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Xanthus

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Everything posted by Xanthus

  1. The use of the "It's A Girl" pencil is probably better than the ubiquitous "shoe shot." Lookin' good so far
  2. Well barring the obvious answer "Find a ruler," um..... no I don't know of any other answer to give. Nuts on the new ESPs are 42mm wide, but I don't know if that applies since the 250 is kind of old.
  3. Glad you found out before you assembled everything! That's a bit disenheartening to find out, but at least you can get that cleared up and move on with the build before the new ones arrive. I don't even have a multimeter. And now you've got me all fearful about the pots in my V.....
  4. No harm in plugging Carvin, which gives you tons of options for their necks (anything they offer for full builds - but you have to call them!) cheaper than Warmoth's prices. Neck-throughs too! I used a Carvin neck on my Explorer neckthrough, and it's a fantastic piece!
  5. Ah, you definitely have a point. I've run into the same problem with oiling my last guitar. It's a step I'll definitely have to look into if I feel adventurous enough.
  6. Speaking of neck twisting, I totally want to find a guitar with the helical neck. Talk about needing some serious math skills to build one of those and keep it in working order! http://www.littleguitarworks.com/layout/Img406.jpg waaah! And it still uses a truss rod. Blows my mind!
  7. I would vote for the 7-piece lamination setup you drew, with the 2 truss rods and 3 carbon fiber strips. You can NEVER be too cautious. ....I'm gonna run away before I get smacked. Don't know what's got into me today! I'm going with Keegan. The extra 1/2" lamination should help, not to mention that when you carve the neck out, there will be less maple to worry about, right?
  8. Maybe because Melvyn hasn't sent me my royalties check for plugging his book yet But yes, as a self-respecting guitar builder I should be ashamed at failing to mention Hiscock's book. I actually don't have the Hiscock book, but I do have Martin Koch's book on the same subject. It's in need of and update, a few diagrams, and color photos, but it does the job. My favorite book, though, is The Search Function by the PG Forum guys. Ok, I'll stop
  9. ooooooooooook where to begin? 1) Have you played either guitar? Which one feels better to YOU? You're going to be the one playing it every day, so I feel that other people's opinions don't really hold much sway. FWIW I built a Rhoads last summer and it's VERY comfortable. King Vs are far too big for me, ungainly, can't play when sitting down, etc etc. Plans can be found here: guitarbuildingtemplates.com guitarplansunlimited.com google.com 2) Wood. What kind of wood do you like on your guitars? Read up. http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Necks/NeckWoods.aspx http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Bodies/Optio...oodOptions.aspx google.com (note the heavy emphasis on search engines ) Ash, Alder, and Mahogany are popular, Maple and Walnut for necks. This is also a question of how well-sourced your area is, and how much you want to spend. There is no specific wood per-se for a metal sound. The more gain and effects you throw on your sound, the less important the wood is. Search the forums for plywood guitar experiments. Strap button position is more important on how a guitar hangs. Your strap buttons want to be in as straight of a line as possible. Normal guitars balance well because the strap button on the horn is higher than the strap button on the butt. 3) Have you played guitars with EMGs? Have you played them through YOUR amp? The rest of your effects chain is just as, if not more important than your pickups. But, and not to be rude, you probably think gain is king. Play more guitars with different pickups. How many old-school mettalers played Strats with Seymour humbuckers? I remember this one guitarist who played a secondhand guitar with a stock Gibson pickup through an old Marshall Plexi, and even hooked up a Variac to LOWER the power of his amp. Crazy! (Yes I'm aware I'm beating a dead horse..) What's the reasoning behind not having a neck pickup? If you REALLY just hate the sound of a neck pickup then you could drop more money on a GOOD bridge pickup. Look at: http://www.swinesheadpickups.co.uk/ http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/ 4) A neck build is only difficult because it requires more specialized tools and greater attention to detail. That said, I built my first with a premade neck and couldn't have been happier. carvin.com soulmateguitars.com Some of the best necks around. Soulmate by reputation, but I have a Carvin guitar and bought a neckthrough and they are the nicest feeling necks. Carvin, if you call them by phone, will give you plenty more options on necks than on their website. Basically any option they offer for a full guitar they will do for a neck. Here's my opinion on inlays: They don't make you play better or faster. If you're just looking to pretty up your metal machine, though, go for it. Inlays require lots of time and offer basically no room for error. I would either get them done if you HAVE to have them, or go without, aside from simple dots. Have you played a thin neck? I'll repeat what I've been hinting at previously: Get thyself to a Guitar Center and play on two or three guitars from every brand they have. Make a note, take a notebook and write down what you like and what you dislike, and you'll come further to finding out what works for you than asking people online. Compare a Tele to a Les Paul/355 to a JEM and find out if you even like a thin neck. I personally do not. Do some searching on the forums, and you should be able to find answers to any question you have.
