Christopher

Hey fellas, I'm just wondering if anyone has used or tried to use a dark dye on a maple fretboard. I know that maple takes dyes very well, so this isn't really a can it be done. More of a does it look decent. Example There is any example of the type of dye job that I would like to do. Where it is multi-tonal and the grain is very defined. I want to know if it's possible to get those qualities from a darker dye. I'm shooting for a forest green, but I understand if it won't work. I am good with solid and flake finishes but staining and dying I am clueless. I usually would ask my dad, but he's out of the state for a few weeks, and it's about time I started to learn. ...then again it's probably about time for me to give my dads scroll saw back too...

That is a sexy guitar. I can't wait to see it finished.

or just dye the wood to match the left over finish. unless I misunderstood and he dislikes colored neck, not finished neck

To get the sustain you want you should probably get the hardest wood that you can stand the weight of, or if you want to spare the trouble to your back, try neck through with the neck being hard wood and the wings being something lighter. So far as punchiness goes, I've always found that to be more of a scale related spec. I have a friend with a 38 in scale that puts out some of the punchiest tones I have ever heard and it's made of swamp ash.

make it a 12 of bud and I'm there.

I've got a little tear wellin' up after that. That was beautiful. I'll keep you guys up dated on progress and hopefully I can make a beautiful axe

Ok, I first have to say that I am going to attempt to answer as many of the questions as I can remember. I have never built a solid body guitar. Four basses, three acoustic and a mandolin but never a solid body. That says nothing about my experience though. I have been wood working and furniture making since I was a young child. So far as his crazy features he responded to my e-mail where I asked how in god name he came up with this guitar. He said that his first guitar was a nylon string acoustic and he has never played a more comfortable guitar than that. So he wants me to combined his favorite body shape (Ibanez Talman) and his first guitar. Hence the flat fretboard, and oddball string spacing. I have offically convinced him that a non-adjustable neck is a horrible idea, and talked him in to a two way. So one down too many to go. I think I am going to take KingFisher's advice. At the very least I'll have a new talman when I'm done. In that respect though, should I make it to the same specs as my talman (except neck through and no trem of course) because I can always add the rollers and file the frets flat later... hopefully I won't have to. For the record Drak. I'm embarrised of my previous builds because the didn't turn out how I wanted. But he owns one of the basses I built and couldn't be any happier with it.

Ok, You might catch a little flack about calling this a commissioned build. It is just for a friend and as long as your friend understands your experience I believe this is fine(but I would not call it a commission-Just call it a build for a friend, there is a big difference in the professional/client relationship). That said. Nothing wrong with most of what you have listed(design is you and your buds call). However a non-adjustable trem and carbon rods??? Why would you possibly do that? If you want to build a rigid neck, be prepaired to be spot on or expect absolute failure. Also you have no ability to add relief if prefered(this all has to be finalised during building*** and in my opinion is a HUGE design flaw). I have a non-adjustable Modulus neck on a bass of mine. It works, but it is a bass(it would be crap on a guitar). Also carbon supports?? Is the non-adjustable truss a steel bar? One way or the other, I would strongly recommend a two way adjustable truss rod(I use LMI or Allied style). A couple carbon rods in conjunction with that truss would be a nice combo. Peace,Rich I guess I shouldn't have said friend. He is more of an aquatince than a friend, and as soon as he found out that I build guitars he sent me the list that I posted. I am going to e-mail him back with my personal suggestions (and yours) because I personally don't know where to start on improvements. I guess the reason he want's the neck like that is for the stiffness of graphite but the beauty of wood. I think he's a little nuts personally. I'm also trying to get him to change the headstock to a talman style head stock or if that fails maybe somewhere inbetween a jazz master and a strat... He refused to buy a Talman because he "only plays neck-through" once again, he's kind of nuts... It's going to take some work with the rolling nut and bridge because he thinks it will stay in tune better when he bends notes, but I've gotta try. Last but not least I'm going to try and talk him into a the very least a 11 in radius fret board... The last thing I want to do is have the first guitar I make profit on be a piece of junk... Then again his will be exactly how he wants it (unless I can help it). Worth the price... Oddly enough the materials for this build are only going to cost me about $380. I'm thinking of charging $950? Too low? Too high?

