MikeB

cool, theres my thread... anyhow, the blotchy bits with no stain sinking in, i have a few theories. im by no means going to dispel any info you have gathered from any books, but i think that the thin laquer coat may have ruined it. This is only my feeling, i know mixed with the shellac it should form a pseudo varnish, but it has obviously been incompatible or something. my own method, which i explained to rick in a loong PM, involves using no grain fillers or laquer at the staining stage. i tried fillers etc... i got blotchy results and a VERY fake look! i must say that filler would be fine with the "candy coat" ideas... where you add the dye to poly or something. the wood isn't even soaking up the dye then! if you want info on the dying method i used in good detail (ish) im sure rick or i could paste some of the PM here. just ask. speak to me in PM if further interested. i havent tried using a candy coat yet. i havent tried the shellac, but i did try filler and sealer, and the results were poor. i may still have the test piece. If i find my camera batteries i will get a piccy for you. if i forget please bug me on PM until i do!! Mike

hmm, i was thinking about the tuning of standard guitar down an octave for 6 strings, then add a low b and a high A perhaps... still thinking, again another possible design!

blues, would you do me a favour, and PM me the measurements as well? it would be most appreciated! also what is the tunning you have on it? thanks!! Mike

exactly erik! you could always keep your finger on it.... YEAH RIGHT! lol

i could get you some, but it would be a bit stupid shipping from Northern Ireland! 3" deep? what length?

ok, thought id share something here, perhaps a pin topic for us electronic nerds! right, was annoyed at the markings on pots, you know you have the resistancec stated and then a letter usually A B. well the dilemma came when i ordered pots, 2 tone and 1 vol for the next guitar. they sent me 2 vol knobs and 1 tone knob. i assumed that that was a simple mixup and i had a spare so no worries. didnt look at the pots... then i looked and saw 2 pots of A designation and 1 of B, so after feeling slightly confused i submitted that B must be log. WRONG B is lin,so order totally mixed up! i decided to put a referencee here for others who are misfortunate enough. have a laugh at this, the pots from my old ibanez, one of which i will use for the missing tone pot, are marked slightly different!! pah... also older pots get a different mark, so this is a reference for others... Pots labelled: 500KA or A500K - A pots - are Logarithmic, volume pots. 500KB or B500K - B pots - are Linear, tone pots. 500KD or D500K - D pots - are Logarithmic, volume pots. found in my ibanez. OLDER POTS!!! 500KA or A500K - A pots - are Linear, tone pots. 500KC or C500K - C pots - are Logarithmic, volume pots. Antilog taper pots, old ones are designated F500k or 500KF - F pots. Im unsure what the newer antilogs are designated, perhaps C. anyway, hope this helps someone. feel free to contribute! Mike

jabsco running it to a pickguard screw would no nothing man!!! the idea is to use your own body as a ground to reduce hum. therefore you connect you to the ground, so you touch the strings and bridge all the time, so logically connect to that to remove hum. This definately works, BUT!!! this isnt advised, removing the earth wire running to the bridge, which the EMGs do is a great thing, as if it was left connected, you are then ground. You, if you had a faulty amp, (usually old tube amps, but not always) could be electrocuted if something shorted, evel earth leakage may **may** be enough to do it... i think the stats are like this... 5mV you feel tingle 10 - 15mV warmth and tingle 20 - 25 mV dangerous, will stop a child's heart and 30mV plus usually is enough to stop a grown adults heart. people have been killed because of this connection, i watched a vid about a bassist it happened to. companies are now supposed to produce guitars without these connections... i know my "old" recent ibanez... 2002 model RG had the connection. the chance of this happening is low, especially with new amps and if you have an RCD - circuit breaker, these are good to have, safe. personally with my own gear id be happy as larry playing with this lead connected, but a dodgey PA could be the end... basically i think that with good shielding, you may not even need this connection. I am trying this with my V, of i do need the connection ill need to do a bit of drilling, lol! hope this helps, if i am wrong do point it out. LK and Ansil will have a better idea ill wager! Mike

tweaking the electronics much... treble boosters, no load switches yadda yadda... they would be the simpler mods. otherwise its just in the usual building where i tweak things... such as the RR V i have almost completed, bolt on. i took the traditional bulky heel, and tapered it towards the edge, you will see within a month what i mean... hopefully get this into GOTM... Mike

