IPA or death

Nice looking guitar you've got going there. I'm working on a short scale travel guitar modeled after the old Chiquita travel guitar which is 19" scale. They recommend tuning up three half steps to G. The Chiquitas come with these string gauges: .013, .017, .022, .036, .046, .056

Good luck with the build!

I'm always interested in walnut builds and this one looks pretty cool. Darn stain appears to have subdued the grain in the pics but it's probably not that dark in person. Anyway, it's very nice. You did a good job on it. You did a good job on the junior you did as well btw.

Love the body design on this one. It's going to be a beautiful guitar when finished. Keep up the clean work man.

Well, just like everyone else, I'm very impressed with this guitar. Very sweet.

Q: How does the truss rod cover stay on, magnets?

I love it too. I have a mahogany bodied guitar with a black walnut neck and it's really nice. The look alone is reason enough to use it in guitars but it also sounds great. I agree that it's going to vary from piece to piece but I don't really think anyone would dislike the tone. Nice to work with.

I'm making a neck-through mini guitar with black walnut in the neck now. Got a good stash of this stuff to use for more to come.

Yeah, I understand. I just mentioned the Rebel 20 because that's the one I have been focusing on personally. Egnater also has the Renegade (18w/65w switchable, 2 channels) with the same features I mentioned, and the Tourmaster (10w/100w switchable, 4 channels). He wanted something versatile, and I don't know how much more versatile you could get than a tube mix control giving you Fender and Marshall-style tones, and a switchable wattage control to take it down to practice volume or up to stage volume. The trade-off for such versatility would be the need to manually change your settings on the amp, but what other option is there?

I know I sound like an Egnater rep or something, which I'm not, but they just seem extremely versatile and impressive to me. I thought I would share in case he hadn't heard of them.

Egnater amps

Very nice work, especially the fretjob. I'm not going to brag on your neck carving though. Anyone that can carve a tiki like the one in your workshop should be able to do a guitar neck with a blindfold on .

I was looking at this "Modes Demystified" with John McCarthy. Looks interesting. Anyone seen it?

I'm starting to (finally) get into some actual study of the guitar and how to play in key and all that. I wonder if anyone has any suggestions for an instructional DVD or two that can help me develop a bit more bite in my solo chops. I've been playing for years but never really developed any speed picking chops, mostly bluesy stuff. I looked into the Paul Gilbert stuff but that's a bit past my talent threshold I think. I would like to be faster with my scales and all that. I know practice is the key but I thought maybe I could get some advice on how and what to practice along with DVD suggestions.

Thanks for your help.

I know what I would do (and what I'm going to do): get an Egnater. I'll be getting the Rebel 20 myself but they make other more powerful models too. A friend of mine has the Renegade combo and loves it. The cool features are a tube blend section that lets you choose 6V6 or EL34, or a combination of the two. It's like two amps in one. And there is also a knob that lets you roll off the power anywhere from 20 watts to 1 watt. Very versatile.

Check out the Youtube videos. Impressive design.

Wow, that is one beautiful guitar Chops! Excellent job.

And thank you for not being afraid to use black plastic for the cavity covers. I think wooden ones are a bit overdone around here.

Got to be my favorite of your builds. Very nicely done.

"I do not build neon pink guitars for grown men. Its the principle of the thing..."

But I'm really immature. Does that count?

Perfect color! If you build me a neon pink version I will be happy to do a synchronized solo with you .

Could one of these be next?

The CA-30 has been discontinued by Korg and the replacement is the CA-1 (don't know how you go from 30 back to 1 but whatever ). I bought one off Ebay for $15 which is more than fair imo. We'll see how she does. Thanks for the suggestions guys.

I remember the Viking guitar. It was great. And this one promises to be pretty wild too. Looking forward to seeing it come along.

I think it's pretty nice. It's safe to say that headstock ain't gonna break too.

You could minimize the effect of the maple by staining it a little so it doesn't stand out. Depends on how much it bothers you. And I would suggest all black hardware if you care for such a suggestion

I like to tune my acoustic down 1/2 step and would like a good chromatic tuner to help with that. Any suggestions for an accurate but economic model I might try? Thanks for any help.

Do you sell your guitars or are they for your use only? I'm asking because I have some guitars that I've built that I would like to sell and wonder which avenue you use--Ebay or some other.

I'd love to sell some. The market around here is kinda dry. All I've ever been able to sell are bodies, and then only on eBay. I don't get what they're worth, but I DO get enough profit to warrant doing it. It funds my builds.

Yeah, I kinda figured I would take a major loss if I sell any. Hate to sell a guitar for what the pickups are worth, no matter how badly I need to move it or how seldom it gets played. Maybe that's why people on Ebay take their guitars apart to sell them.

Nice going on the build btw. Always look forward to your updates.

Do you sell your guitars or are they for your use only? I'm asking because I have some guitars that I've built that I would like to sell and wonder which avenue you use--Ebay or some other.

Damn you Nut! You've got me wanting to build one now . Great job man, keep up the good work.

Having owned a Gibson version and made one of my own with some modifications, I'll give this advice: smooth out the neck heel. That's my least favorite part of the Les Paul, too clunky.

Lots of people tend to get tired of the sunburst maple top but not me. I think it's a great look on LPs and decades of this treatment prove I'm not alone. Mine has a darker burst with amber in the middle and I love it.

I don't know what your finishing preferences are but I would also give this advice: if you're like me and don't have spraying equipment, go with Tru-oil. It's incredibly easy and forgiving and the quality is not second rate to nitro lacquer imo. I've tried spraying nitro and it never worked out well at all. But you could be great at it just as many here are. I think Tru-oil would look great on that limba body. I stained my mahogany body with some dark brown stain just to darken it up and it looks good.

Since you're a metal guy, you may want to study the ESP Eclipse II. It's a little thinner and lighter I believe and looks more "metal" to me.

Good luck with the build. Do your thing and you'll be happy with it.

I think anything you do to try and hide it will only draw attention to it. I would leave it as is and pretend that was the plan all along, just to show the back wood in this multi-wood body. It will look fine with a finish on it I believe.

Very nice Matt. It's been a while since I checked in on this thread so congrats on the new addition. And btw, I haven't been making beer in a while so unfortunately there is no package on the way . I had to give it up when we had our kid a couple years ago. (Something had to go and it couldn't be guitar making).

Keep up the good work. It's going to be a nice guitar.

Niiiiiiiice looking guitar man. The carve is really smooth, the inlay is exquisite, I'm not seeing a darn thing I don't like. Looking forward to seeing the progress on this one.