A good friend of mine wants me to build him a talman. The worlds craziest talman to be exact. I want to know if his brain child will be functional. Talman body shape, w/Melody maker style headstock Neck through (birds eye maple w/ korina wings) 25 in scale string through rolling bridge and nut P90-Lipstick-P90 pup configuration (all direct mounted) 0 radius maple fretboard JUMBO frets Non adjustable truss rod with 2 carbon supports 1 7/8 in at the nut 2 in at the bridge I know it's possible but I'd like more opinions about how it's not very praticle... what could I reccomend to him?

+1 to that if not a bowl route then maybe a rounded lip... I noticed the firebird esque look I totally dig it. I would go with 3/8 in lift on it so that when you finish all of your planeing and sanding you are left with something high, but not too high. I think that the firebird is about 5/16 raised in the center, I could be wrong though.

I that case I think I'm going to make a plexi body with a graphite neck, maple fretbaord, mis matched inlays and what ever hardware I can find laying around. What p-up's you ask? an EMG and a lipstick both reverse wound. is it sad that I almost want to make that, just so I can burn it

I'm a big fas of GFS pups. Cheap and just as good if not better than "big name" pup like dimazzio or seymour duncan. I'm pretty sure guitarfetish has some lp style pup on clearence right now.

You could always just replace the fretboard with a flat one. Stu-Mac has them for 12-13 dollars, then the cost of frets.

I could see my self using it to polish hardware. I'm a perfectionist though.

yeah, my little bro is geeked about it, he really wants me to make it for him. If I did it though, I would have to go all out and make it a carved top, and carve the fins and scales.

My little brother made this and told me that I should make it...

Here I'll explain my exact plans for this guitar. 65 MM body and head stock ebony fet board neck through string through locking roller bridge (stew-mac) spezil locking tuners slip stone nut (stew-mac) jumbo frets GFS Dream 180 bridge and dream 90 neck diamond or LP custom inlays 3 point selector knob (bridge, split bridge + neck, and neck) and master volume I'm thinking of birds eye mable for the neck and korina for the wings (the wings are going to be butterscotch blonde and the neck will be stained to look like blood wood all the way down). All chrome hardware. 9 to 13 fretboard radius. so far as the MM copy head stock, that sounds great, and I cna just modify it a bit to make it a close as I can.

Oddly enough, I am looking for a 65 double cut. Problem is I know nothing about autocad, I've always done everything pen and paper... What is a good program for those files?

Or a Les Paul Jr. body template... I want it to be exact so I don't want to wing it.

I'm looking to build a neck-through melody maker. But I have no means of getting the shape (ie no melody maker to trace). I am hoping that some one might have a template of the melody maker shape and head stock that could be scanned and e-mail to me. I would be very grateful, and if you wanted one I would give you one of my own body designs (I doubt that you will want them though)

If you get separate effects, then the Rocktron Piranha is what you want, too the T. see below. Great preamp. Single space with 2 12AX7's. 70 DBL of gain and cleans to match any fender. I am acctually selling one because I am doing away with my rack. (in case you are wondering I have a bad back and I couldn't carry it any more) $450 with Rockton Midi Xchange footswitch style midi controller. And that price is shipped with the power cord and a 20 ft midi cable. Hell at that price you can go find a good rack effects unit. (I have other rack stuff in any one is interested)

Yes, BUT the guitar is still sort-of in production as one of the Noodles models (the non-ducktape one). The shape of the guitar is different, but I'm 90% sure the jackplate is still the same. Holy Crap! After looking in to it. It's exactly the same. I bow to you sir Crafy. I would have never found it. Not only that, but I think I may buy one. They look nice.

Much diffrent. It's sort of like half of a tele plate and half of a strat output jack.

I've been told over and over again that Ibanez only backstocks five years. And there is not a piece of this guitar that is less than 5 years old.

thanks that helps a lot.