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DividedByJames

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Everything posted by DividedByJames

  1. you guys are cracking me up with the atlas/homer bit...I didn't expect three pages of comments, but cool. I will take the body back into the shop and to some touchups and the router burns etc. Someone asked once upon a time in this thread about Mighty Might necks...they are fender licensed so they are equivalent to Mexican made necks to me. The one thing I did notice is that they need some fret work on the edges. Otherwise they are fine and up to par with Allparts and WD. Personally I like the Allparts necks, but since there are a plethora of Mighty Might necks on Ebay for about $70-90, it's a decent investment if all you want is maple/maple or maple/rosewood. If you want fancy or exotic you might as well go with Warmoth, or build your own. Thanks for the comments on my first project! #2 is on the way too...
  2. So...I've been a bad project guitarist...away for too long. But the upside is that I've been researching and finally building guitars. I thought since everyone at this forum has been nice to me and helpful over the years, I thought I'd share my current project. So over the past year I have been fortunate to work with some guys who spend their life creating and building with their own hands. The company is called CCG Woodworks. They do custom cabinetry, desks, and furniture to fit the client's needs. The guy I know is my buddy Phil Ebner, Deutschland's dorkus-extrordinaire--he was the former bassist for my new band Vocoder. The other guy is Evan Smith and he's a really cool dude with a Boston accent. Here's the base of the body. It's an alder core with a thin piece of walnut covering it creating a pinstripe between the top and base. The top started off as a solid piece of crotch maple...or whatever type of maple it is, since the figure goes in a gazilllion directions. There were many voids so I had to space out the maple with cocobolo and purpleheart that were lying around from someone elses project. My brother is an artist and pointed out that the purple and brown bleed pigmentally (is that a word?) into each other and I should have used maple or another lighter wood in between the cocobolo and purpleheart to offset the color. Oh well. About the time I was about to start cutting, I realized that I was lacking thickness to the body, so I added another piece of maple that Phil had picked up from Home Depot. When we book matched it we found the strangest figure. He saw little heads and eyes, but I saw a massive goat, ala satanic hubub style. I'm and Aries so it didn't bother me, but if I get popular and more talented after playing this guitar you'll know that me, Robert Johnson, and Tenacious D had something in common... I originally wanted to make an Ibanez Jem or RG styled guitar but I scrapped that since I hadn't figured out how to do belly and arm relief. So I went with a Tele since I had leftover parts lying around from another project. Rough cutting the body A few friends couldn't tell what the heck I was talking about so I made a drawing for them... Shaped the body with the table router and wah-lah! It's starting to look like a guitar...and yes the pickup rout was a tad deep originally... I picked up an inexpensive Mighty Might neck and found that the neck joint was a bit small, since I was using 3/4" router bits to cut things. So I had to go pick up a smaller bit to manuever the neck in. Below is prior to the new bit arriving. I sanded the crap out of it after rounding the edges and took a 320 grit foam pad to it at around 1:30am Sunday night since I was too excited. Those foam pads make the finsh night and day. I oiled it with orange oil, altho I think that might not have been the best for it, since I want to laquer it, but it looks pimp now and I can dial it in now before I add the laquer. I have a new Wilkinson Tele brindge coming that allows the strings to be locked in without going thru the body (and ruining Earl, yes I named my goat...). Heres a few shots oiled up. I made a rosewood control plate as well to give it this multiwood design. I'm in the market for wood knobs too if anyone knows where to go for them... A few router burns never hurt anyone... Earl... -- James www.myspace.com/dividedbyzero www.myspace.com/vocoder
  3. Just wondering if anyone knew of a thread or had experience in this. It sees fairly easy but once upon a time a long while back I tried this on an old Epiphone pickup and all I got was wax all over the place. Here's the specs: 2004 Gibson Les Paul Studio. I want the covers to be black (just like the chrome, but flat black). I can get the covers, but I wanted to know if there was anything more to it than just unscrewing the screws. Also will a double-black model (ala Seymour Duncan JB non covered) fit under these covers in case I need coil tapping functions? Sorry for vague questions. I bought this stuff on Ebay this weekend so nothing has arrived yet for me to tinker with. -- James
  4. Thanks guys! I'm not sure about the peeing either. I think a better option is to wrap the metal in my sweaty gym shirt. Not sure if I want my guitar to smell like pee, or coffee for that matter. But I digress... Studio wear...hmmm sure. I guess that's the best description. I'm gonna try the amber from Reranch first on the neck, and then decide if I really want to beat up this pretty Candy Apple Red finish. Perhaps it's back to Ebay for a cheap guitar body purchase...
