Recent content by Gravity Jim

Longest running project?  Weeellll..... The Zencaster began life as a Mexican Fender Strat, purchased new in 1996. I replaced the body first the first year Warmoth offered the "hollow" (chambered, that is) Strat body.  Then the pickups, then the neck, the bridge, another set of pickups, the...

Taking a poll:  if I ended up building a Zencaster II, with a new neck and body (and it's very tempting), I would likely sell the neck I have. Whoever bought it would want to remove the headstock decal, but here's the question: If you were in the market, would you rather buy the neck as is...

AutoBat, the SAX set is the best sounding Strat set I've ever heard.  They bring out everything the chambered body has going for it.  Before it's recent near-death experience, this guitar sounded like the hi-fi bastard son of a 335 and a Stratocaster. Here's a pic of the guitar before I almost...

Jumble, that's what we did, but it didn't completely fix it. Thanks for all the advice.  My luthier friend (the second guy, who builds acoustics) is going to take the neck and see if he can find the problem and repair it.  I'd not, we'll trim off the overhang, and by then I wil have either...

Well, it's still screwed. Options: Remove the overhang and convert it to a 21 fret neck. (Yes, it would work, no, I never play that note, but it still would bug the crap out of me.) Buy a new neck.  (I'd still be bolting it on to this possibly screwed up body with the too-deep pocket.) Sell...

The guy who did the original assembly is an electric guitar tech who started a shred-guitar company and now works for an internationally-know retailer as their head guitar tech. The guy who fixed it yesterday is, on the other hand, a builder of acoustic guitars and mandolins.  I realized that...

Vince is correct... We found a crack in the fingerboard.  My extremely skilled luthier friend fixed the crack and filed down the 22nd fret... Nw I just need to do a complete set-up in the morning.  I think we're gonna be okay.

Cagey, that's really nice of you.  I know a guy here who is really good (builds great acoustic guitars from scratch) who has offered to fix it.  I can tell you I'll never point a tool at a guitar again!

I took out the shim.  No dice. I found my six inch rule.  If I lay it across the last three frets, no gap.  But if I lay it across the frets from the 17th up the 22nd, I can slide a .004 feeler gauge under almost all of them.  Incredibly, that was enough force to bend the overhang.  I've ruined...

Thanks, Cagey, I have a set of those for setting relief. So it IS possible I ruined the overhang?

Hello, all.  My name is Jim Bordner, and I am a commercial music producer.  I do not have the level of expertise in guitar building that I see demonstrated on this board, but I am capable of doing my own set up, pickup swap and nut installation work.  For over 12 years my primary guitar has been...