djhollowman

good luck with that one! DJ

Proving once again I have no taste, I actually like this one. I'm repairing a jagstang right now, and I have to say, I'm not a huge fan, something just doesn't look finished about it. Although it does look better once you turn it horizontal, I find it kind of ugly. But the body shape looks like........y'know how a pointy stone gets all nicely rounded by the sea and becomes a beach stone?? DJ oh yeah, @ avengers63: you're right!

haha, the one on the right looks like it's had a squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze! DJ

Hey all, I'm finishing a neck with Tru-Oil. I intend to keep the finished guitar on a stand which holds the neck as well as the bottom of the body - will the stand mark the Tru-Oil finish? I ask cos I've seen Strats with these markings on the neck from being kept on stands. My neck will have had over 20 coats of Tru-Oil, maybe the thickness makes a difference? Thanks, DJ

Here's my "starter for ten": http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/Zeriton2/darkness.jpg no no no no ...not only the ugliest guitar, but the ugliest guitarist as well! Double whammy! DJ

...is the correct answer Good luck with it, hope you get it to work OK! DJ

+1 Few things cheapen a good looking fretboard than having "wrong" or unnecessary markers on the face! (Look at the Ibanez RG2228 for example: wouldn't it look so much better without those boring round markers??) I would deffo try it first...you can always add markers! DJ

Hmm, I was just gonna suggest that as well! That's what I did with the solid body electric I'm just finishing. I positioned the jack socket such that I could line it up to the bridge stud for the ground wire. I drilled in through the jack socket hole. With a really long drill bit you'd be surprised how sharp an angle you can achieve by doing this. Would this be possible on your guitar? DJ

Yeah, that's EMG's "Quik-Connect" wiring. You simply need to buy another EMG pickup with the same connector and swap 'em! Tip: if you're buying used ones, check that you're getting the newer version cos some of the older ones don't have that connector, which means you would need to break out the soldering iron! Oh, and make sure it's active EMG's you're looking for - the (non-active) passive ones have a similar looking connector but it has 5 pins, not 3 (you need 3). +1. On the guitars I've played with it, at least, the 85 is much too bassy in the neck position. I've got the Jimmy Hetfield combo myself, though I'm looking on trading it out (shh, don't tell my pickups. I don't want my guitar to gently weep). Bad puns mean it's time for me to go to bed. So, can I have your Harrison...er, I mean Hetfield combo then please? Regarding pickup placements: You can always go down the Hammet route and have EMG81's in both neck and bridge...shrug. You can get coil-tapable 81's now: EMG81TW DJ

Wow, I didn't even notice that work until you pointed it out. Seamless! I love the look, that "invisible binding" thing going on. Really really awesome. Congrats again! This is a guitar I really would like to play myself. Thanks again man! Yeah, I love the look of the fret ends like that, makes it look much more finished and professional I reckon. Much cleaner appearance. I like your term "invisible binding" too! I'm sure you must have seen it done before, yeah? I've seen it on many guitars, in fact even my Platinum series BC Rich STIII has it....and it's a budget range guitar! I'm especially pleased with the way the inlay on this guitar turned out. I'll be honest: I kinda cheated! I had a friend from work cut the MOP and ebony 'board using a CNC milling machine. I had to design the inlay, position it, then glue it in, cut the slots thru it for the frets, and sand it level etc. In fact, we had to have two attempts at doing the fingerboard cos someone misread the markings and we had a beautifully shaped recess at the 11th fret...Doh! It's the Chinese symbol for snake, I think I mentioned that earlier actually! There's a tiny crack in one part of it, because I hammered the frets in - now I have a huge press so it's press-fit frets from now on! All part of the learning process though! DJ

The TOM on my guitar fits into the recessed area WITH the saddle adjustment screws, which is why the recess on mine is wider. Did you have to level and buff the finish on that guitar or is that the way it came back from the painter's? Regarding string height, yeah that sounds about right. (non-recessed Floyd with no neck angle) I made this so that it would have no neck angle by design, that's what I wanted, I realised that would mean the bridge being slightly higher. I see now, though, that I could have sunk the neck, the pickups and the bridge about 1.5-2mm more, to get the strings a little closer to the body. [i realised what you meant about the difference between string height and action BTW.] So, does your TOM sit so low "into" the body that the saddle screws are down into the body a little? That would certainly make it a little lower than mine, yeah. And, finally, yes that's the way it came back from the painter. They buff the clearcoat with a polishing motor which runs at a slower speed, and they use a buffing compound but I don't know what it's called! The clearcoat looks a little orange-peel-y when it's first done, but the polishing soon flattens that out. DJ