  5. Hey thanks guys! I knew you'd come thru. I guess I should clarify my meaning of relic, as the Rory Gallager and SRV strat fall under my list of "semi-stripped" guitars. The Rory strat website goes over color-relic'ing the neck, which was one of my main goals and helps a lot. Dave I don't mean to steal all your secrets, but wear spots would be a good one. For example, I see a lot of sunbursts and black strats have the forearm wear, and chips and dings around the edges. Others have the edge of the tummy cut and the typical belt buckle wears. Aside from screwdrivers and hammers, what kind of scratching tools/material could be used to replicate the effect? Steel Wool I read was one. Sand paper? What grit should I start at? 600? How do you take the shine out of the clearcoat without putting swirls in it, or creating a white coat of shredded clearcoat over the color? If you are giving, perhaps how to make the olympic white yellowish only on the exposed parts but remain white under pickguards etc...should I just leave it out in the sun for a while? ALso why do the white pickups turn yellow faster? Pitting on chrome or gold? I found that if you let someone borrow your guitar who has an indoor pool and they leave it in the pool room for a few months in the gig bag, it will naturally pit the metal (thanks Nate!). I also live near the beach now, and I think the water is affecting my Tele neck chrome plating. For a less subtle way to make gold worn, I found that the brass cleaner rags (the ones with the red inner cloth) will make a gold plated part more chrome looking (ie. take the yellow out). That's the kind of relic'ing I was looking for guidance on, wear on the finish due to playing and oxidation on the metal, not taking off the finish to wood. Here's some examples that I would consider relic'ing (much like the Time Machine Fenders). These are all on ebay so I apologize if the pictures disappear later. '65 Sunburst Strat '63 Black Strat Relic Candy Apple Red Strat with checking '62 Sunburst Jaguar Relic Sunburst Strat Holy Grail of relics! As far as Gibsons, I've only seen one interesting thing aside from checking....the real Gold Top Gibson Les Pauls will turn green when worn. -- James
  6. I just listened to "Actual Time". Very cool. Needs a singer and you guys could be the next Pantera (RIP).
  7. I'm in Divided By Zero (hence Divided By James) and it was formerly called Ghoulspoon. We're mentioned in numerous thank you's from many national bands like No Doubt and Korn (see first album....they spelled it Goulspoon...geniuses ). We also have a song on The Playstation game Twisted Metal 4 (under Ghoulspoon). When we're rockin...we sound like a heavier version of 311...or how I put it..."when Stevie Wonder meets Slayer". We also do acoustic versions of our own music. Our 4-song EP can be downloaded here: http://www.dividedbyzero.tv/ or can be heard for free here: http://www.myspace.com/dividedbyzero We're in the studio June '05 to re-record the EP with current drummer and a bunch of new songs. Anyone in bands interested in sharing shows with us, we're going to do some mini tours in August '05 up the California coast and out towards Arizona and Texas, so contact us through the myspace page or thru our website.
  8. I have a Mesa Dual Recto head and I'm quite happy with it. Here's my 2 cents Marshall - Industry Standard. Mode IV or JCM series, yes for studio purposes. Otherwise too nasal for me. Mesa/Boogie - Heads only. Combos lose bass frequencies. Crate - I have a V series. Worth what I paid (NAMM show dealer cost). Very noisy amps otherwise. Randall - I'd get their high end or modular models just to see how they model the amps Hughes & Kettner - the one with the glass front is cool but I witnessed a drummer drop his guitarist's head and shatter the entire thing. Note to self. Carry your own gear! The one Korn sponsored for a while is ok. Rocktron - good at effects, bad at amp tone. Dinosaur - who? Peavey - 5150 is cool, but one sounded, noisy, and the controls suck. Can we say "independent eq for both channels please"? Satch's amp is cool, but again one sounded. VOX - I give 'em props, but never tried 'em. LINE 6 - I have a POD 2.0 and I would never buy a head based on the sounds. I prefer the real deal. I've also heard these amps in their Recto modes lost on stage in the frequencies of cymbals and bass amps. Factor in post-tube processing and/or tube power and it might sound great! My brother in law has the Framus Cobra and while it's cool and extremely quiet, I'll stick to my Mesa. But I'll take a Diezel head over the Mesa anyday... What about VHT or Bogner?
