Surf n Music n Ski n Bike
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First off the mock up is awesome. Second inca silver is my vote.
Color scheme question - Body decided, Now for the Neck (near bottom of page 2)
- Thread starter DocNrock
- Start date
Fat Pete said:
All good thoughts, Fat Pete. The last point is one that I need to ask them about. I know they will do a solid white back with the black dyed top. But it is true there are some things they won't do that leave me scratching my head as to why. I wanted to get a good idea of specifics before I asked, but now would be a good time.
@Surf n Music: Thanks, I think it looks pretty cool.
TonyFlyingSquirrel
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Silver flake with a clear pickguard from StewMac.
I'm continuing on with this idea. For the body, I have decided on Charcoal Frost for the back and the black dye quilt front. I had to pick a different Unique Choice top as the one I stared with seems to be sold (or, at least, does not appear to be available). But it looks just as cool, if not cooler. I think I've decided to go with a clean-line option, rather than the binding. Everything else is the same as in the mockup on the first page.
I really gave a lot of thought to Inca Silver, as a number of you suggested. I think it *could* look really cool. But it might also be one of those combos that look good in pictures side-by-side, but might not look so hot in real life. Then, I'd be stuck with it. In many ways, then Charcoal Frost is probably the safest. I also thought about black, now that I am doing the clean-line and not the binding, but that might be too safe. Thoughts?
Now for the neck. Options are a Strat headstock, a Warhead, or a reverse Warhead. I'm not keen on a reverse Strat headstock, but I am leaning towards a reverse Warhead. It will be Warmoth Pro construction, full scale length, and quartersawn maple, standard thin, and R4 Floyd Nut prep. I thought about Vintage Modern, but I guess a Floyd Nut is not compatible.
Now, for the options. The theme, once again, is Stranger in a Strange Land.
1) Maple vs. Ebony fretboard. This would be just quartersawn maple vs. plain black ebony. I'll be straight about this: I am really not interested in any other fretboard woods, especially ones with a prominent grain pattern.
Question: If I go with ebony, I just want simple, black ebony. The Unique Choice ebony boards all seem to have some grain pattern to them. Does anyone know if getting some grain pattern is the goal with Unique Choice ebony fretboards? I may be in the minority, but I would think that the upcharge would apply to getting something as grain-less as possible. If the standard "Ebony (black)" is plain black ebony, with no particular grain pattern, then that would be great. Perhaps I should call them and ask?
2) Fretboard markers: If I choose ebony, I am thinking about Black Mother of Pearl. Looking at the example of Black MOP on W's website, it seems this would contrast enough with a black board to be visible, but would be just slightly more prominent than subtle, if that makes sense. It would not be as obvious as, say abalone. If I go with maple, I could still do Black Mother of Pearl, but I could also do black sharkfins. The original Adrian Smith Jackson has black dots for the maple fretboard sub-model; it also has a standard Strat headstock. I think the black sharkfins would look good in combination with the reverse Warhead. Thoughts?
3) Pegface veneer: I'm thinking a quilt maple matching black dye veneer might look cool. The only thing is that the Unique Choice piece I am looking at for the body doesn't have the "typical" quilt pattern. If the veneer does have the typical pattern, then it might look mismatched even if the dye depth matches. Thoughts on this? Another idea was to finish the pegface with solid Charcoal Frost, matching the back of the body. Or, I could just leave it satin clear like the rest of the neck will be. I plan (hope) to finally make one of my "B.C. Jackson" logos and put it on the headstock. So, if I do just leave it quartersawn maple, it won't look completely naked.
Iron Maiden. "Stranger in a Strange Land:"
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry42FHfz67A[/youtube]
I really gave a lot of thought to Inca Silver, as a number of you suggested. I think it *could* look really cool. But it might also be one of those combos that look good in pictures side-by-side, but might not look so hot in real life. Then, I'd be stuck with it. In many ways, then Charcoal Frost is probably the safest. I also thought about black, now that I am doing the clean-line and not the binding, but that might be too safe. Thoughts?
Now for the neck. Options are a Strat headstock, a Warhead, or a reverse Warhead. I'm not keen on a reverse Strat headstock, but I am leaning towards a reverse Warhead. It will be Warmoth Pro construction, full scale length, and quartersawn maple, standard thin, and R4 Floyd Nut prep. I thought about Vintage Modern, but I guess a Floyd Nut is not compatible.
Now, for the options. The theme, once again, is Stranger in a Strange Land.
