StratDudeDan

not sure what that is...if that's the tailpiece that connects to the strap button, then yes, i did think about it. passed it up because the white stripe that will be going across the body would be covered up if i did. if you mean something like a Bigsby, then no. i have not thought about it, and a: i don't want a trem on it, b: i really am not looking to impress anybody with this. i just want to learn from building it and get myself a decent guitar to play around on and maybe show off at concerts and such.

String-thru TOM it is. gonna start looking for parts today, hopefully will have them ordered within the next week or so. kinda running on a short budget and just "collecting" parts for the electronics, which is the next thing i'm gonna get taken care of, so once i have everything i need in one place, i'll be set. the wiring schematic is in this thread. a single coil neck w/ a humbucking bridge. the original plan was to use carvin pups, but as i'm going to be using transensors on my next project, i was contimplating buying those instead. dunno. that's still 2 "phases" down the road... once the elecs are in place, i should have enough money for the neck, which will drop in shortly after. then i'll get everything glued in place, route and drill for the pups/bridge, install pups and wire the thing, finally, brige and tuners.

got a question for you guys. should i put a tuno-o-matic or a fender style bridge on here? the tom is more of a classic SG look, yes, but that's not necesarily my idea here... the fender has more versatility when you're setting it up, and IMO tunes better. if you say tom, w/ a stop tailpiece or strings thru-body? this will be non-trem, fyi.

elecs. i can go to my uncles for woodworking if need be, and finishing, well, IMO there isn't much to it. i know you'll all be "whoa! what?!" but as i said, IMO, it's kinda simple as long as you have patience. but yeah, i'm getting into experimenting w/ elecs, and enjoying it much. bringing back memories from high school electronics classes.

for jazz comping and soloing, i use between .71-1.00 depending on what guitar i have in my lap and how old the strings are. for rock/punk/speed, i use .63-.71. i really don't like anything smaller, and if it fills up my hand, i'll throw it away real quicklike. as for moving fast, even though i know there will be hundreds of guitar teachers wanting to kick me in the balls for saying something stupid like this, it's what i do and i'm gonna say it: i like to turn the pick slightly sideways, almost on an angle and take my hand from a full arm swing/turn to quick moves between bending my index finger at the middle knuckle and my thumb. EDIT- i always used dunlop tortex or everly tortex w/ the star cut in them. i started using the star pattern ones a while ago, and they actually kinda stuck.

it's all the guys from Creed except for Scott Stapp. Brian Marshall is even back on bass, i heard. don't quote me, but i do believe he came back for that, considering the reason he left Creed was because of Stapp. EDIT- yes, brian marshall is back. just checked their website. it's really too bad he left creed in the first place. i kinda liked what he added to the group.

i won an Affinity Squier strat in a local radio contest. that was my first electric. however, my first guitar was a very old (i have no info on it) Yamaha acoustic from i want to say sometime between 72-76. not sure. was my mom's. and she got it in a pawn shop so it's probably older than that. my first bass was a Peavey Foundation. my little brother has that now. i've borrowed my friend's Ibanez JetKing 1 and Epiphone LP-100 quite a few times for punk shows (strats just lack some of the major balls needed to really show up sometimes...not all the time, but sometimes...) my current (and most likely last) bass i own is a Dean Razor Neck-thru Custom Series, #732 of 800. beautiful sound. yet i'm still searching desparately to find someone with some used MEC-II pups i can either steal or buy off 'em (steal, 'cause who would actually sell those?!). amp-wise, for bass i have a Fender BXR 120w and an Aims by Randall Basso, 225w w/ a Peavey Black Widow 15". guitar, Ibanez H-100 i think it's called? not sure. 100w, 2-channel, half-stack. sounds great for a solid state.

one question about that large resistor you spoke of: would i need 1 that is wired to each, or 3, each cap having their own?

grazzi senor.

so in place of the 5-way switch, just use a standard on/on/on pup select?

