Fraser

very nice. can't wait to hear how it sounds..

This one time (at band camp...not) I butchered a little Piezo Buzzer, soldered a socket onto it and gaff taped it onto the body of the guitar. I tried placing it in some different positions on the body, I think it ended up just behind the bridge..... Gave quite a boxy, lo-fi sound, but I could EQ it out to a quite bearable sound... with a preamp and a 3band eq I reckon you could get away with it......

Well, after a couple of days and some test pieces, this is where i'm at: Clicky Thats after two coats of the Sanding Sealer and three coates of Cabothane. I'm happy so far. I did another coat of Cabothane this morning after a good sanding with 800grit. We'll see how that looks tonight. I took some pics after the sanding where you can see the low and high spots, I might post them later... I'm thinking the next test will be to do a bit better sanding of the test piece then do three coats of the Sanding Sealer and really work on my sanding between coats. While I'm doing that, I can monitor how the finish on the first test pieces soaks in over a longer period of time...not too much I hope! ...still a long way to go!

schweeet. nice work...as always...

recess that TOM my friend. keep a watch on the clearance for the intonation adjustment screws though. another thought, these bridges are about 4mm shorter than a normal TOM....that may help.. LP Junior Bridge Pigtail Aluminum Wraparound Bridge maybe some food for thought. good luck!

Well, Ive decided to go with a gloss finish. I am starting this weekend on some test pieces left over from the build. Starting with a Wattyl Sanding Sealer(brush on then sand) and then Cabots Cabothane Gloss(Aerosol). I would love the finances to go a full spray setup to do two pac but you can't always have everything..... With Swamp Ash, I figure(pun intended) i could either grain fill with epoxy or sanding sealer/grainfiller. I have chosen Sanding Sealer. I figure it is easier than epoxy to sand back should the worst case happen. We'll see how it goes on the test pieces...... I'll post some progress pics of the test pieces. I'm expecting to have some awesome biceps after the sanding I know is ahead of me! meanwhile, I channel "the gods of awesome clear finishes on swamp ash" , the likes of which achieved this: PRS Swamp Ash (768x576) All, Thanks for the support that has helped me pick 'the hard road' rather than just oil the thing

Well, this build is still going....slowly......and heres a pic and another: Second Pic I have now come to the finishing stage and find myself needing some help deciding which type of finish to go with so: Vote for the finish on my Guitar will put up some more pics soon... l8r, fraser.

Hi all, well i'm still working on My Project and the time has come to apply the finish. I had a satin finish in mind for ages, lie the Swamp ash Les Pauls, but i'm thinking a nice thick shiny gloss finish would be better for durability... I would like your input. Basically i'm looking at one of three options: 1. oiled 2. clear satin finish 3. clear high gloss finish I would really appreciate your vote. Fraser.

Mate, how is this beasty going? Should be back from the painters any day now if my memory serves me correctly... Fraser.

Can someone suggest a way to do grounding of a bridge such as the Graphtech TOM where there is no tailpiece? Ie: strings go over the TOM then through the body....oh, and there is no sustain block in the back of the guitar either.... Thanks dudes, Fraser.

Luke, it can be done: Click! mine was not the best implementation, but still, it can be done.

RGRR, thank you, I like your work so I appreciate the feedback. Photo now fixed(actually, i've done some work on all the photos) and feet washed! The volute is in the right spot, I have cut it way oversize so I have some room to play around with. Mattia, yeah the recording was a bit peaky, i'll try again tomorrow to see if I can really get them to ring out. I have now glued the top wing together so i'm going to record how it sounds now... after I do some research on how to tap tone wood properly! thanks for the feedback guys, Fraser.

