DaveK

I use the wood block method on ALL my strats It is a huge tonal improvement! Just my 2 cents Dave

Check your e-mail Thanks Dave

Oh...and welcome to the forum!

In my opinion...If you are looking for tone& sustain...go with the string through hardtail My ears hear a GIGANTIC difference Some will argue that there is not much difference I sugest going to your local music strore & listen to both Your ears will tell you what is right for you Dave

I scuff it down with NAPTHA, then brush with steel wool & apply "strategic scratches" After that I apply india ink & wipe it off I then apply brown shoe polish in certain areas Then buff it Then airbrush tobaco brown dye then buff out the areas that would be worn down from hanrd contact. Just a heads up...White pickguards did not age & yellow NEARLY as much as the 3 ply green ones! Be careful on how much you age them, a white one that is too old looking is a dead giveaway of a relicer that has not done their homework (I speak from experience) Have fun...relicing is a BLAST Dave

Check your e-mail bro

Just ignore him....were giving him the attention that he is looking for Report him & let's move on! He shouldn't be alowed to play with the grown-ups

Scott: If you dig REALLY beat up relics, check out the new GUITAR PLAYER magazine The Fender Custom shop is doing reproductions of Stevie Ray Vaughn's strat. They are only going to make 100 of them & they are charging $10,000 each! As a special "forum members deal" I will be offering my relicing services for HALF that price (ROTFLMAO) Can you believe that price?????????

Thanks everyone for the kind words on both the project as well as the job status It's a scary time for me with 2 kids a home & a tough job market...but things somehow, someway, always seem to work out. There have been a lot of questions regarding the checking & how I got it The key is that the nitro clear coat has to be thin...I then freeze it with air conditioner recharge solution It's funny as hell & my favorite part if relicing...the whole body frosts up & you can actually hear the finish cracking! Regarding the metal, I have sent out a tutorial to several folks on how to do it, If Brian wants to post it as a tutotrial, I can send it to him. The dirt & yellowing are a combination of airbrushing stu mack dyes and mixing dye & wood putty to achieve the "gunk" effect I am also going to experiment with "razor checking" on poly bodies...my thought is, if I score the finish with a razor & then freeze it, I might be able to get the poly to crack Oh, and the polepieces on the "faux single coil" are glue sticks from a hot glue gun painted with a mixture of brown dye & metal paint!

Same to you bro..... It's been a tough year Next year is gonna be better...I just know it!

Thanks man, I had fun with this one!

What do you do when the company that you have worked for for 9 years lays you off? If you are me, besides looking for a job, you finish the 3 projects you have been working on for over a year!! I wanted to post my finished project that I am calling the 62-03 relic. The concept was simple, I wanted the looks of a 1962 road worn strat (the "62") combined with modern playability & features (hence the "03" as in 2003!) http://fullservesite.com/davek/IM000534.JPG The Specs are as follow: USA custom guitars neck with a c contour. The frets are Dunlop 6000's.The neck width is 11/16th's but I will be cutting the nut 5/8th's to allow for more room on the e strings (this is a trick used by Tom Anderson & others). The body is also a USA custom guitars item. It is a VERY light piece of alder Hardware is all Callaham & sports their famous stainless steel trem block. http://fullservesite.com/davek/IM000527.JPG The neck & bridge pickups ar Frailins. They have an awesome vintage tone that must be heard to be believed The bridge pickup is something I am especially fond of (if I say so myself) I HATE the sound of a single coil bridge pickup. I don't think there is anything wrong with it, it just does not suit my tastes. I love the sound of a humbucker...but I wanted to keep a vintage & "real 62 strat" look to the project. Although the bridge pickup may LOOK like a singe coil, it is a Seymour Duncan J.B. junior that I got under the single coil cover & applied fake polepieces to. http://fullservesite.com/davek/IM000531.JPG It looks like a single coil, but sounds pretty darn close to a humbucker. I did a "down to the brown" relic finish on the back of the neck. It has just enough laquer to protect the neck, but it alows me the bare wood feel. http://fullservesite.com/davek/IM000526.JPG The checked nitro finish on the body not only looks cool, it also serves a purpose for better tone. When you relic, you don't apply much finish at all...furthermore, when the finish is checked, it alows for even less finish to mess with the tone of the wood. The only thing I have left to do is to put on the nut & dress the frets. I am trying to decide if I want to do the fieten system or not. I have done quite a few relics, but this is the one I am most proud of...I think it is the best of the old & best of the new! http://fullservesite.com/davek/IM000529.JPG I hope you relic lovers out there like it

Great work once again Jeremy! Dave

I should be able to..if not tonight, tommorow

Alex: It is an ALSA finish.. If you really want one of he bodies, e-mail me...I had to make more than one of them! Dave

yep Gimme a few days to get it together I will be sending you the strat body I will let you know what shipping is in a few days Thanks Dave

The neck slides into the pocket & goes into whaere the neck picup hole is This will be a bolt on If you look at the picture without the neck & then with the neck attached, you will see what I am saying If not, let me know Dave

I think Scott R is selling one However, they are a PAIN IN THE A@# to use!

You notice that I sent thepicture in black & white right??? Wait till you see the final project in FULL color! Dave

I can build you a 25 scale neck through version Interested?

Check your PM dude! Shred on!!!

Well...what do you think of this????

Speedy: It's funny you say that...I have haed 3 people ask me to make them one & paint it hot pink! The only problem is that I don't do paint, other than a "specialized" finish that a friend of mine & I are trying to finalize I should probabaly team up with a painter on the forum to be able to ffer that finish to the folks that want it

I know the pix are big as hell I can't figure out why!!! As far as the finish is concerned...If you dig the body...you will FREAK whaen you see the finish i have cooked up! I know we have the "no teasing" rule, but it will be worth the wait! Dave

Project #2 underway: PRS CE 24 all alder body we did on a Duplicarver Take a look & let me know what you think