IPA or death

I was thinking this: But yours is a lot better.

I've got the Tremsetter in my guitar and I'm not real crazy about the feel. I might check one of those out.

Nice finish on that one Lotza. What are your impressions of the Trem Stop?

Thanks for the suggestion of psw's idea. That will help a lot.

Check out this one from David Myka: Myka custom guitar

Dang, why didn't I think of that? See, I've already gotten a great solution. Thanks Orgmorg!

Or any creative ideas for substitutes? Any help would be valuable and much appreciated.

Maybe you could put a smaller version of the fretboard marker up on the tip with the logo in the middle? Or vice versa. Just a suggestion.

I love Juniors. There's something about the simplicity of that single P-90 that appeals to me. It does one thing and it does it very well. True story: an LPJR was my first from scratch build but I was using a Les Paul plan, so I put a neck angle on it . It still works though. Keep up the good work man!

Yeah, I hadn't thought about other woods making a difference in the tone of the L-500. Mine is an alder body, maple neck and ebony fretboard with a FR. Mahogany may make a world of difference. They're pretty cheap (I think I gave around $40 new for mine) so I guess it won't hurt to give it a try and see how you like it.

Nice build thread and good progress on this one. But you always make nice guitars. Making and slotting a nut is one of the few things I haven't done on a build but you make it sound simple enough. Time I give that a try. But I'm pretty sure I'll never make my own truss rod.

In re-reading my post, I guess I could have stated things a little nicer. Truth be told, I was on my fourth Yuengling's at that point and probably should have not posted at all. I could have said it wasn't my favorite of his builds rather than it not being his best effort (!). I should have made it clear that it wasn't HIS headstock design that wasn't right, it was just a statement that the headstock is one of the things I think can throw off a build (again, not necessarily this particular build). I hate that he got so mad about it, because like I said before, I like his builds--this one and the Green March are very nice and my kind of guitar for sure. Oh well, what can you do? I've said I'm sorry more than once so beyond that, it's just time to move on and stop being so sensitive.

Hoo boy, did I open a can of worms here. I really thought it was constructive criticism, however it may have come off. Like I said, I really like his builds including this one, but the Tortoise didn't particularly speak to me. Not to say it wasn't well done, it just wasn't my cup of tea, and I was giving some insight into why he might not have garnered enough votes to win that GOTM. All it was was my opinion, nothing more. But I'll be sure to keep those as just thoughts in the future 'cause I darned sure don't want to insult anyone who puts themselves and their work out there for everyone to judge. I do apologize for any hurt feelings. As to what I've built and who I am to judge, well I guess I'm just an ordinary guy . I don't build guitars to sell, just for the fun of it. And they aren't flawless, ground-breaking, or particularly innovative. You don't have to look too closely to see flaws on my stuff. That's why I don't enter them in GOTMs: they just aren't good enough. I've never put a build thread on here because I'm terrible at remembering to take pictures along the way and even worse at adding them to posts . But if I ever do a good enough job on one to enter or just do better with the pic-taking, I'll do it and I'll try to take constructive criticism in stride. Once again, sorry for the hard feelings. I'll keep it to myself from now on.

Don't be too concerned with GOTM wins or losses. You've got as good a shot at it as anyone else (the sour grapes ain't going to help but maybe nobody will remember them). These guitars you're building are very nice and you've got a good chance at winning, even better depending on the other entries that month. Just keep doing what you're doing. And as long as we're being proud of our honesty, I'll be honest about my preferences for a GOTM winner. It might give some insight into how other people view entries. First of all, as opposed to seemingly everyone else on PG, I think spalted wood is hideous. I also think there is such a thing as too much wood (cavity covers and the like are overdoing it imo). And the most important thing to me is the finish. An oil finish looks good on most woods but it's relatively easy to do (which is why I use oil mainly). On the other hand, a nice shiny lacquer is very hard to do, so I grade a lot higher for a good job on one of those. The second most important thing is the headstock. Ugly headstocks ruin otherwise wonderful looking guitars. Once again, only my opinions, and they are meant to help not insult anyone. Like I said, your guitars are beautiful and you'll win one eventually. The tortoise just wasn't your best effort imho. I congratulate you for not only making great instruments but for having the stones to enter one in GOTM. I've never done it because I can't stand all the criticism .

I had an L-500L (Bill Lawrence USA) in it, which was too trebly and harsh for my taste. Seemed to be aggressive at the expense of personality if that makes any sense. The AT-1 is better balanced and has a nice vocal quality going through overdrive. Still a pretty loud pickup though. Clean, it's just more well-rounded and interesting imo.

Ideally, a planer. Other than that I guess a jointer could be used but I've never done that. Got to be more than one way to skin a cat.

I just put the AT-1 in my Washburn N4 and I really like it, especially the clean sound. Very nicely balanced and articulate. Wish you good luck with the build.

I would suggest a refret too, considering what you've told us. At worst, it would be great practice for fret jobs in the future. Also consider this: if you screw up this fret job, just take them out and do it again. I've done that before. Just follow good technique and you'll be fine. Heat the frets with an old soldering iron to remove, make sure the neck is good and straight after all the frets are removed, make sure the fret tang will fit in the slot good, and do a good fret leveling. You'll do better than you'd think probably.

You might try some of these too.

the not so good: - the finish. finishing is definitely the area where my natural impatience takes the biggest toll. Still, lots learnt for next time - the overall attention to perfectionist detail is simply not there - too many little things that could have been that bit better if I'd taken a little more time and care - the series/parallel pushpulls don't really do enough to warrant their inclusion - the sound just isn't different enough. - grainfilling. i completely underestimated its importance and didn't pay enough attention to how good of a job i was doing of it. biggest lessons learned: - if the wood isn't smooth before you start the finishing, it isn't going to be smooth afterwards - the finish does not fill in the little pits like you might fondly imagine - wood is really easy to ding - slow and steady wins the race and produces a cleaner build - the phrase 'it will do' is your enemy. the only thing that will 'do' is perfection! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I could have written all of that . Exactly my problems with my builds. You did good though, and it is a learning experience. Keep it up.

How do you cut the scarf so cleanly btw? This is something I've always been less than perfect with.

I always love your builds and these are certainly not altering my opinion. The scarf with the two white lines (maple?) really looks sharp. Keep up the good work AD.

Check out these beauties. Triple C Woodworking

I gotta agree there! Im usually not a fan of fancy woods, but that is awsome!! GOTM anyone? Already won imo. Bee-you-ti-full!

Looking good crow, I always follow your builds. They're always very clean and nicely finished. A question: how do you make sure that the stain doesn't seep into the "binding" on the edge of the maple?