could someone please check that? what i'm going for is single coil neck, humbucker bridge, w/ a n/both/s select switch on the hum. as for after the arrows, it should be a volume pot leading to an on/on switch that will choose between 1 tone circuit or another switch that will lead to two more options. i'm planning on using the "first" tone as a high-pass (lead), then the other two will be a mid-pass/high-cut for switching between rock and jazz tones. EDIT- forgot. i had a question with this, too... from the left to right, the caps will be a .047 uF, .022 uF, and .01uF. is this right for the ciruit i explained? so the left-most cap (.047uF) will give me a high-cut tone, center (.022uF) will be a mid-pass, and the .01uF on the far right will be a high-pass? also, i was told that i needed a resistor to pair w/ each of those a while ago, but i don't know what the value should be or if i even need them. so questions are: are the values correct? what resistors do i need if any? thanks in advance!

well, as my SG is already all planned out and just awaiting money for parts, i've sarted to throw together ideas for my next one. trying for a classic 60's sound, and my friend pointed me towards these pickups. he described them as having a bell-like tone w/ a slight crisp edge to them. now, i've grown to love the single coil neck + humbucker bridge setup. i get a lot of options out of that that i really like, and w/ some different tone setups, i can have all the fun i want. problem is, w/ the trans-sensors, lace says that the humbucker cannot be used w/ anything but another TS hum. first off, i was wondering why? if anyone has an answer to that. i've e-mailed them as well, but i haven't gotten a respone after 4 days. if someone can tell me (with fair certainty) that i CAN actually use a hum + single, please do so. if not, would i run into any problems using three single coils, just with the bridge pups being right next to each other like a hum? also, w/ the single + hum setup, i can get neck, neck + bridge (north, south, or both), or bridge (north, south, or both). i'm having mental issues figuring out a way to do the same thing using 3 single coils. help is very welcome. thanks in advance!

the man has a point...what's a "classic" styled hollowbody w/out the Bigsby? also, i have a vote for orange, but at the same time, one for old-school green. kinda aged a bit, maybe even a "formerly blue but aged to green" look would be nice.

for the neck through: i'm leaving the center open until i install the neck, then i'm putting other pieces of alder over it in order to flush it out. i'm not staining this and have no desire to put a transparent finish on this one, so i really don't care about grain. bevel: sort of. it's not going to be quite as "into the body" as gibsons are. i'm going to go 1/2" in and 1/4" down. also, the "points" will be rounded a bit more. they're actually very sharp and slightly scary right now... actually, the body is shorter. it's the same width, just 3/4" less in length. not sure how that happened in all reality...but it did. so i was like, okay. just go with it. the insides were already cut and hollowed, so i couldn't just bring in the bottom half of the guitar at all, plus, i like the weight of it now. a little more than my strat body, center of gravity (for the body) about 2" closer the the bottom than the "points." i am getting the blank headstock, and i'm working on either a 4-2 or a 5-1 design that will somehow go with the guitar. don't know yet...i just get tired of seeing 3-3 and 6-inline.

figures, as soon as i enter my guitar, WAM!, here comes LGM with his noob killer. man. nice axe.

as i said, i have local offers as well, was just putting it up for anyone around here. in order to get it, you'd have to beat that price (offer was $850 up front if i ordered the case). giving him two weeks to get the money together. EDIT: and you missed the $170 silicon treatment, cap'n...

before i sell it, i'm going to enter my strat. if you remember from two or three months ago, it was the natural wood w/ ebony flames along the side and a black pickgaurd. not, it's not: formerly: now: unfortunately, i didn't take any progress pics along the way. thing that changed we the design (obviously), the type and process of clear coating, and a capacitor in the electronics (whoa...major stuff...) i started by sanding down the entire body, through all sealants and whatever else have you on until the wood stood in its natural beauty (yes...that's legal). once there, i sanded the body smooth up to a 1000 grit. i then taped a drawing i made of the dragon onto the body of the guitar, putting the bridge in place just to make sure it would fit, then using an xActo, cut along the drawing into the wood about 1/16th of an inch, give or take 1/32nd. using very fine paintbrushes, i stained the dragon w/ Minwax Red Oak and Minwax Ebony. i then sanded it down until it was only about 30% left. re-stained. repeated so it was a total of staining 3 times. i layered on a Minwax clear stain over the entire body (including over the dragon for depth), then sanded the entire guitar down to a 1500 grit and re-stain the whole thing one last time, same order. detail work on the dragon, clear stain, sand smooth (started w/ 1000 then to 2000). i used a cabinetry laquer (C144-19, custom made by a friend of mine. thick and diamond-hard, semi-gloss) over the entire thing, sanded it w/ a 1500, applied a second layer, sanded it down w/ a 2000. re-assembled the body. took pictures. posted here. (btw, this is also for sale...see this thread for info/price)

