Back in W-land; Velocity!

[Vallhagen]

...and as the color hasn't even dried on my SG (soon to be finnished... that's another thread around here), I'll start up this project. This time Warmoth body (Velocity) and neck, both from the Screamin' Deals section. It arrived today, and i started with the neck. Body-work in upcoming posts.

The neck is Goncalo Alves with ebony fretboard. First impression is that it is heavy, I have to admit i didnt think about that when i orderred... basically i wanted something that doesnt need any finnish, and its fun with new wood-qualities. It's fun because i DID bother to order a light-weight body!

The plan is to make this a "sibling" to my fave strat, also with a Kahler fulcrum ("Floyd-Roseish") tremolo i have in my drawer.

I couldn't justify to pay 45 USD extra to let W prepare for the locking nut, and DIY is more fun. So... here we go:

The neck as it arrived:

The task for today: Route a pocket for the nut:

Fixed to the XY-board, the first pass to check line-up:

Progress:

More progress:

Finnished?

Finnished!

Yep, looks good. A bit of an "overhang" (to the right in picture), and i guess thats one difference between different brands for the nuts(?), or how steep the slope is between the fingerboard and the headstock. Looks a bit funny on close-up, but it will work with this nut (i think its a Gotoh, but im not sure).

Cheerio

 

[ChristopherG]

Lookin' good. Yeah probably just brand variance.

 

[Vallhagen]

Fast guy here... last post dec. -15 and an "at least 120 days old topic-warning" appears as i type... and i notice a new forum design

Well, some things are actually happening. As in me routing up this body (it was orderred "no trem routing"). And i have actually finnished two more projects (a JR and a strat) in the time between posts. I may flash some pics of them in some other thread

Minor problem; my dropbox is full. Now i try google drive for the first time. Lets see if the pics show up

Cheers guys!


Edit: ??? No pics??? Argh... lets try again:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6htnjjuKl-LYlU1TGdlOFdnc2M
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6htnjjuKl-LWUh1MHJ2MEhCY28

 

[BigSteve22]

Welcome back Bro! Pic links worked for me. Keep 'em coming, nice work.

 

[Vallhagen]

Thanx Steve!

Cheers
Bengt

 

[fdesalvo]

Welcome back and lovely build going!  I'm a recent Floyd convert.  I can't ever see going back to fixed bridges now.  Insane tuning stability and great tone.

 

[aarontunes]

Welcome back and lovely build going!  I'm a recent Floyd convert.  I can't ever see going back to fixed bridges now.  Insane tuning stability and great tone.

Welcome. We've been expecting you.

 

[Vallhagen]

Hey and hey...

Is there a prize for "most longlasting build ever?! I notice that i created this thread back in 2015...

Long story short: The Velocity is now, since a week or so, rocking! Today was the first day on loud volume together with the boys in the band. Marvellous guitar.

And what happened? Life came inbetween in both good and demanding ways, and also i have built and created some other stuff (amplifiers, stompboxes..).

The finnish job has actually failed in a few ways, but i came to a point were i thought "what the heck" and put it together anyway... If you look close, you can see cracks. It happened during water-sanding, i guess small amounts of water has crept under the color layers and lifted the wood. Also, since i moved the last time i have to be on my balcony spraying paint... AND in the first place this thing was sprayed candy orange... but after some ambitios work those layers of spray crapped out completely... and then i didnt feel like spraying the same color again.

Anyway and well ... here it is. Some of you may enjoy a look at it

Body: Warmoth Velocity
Neck: Warmoth, std measures, Ebony on Goncalo Alves
Pickguard: My design and work
Tremolo: An old (80s something) Kahler Killer, a quite fantastic piece of precision mechanical engineering...
Pickups: Lundgren, swedish handwound stuff. the HB is a Black Heaven, the SCs are 60s vintage.

Cheers!

 

[rgand]

Looks great! I like the way the pickguard is notched around the switch.  :icon_thumright: :icon_thumright:

 

[BigSteve22]

Oh yeah, I'm liking that a whole lot! Great job, Brother.....  :rock-on:

 

[zebra]

Oh no, don't you worry about an imperfect finish - that guitar looks great!  And you found the perfect strap to go with it.  Super cool!

 

[stratamania]

Hey and hey...

Is there a prize for "most longlasting build ever?! I notice that i created this thread back in 2015...

Hey...glad to see the finished result. It is quite different.

I started a build thread back in April 2015 that is not finished so I hope you were not rushing to claim the prize. But the real prize is having a finished project and guitar  :icon_thumright:

 

[Vallhagen]

Looks great! I like the way the pickguard is notched around the switch.  :icon_thumright: :icon_thumright:

Thanx! Yeah, i'm happy with that pickguard design ...

Oh yeah, I'm liking that a whole lot! Great job, Brother.....  :rock-on:

Thanx Steve!

Oh no, don't you worry about an imperfect finish - that guitar looks great!  And you found the perfect strap to go with it.  Super cool!

You are actually right, i think! From some distance you cant see the cracks anyway... and it plays great. Yep, getting a suitable strap is part of the fun when designing! This one i got from my local store. I have other ones from http://www.hypnoticstraps.com/.

Hey...glad to see the finished result. It is quite different.

I started a build thread back in April 2015 that is not finished so I hope you were not rushing to claim the prize. But the real prize is having a finished project and guitar  :icon_thumright:

All ok! I standback and let you claim that prize! And yes, been playing this thing a few hours now, it was actually worth waiting for.

I do have quite a collection of guitars by now (not 50, but well some 10-12), though i keep come back to HH or HSS Stratocasters as my preferred instrument (balance, convenience...). Until now i think. The fairly light-weight and "a little bit smaller" Velocity body is fantastic in so many ways

...and as i keep evaluating: From my personal experience and preferences; Warmoth necks are the best. This in comparison with other "Fenderish" necks from a few different companies.

Cheers!

 

[stratamania]

Glad you are enjoying the guitar. I am hoping someone else has a build on the go for longer. Anyone?

 

[BigSteve22]

Glad you are enjoying the guitar. I am hoping someone else has a build on the go for longer. Anyone?

Not a Warmoth build, but a reason for anyone here to feel better about the amount of time it took to finish their build. I re-routed the body of this Hagstrom II sometime in 1983. (Or is it '84? So long ago, I really can't be more specific.) Wanted to refinish and convert it from single coils to HBs. Finally finished the project in 2013. So, 30 years, more or less.......

 

[stratamania]

That is a cool Hagstrom...

(Like I always say no point in rushing a job

 

[Logrinn]

Or as we swedes say:
"Det där är en riktigt fräck Hagström!" :icon_jokercolor:

 

[BigSteve22]

Or as we swedes say:
"Det där är en riktigt fräck Hagström!" :icon_jokercolor:

Does that translate to: "Look what this frik'n idiot did to a classic Hagstrom!" ??  :doh:
(Just kidding, I looked it up....)  :icon_thumright:

 

[Logrinn]

Or as we swedes say:
"Det där är en riktigt fräck Hagström!" :icon_jokercolor:

Does that translate to: "Look what this frik'n idiot did to a classic Hagstrom!" ??  :doh:
(Just kidding, I looked it up....)  :icon_thumright:

:toothy12: :toothy12: :toothy12:

 

[Vallhagen]

Or as we swedes say:
"Det där är en riktigt fräck Hagström!" :icon_jokercolor:

Så sant som det är sagt!