Hi all, well I've been on holidays for the last week so I have some major updates for you, three new pages worth! I didnt really let on about any of the specs before, now I am : Shape: Slightly downsized RG/ Jem Shape Construction: Neck Through Neck: 7 piece laminate - maple/kwila(merbau)/maple/ironbark/maple/kwila/maple with truss rod from an old snapped RG neck Nut: Earvana Body: swamp ash top and back, 15mm mahogany in between Fingerboard: Ebony with Jem style Vine inlay Frets: Jumbo Stainless Bridge: Recessed Tonepros Tune-o-Matic with Graphtech Piezo Saddles Pickups: Bridge - Dimarzio Norton , Middle - Kinman AVn-69, Neck - Kinman AVn-69 and Dimarzio Fast Track 2 Electronics: Graphtech Acousti-Phonic Preamp, Graphtech Hexpander Controls: - 5 way Megaswitch - Mag Volume with push/push selector for neck pickup - Acoustic Volume with Push/Push selector for Mid/Dark - Midi/Synth Volume - Midi up/down pushbuttons After my weeks work, I have the truss rod and pickup cavities routed, bridge posts drilled, neck bandsawed into rough shape and will start routing out the control cavities over the weekend. Here is what it looks like so far: I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed doing! Later, Fraser.

redwhite, i'm getting the fingerboard and inlay from the bay eb@y store It is slotted, but still needs to be fretted, which is still a time consuming part...it will be a challenge for my patence! if you can get what you want in a pre slotted, pre radiused then yes, it will save you some time. i'm pretty sure i'll stay with the strat style of knob, i need three for the electronincs i'm putting in. That is also part of the reason for the bridge choice..(the electronics), i think it will work out neater.

oh, dont worry, it will have the vine the "pre-carved" means it already has the routes done for the vine inlay......

Hey Ben, honestly, with the $ I spent on the timber, i'm confident I won't put a hand hole in it. As for the inlay, i've still copped out a bit, i'm waiting for the pre-slotted, pre-radiused, pre-carved fingerboard to arrive. Its funny, i'm so used to seeing the vine markers on the fingerboard now that it seems weird playing a guitar without them!

Hi all, just wanted to share with you the progress I'm making on my first real build. Basically its a replacement for my Jem77BFP. The Jem has a lot of sentimental value so I dont want to be taking it to Pubs all the time.... I seriously considered an Iceman shape as I have always loved them, but the Jem/RG style won out in the end. (because its easier to play while bumming on the couch!) So, without further ado, the concept: Yeah, I know, another Jem/RG type thing...... And heres where i'm up to: Current Pic I have set up a page to chronicle the progress here(so I dont take up Bandwidth here): Guitar Build Page Note: The actual images behind the thumbnails are large. I'll be making some updates in the next couple of days, so i'll post here and let you all know. I think i'll have to divulge some specs, but i'm going to upload recordings of the tap tones of the wood, its something I found interesting so I'd like to share. Sorry if the link on my site to the Strat Build is not allowed, I did look in the rules first, I will gladly remove it asap if its a prob. My first thanks (and i've hardly started!) go to Guitarfrenzy for the Strat Build, Maiden69 for proving that Mahogany and Swamp Ash can go together! In case you can't tell, i'm very excited to finally give something back to the community that has given so much (i think i'm gonna cry... ) later, Fraser

Hi all, long time lurker, first time poster. woohoo my first post! Now seriously, I have been researching wood and its tones for some time (and using the search feature ) I will list some of the references for those with similar questions to mine: http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm http://www.sthacguitars.com/woods.html http://www.suhrguitars.com/wood.htm http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/options/options_bodywoods.cfm http://www.melanconguitars.com/bodywoods.shtml http://www.andersonguitars.com/tonelibbody.cfm In all my research, I have not been able to find anything on the combination of Swamp Ash and Mahogany. So I humbly ask for your views. (I'm leaning towards inch thick Swamp ash for the front and inch thick mahogany for the back.) Just for some context: it is for a neck through 6 string electric. Neck is maple/kwila/maple/ironbarkmaple/kwila/maple laminate. Fingerboard: Ebony. it is probably going to replace my current main guitar which is a Ibanez Jem 77BFP (maple fingerboard), Dimarzio Norton in the Bridge Pos. Good to finally be here and thanks in advance, Fraser.