Rodney

Aikido Is what I'm studying now. Took Karate early on and it wasn't for me.

Thanks guys, much appreciated. A couple of questions for you- Lovecraft- Thanks for the tip. I looked at they're home page and didn't see any rattle cans.I was hoping to find a dealer locater. I did see them on the site you directed me to though. Do you know any chains that carry them? I would like to try and find them locally. WWW- Other than yellowing, what was your drying and overall experience with the minwax? Litchfield- How was your duplicolor experience? Did you mean 2 days from primer, or dry time to sand finish? If so, that's quick! Blues presence- I thought about Deft (I always use they're sealer) but I've had problems with paint compatability. They are Nitro based (I'm still trying to figure out why they still sell it) and don't seem to work well with many colors i've tried. Any thoughts or experience? Thanks again guys. Sorry for all the follow up questions. Just trying to narrow it down and get these bodies done!

Hey Ladies and Gents, I'm trying to finish a couple of prototypes without the advantage of having my booth and spray setup. I'm kinda spoiled that way, so I was hoping some of you guys with Rattle can experience can point me the right way. I'm looking for a spray (will consider a wipe on) that will be the following 1. dries quickly- I'm moving soon and can't let it hang for a month 2. sands well 3. doesn't yellow excessively 4. Is compatable with at leat one major line of colors. I considered the fast dry poly (minwax etc) but Im worried about a yellow cast. Also I don't know what spray color brands it works with. I would consider some acrylics, but from my experience they don't dry quickly. Thanks for any assistance in my ghetto style paint adventure and hope you guys all had a great holiday. It's good to be back

If your going super heavy, X2N hands down. Brutal.

Having known Tommie hexx I can say this. He does not build guitars. He's currently being pursed by detectives for defrauding several people out of they're money and never delivering the guitars as promised. Not only that, but the design on his site does not belong to him and he has no rights to it. As this guitar is not in production, and he is out of buisness there is no conflict.

I don't know guys, he could be on to something. We could do a whole series called the "significant other" models. We could do them in these obnoxious floral patters none of us ever pick out, but our significant other sure likes having us finance for "our place" We could do these in a matching pattern. You could shred away all day and when they come home, you could throw it onto the couch and BAM!! instant camoflage! Girlfriend- "Rodney, did you blow the money I wanted to use to make over the living room in French Provincial on ANOTHER damn guitar?" Rodney- "Of course not honey, would I do something so selfish as to spend my money on things I want?" Do you SEE a guitar here? " C'mon, how about we go in the bedroom and watch the truth about cats and dogs for the 554654884657th time" That movie never gets old"(smiles like a brainwashed cult member) Girlfriend- "Oh honey, you really are whipped! I knew I made the right choice"! BAM!!! another relationship saved by MCS guitars!!!

I have to change my bass strings after every show They get REAL expensive. Beyond that ill let 'em ride for about 4 rehearsals before I can't get a good sound anymore.

Oak is good stuff. If you want to check out really cool looking stuff, try quartersawn white oak. It looks alot like bleached lacewood. Neal made a neck out of it a year ago. It sat in the shop with no temperature or humidity control and is still solid and straight as a arrow. Great stuff and really looks nice.

Let's see- Hardware- Badass stoptail, grover tuners (black) Pickups will be Dimarzio x2n bridge and super distortion neck (possible a PAF not sure) Thanks for the kind words

I designed most of the new moser series, so your right on the mark! Thanks for the props

Thanks guys! I'm looking forward to finishing this one off. As far as the tail breakage concerns, It would actually take a good hit. When I designed it I thought of that and decided to do multi laminate bodies. That way you have one or 2 glue joints in the tail that add to the strength and interrupt the grain making it stand up to more abuse. The picture doesn't show it and it's a hard seam to see in erpson too, but it's a 2 piece body. I've actually bounced it off the desk tail first a few times and have been pleasantly suprised how well it holds up. There's a solution for everything! Thanks again for the kind words. PS- If i ever caught someone with a mullet touching my Leviathan, the only thing that would look out of place would be foot hanging out of his butt! These shapes are not for people worried about if they fit in!

