argytar

So the Steinbergers arrived and they seem superb... but they are gold...

I really hope the original parcel shows up eventually even after almost two and a half months....

Will string her up and make a final vid !!

On 5/27/2020 at 1:17 PM, Gogzs said:

This is still one of my favorite pictures I've seen around here. So raw to the point I thought you were joking haha. Turned out so great. Looks awesome, and sounds even better, props!

Hey thank you so much! Feels great to share my hobby with the community!

It is like I made myself a gift and I love it!

Waiting for those Steinbergers to arrive, they should be here by Thursday. Great customer service by Stew Mac , I just have to say!

They will be gold , everything else is on backorder, but I guess I can change them to nickel in the future, when/ if things get a little better with the planet.

I sure regret the title of this thread, requesting permission to change it...

1 hour ago, Norris said:

Sounds great, looks beautiful. I love that neck pickup sound. The bridge is just pure firebird. Johnny Winter eat your heart out!

Thank you very much! Glad you guys dig it! I do, too!

I had my worries with the Sm2b being ceramic and all, but the sound is right there and I am very pleasantly surprised!

Balances very well with the neck p90, too! That is a 50s style Alnico II p90 by Nick Silver pickups here in Greece, measuring at just 7.4 Kohm, but its position helps it get much ooomph , definition and sparkle, with the right amount of warmth! Delicious.

I will make a new vid when the right tuners arrive to show the middle surf-tastic position and some of the clean tones.

Pulling the bigsby a little bit away from the usual trem/ tailpiece “normal” position, helps a lot with the break angle and the tuning stability! I dare say it is as enjoyable and smooth as the one on my 1966 Gretsch 6120! You can see in the vid how much  I enjoy using it!!

6 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

That's some professional grade woodworking and the sounds are something to die for! I never really understood how big an impact the real type pickups have to the sound, now that I've learned what's the secret behind some distinctive sounds I'll have to learn to play!

Thank you so much! I immediately loved this guitar! It ‘s got “that” in between sound like a tele on steroids!

Very fun to play!!

Today I got some stuff I ordered for this guitar and did some work to finish the electronics.

I think she has started to look really pretty!! 
 

Love the reflector knobs!!

I hope the Steinberger tuners get here soon , so that I can finish the project!!

22 hours ago, ScottR said:

Man, that thing cleaned up really nice!

Even better, it sounds great.

SR

Hey thanks so much! I appreciate it!!

So I decided to make a black 3-ply pickguard.

I screwed it on and got the first notes!!!

Love the tone! It s got girth and pop, definition and ooomph.

Suits my style perfectly.

Weighs at 2.8 kilos! It is light!!

I will wait for the Steinbergers so that I can complete the project by the end of this week , but I sure dig where this is going!!!

Better call tone!

Hmmm... I guess I could make the pickguard middle layer go from white to cream with some amber shellac to match the binding! Thanks!

55 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

Black-white-black or black-cream-black would tie the black and chrome/silver elements together as well as the binding on the neck.

Hmm I don t know if I can find black cream black but I sure have black white black blanks. I might give that a go and see where it gets me! Thanks!

So the Steinberger tuners seem to be lost in the way..

Stew Mac will resend (great service as always).

I could not of course wait... did a small half - assembly to check out the setup.

The Vibramate assembly makes the guitar substantial and gets a very good back angle with the abr 1 bridge!!

The trem feels smooth and retains great tuning stability.

I was hesitant at first with the ceramic Duncan sm2b . 
However it delivered an authoritative Firebird tone. Unmistakable. Just what I had in mind. It sparkles , yet it barks! 
Not bad at all! Very south rock style!

Allen Collins’ Skynyrd riffs and licks and what I could play of Johnny Winter sounded mighty authentic! Loved it!

Cannot wait to receive the rest of the pots and the switch by the end of next week to take a listen to the neck p90 too.

The guitar is feather- weight light!!! Balances great and the hefty neck feels great! I put Dunlop 6105 frets on and the playability is enjoyable.

All in all, I am very optimistic of how this project will turn out.

One question though: would you put 3 ply black pickguard on this guitar? I think I should because I only have nickel and black hardware. Don t want to put too much visual info on there. What do you guys think?

.... had ordered the Steinberger tuners from Stew Mac and the pack might be misplaced... they will resend but the tuners are on one plus month backorder...

...

totally understandable btw... I get it..

Guess I will move on to something else until they arrive.

Or...

I found some schaller banjo tuners on a local store.. should I use them to finish the project? They are real banjo tuners not kluson or something. I might take a measurement or two and see if they fit!

5 hours ago, JayT said:

Oh yeah, I'm stealing this idea...I have an extra drill press just sitting the box that I can dedicate to buffing. The company shipped me two by mistake and its been since December so I'm assuming they're not coming after me or the press if they haven't yet

Cool! Seems to be working so far!

Would be curious to know the optimal speed ie rpm that the wheel should be spinning at. I could arrange that since my drill has variable speed... thanks on advance!!