Hi, Great looking guitars there fella! Just a friendly word of warning regarding your intended use of sterling silver: it will tarnish like fury over quite a short space of time! Not just from sweaty hands, but from just the air itself! We have stuff which has gone totally black. (I work for a jewellery manufacturer) You could probably treat it with something to prevent this though. DJ

@Guitar2005: No, I don't have any problems with the thumbwheels touching the finish. I did think of that in advance, and so I made sure the rout around the wheels would mean that they just clear the finish. Actually, the wheels are slightly smaller in diameter than the mounting studs anyway. Also, the bridge studs have slots in their tops for making the height adjustment, which is what I used to set the height. Regarding the fretboard height, yeah I guess I would prefer it to be slightly lower - I just did some measuring and this one is almost 2mm higher than the same part on the guitar I have the lowest action on. (But then again, that one has a Floyd so it's not really a like-for-like comparison, I always feel I can get lower action on Floyd-equipped guitars) It's not a problem, in fact I hadn't even really thought about it before you asked, but yeah I do like a low action, and I think I get away with it cos I don't wallop the strings!! The string height in relation to the body top is not quite as low as a Floyd-with-no-neck-angle, but it's also nowhere near as high as a Les Paul or similar! I think if I do another guitar like this I'll try to recess the neck a little more, so I can recess the TOM a bit more and get the whole lot sitting a little lower. But I'm happy with the way this one plays as it is too! I love that gold hardware against the wood on your photo - very classy. [i'm already planning guitar #3 and it will be very similar to that!] Could you explain what you meant about "I also wanted the TOM to fit with the saddle adjutment screws."? Did you have the strings touching the screws or something? I know that can be an issue if the TOM is too high, esp. if the ferrules are quite close to the bridge cos that would tighten the angle. Oh, hang on, but aren't you usually meant to have the screws on the "inside", near the bridge pickup?? DJ

Fair comment, and thanks for your opinions! Yes, it is very much inspired by the Ibanez RG, I think I mentioned that as well. So, to answer your questions: Things to improve? Oh yes! Several, some of which I mentioned in the original post. Satisfied with finish? Yes and no, TBH. Yes, cos it is very good, and no cos I wanted it to be perfect! I think it's as good as I can realistically expect someone else to achieve without taking the huge amounts of time and care that I would have if I had sprayed it myself (if you see what I mean) Tighness of neck pocket? Yes. Here's me doing the "Perry test": Cleanliness of soldering could have been better. It's early days yet with the intonation and tuning, but so far it's holding perfectly. This has been a massive learning curve for me, but I'm under no illusions. Thanks again for your comments, it's good to get constructive criticism too! DJ

Thank you for your kind words! Here's a close up photo of the bridge recess which may help you: As for how wide, I made sure I had the actual bridge ready in advance, then I made a template based on its size to use for routing the recess. If you mean how deep is it, it's about 6mm deep into the body. Yeah, it does look like it hasn't been recessed, when you see it with the bridge in place, which is the effect I was after! DJ

...what am I doing even thinking about trying to mix it with the Big Boys.... This is my first self-made guitar, and my first entry into GoTM. Oh well, I guess the standard is never gonna go down is it??? So I may as well throw myself into the fray: Here's the specs: 7 string solid body electric, 25.5" scale length. Body is all mahogany, my own design based on an Ibanez RG but with longer upper horn and slightly more curvy body. Contoured for forearm and belly. Neck is 3 ply laminate of maple/bubinga/maple, with ebony fingerboard inlaid with mother-of-pearl Chinese symbol for snake at 12th fret and jumbo fretwire. GraphTec nut. 14 degree head angle. Neck joined to body with screws and ferrules (never liked neckplates!) and contoured AANJ-style(ish!) for improved access. Ferrules on both sides...not keen on stop bars aesthetically. Chrome hardware, Wilkinson locking tuners, pickups are (for now) sourced from my Aria 7 string (which I upgraded with EMGs) but will change eventually to something with more oomph! Always preferred the look of pickups without mounting rings. Push/pull pots on both controls to coiltap either or both pickups, standard 3-way toggle (bridge/both/neck) making lots of nice tonal options. Bridge is slightly recessed to allow the neck to have no angle - my choice! Paintjob is a beautiful metallic green (Jaguar Aquamarine actually) with blue flake - photos do not do it justice! Headstock and truss rod cover are my own design as well. I couldn't resist putting it all together and making some noise with it for the first time!! I still need to finish Tru-Oiling the neck, then see to the frets and set the intonation and action correctly. Oh, and fit strap locks. It feels really nice to play, tons of sustain, lovely neck shape (I spent ages shaping the neck!), nice balance, pretty heavy though! Thank you for looking! DJ

