want2design

By the way, I am still in search of an Epiphone Les Paul Special II that is Ebony (black) in color.

Yes, you could. What I do is take the CAD drawing, and open it in Abode Illustrator. From there, I export the drawing to a Photoshop (PSD) file. I open the PSD file in Photoshop, and then crop the picture to the exact pixels on the outside (so there is no blank space around the object). I then resize the X/Y proportions of the drawing to the exact measurements of the body. If the CAD drawing is anywhere near accurate, you should now have an exact 1:1 copy of the guitar body. This is how I am doing it, but of course, everyone probably has different methods.

Ok, here's an update on the situation. I received two e-mails this morning; 1 from a Stew-Mac representative, and 1 from an Ebay seller. The e-mail from Stew-Mac informed me that the DSL delivery service usually encounters around 30-75% customs tax upon arrival in the country. Apparently the other service (which is $10 more) encounters less customs tax than the DSL - we'll wait and see. The e-mail from the Ebay seller was in regards to me trying to retract my bid (where the delivery for the guitar was $140+, which is almost more than the guitar itself). He said that it wasn't him I had to worry about, and in fact that it would be Ebay making a fuss over the auction (as they make no money off the auction). Does anyone know about this? I have absolutely no idea where to go from here. I obviously can't produce money I do not have. I know one thing, in the future I will be buying from in my own country, because this is becoming quite frustrating!

Hi again, I am a newbie to the whole guitar hardware scene, so you'll have to forgive my lack of knowledge in this department. Basically, I purchased the EMG-HZ4 (neck) and the EMG-HZ4A (bridge) to put into a guitar I am planning on buying. I noticed that a lot of the good custom guitars (especially ESP) have the EMG 81 sets. I probably would have purchased a EMG 81 set, but they were not available on the website I was ordering my parts from. From what I understand the EMG 81's are active (requires an energy source from the battery), where as the EMG-HZ4's are passive (requires no energy source). The EMG website describes the EMG-HZ4 as the following: Fair enough. So it is my understanding that the EMG-HZ4's are basically the same pickup as the EMG 81's, only without the battery being required? If this is the case, why is it that custom shops are opting to use the EMG 81's as opposed to the EMG-HZ4's? Also, is it best to have the EMG-HZ4 in the neck position, and the EMG-HZ4A in the bridge position? Thanks in advance for your help!

Sorry, I wasn't very clear on what I meant. I simply meant that the headstock inlay was yellow-ish in color, not the fretboard inlays.

I am starting to believe that the artists custom guitars (signature series) are no longer about having a special tone, but simply for cosmetic purposes. It's kind of a way for fans with money to waste, to play on a similar guitar to that of their musician idol. You're right, Carpenter's signature series does have very tight pickup spacing (as in, the two humbuckers have absolutely no gap between them). You'll notice that the humbuckers are different brands/models, as opposed to the majority of the signature series that have the EMG 81 sets. One reason for this, could be that both the Seymour Duncan SH-4 and the ESP LH-200 are designed for the bridge position, and by the pickup spacing being very tight, it enables him to use two different bridge pickups on the one guitar. Of course, this is just my opinion and I could be completely off-track here (which wouldn't be a big surprise).

Well I was about to scream LIAR, then compliment you on your Photoshop skills, but I decided not to. What had me scratching my head was how to inlay and tuners had became yellow-ish in color too. As for refinishing it or not, I would leave it if the yellow is consistant on the body (as in, it's not patchy and tacky looking). However, the yellow inlay and tuners disturb me a little bit...

I started when I was 15, I'm now 18. I've been playing just over 3 years.

