no epoxy through the center area... not because of tone/strength, but it just looks better to me. nice work.

wow, don't take this wrong at all: I love it... my first impression is it's like a rickenbacker had sex with an eko. really great retro vibe there. nicely done.

I'm guessing the general consensus among regulars here would be "go for it".

I think I stand corrected. I was thinking of my es295... i think it has inlay anyway... but relooking at this special... likely just paint/decal. good call curtisa.

def that fender logo is not genuine... looks like the typical diy waterslide. headstock def doesn't seem to have come from the std fender neck as mentioned. my guess is someone rebranded something else - just fair warning: fender has been known to give forum admins a hard time about displaying pics of guitars that are branded with their name that are not obviously made by them. afa switches... you aren't likely to find a diagram for this exact variation, and even if you did find one for 6 switches you couldn't be sure these 6 are doing the sm. you could take it apart and analyze them but not sure it'd be worth it. personally, I would find it hard to remember how to get back to a sound I liked but it def would have flexibility and to each his/her own. you want to take it apart and post lots of pics - assuming it's not a rats nest - probably could give you an idea of what's going on. I'm guessing 3 of those switches are on/off for individual pickups... the other 3 could be phase, perallel/series, split... any number of things. If the wiring is problematic... probably better off starting from "what would I like it to do" than to try and reverse engineer (I shudder using that term here... but it's somewhat appropriate) . If it were mine I'd buy all new electronics and rewire it. you can spray pot cleaner on pots but there is some grease from the factory that will be cleaned out when you do that... that grease collects dust and prevents scratchy pots... removing it will usually result in a scratchy pot a few weeks down the line.

not likely. it's probably inlay so it'd require you to lam a new piece of ebony or paint over.

i honestly do not know. not sure why it would matter. either way I'd put down some primer of a different color, do some sanding to see where hi and low spots are... get it smooth... primer a final time and paint.

in my case... I don't think it's consistent enough to really qualify as 'desireable'... but it's close. I could def see finding a piece with some more of it and liking it for a front. def pretty for a back. will have to take a look at the rest of my stock of it and see if there are any more spots (the first blank had none).

I've seen it a few times around here for sure. kind of something to watch out for if you are trying to do a finished side. then again, it's pretty in its own way.

not sure I'd try sanding thru the stickers if that's what you mean. they'll gum up and ruin lots of sandpaper. since you are going to refinish anyway... I'd use some goo gone and peal/clean it first. No obvious chips so... should be pretty good candidate to leave the finish and just paint over.