1) Maple vs. Ebony fretboard. This would be just quartersawn maple vs. plain black ebony. I'll be straight about this: I am really not interested in any other fretboard woods, especially ones with a prominent grain pattern.
Question: If I go with ebony, I just want simple, black ebony. The Unique Choice ebony boards all seem to have some grain pattern to them. Does anyone know if getting some grain pattern is the goal with Unique Choice ebony fretboards? I may be in the minority, but I would think that the upcharge would apply to getting something as grain-less as possible. If the standard "Ebony (black)" is plain black ebony, with no particular grain pattern, then that would be great. Perhaps I should call them and ask?
2) Fretboard markers: If I choose ebony, I am thinking about Black Mother of Pearl. Looking at the example of Black MOP on W's website, it seems this would contrast enough with a black board to be visible, but would be just slightly more prominent than subtle, if that makes sense. It would not be as obvious as, say abalone. If I go with maple, I could still do Black Mother of Pearl, but I could also do black sharkfins. The original Adrian Smith Jackson has black dots for the maple fretboard sub-model; it also has a standard Strat headstock. I think the black sharkfins would look good in combination with the reverse Warhead. Thoughts?
3) Pegface veneer: I'm thinking a quilt maple matching black dye veneer might look cool. The only thing is that the Unique Choice piece I am looking at for the body doesn't have the "typical" quilt pattern. If the veneer does have the typical pattern, then it might look mismatched even if the dye depth matches. Thoughts on this? Another idea was to finish the pegface with solid Charcoal Frost, matching the back of the body. Or, I could just leave it satin clear like the rest of the neck will be. I plan (hope) to finally make one of my "B.C. Jackson" logos and put it on the headstock. So, if I do just leave it quartersawn maple, it won't look completely naked.
Iron Maiden. "Stranger in a Strange Land:"
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry42FHfz67A[/youtube]
stratamania
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I don't have any suggestions on the various choices but they all sound workable.
On the ebony, it's probably a case of availability.
An interesting insight into Ebony.
http://youtu.be/anCGvfsBoFY
Another way to get "black" ebony would be to use Fiebings Leather Dye, StewMac sell it for the purpose but you can get via Amazon a lot more inexpensively.
On the ebony, it's probably a case of availability.
An interesting insight into Ebony.
http://youtu.be/anCGvfsBoFY
Another way to get "black" ebony would be to use Fiebings Leather Dye, StewMac sell it for the purpose but you can get via Amazon a lot more inexpensively.
Cagey
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They offer Ebony 3 ways in the builder - Ebony, Black Ebony and Macassar Ebony. Any time I've ordered Ebony, I order black Ebony and that's what I get. No need for a "unique choice". In fact, the "unique choice" stuff usually doesn't look as good. Looks like something between black Ebony and Macassar Ebony, where you have some streaks, but nothing to write home about. The only way "unique choice" seems to work for Ebony is if you want Macassar.
Since they offer roasted Maple now, that's a great combination - Black Ebony over Roasted Maple. Then you don't need to put a finish on the Maple. Burnishes up real nice. No satin finish would ever feel as good or last as long. Finish it off with stainless frets, and that's one super-fine neck.
I don't care for facing fret markers any more. Audience doesn't need 'em, I don't need 'em, I don't miss 'em and the Fretboard looks better without 'em. But, that's just me. They're only there for aesthetics. As long as you have side markers, you're in good shape.
As for the peghead, I think I'd leave it alone on this build.
Since they offer roasted Maple now, that's a great combination - Black Ebony over Roasted Maple. Then you don't need to put a finish on the Maple. Burnishes up real nice. No satin finish would ever feel as good or last as long. Finish it off with stainless frets, and that's one super-fine neck.
I don't care for facing fret markers any more. Audience doesn't need 'em, I don't need 'em, I don't miss 'em and the Fretboard looks better without 'em. But, that's just me. They're only there for aesthetics. As long as you have side markers, you're in good shape.
As for the peghead, I think I'd leave it alone on this build.
@ Stratamania: Thanks for the insights. I'll check out the link a bit later. :icon_thumright:
Yeah, I excluded Macassar Ebony. I love it on the right build, but for this one I didn't want anything stripey. :laughing7: But thank you. It seems you confirmed my thoughts about black ebony and Unique Choice, or not.
I'll keep that in mind. I'd love to try out a roasted maple neck. They sound to be very cool. But I think I'm going to go "traditional" on this build.