  10. Very nice finishing and tasteful swirl *thumbs up* Approved.
  11. On sharpening up the bevels: Use a long flat block for the outer bevels, and a short flat block for the curved bevels. And make sure you're going STRAIGHT across when you sand the sides and top/back, and not rounding over the edge of the bevel. When I made my V I actually used a half-round file with the handle chopped off. Wrapped some sandpaper around it and went lengthwise for the straight edges, flipped it perpendicular to the bevel for the curved ones. Worked like a breeze. Use pencil marks as a guide for where you want the bevel to end up. Helps a ton.
  12. I love the shape of this one! especially the neck heel/transition area. When in your building process do you cut the lip for the cavity cover?
  13. Agreed, the pictures are very dark. I like the pin set-neck you did, very interesting. Lovin' that lathe, I see My dad has one but honestly I use it more for drilling than any turning haha. You accomplished the momentous task of making a BC Rich body look classy! How well are you able to see the solder as a knob marker? The wood seems very dark to be able to see the contrast well.
  14. Those are VERY stylish bodies, Spoke!! Totally in love with the amber maple topped one you posted. The binding is classy and I can see f-holes making a good-lookin' archtop! ::EDIT:: I'm curious as to the change in body outline around the neck pocket from the prototype to the first builds. The curve from the bass to treble horn seems stable enough not to need the Gibson-styled neck pocket.
  15. I don't know, a 7-string might be idiotic... You could mess up the whole headstock drilling that 7th tuner hole!! Just playin' I agree with Keegan in getting a paper template for what you want, and making a few copies of different designs. The guy who runs the website that you linked to is very courteous. If you ask him nicely he might even make the design a 7-string for you! Keegan is right, you're going to have to make your own templates either way. If you have an Explorer already, you can trace the body and place the knobs and jack and that stuff; The body dimensions are the same except for the width of the neck. If you don't feel comfortable building your own neck (I know I didn't) there are manufacturers who make 7-necks; you'll just have to make sure the neck pocket fits. It costs more money, but doing a neck-through build is easier, I feel, for a first-timer. That's what I did, at least. Good luck!
  16. I believe that's a very rounded, spoon-like chisel. He says he "always use a mallet" which makes me think it's some kind of chisel.
  17. parentheses, exponent, multiplication........... Not that I've ever cut my own fret slots (which has prevented me from building a multiscale... ) but I think it would make more sense to cut slots then radius, because I assume it would be easier to cut more evenly on a flat board, and if a slot needs deepening after the radius it would just be a matter of a few swipes along the slot.
  18. Agreed, don't rebuild the tips. You're going to be sanding down the whole thing anyways, so why not do a great job on the whole? Who/how will you be doing the paint?
  19. Hey DUDE: - If you're doing a not-quite-neckthrough, I would definitely consider doing a reverse-neckthrough joint like some Warwick basses. Do a google search for pics. - I like your first mockup better, with the vulture-esque headstock. - http://ibanez.com/ElectricGuitars/model-PGMFRM1 check it out, it might inspire you.
  20. 1#- I have rarely seen the truss rods and carbon fiber fanned out, and honestly with a 3-piece neck AND two truss rods, I feel like 3 CF rods are overdoing it. But let it not be said that "nitpick-y" is the theme of this thread #2- guitar CF rods are 18" while many fretboards are 19" or so. 3 inches over the course of 27 isn't going to make your 3-laminate, 2 truss rod, 3 CF rod neck any less stable, but of course it's all up to you. Good luck!
  21. Using an Earvana nut has put my saddles pretty much straight across the board.
  22. Not sold on the butt of the bass string attachment, but other than that, you GO for it! This is going to be a very stunning build. I don't see the visual complications of using that headstock for a 5-er, just take one off the treble side
  23. Yeah I definitely thought about that, Peter, thanks for the heads-up! I wonder if the neck screws that close will affect anything, either..... I could only find inserts 3/8" tall, which is exactly how much space I have to play with. At the risk of cutting a shorter pickup route and having to modify the pickup to bring the height down, I don't know if I feel comfortable with tolerances that tight...
  24. Colors are great! The back is SO blonde and the birdseye fretboard looks awesome. No comment about the hole in the fretboard, as the point is pretty moot by now. Good job keeping the Tele original!
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