24 3/4 conversion strat

[fuzznut]

Got the new conversion neck today! EXCEPT... didn't get the 2 pickguard blanks I also ordered. UPS tracking says 2 items, and the neck box says 1of 2, so where's the other half of my shipment UPS??? Hmmm??? ???

Pickguard is done, contours done. I was going to put a single coil in the neck position, but I keep seeing Rgand's strat  :toothy11: A superswitch is being used, so I can get 3 good sounds and 2 useless ones  :laughing8:

 

[Cagey]

In my neck of the woods, sometimes UPS and FedEx hand off small packages to the USPS for last mile delivery. They in turn either deliver them late, or don't deliver them if you can't answer the door in the 3.2 nanoseconds that elapse between when they ring the bell and start running away, or leave them in a parcel locker if you have a common mail kiosk instead of a mailbox. Maybe that's what happened to your pickguards.

 

[BigSteve22]

In my neck of the woods, sometimes UPS and FedEx hand off small packages to the USPS for last mile delivery. They in turn either deliver them late, or don't deliver them if you can't answer the door in the 3.2 nanoseconds that elapse between when they ring the bell and start running away, or leave them in a parcel locker if you have a common mail kiosk instead of a mailbox. Maybe that's what happened to your pickguards.

Same thing by me. Call it Mail Innovations, I call it a pain. Only good thing about that deal, is USPS will deliver the package on Sundays around here.

 

[rgand]

A superswitch is being used, so I can get 3 good sounds and 2 useless ones  :laughing8:

:toothy12:  :icon_thumright:

 

[Cagey]

Better than the ones the kids make with 3 pickups and enough knobs and switches to control the space shuttle. End up with 28 settings where 16 sound like crap, 5 don't have any effect, 4 mysteriously produce no output at all, and 3 are usable but you can't remember how to get there from here.

 

[fuzznut]

Better than the ones the kids make with 3 pickups and enough knobs and switches to control the space shuttle. End up with 28 settings where 16 sound like crap, 5 don't have any effect, 4 mysteriously produce no output at all, and 3 are usable but you can't remember how to get there from here.

I did that when I was young with a rotary switch. The results were exactly as you described  :laughing7:

 

[Cagey]

I think everybody does it at least once. These days, I have one volume and debate myself about adding a tone control. Although, I have to admit to having a couple push/pulls on my Velocity (both work now, btw).

Somebody here a few years back went so far as to have no controls on the guitar, using a volume pedal on the floor to set level. I don't see me going to that extreme, but I have learned to appreciate simple controls.

 

[Axkoa]

I think everybody does it at least once. These days, I have one volume and debate myself about adding a tone control. Although, I have to admit to having a couple push/pulls on my Velocity (both work now, btw).

Somebody here a few years back went so far as to have no controls on the guitar, using a volume pedal on the floor to set level. I don't see me going to that extreme, but I have learned to appreciate simple controls.

Now Cagey, what are you thoughts on the Line 6 Variax?  :toothy10:

 

[Cagey]

I've not played with one. I do know they claim to use "high end hardware", but then they put string trees and non-locking tuners on them. For a $1500 instrument, I think they could unclench 5 more dollars in cost and put some decent tuners on there. Maybe use some of the savings recouped by eliminating those useless trees. If they're that careless about mechanicals, I'm betting the fretboard needs work, too. Probably don't even use stainless frets.

So, I'm pretty sure I hate them already  :laughing7:

 

[fuzznut]

Haha, I put the 3 holes in the pickguard, but the 2 tone controls are just for looks, I won't even hook them up.  :icon_biggrin: Never had a use for 'em.

 

[Cagey]

Some guys ride 'em to death. Watch a Jeff Beck video. He's on those things non-stop. I'm not sure he's even moving the bloody things; it may just be a manifestation of an obsessive-compulsive disorder. But, he's a great guitar player, so whatever works for him is fine.

 

[fuzznut]

Some guys ride 'em to death. Watch a Jeff Beck video. He's on those things non-stop. I'm not sure he's even moving the bloody things; it may just be a manifestation of an obsessive-compulsive disorder. But, he's a great guitar player, so whatever works for him is fine.

I did, he does use it a lot. Looks like he brings it way down, does a couple of phrases, and brings it back up again. He'd be better off with a switch  :laughing7:

 

[Cagey]

Not seeing what you saw I can only guess, but when you see a big movement he's probably turning the guitar off to keep string noise/feedback at bay, or setting up for a swell. He likes to rise into the note sometimes. You'll see him do that a lot on songs like "Cause We've Ended As Lovers".

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[fuzznut]

One of my favourite songs by him. I looked at a couple of recent vids, with Tal in the band, and he wasn't fiddling with the tone too much. Never realized how much he uses the tremolo too. I bought that album before CDs were invented  :glasses9:

 

[Cagey]

I think I'm on my 3rd or 4th copy. It's been out a long time, and back when vinyl was a thing they didn't last long under heavy use. Now the CD never gets used as it's been moved onto the various computing thingys.

He does hang onto that wang bar as if his life depends on it, doesn't he? Although, I guess in a way it does. It is his "day job"  :laughing7:

 

[fuzznut]

Yeah it really is part of his style, not for post-hoc embellishment, but ingrained in his playing. And doing all these subtle and not so subtle tremolo moves playing relatively clean. Pretty amazing. He's one of those guys where, if you hear a song, you go "Oh yeah, that's Jeff Beck playing"  :toothy11:

I'm covered head to toe in sanding dust, sanding the body. Next stop- Tru oil.

Didn't get the pickguards again today, called UPS. "Oh that one has a different tracking number". I guess the neck shipped straight here, the pickguards went to Hawaii first  :laughing3: They'll be here Monday.

 

[Cagey]

At least they're not lost and if you haven't started finishing yet, you've got a couple/few weeks before you truly need them.

 

[fuzznut]

I got impatient, bought a blank somewhere else and made the pickguard already. The stuff I'm getting will be for the other 2 guitars I have yet to make. I have another alder body blank and a black limba blank. I'll take my time with those two since I want to put a real finish on them, and that won't be doable until May or June. I've amassed a huge list of pitfalls to avoid for those 2 after building this one  :laughing11: :laughing3: :sign13:

 

[fuzznut]

Today I get to void the warranty on the neck  :redflag: I got a fatback solely to reprofile it to my liking. Here are the profile templates:




I did record the fatback profile for posterity  :icon_smile:

 

[BigSteve22]

I'll be interested to see how your re-profile goes. I put a Clapton Soft-Vee on my Jazzmaster and I'm still not sure about keeping it that way. It's been a little painful on my thumb playing barred chords.

I was thinking of either taking off some of the peak, or just getting a new Standard Thin profile. Taking the Vee down would certainly be less expensive, and since it's finished in satin lacquer, it wouldn't be all that hard to refinish.

Pictures as they become available, please.