matttheguy

The only place that solder hits is on the bottom of every pot, where the grounds are all wound and placed... and of course on the connections like where the pickup goes and the capacitors. I might, I'll have to check. If I do, I can test the pickups, right? By the way, They're Gibsons, and Red is hot, Green and White useless (for my basic wiring) and bare and black ground. On the jack, there's two connections since it's not stereo. the 'long' connection and the 'short' one (long connection being the one with the longer piece to hold in the plug. The 'long' is hot and the short is ground, am I correct?

How would I go about checking to see if the pickups are in working order (even though they're brand new Gibsons)? Also, would too much solder create bad connections? I don't think I put too much on, but I may have.

That's what I assumed, and did, and no dice

I just wired my Les Paul using the Stewmac wiring kit and 490R / 490T pickups. I used the diagram at the bottom of this page so as to have independent controls. I used shielded wire for everything going from the switch to the controls and jack. I get nothing, no matter what way I turn the knobs, nothing. On my pickups they have Red (hot) Green and White (coiled together) and Black and open (ground). I used the Black and open wires for the ground and the red wires on the control, but I just left the green and white wires taped and connected to nothing. Any troubleshooting tips?

Here's my experience: My first guitar is nearing completion now, and it seems as though it's going to be playable and probably sound alright to boot, but there's so many mistakes on it. In the finish, the binding, how the fretboard lines up with the neck and the body, et cetera, there are just a lot of cosmetic problems with it. To someone with an experienced eye, this guitar could easily be described as 'ugly' when inspected up close. You know what? This is the guitar that will always have a hardshell case and will always be properly maintained. Am I completely proud of my work? Not in the least of the sense, but I've learned so much on this first try. That's all that really matters when you're done.

I honestly think you took a bad situation and made it into one of the best transition bursts I've ever seen. Although it wasn't the color you hoped to use, I sure hope you're still proud of the work you did. Bravo to mistakes that lead to great successes.

What I'd like to know is all of your views on the difference between the Nashville style bridges and the ABR-1 bridges. I'd especially like to know Drak's opinion, seeing as he seems to be one of the most well versed here.

This is a classic Les Paul, no binding nubs, cream plastic binding, rosewood fretboard. So the sides of the binding get finish and the tops don't. Thanks!

Read the thread. The thing is, there is no flame there, he sanded through to the mahogany!

How do I go about finishing a bound fretboard, specifically the top edge of the binding. Should I scrape it to be a little shallow to the fretboard and then apply finish, or just not worry about the finish that will stand proud of the fretboard?

I doubted my skills far too much to attempt a scarf joint, and in retrospect, I think I should have tried it. Word of advice: follow any word of advice Setch or any other knowledgeable person here gives, it will really help out in the long run. They know what they're doing!

It still needs a lot of work before I can do that, but I'll be sure to get it done as soon as possible! It's a little plain, but it's still an LP.

Slow progress, but still progress.

We had our day in Erie a couple weeks back, but then it all melted and no sight of it since!

Images aren't working. I'd love to see them, fix them fast!!

Well, this is my first time inlaying, and I have to say, I'm pretty surprised by how well it turned out. I used my set of x-acto knives to do the entire thing, and the inlays fit so well that it's a hard time for me to get them back out. There was only one place where I slipped with the knife, but it's really not noticeable. Heck, for a first guitar, I'm happy to have those little nicks!

Don't you love how dust settles on beautiful guitars almost instantly? Nice guitar man, real nice burst.

You could put a 4.4 degree shim in the bottom of the mortice. Make sure it's perfect and fits damn snug, though.

Ridiculously beautiful, Drak.

Aye, that's what it's going to take. I should have sanded those dang runs down the moment that first coat dried. What the heck was I thinking?!

The sides might need sanded down to bare wood and refinished, as the runs are still visible. I gotta do what I gotta do, I guess. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v295/mat...opFinished2.jpg

Ordered some things last Monday, got a package on Tuesday. Sometimes the prices are a little over the top on some things, but, shipping is fast, shipping is cheap, and it's basically a one-stop shop for alot of things. Heck, I could go down to the hardware store and pick up a couple of things for a few bucks cheaper, but when it comes down to it, sometimes it's better to go with a place like Stewmac. Good find though, I've been looking for a cheap pair. Now, since I hate reading micrometers, I'll start searching for a cheap digital pair!

Alright, unfortunately, I have no pictures of this at the time, so I'll explain it to the best of my abilities. Alright, so I've got my guitar, and I used a cloth to wipe on the aniline dye (alcohol based, red) onto the mahogany back and sides. That all went swimmingly. The problems began to arise when I was brushing on the glear gloss varnish. I don't know if this is normal, or if many of you are familiar with brushing on finishes (I see most spray), but for the first coat of the finish, it sort of 'mixed' with the dye, and instead of being completely clear, it had a slightly reddish tint to it. Now, you see, this isn't a problem when you think about it, until it runs down the side. Being a slightly different color than clear, it created a few runs down the side of the guitar that are fairly visible. Clear coating over this doesn't remedy the problem, obviously. So, that's where I stand. I'm almost ready to start to complete the entire back of the guitar, but I need to fix these runs, first. Please, suggestions are greatly appreciated. I've been thinking that if I sand down to the bare wood in the questioned areas only and then wipe on the dye to those areas and start applying clear, it could work. If this is the only plausible suggestion, then I have to question: When I sand through in those areas and then apply the dye in those areas, will it not overlap with other areas and make a seam of color? I'm pretty desperate, and I'd rather not sand down the entire side of the guitar back to wood. Hope there's a remedy.

I sure hope not, Perry. Such a nice guitar!

I think it'd be interesting, as you have black with silver design, to use a silver with black design pickguard, like the one here with the paisley pattern: http://www.wdmusic.com/fender_telecaster_r..._27909_prd1.htm It's hard to say, though.