  9. Hey everyone, I haven't been here for a while and it's good to see the forum alive and well. I've seen beautiful guitars being built that would be equivalent or better than any custom builders out there - congrats on your efforts! So as the typical anti-guy I bring you this request... I was just wondering if there were threads on relic'ing a guitar. I know you're thinking "duh just tie it to a string and drag it behind your car..." but I'm talking about honestly making it look vintage (40+ years old) when you start off with a brand new shiney guitar. All the forum stuff is about making beautiful looking guitars. I'm looking to beat up my guitar and make it look like I played it to death. Info I'd like to see: - typical wear spots on guitars (Fenders preferably, but Gibson wear would be interesting to read...maybe ibanez wear since y'all love Ibanez out here). - wear on different finishes and how to do it (ie. sandpaper grit levels) - how to make shiney clearcoat dull without looking like you took sandpaper to it (ie swirl marks). - UV'ing it? Possibly making the finish "age" by subjecting it to hours of UV (where are all those college plant growers when you need 'em ) - wear or age on chrome and bone nuts. - replicating finger oil on rosewood and maple, and getting the finish-holes in maple (ala Clapton's Blackie). - replicating "aged" look a bright white maple neck. There were 135 pages of theads, so forgive me for being lazy and not looking through them. I'm also inept when it comes to painting--my plastic model kit cars can vouch for my skills. So info for the severely handicapped luthier would be helpful. Thanks! -- James
  10. My 2 cents... I've found that Squire has upped the quality of their instruments. Unfortunately their name still leaves a bad taste in people's mouths because they used to be super cheap quality guitars. Some squiers use alder which I think is quality, but some use agathis, which I've always strayed from. The Affinity strats are decent and the only noticable thing I noticed about them is that the body is not nearly as thick (from trem plate to pickguard) as a regular Fender. $150 is a bit pricey to spend on a low end guitar in my opinion. I would have used the my money to buy one off Ebay. But then again that x factor you speak of may only apply to just that one guitar...not all Affinity Strats. Well rock on. I hope the guitar rocks your world and gives you a bit of inspiration!
  11. Gawd I have posted in forever...my 2 cents If you aren't concerned with wood quality, electronics, or brand name, you can generally get a $99 Epiphone from Guitar Center or Musician's Friend. If quality is a concern then I offer this (same I've told to friends interested in buying): Go with a bookmatched one-piece solid top guitar. Resale wise it is better, and it will age over time. Inexpensive solid tops I have seen in catalogs that have decent resale value are Epiphone AJ200S/PR350S, Ibanez "Artwood", Breedlove Atlas, Fender DG14 (& higher), and Carvin Cobalt to name a few. They can run anywhere from $200 - $600 for the low end ones. I recently picked up a Carvin Cobalt so that my Taylor would stop getting beaten up. They are quality made and Carvin is currently having a sale on them. Call the San Diego store and ask what the special is, don't look online. I think I got my cedar top for $299 +tax but it came with a free gigbag (a very nicely padded case I might add), and since I was local (and bought the high end one first) I got a stand and a cable for free. I think the spruce top was the same price. I have heard of Seagulls (Godin company) and my friend Christopher Dale uses the acoustic electric while my friend Miles from Slightly Stoopid uses the non-electric and uses the soundhole pickups. Both speak highly of them and apparently they are "cheap" money-wise.