Man- I know your pain when it comes the router stuff Looks really good though, Ed. You did a great job cleaning it up and it looks like it will be a real winner. Interesting title for your template "Bottom Master" I see that phrase used alot here in West Hollywood, but it means something....uh .........well...different

Excellent work Lex, truly a world class job. Great icon too!!

The finish will be black, with trans blue over it so that you only see the blue in the reflections giving it that oily, deep sea kinda vibe. It will be satin finished. I also have a textured finish in mind, but may keep it for the next model i designed. Thanks for the compliment

After having a few people make mention of and ask me about the guitar in my icon pic I decided to put up a few in process shots. It's further along than this now and is ready for paint. These were taken after the initial cut and then when it was almost done being shaped. The model is the Leviathan. Thanks for all the compliments and the "what the hell is wrong with you?"!! comments were equally as enjoyable! I'll post more when it's out of finish and ready for assembly. I can't believe that Bladerunner nickname has stuck (shakes fist at heavens) DAMN YOU DRAK!!!!!!!

The grain becomes lighter because your using a opaque red filler that settles into the grain and covers the black already there. wipe away the excess and it leaves the red filler in the low spots (grain) and wiping makes the high surfaces black again.

noodling, 24 fret masturbation, spam envy, billboard for the dateless,.................

another good exercise that will give you benefits in scale usage and harmony as well is doing 3 note per string scales in 3rds. You have to use the pinky and it will get it used to moving in and out of the others in random combinations. Do the same sequence for all your modes: 1-3, 2-4, 3-5, 4-6, 5-7,6-8 ,7-9, etc. Good luck.

This advice wierds some people out, but it works for all my students. The reason you and most other guys have the problems when you stand up is that you learn and develop your muscles from one angle while sitting and then try to get them to perform the same way at a completely different angle standing. The solution is easy, but may feel weird at first. Learn to sit and play classically. If you don't know what I mean (no insult intended) have the guitar sit between your legs like a classical guitarist does. This will be the equivelant of your standing position if you keep descent posture. While your sitting. put on your strap and adjust it so it's snug. When you stand it will now hang in almost the exact same position as how you sit. No re-adjustment or sudden shock to the wrist. Believe me, you'll save yourself alot of grief and physical pain. I hope that helps you.

Very nice work- my compliments. How much do you usually charge for a shell or guitar body?

Drak- I think Brian pretty well nailed it. It definetly looks like a base color coat and then red tinted grain filler. If you want to try that route on a sample piece it would be cool to see it. Here's a grain filler tip for you. Instead of using naptha or mineral spirits to clean it off (you can pull some filler out of the grain and possibly take the black with it) While it's still drying wipe the excess off with burlap. That stuff will take it right off and won't damage the paint under it or scratch the surface. Works wonders. So grab some filler and red dye and show us what ya get!

Wow! excellent prices, all strat necks though I need LP scale.

I need a bolt on 24 3/4 scale neck with rosewood or ebony board. Head not important, finish can rough or not at all, even a little dinged up. Even missing frets!! I need to replace my nephews neck for him and would like to get it done for christmas. Warmoth makes a great neck but 150.00 for a bolt on is just too much for me. I don't have time to make one myself right now, so hopefully one of you guys are packin a spare neck! Cheap is the operative word! any help is appreciated

I like DiMarzio Sd's and PAF's with a preamp run after them. You can get a good clean, warm overdrive and hit the preamp on for Ultra stupidity!

The reason it's not a full 12 is this. When you double the bass strings the high strings tend to overshadow the lower ones making the overall tone less full. By leaving the bass strings single you get a much fuller chord tone, plus if your are doing a moving style bass line under chords it sounds much better.