Now that I look at the pictures again the stop tailpiece looks weird being that far from the bridge! I will try it though at some point. I think it is close to the Larry Carlton placement. Should be interesting. 
 

This obeche guitar is very light. It is like 1650gr with the fretboard frets and truss rod on. I chose the Vibramate plus Bigsby config to make it more substantial. And because I love the B5. And of course because the Vibramate helps with a little better break angle, ergo better tuning stability...

Started the buffing process on my... drill press...

decided to not go all the way as the hardware is a little ‘seasoned’ too...

put some brass inserts to try out various tailpieces , but it seems I am sticking with the bigsby/ Vibramate assembly.

3 hours ago, JayT said:

story of my life...except I have no buffing wheels. For me saying/thinking that I'm "getting close" always jinxes me back to rinse-and-repeat mode -- or should I say strip-and-repaint mode.

Looking good!

Alas , that already happened a couple of times already so.. yeah being hasty makes you pay with more waiting time!!

Wow ! It took forever to finish!

I am wet sanding now and tomorrow I will use the buffing wheels!

We ‘re getting close!

Hi!

going slow on the project as the weather has not been ideal for spraying nitro on it!

Still, managed to apply green metallic paint and started with the clearcoat nitro. I guess that in a couple of weeks we can hear the first notes!

Yo!

So the hardware stores are closed,  due to the quarantine. My white primer is finished and I only got maroon primer, which I sprayed on. Maybe it will be interesting when it shows up under the green color, when the guitar starts becoming a relic!

So, since it looks good to my eyes I am taking things from scratch.

That was the top of the guitar only so a little scraping goes a long way...

I love how blue peaks out under the green but I want as little paint on the guitar as possible ...

I only sprayed the top and I m letting it dry, tomorrow I will remove this paint and start over with primer. The rest of the guitar is not painted. 
 

Thanks for the info guys! Some great insights here!

2 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

I understand your concern. The green somehow looks commonplace - not quite John Deere but something you might find on a lawn mower. Tool green of sorts. Or the less stylish villain of a 60's-70's super hero comic book or tv series based on one - there's something that reminds me of the Riddler in the Batman TV series from '66 which was camp humour at its best.

A darker burst might help but would that shape look good with a burst is another question.

Some darker shade of green like the legendary British Racing Green might be better for such classic looking instrument.

But that's just me and a photo can lie more than a thousand words!

Yes, I can see where you ‘re coming from! I meddled a little bit with blue and rejected it, then resprayed a darker green and I think I found my Racing / Sherwood Green!!

Should I leave it like that? I now like it much much more, it is what I had in mind.

1 hour ago, Norris said:

That is quite vivid. @Bizman62 beat to the suggestion of a burst, but I'll raise it with a full tint coat too

What's going on on the top "horn"? Has it cracked?

Yep it has rained yesterday and the temperature dropped like A LOT, so in the morning I found this crackled premature relicing. It will of course be repaired.

Ughhh tried out the green nitro last night.... don t know... I m not completely sold... what do you guys say? Keep it or change it?

Hi!

I enjoyed all fellow  builds too, and would want to have them in my arsenal!

I was envious of the meticulous relicing of the Futura! Wish I could execute this as tastefully in my builds! It must rock out so hard! Also, it is a build out of Korina which was a staple in this month’s builds!!

LP1 is also cool in her own right! If your first build looks like that, you are off to a great start!

The Shiv!!! Ugh , why did you have to enter this month! When I saw your entry I knew instantly you would take the contest! Delicious build! Great detail, great coloring and playing chops! A little pointy for my tastes, I am not a metal guy, but still an ultra enviable build!! Kudos!!

The Czech republic build is a work of art and Dmitry is a pro builder!

I don t know if I could play Mr Shuskov’s instrument, but it is such an admirable build that truly stands out!

I would have to say nonetheless, that this month the most original builds were the Shiv and Mr Shuskov’s 9-stringer! Bravo!

Congrats to all the fellow participants, GPGOTMC is always an enjoyable process!

And ... made the truss rod cover too!

Started spraying white primer.

2 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

This gets better and better.  

Those Steinberger tuners are excellent.  In my view (and a number of folks I know who've used them) , one of the best-designed tuners on the market. 

I fitted them to my band-mate's genuine 60's fake Firebird (that is, it is a fake that was made in the late 60's presumably in the 'lawsuit' era or before) and whose original (genuine) banjo tuners had completely worn out.

Loving this build.

Hey thank you so much!! I am looking forward to getting the package from Stew Mac it is already out in the mail!

I drilled for the tuners and chamfered the headstock a bit to get that firwbird-y look!

I also installed the truss rod nut and it fit perfectly! Maybe I will need to modify the access a little bit so that it works ok.

Today I shaped the bone nut and cut the grooves with the nut slotting jig I from Halon GMI in Greece. You can make a precise nut in a jiffy!! 

I prepared the slot with the slot shaping files from stew mac and it sits tightly on the spot!

I also finished shaping the volute and back of neck, so more shellac was applied.