  12. On covered pickups (ie. Les Paul/McCarty style) the adjustable poles are on the outter most part of the pickup. So for the bridge pickups the adj. poles are closest to the bridge itself...the neck pickups, the adj. poles are closest to the fingerboard. Most uncovered pickups have set and adjustable poles (except maybe some Dimarzio). I'd check the back of the pickup for writing (not stickers) and align them. Then see which adj. poles are on the top (neck pickup) and which are on the bottom (bridge). Or see which has the longer wires (neck genereally have longer wires since they are farther away from the controls). Then once installed you can do what Sethmetal said to determine if they are actually the pickups you think they are. For all you know they can be two bridge pickups, or two neck pickups.
  13. my $0.02... ouija graphic is cool and easier to do than the custom art ones he has. Plus it will merge the two concepts together than the vintage (it'll just be a beat up black jem at that point). You can pick up an ouija board at Toys R Us for $20 and then have a graphic artist scan and cut the pieces to a thin vinyl. Apply to a black body then clear coat and yer done. My question is if she's on a boat, where the hell is she gonna play it and out of what amp? I almost am agreeing for teh steinberger body since space may be an issue (altho I speak out of ignorance as I've never been in the navy or on a boat). Kirk Hammett...he's a hero of mine. He's no Yngwie but at least he dresses better and has cooler looking guitars. And he was more influenced by Michael Schenkner(sp?). Hetfield...also a favorite of mine but remember he and Lars were Metallica and that was their rule. It was his music only --almost to the point of selfishness. That's why writing credits were few for Kirk and Jason Newsted. Either way they were extremely influential and both run circles talent wise around any of the dumb schmucks with record deals now. I also like the idea of flame maple top, so instead of white, be transparent and have transparent black instead of black. That'd be cool.
  14. Go Here. Strangley enough I posted an EBay auction for it. I think the last I saw it was at about $66.
  15. Here.I wouldn't use a splitter on this idea. I'd stick with a splitter. Otherwise the mixer idea will work, but you'd have to invest in it. Berhinger makes an inexpensive one. I'd make sure to turn the volume down on any channel not being used tho.
  16. This guitar will do fine with 2 pots...first work on the regular 5-way set up...then try the bridge on. IF you try to do two at a time you won't get it. I have a guitar setup this way, but all Duncan CLassic stacks, and then I have the bridge come on at any position. I will take it apart tomorrow and see what the wiring is. In the meantime work with getting just the H/h-s/s/s-h/H working and then we can tackle the bridge on part.
  17. Yeah you can see the top one has bronze/silver strings, and the saddles are black (ie. like the FAAS graphtech saddles). Otherwise if it didn't have a piezo, it'd be useless attachment. Nice artwork, but I probably would need a bridge humbucker if I played that guitar. As for Ed Roman...I like Ibanez guitars, and I used to visit his site. He did have the "Ibanez sucks" mentality the whole time until he changed his site. But I guess karma comes back in small pieces. At the show I played in Vegas, the guitarist of the band playing before us was having technical difficulties, and he kept getting a ground problem. The whole time I was looking at his guitar and thinking it was an old ESP strat. After the show I found out it was an Ed Roman custom. He said he sold a guitar and a Fender amp to get it. I held my tongue, but I told him to take it back to him and have him rewire it. I feel bad for the guy. I wanted to tell him it was a crap guitar and I could make a better custom than Ed Roman...but their band kinda was on the sucky-side and I figured I'd never play a show with them again, so I didn't say nothin.
  18. thanks lovekraft--that's a cool site for building your own stuff, and I didn't even know it existed.
  19. Never driven a 6 speed, my Nissan pickup is a 5 speed and the autos I drove in the past were crappy (Ford Taurus). But my girlfriend has some really giving parents and she has a Lexus IS300 (?) and it's got the paddle-auto shifter. BAsically it's an auto, but you can pop it over to manual and use triggers on the sterring wheel to move up or down in gear. It's not my favorite version tho. I like the Jetta/Passat we test drove because its done on the stick itself and resembles the directional movement of a stick shift more. The PT cruiser is similar but the shifting is horizontal rather than vertical.
  20. Dude that is cool! WHy on earth would you think we wouldn't appreciate it? Keep up the good work.
  21. ok last post...Janet Miller is the lady who paints the guitars. Apparently the top is glass, and she does reverse painting on it.
  22. I could keep going on this guys stuff! But this one is cool. Omage to the great Jerry Gracia and Jimi Hendrix amoung others.
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