Dad's 56 B-day guitar (Pics) Now w/ video and SOUND

[ocguy106]

Here is the headstock after about 3 coats of laquer. Needs a few more then buff it out....then a matching neck plate from DangerousR6 and it goes to the shop to be set up.

I am already considering a matching tele for me...and the sickness begins.

Ken

You mean this ???

Stop teasing me and send it already!!!! looks great Doug just like I knew it would. Tell me where to send the payment and consider it done. Sad part is I have to go to Alaska for work on Sunday so it will have to wait till I get back...but like all of this build it is deffinatly worth it.

 

[DangerousR6]

I know you're in Alaska Ken, but it's on it's way........enjoy..... :icon_thumright:

Doug.....

 

[Orpheo]

very, very cool axe, cool idea too! I love the details. this axe is loaded with tiny details. the name (tipton instead of fender) the serial number, the coloring, the woods, the pickups, well, everything. the details are just very very cool, and I think you're dad is a lucky guy with a son like you, and a guitar like this! happy birthday for your dad and congratulations on a great build.

oh, and the idea 'i'm not worth it'...it's just like the l'oreal commercial. even the most ugly women are worth l'oreal, oil of olaz etc etc, why is the worst guitarplayer in the world (I dont say thats you, i"ve never heard you play ) not a very very cool guitar (collection) worth? I'm not a professional (though I could be, if I wanted....) and I have a rig which makes most professional players jealous. If it makes you happy, whats the problem with it? You only live once on this planet. you have to pay for your kids' education, you have to pay tax, your mortgage, why not treat yourself, once in a while with a cool guitar?

oh, and keep on rocking   :headbang1:

 

[ocguy106]

Orpheo,

Thank you for the kind words. As for the details on this guitar you are right there are alot of little ones. I had about 5 years to mull over it since I originally planed this for his 50th. I tried to take everything I know about my dad and put it into this build and after hearing it I got it 100%. I couldn't be happier. As for some of the small details here was my thought process:

First it had to resemble and feel like a strat as much as possible
Second it had to sound and sustain like a Gibson as much as possible

Strat:
As for the strat part, the body of course is strat shaped. I had it rear routed so I could have a nice top put on it so it wouldn't get lost in the crowd. I moved the input jack to the side using a tele input jack to keep the face of the guitar clean as possible. The knobs I could have had 4 but again I wanted it to look like a strat so I used a concetric pot for tone. So it has 2 volume knobs and the concentric knob controls the tones. Strat 3 way switch to control everything and is very straight forward LP wiring.

Gibson:
As for the Gibson portion MAHOGANY of course. I had the back of the body cleared so to match the neck and it looks great (I think) The neck is Mahogany with a zircote board and SS6105's feels great. The heart of any Gibson is the humbuckers. I went with Scatterbranes these are hand wound boutique PU's and were a little pricey but well worth it. (I will post sound clips of my dad playing it) 2v2t set up of course. Hard tail for sustain. My dad hasn't even put the trem arm on his strat in the last 10 years he has had that guitar so he isn't missing out.

Other details:
I wanted it to stay in tune as much as possible so
Hard tail
Locking tuners
Graphite nut

Sound and Tone:
I wanted a fat, round, warm tone that would sustain for days. Robben Ford, Larry Carlton etc. Mahogony wood was the starting place for that and I thought if I hollowed it out it would be a little warmer. (335 style) The main thing from day one was to have an F hole. I just think it looks really different. No matter how cool the guitar would have looked without one it would have looked like any other high end strat. But with an F hole it really sets it apart. My dad goes and plays open blues jams 2 times a week and I know people are gonna ask "what kind of guitar is that" and his reply is that his kids made it for him (with the help of Warmoth). I couldn't be happier with the tone it is exactly how I imagined it in my head.

The gold represented 50 years although I missed it by 6 but hey he still gets it. The name of the guitar and SN of course are tributes to him and I know will be his favorites little detail it is what will truly make it his guitar and not somthing you can buy.

Everything on this is custom from the Decal to the neck plate to the contoured heel. I think it is a happy medium of "over the top" and "understated"
I know for the most part people will look at it and just think it is kinda cool or looks nice...but players will look at it and see all the details and how it is so differeent from either a Gibson or a Fender and really appreciate all the hard work and research that went into this.