Wow, thanks for all your comments guys! I'm thrilled that you seem to like it! I'm loving the fact that the headstock has attracted such divisive opinions. Thanks! GOTM? I'm not sure.....I love the idea of entering it, but the standard is so high...maybe I will though! Wish I had thought of that, regarding the headstock, lol! Thanks! I had a local garage do the actual spraying. I did the prep work and priming, sanding etc. and some of the finishing. Yeah, they made a nice job, some tiny imperfections in the paint when you look really close, but overall I'm very happy with it! Really?? Thank you! Anyway, I like daisies.... Fair comment, and thank you! That's exactly what I've always thought too. I found it quite difficult to design a headstock which is even vaguely original, and is also practical. Mine's very like an Ibanez RG, I realise that. I tried to make it kinda mimic the curves of the body a bit more. Thanks! Thanks man, I really appreciate that! Thanks! I spent time shaping the ends of the frets, and filing an overhang at the ends which then had to be filled with ebony dust and glue, to get the nice effect where you don't see the ends of the fret tang. I still want to level, crown and dress the frets. Thank you all again for your comments, always appreciated. DJ

+1 Yeah, it's looking good man! That thin neck makes the volute look a little beefier than ideal in my opinion, will you be shaping it some more as well? Loving the idea of the multiscale/fanned fret/compound scale/just-gimme-a-minute-and-I'll-invent-my-own-term-for-it approach. Never actually played one, but often wondered how it would feel to play...maybe I ought to make one as well...hmmm... Like the body shape as well. DJ

Hey, yup I like it! And this colour was available in the 1980's you say......... Did you paint the back of the neck as well? Got more photos? DJ

Well, I've basically finished making my first electric guitar from scratch. I'd seen this forum section before, but I wasn't sure whether to post photos of it being made, or just wait and post photos of the completed article, so I've opted for the latter. Please feel free to request photos of the build process, I have 100's! Here's the specs: 7 string solid body electric, 25.5" scale length. Body is all mahogany, my own design based on an Ibanez RG but with longer upper horn and slightly more curvy body. Contoured for forearm and belly. Neck is 3 ply laminate of maple/bubinga/maple, with ebony fingerboard inlaid with mother-of-pearl Chinese symbol for snake at 12th fret and jumbo fretwire. GraphTec nut. 14 degree head angle. Neck joined to body with screws and ferrules (never liked neckplates!) and contoured AANJ-style(ish!) for improved access. Ferrules on both sides...not keen on stop bars aesthetically. Chrome hardware, Wilkinson locking tuners, pickups are (for now) sourced from my Aria 7 string (which I upgraded with EMGs) but will change eventually to something with more oomph! Always preferred the look of pickups without mounting rings. Push/pull pots on both controls to coiltap either or both pickups, standard 3-way toggle (bridge/both/neck) making lots of nice tonal options. Bridge is slightly recessed to allow the neck to have no angle - my choice! Paintjob is a beautiful metallic green (Jaguar Aquamarine actually) with blue flake - photos do not do it justice! Headstock and truss rod cover are my own design as well. I couldn't resist putting it all together and making some noise with it for the first time!! I still need to finish Tru-Oiling the neck, then see to the frets and set the intonation and action correctly. Oh, and fit strap locks. It feels really nice to play, tons of sustain, lovely neck shape (I spent ages shaping the neck!), nice balance, pretty heavy though! Here's the end result anyway (takes deep breath)...please bear in mind that this is my first attempt: Please feel free to leave comments....as I say, this is only my first attempt, so be kind! This has been one of the most satisfying and rewarding things I have ever done, so much so that, of course, #2 is already started!! So many things I will do differently and better next time.....like changing to a double-acting truss rod, like scarfing the headstock join differently (and better), like pressing frets in instead of hammering (to avoid making that tiny crack in the inlay...nnngg!!) DJ (Apologies if there are too many photos in this post....is there a llimit to this kind of thing??)

Funnily enough, the one I'm just finishing is exactly the same! DJ

I always thought it was a wire link from one of the bridge studs, but you could very well be right! DJ

That's right. It explicitly says to remove the bridge earth in the installation instructions for active EMG's. In Melvyn Hiscock's book he's very sure of the benefits of shielding the control cavity, but he says you must earth the shielding material as well, eg. by using a small screw with a wire going to ground. DJ

Yes, you need to have made a donation of at least $10 to Project Guitar to gain access to the Advanced section. You can use the PayPal link on this page to do so. DJ

Hey all! Update - job done, total success! I didn't get killed, tha amp still works, the "drive control" does exactly what it's supposed to (in volume terms anyway!), and the owner is delighted! Phew! The owner got a friend of his, who does electrical testing, to test the amp was fully discharged first. The actual fitting of the parts was a piece of cake. And it really does work! I don't know enough about what that amp sounds like running with the tubes at full tilt, but you really can turn it down to any volume level without making it sound all thin. Anyway, owner is happy, and that is the main thing! Thank you all for your help and comments with this one! DJ