Barlow Style Partscaster Build - The Meadowstrat 313

[Caelstrom]

I started my first partscaster build this week. The goal is to build a guitar that cosmetically shows off the beauty of the wood it's made from (I really love the look of Barlow guitars), and has the tonal flexibility of a PRS 513/Special Semi-Hollow (HSH, 5-way switch, with coil-tapping options). I'd been kicking around ideas for years waiting for the "right time" to start this project when Warmoth released the limited run of Marbled Padouk bodies. I rarely drop that much money on something without several days of mulling it over, but I knew as soon as I saw those that it would make the perfect body for what I was going for cosmetically (as a side note, I would have preferred a different body shape than a standard Strat - say a Meadowhawk or Velocity, but beggars can't be choosy). I especially like the new "Natural Semi-Gloss" finish that leaves the grain mostly open and allows you to feel the character of the wood.

For a neck, I wanted an exotic wood that was smooth and fast feeling with lots of figuring in the grain. I narrowed it down to Pau Ferro and Goncalo Alves, but decided that Pau Ferro would probably fit best cosmetically with the Roasted Swamp Ash body. When I was first envisioning this guitar, I really wanted a heavily figured fretboard that would stand out (I had been thinking Kingwood), but I ultimately decided that it would distract from the body and wind up looking too busy, so I went with a darker Indian Rosewood that still has a nice linear grain to it, but is more subdued. I really like that Warmoth has the Gibson scale conversion necks. My first electric guitar was a 1996 Gibson Les Paul Studio, which I eventually sold in my early 30's because I wasn't playing it. I briefly owned a MIM Fender Stratocaster that my brother passed on to me, but it never really felt right in my hands and I didn't play that much either. When I finally decided to get back into electric guitar, I did a bunch of research and wound up buying my current PRS SE Custom 22, which I love. I also really enjoy the smooth feel and mellow tone of flatwound strings (I know that's an oddity among guitar players, but hey, to each their own). The only problem with flatwounds is that they tend to run a little heavier in gauge, which translates to higher string tension. The slightly shorter scale of PRS (25") and Gibson (24 3/4") guitars compensates for this a little with a reduction in string tension.

With all those considerations in mind, here are the specs for my Warmoth body and neck:

Strat® Replacement Body
Construction: Solid
Core Wood: Roasted Swamp Ash
Body Upgrades: Extra Light
Lam Top Wood: Marbled Padouk
Neck Pickup Rout: Humbucker
Middle Pickup Rout: Strat®
Bridge Pickup Rout: Humbucker
Controls: Volume 1, Tone 1, Tone 2, Blade Switch
Bridge Rout: Wilkinson
Body Contours: Forearm Contour, Tummy Cut, Contoured Heel

Meadowhawk Guitar Neck
Construction: Tiltback Gibson® Scale Conversion
Shaft Wood: Pau Ferro
Fretboard Wood: Unique Choice Indian Rosewood (Dark)
Nut Width: 1-11/16" (43mm) - Modern Medium
Right / Left Handed: Right-Handed Reverse
Neck Back Profile: Standard Thin
Fretboard Radius: 9.5" - 14" Compound
Number of Frets: 22
Fret Size & Material: SS6150 - Wide & Tall (Stainless)
Tuner Hole Size: Gotoh/Grover (13/32" - 11/32")
Inlay Shape: Diamonds
Inlay Material: Gold Pearloid
Side Dots: Mother Of Pearl Side Dots
String Nut: Standard Nut - GraphTech Black TUSQ XL

The parts arrived a little over a month ago and did not disappoint (see attached pics)!

 

[Caelstrom]

I'm a big fan of planning and preparation, especially on a project like this. One of the things I love to have is a checklist so I have some sense of the order of how things need to be done, and so that nothing gets missed or has to be undone to make changes. Unfortunately, there's really no resources that I've found that go through the entire process of building a partscaster step-by-step. After watching countless videos, scrolling forums like this one, and in general just doing a ton of research, I've put together this checklist to run my project by. I'm sure I'll update it as I get into the thick of things (in fact, as of the writing of this post I'm already completed my General Prep and Neck Prep sections, which have already seen significant updates due to the experience). If anyone can think of important steps to add, or better order for certain steps, I'd gladly take the input. Obviously every build is slightly different, so there's really no one-list-fits all, but I'm trying to build a resource I can look back at (or someone else might find helpful) for future builds.

 

[stratamania]

Look forward to seeing your progress.

Regarding the process you mention, have you checked out the Welcome to the Forum link in my signature below. It has links to lots of build guides. I have authored many of them. You ought to be able to glean most if not all possible steps from them and the other useful links in that post linked.

 

[Caelstrom]

I got my neck all prepped and ready a couple days ago. I was very pleased with the overall build of the neck when it arrived, but the PRS I've been playing the past several years has made me a bit of a snob about certain fine details. In particular the fret ends and edge of the fretboard on it are incredibly smooth. The fretwork on the Warmoth neck was excellent in almost all regards (completely level across all frets, and even after sitting for over a month in a relatively dry environment there was no fret sprout), but I really wanted to try to replicate the silky smooth feel of my PRS. I dressed the the Warmoth frets a little more, adding a little more bevel and roll-over to the ends. Then I sanded and polished the fret ends and the edge of the fretboard with several different grits of micro-mesh (1500, 2400, 3600, 6000, and 12000) to smooth out the edges really nicely. I hit all the corners and edges of the headstock with the same grits to round them off a little and create a nice smooth feel around the whole headstock as well.

Marking the holes for the tuning machines took some time - the curves and lack of symmetry in the headstock shape made finding the centerline of the headstock (from which to determine a 90 degree angle for the tuners to project) difficult. I also wasn't sure whether I liked the look of perpendicular tuners:

or aligned, angled tuners better:

While something about the angled placement struck me as visually appealing, I ultimately I decided to go with the perpendicular placement. It seemed the most "standard," and the angled placement left less clearance between the tuner knobs and the top of the headstock. I wasn't sure this would wind up feeling cramped/awkward during tuning, but I didn't want to get the whole project done and find out that I didn't like the way it felt (let me know if you think it was the wrong choice - I'm actually kind of interested to see how many other people like the angled look).

A side note on my tuners: I chose the Gotoh SG301 Magnum Locking tuners. These are a self-locking tuner that lock down on their own while you tension the strings. I definitely wanted locking tuners to go with my tremolo bridge, but the Schaller-style locking tuners with the rear tightening wheel always looked bulky and heavy to me. This locking mechanism provides a cleaner, more traditional closed-back tuner appearance and overall reduced weight to the headstock.

Once all the pilot holes for the tuners and truss rod cover were marked and drilled, I gave the headstock a quick final polish, then I gave it what I've seen called the "Music Man" neck treatment. I put on two coats of wipe-on, wipe-off Birchwood True Oil (the wood seemed pretty dry and soaked up the first application with very little left to wipe-off). I then finished it off with an application of Birchwood Gun Stock wax, which I buffed out just with paper towels. This whole process darkened the Pau Ferro a bit, and really made the grain pop. I did the final install on the tuners and the neck was pretty much complete. The final result was everything I had hoped for: a silky-smooth neck with beautiful wood grain and a great unfinished wood feel:

 

[rockandroller]

I think the tuners arrangement is fine. Should be intuitive to reach and grab without looking
That's a mighty magnificent neck!!