Oh and I am sure he is gonna cry.....but I won't hold that against him. I will also post picture of when we give it to him. We are having a big backyard blues jam and we are going to give it to him in the middle of a set. should be cool.

 

[dbw]

It's really excellent.  I'm sure he'll love it.  I know I would!  :icon_thumright:

A word of advice... Dangerous' plates look killer but the sandblasted part is a bit prone to corrosion.  Put something in the recessed "Tipton" part to arrest it... I just used some orange oil, you could probably use anything... orange oil, linseed oil, WD-40, or some sort of clear polyurethane if you want something more permanent.

 

[Alfang]

You gotta let us know how he responds to it when he gets it, Video would be cool, but a good narative would be fine also

 

[dbw]

DBW DEMANDS VIDEO.

 

[DangerousR6]

Hey Ken, you get the neckplate yet? It should be there by now.... :toothy10:

 

[ocguy106]

I am sure it is probably on my desk at work. I am still in Alaska until mid next week. I will let you know when I get it. Still wondering on how I am gonna finish it. I have a couple of ideas in mind.

1. Just clear coat it to keep it from oxidizing
2. Hand paint the relief with a contrasting enamel paint then clear coat
3. Send it out to be re-plated so the whole thing is gold.

I will make my final decision once I see it but those are my thoughts.

Ken

 

[DangerousR6]

Cool, keep me up to date. I'd like to see what you do with it...... :icon_thumright:

I haven't had any problems with mine.  But I keep a desecant pack in my guitar case. And I didn't sandblast mine either, nor did I sandblast the one I made for you. Lettering was to fine and I haven't that  much patience to tape all that off and trim it out. But it looks fantastic. And truth be know the one I sent you was actually the second one I did. I scratched the first one and it's been sitting here on my desk with no signs of rust problems.... :dontknow:

 

[RLW]

You gotta let us know how he responds to it when he gets it, Video would be cool, but a good narative would be fine also

Gotta be video. I've been following this thread way too long. I've got to see the look on his face.

 

[ocguy106]

I will definatly get video!!!! will also host sound clips....did I say my dad can actually play. He is pretty badass for an old man. We are throwing a blues jam for his birthday so I will have video and sound clips to follow.

Ken

 

[RLW]

Lord, ANYTHING but a blooze jam. Learn some SONGS. Nothing says old fart like a blooze jam.

signed,

An Old Fart

 

[OzziePete]

Hey ocguy106,

Can I adopt you? I'm turning 50 in a few years, so you have plenty of time to get my guitar together in time for that, SON! :icon_biggrin:

All seriousness though, that's a very good thing to do for your Dad. The guitar is excellent enough, but all the small tributes put into it are a very nice touch.

 

[Multifruit]

I really like the clean line, this creates a great contrast =) Mahagony backs should never be painted solidly 

 

[DangerousR6]

Hey Ken, you made it home from alaska yet..... :icon_scratch: Or you still hanging out up there with the polar bears...... :icon_biggrin:

 

[ocguy106]

Doug,

Just got back and the first place I went was work to pick up my plate. Looks great. I will be mounting on my dad's guitar today and taking pictures. Just like DBW said there was a little oxidation starting and the outline of the milled out part is a little sharp and tears up your cleaning clothes. I cleaned it up real good and made sure there was not body oils on it and hit it up with a light coat of laquore. I continued adding coats about every hour untils the the milled out parts were pretty much level with the rest of the plate. let it dry and buffed it up. It will now never rust and the machined parts are smooth as a baby's butt.

Great job Doug thank you very much with all the things going on, on this guitar I am sure the plate will probably be one of the things that stands out the most for him. Thanks again

Ken

 

[dbw]

That's a great idea ocguy.  What sort of lacquer did you use?

 

[ocguy106]

DBW

I used Deft lacquer (Gloss) I still had some left from when I set the headstock decal. I just layed it flat and started with light coats. then started doing think coats. the lacquer is pretty thick so when you do the heavier coats with the plate laying down it dries pretty smooth. it it had been hanging I think you would get runs but laying down it was fine. after all the coats I hit it up with 600 wet sand let it dry and put on one more thick coat. I will let it set for a couple of days to totaly set then I will put it on the guitar and take some pictures.

Ken

 

[dbw]

Cool.  Was it brush-on or spray lacquer?  Any reason you didn't use poly, other than you had the lacquer already?