A lot of the stuff I brought I didn't technically need. Here is the list of stuff I brought: 1 - Dunlop Straplok System Black #0246-B ($13.69, $13.69) 1 - Nut Driver Set of 3 #1989 ($20.95, $20.95) 1 - Dandy Duster Bristle brush #5300 ($15.95, $15.95) 1 - Feeler Gauges #1811 ($20.75, $20.75) 1 - Rock-n-Roller Neck Rest For electric, 2-1/2" height #3732 ($16.95, $16.95) 1 - How to Wire a Gibson Guitar VHS (NTSC), 43 minutes #5601 ($9.95, $9.95) 2 - Dome Knob Black, 1/4" shaft #0157-B ($4.24, $8.48) 2 - Dome Knob Black, 6mm shaft #0169-B ($4.24, $8.48) 1 - Les Paul Toggle Switch Knob Black #0524-B ($1.25, $1.25) 2 - Speed Knob Black #0554-B ($3.12, $6.24) 1 - Bell Knob Black, tone top #1197 ($3.19, $3.19) 1 - Bell Knob Black, volume top #1195 ($3.19, $3.19) 1 - Instrument Stand #5323 ($12.98, $12.98) 1 - Polishing Cloth #1815 ($1.99, $1.99) 1 - Preservation Polish #3006 ($8.50, $8.50) 1 - Fast Fret #1490 ($6.75, $6.75) 4 - Pickup Height Screws Humbucker 1-1/4", black #4386-B ($0.35, $1.40) 1 - Neck Mounting Plate Black, with screws #0131-B ($6.70, $6.70) 1 - Precision Screwdrivers Set of 7 #3319 ($29.97, $29.97) 8 - Humbucker Mounting Ring Screw Black #3359-B ($0.23, $1.84) 2 - Traditional Plastic Humbucker Mounting Ring Black, 1/4" plastic #1507 ($3.80, $7.60) 1 - EMG-HZ H4A Alnico 5 magnet #5921 ($75.00, $75.00) 1 - EMG-HZ H4 ceramic magnet #5920 ($75.00, $75.00) 1 - Gotoh Large Schaller-style Knob Machines Black, 3L/3R #0903-B ($37.97, $37.97) My original list was 1/3rd of that, but I just got carried away with all the great and convenient stuff that was on offer. I wasn't able to get the black tune-o-matic bridge and tail piece that I was hoping for, they only had chrome/nickel. Damn! I am thinking of selling my other guitar to get some money so I can still afford the new guitar, otherwise I am going to have spare hardware sitting around but no guitar to use it on! lol. Lets hope customs doesn't give me a hard time, eh.

Yeah, that's another worry also! I ordered some parts/hardware from StewMac.com today... lets just say, I went OVERBOARD! I brought so many tools and cool stuff, that I don't think I have enough to get the guitar now anyways! lol. Lets hope customs doesn't come down harshly on me, because even 1/3rd of the amount that I spent could cause problems. Oh man... what a day.

What/who is MBF if you don't mind me asking...?

I'm actually interested in this topic myself. I wanted to get a blank neck, and try to make a custom inlay on the 12th fret only. Only problem is, I can't find a blank Epiphone neck!

*claps*

Well I managed to find a dealer who is selling the Guitar/Case around the same price as Musicians Friend / Music 123 (only around $10 more expensive), the only problem is he wants to charge me $100 (USD) for the delivery of the guitar, and $40 (USD) for the delivery of the case! It almost seems pointless when I am losing all my savings on the delivery charges.

I would love a really good sanding tutorial, kind of in depth. I have been scared of sanding ever since I took to my old Les Paul clone with a circular sander and put dips all over the body.

Ahh well I can't anyway, they don't deliver to international countries! I am trying to get a few things off Ebay, it's a bit nerve racking guessing whether or not you are going to get what you are lead to believe you are... we'll wait and see. It's just a bit of a pain to have to pay for 3-4 different lots of shipping because you can't deal through one business/person. Anyways, I'll let you know how I go with Ebay.

Yes, please! I am very interested in this!

Basically I am getting a whole new guitar but getting several parts to upgrade the original guitar. I was planning on the following: Epiphone LP Special II Epiphone LP Hardshell Case Seymour Duncan SP90-2 (Bridge, Neck) Tunepro's Tune-O-Matic Tail Piece / Bridge Dunlop Strap Locks Gibson Control Knobs Gotoh Tuners Although I enjoy Ebay, my parts varied too much to find everything in the one place, plus, it would have been a lot easier to go through one dealer than through 3-4. Music 123 delivers overseas but did not have the Epiphone LP Special II in Ebony like I wanted. Just in a bit of a pickel at the moment.

Well I'm pretty angry right now. I just decided to check out with Musician's Friend. Guess what? They don't deliver outside of the U.S. So now I am back to square 1 as far as finding an online dealer. Unfortunately, there are no good local dealers (that don't want to rip you off). Help?

Awesome!

G'day fella's, I am 100% ordering parts that I am going to be using for my custom guitar project. So far I have been using Musician's Friend and Music 123 to get my part list together. Musician's Friend seems to be the better of these two for the majority of parts. My question is this; are there any online dealers that are cheaper than these two online stores? If you can reply with anything within the next few hours I would be greatly appreciative, if not, I'll just go with Musician's Friend! I live in Australia, so the ability to deliver overseas is a 'must have'. Thanks in advance!

I just had a look at the evolution series on your website, very nice!

It will be pretty complex, it's not something that could be reproduced with airburshing (at least I don't think it could). I will be working with a Les Paul body, so any tips on adjusting the decal to sit on the curves nicely would be helpful. Thanks for the reply!

I'm unsure how to do it, but I like the second one very much!

Sorry if I ask a silly question, but do the kits come with thorough/specific instructions? I am new to assembling guitars, so I would be afraid that without guidance I would stuff something up. Is it a relatively painless process or it does require previous knowledge in assembly? Thanks.