well...the strat that i love so very much is for sale now...blah... pics: a close-up of the dragon (out of focus...sorry, crappy cam...): http://fullservesite.com/stratomagic/strat...%20close-up.JPG pics of what is used to be as well as a pic of the back and one of the head can be found here. asking price right now is $850 paid before shipping. i'll take care of ordering a case and pay shipping if you want one as well, just add the price of whatever it is on to the $850. specs: was formerly a '98 Affinity Squier strat. body swapped from a Mexican maple laminate to an American 4-piece. swapped pups for standard Fender non-staggered poles. everything else (bridge, tuners, neck, etc.) is stock. i've treated the fingerboard w/ a synthetic silicon compound to speed things up and to keep the wood with it's color. not 100% sure how this will affect the axe in its later years, but it's been on there for over 2 years now and zero side-affects. the dragon design was cut into the wood and then stained (to reduce color bleeding). i think of it as a permanent graphic because of the cut lines, so if you're looking for a modder, this isn't it. the 8th scale on the belly isn't just traced, it's actually carved into the wood, signifying the 8th graphic design/paint job/refinishing this guitar has seen. i have a couple local offers which will (sorry) take priority (they'll be able to pay me in person...) if they have enough in time. i really don't want to sell this thing, honestly...it's kinda my baby. it was my first guitar and the guitar i've spent the most time w/ in my shop. it plays very low to the fingerboard and has one of the sweetest, clearest sounds ever. it does not distort well, but w/ the right ear and a good overdrive, there is no better sounding jazz/blues guitar i've ever heard IMO. i'm going to assume that if fender were to sell this as is from their shop, it would be priced about $700-750, and because of a lot of sentimental value as well as my own idea of what kind of work has gone into this, i bumped it to $850 OBO if higher. PM or e-mail me to let me know about an offer. FIRST WARNING ABOUT PICS

finally got a working camera! the body so far is: the "pieces" of the body are seen here. some other pics (from the mahogany i started w/ to the drill and sanding bits i was using) are all here. EDIT #1- changed the first pic link so it was the correct one. EDIT #2- i would like to say that i am very interested in as much praise/criticism/advice/etc. as can possibly be dished out, noobs and pros alike. this is pretty much a learning guitar for me when it comes to what building techniques will work, what won't, and how to get something done from start to finish for once. i am amazingly open and do not take offense easily. if you have something to say about anything, lemme know. if you have a question so you can ream me or say "hey, that was a good idea," please ask it. i really want to learn something from this instead of just doing it.

i don't think anyone could have written a stranger plot twist... the biggest fighter/aggrivant (no offense inteded litch...honestly...) becomes a mod, but not just a mod, he also has the tyrranous (no offense intended kevan...honestly...) go off for a while. this is one of two things: kevan saying, "this is how i have it..." or something very odd happened behind closed doors. i believe that badger was involved...

on several schematics now (usually those used for LED or pre-amp applications) have had an "input," "ground" and "+9V" lead on them. it's the "+9V" one that about which, i query. does it mean the positive side of the 9V battery? does it mean 9V have been added to that (i.e. the negative side)? if so, is the ground the same as the positive side? or does it just go off into oblivion?

i play pretty much anything with strings except for viola (too hard to read in blasted alto clef...). i started by reading "bass" books on an acoustic, got a bass for christmas that year, and that's been my largest source of income since. i think of myself as a bassist that plays other instruments. right now, i'm starting a band playing guitar while my brother is playing bass, though, so i'll be in both worlds soon.

since when have gay men become the standard for all things fashionable, including how to treat a woman right? after all...they can't do it... sorry kevan, know it's out of place. delete it even. everytime that show's brought up, though, i have to make that point. and others should see that, too!

oh sweet jesus, it's done. i haven't been following the thread ('cause of the quote unquote clutter) so to see the pics now from where i left off is, just, well...wow. this whole month, well...sucks... i'm gonna null my vote...

strat DC, but i'm a bassist that plays guitar, not the other way around, so that one's pretty obvious.