hmmm... dlr... VH solos seem cliche'd. I know i like malmsteen etc... and all that is kinda cliche, but its one i like... VH is too much Cheese Metal. Malmsteen did a VH cover, and it wasnt too bad. they arent too bad, i do hate dlr though. there are much worse bands out there, ill say that much! Mike

hey all, im making a 7 string ibanez style guitar, but need some measurements, was hoping you could help me out! basically, neck pocket width, length and depth. body thickness. thanks alot! mike

outstanding!!! the limba neck is excellent, but that top, fabulous! really fantastic work!

hey! totally missed this thread! kickass design. Im not a fan of pointy BC rich type guitars, but this i like.... very uunique and cool body shape. i dont like the headstock, but the body is cool. any more news on it?

i pretty much hate the band... sammy was the best vocalist, DLR is a ****. i would have voted alex, but i couldnt because of his "compensation" drumkit... it has 4 kick drums, and looks like pap!

problem... title says favourite guitarist as a question, the question says who is the best guitarist... what am i to think! where is becker!!! and marty friedman!!! come on! yngwie gets my vote, paul gilbert a close 2nd

Amen to that!!! and if you have a good drummer i would do some Iced Earth for a laugh... The reckoning yadda yadda...

go to www.guitarbuild.com here there is a tut on how to use a laser printer, grease proof paper, and 3M scotch tape to make a logo, im using this method, kickass i say! very clever!

white spirit leaves an oily residue, i wouldnt reccomend it, rather use Naptha (lighter fluid) or meths. Meths leaves a small residue, this is easily removed with a cloth.

i hate all teles, i just hate em! terrible things... *shudders!* they feel bed, any one ive played has sucked, and gah, tele, yuch!!

thanks all! this stain hardly raised the stain, a second of sandpaper did the trick. yeah, ,its killer finding big enough wood! subsequently it has been bursted, and its not getting filled for more of a natural look, im toying with the idea of quite a thin finish... im not sure, i like thin finished for some reason! Mike

i dont know if i got a pic of the back, hopefully i did. i will look soon. it looks the same as the front, i have the pics of it before stain i think, its just i was trying to get it all finished while photographing i didnt want to waste all the (digital) photos! the back came out very well though. hopefully i will get more pics and upload them, but these will be during the final finishing stage, with the black burst and clears etc... also it was 3 pieces of wood, laminated tightly, hard enough to spot the joins!

hey all, thought id do a tut here. I was unsure about staining ash for ages, so i just bought the wood, bought the stain, and got on with it! i knew that the end grain would soak up lots of the colour, so i decided to do many light coats... that is coats that are well diluted. the stain i used (behlen dark green) is alcohol based and so i used meths to thin it. meths is good because it evaporates off without leaving residue like white spirit does! ok, i did a few tests, i dont have pics really, sorry! i have found that... dont stain over waterbase natural grain filler, it looks woeful, the woods character is hidden, and there are white bits everywhere, very poor looking, very drab. do mix meths and use many many coats. This works fantastically well, and as i suspected all along all you have to do is persevere, and use many many coats of weak stuff, then get stronger! patience is the key! just keep adding coats. i find that you can almost do a coat as soon as you have finished with the last at the start! the wood is thirsty! good clean brush and container for mixing etc... less sawdust the better! rubber gloves would be advisable, as i did it without it, and so my fingers will remain green for a week! the stuff doesnt shift! here are some stages of the staining. note that the ash actually looks like it is flamed ash! very nice wood! bonus! flamed ash! here is the stain i used, beside the poly. here is a pic of the guitar body hanging showing the edges. notice that the edges are perfectly uniform with the body colour! i was impressed! well, thats all for now, hope this has helped a bit! Mike PS pics to come soon, host is playing up!

basically my downpicking is crappy, well crapper than it used to be. i used to almost be able to down pick master of puppets, but now at even half the speed its giving me grief...

id really be interested in this, i have recently began to dabble with dye...

i had the feeling that i donated tuts this year? july ish? brian?

i love relics, cant wait to see this done! litch, thought you hated relics!