I think I remember you mentioning at one time you had given at least a moment's thought to the same thing: black MOP dots inlaid into an ebony fretboard. I have a couple of guitars without them, and you're right, I don't need them to know where I am on the neck, especially with side position markers. For a neck with a gorgeous fretboard, I would consider omitting the inlays. But most of the time, for me, they are decorative; they are definitely decorative on this build. For the black MOP on ebony, they might give that spacey, somewhere in time vibe. This might be especially true with an ebony fretboard. For the black sharkfins on maple, the inlays would add that Jackson vibe, especially with a reverse headstock Warhead. I don't really care for Warmoth's "Arcade" headstock, nor their old "Jackson" one. But the Warhead, especially if it is reversed, makes me (loosely) think of a cross between a Strat headstock and one from Jackson.
Yeah, I am inclined to agree with you.
Thank you for taking the time to post your thoughts. It is appreciated!
ccasion14:
Now I need to find that effects pedal I was looking for...the one that makes your guitar sound like a Calliope. Maybe I left it with clowns? Hopefully, it's not sticky with old cotton candy. :laughing7:
Cagey said:
Yeah, I excluded Macassar Ebony. I love it on the right build, but for this one I didn't want anything stripey. :laughing7: But thank you. It seems you confirmed my thoughts about black ebony and Unique Choice, or not.
Cagey said:
I'll keep that in mind. I'd love to try out a roasted maple neck. They sound to be very cool. But I think I'm going to go "traditional" on this build.
Cagey said:
I think I remember you mentioning at one time you had given at least a moment's thought to the same thing: black MOP dots inlaid into an ebony fretboard. I have a couple of guitars without them, and you're right, I don't need them to know where I am on the neck, especially with side position markers. For a neck with a gorgeous fretboard, I would consider omitting the inlays. But most of the time, for me, they are decorative; they are definitely decorative on this build. For the black MOP on ebony, they might give that spacey, somewhere in time vibe. This might be especially true with an ebony fretboard. For the black sharkfins on maple, the inlays would add that Jackson vibe, especially with a reverse headstock Warhead. I don't really care for Warmoth's "Arcade" headstock, nor their old "Jackson" one. But the Warhead, especially if it is reversed, makes me (loosely) think of a cross between a Strat headstock and one from Jackson.
Cagey said:
Yeah, I am inclined to agree with you.
Thank you for taking the time to post your thoughts. It is appreciated!
ccasion14:Now I need to find that effects pedal I was looking for...the one that makes your guitar sound like a Calliope. Maybe I left it with clowns? Hopefully, it's not sticky with old cotton candy. :laughing7:
bagman67
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Brent, I don't really have anything to offer to help you with your decision-making process, but I will say I'm looking forward to seeing all this come together.
In re: No-inlay fretboards (this is more for the casual reader than for you, Doc). There is a learning curve, but for a reasonably capable player, it's a short one. I was jamming with a buddy yesterday and I handed him Bete Noire to try out, and he got lost as soon as he got away from cowboy chords. But within ten minutes he was pretty close to error-free. When you stop thinking about it, your muscle memory helps you find your way back to the path of wisdom, or whatever the hell it is I try to walk on.
In re: No-inlay fretboards (this is more for the casual reader than for you, Doc). There is a learning curve, but for a reasonably capable player, it's a short one. I was jamming with a buddy yesterday and I handed him Bete Noire to try out, and he got lost as soon as he got away from cowboy chords. But within ten minutes he was pretty close to error-free. When you stop thinking about it, your muscle memory helps you find your way back to the path of wisdom, or whatever the hell it is I try to walk on.
Cagey
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I'm surprised it took him 10 minutes. I adjusted to it almost instantly. I'm certainly no virtuoso that can play anything you put in my hands, but the reality is most of the time you're looking at the side markers anyway. The facing markers are often covered up, if they're visible at all. When standing, they're just not there. Side markers are all you get.
I can see having facing markers on super-fancy fiddles where you have a lotta binding and other bling. Put some big ol' square, trapezoidal or custom carved pieces of MOP or Abalone in there to gussy it up a bit. But, on a working guitar that just needs to look nice? To hell with 'em. Practical and classy go hand-in-hand.
But, that's just me. If I was right about everything, I'd be rich :laughing7:
I can see having facing markers on super-fancy fiddles where you have a lotta binding and other bling. Put some big ol' square, trapezoidal or custom carved pieces of MOP or Abalone in there to gussy it up a bit. But, on a working guitar that just needs to look nice? To hell with 'em. Practical and classy go hand-in-hand.
But, that's just me. If I was right about everything, I'd be rich :laughing7:
