jhamnett
Junior Member
- Messages
- 30
Pleased that my first build is up and working! What started as a very straightforward build quickly turned into a frustrating lesson learned regarding wood mounting pickups.
The design is certainly 80s inspired (Prince, Luke) and a bit of PRS Fiore influence. I actually considered a Fiore before doing this, but didn't jive with the neck.
The build started in December after all the parts arrived. Things went very easily at first. Then when it came to wood mounting the pickups it was abject failure. Wood screws snapped. Drill bits seized up. Some of the finish near the cavity got compromised. Despite following most typical advice (drilling the right sized pilot holes, using wax on the screws, masking off the body), it just wouldn't work. It was a humbling experience.
Eventually, with the help from some past threads here, I found some brass threaded inserts. I used brad point drill bits for the holes, starting small and increasing to 5/16". The inserts went in like butter and within a couple hours I had a functioning guitar! Now it's time to fix the finish damage and dial it in just right
Specs:
- Body: roasted swamp ash, chambered strat, purple metallic finish, contoured heel
- Neck: Slapshot reverse birdseye maple shaft and fretboard, SS medium jumbo frets, vintage-modern, LSR nut
- EMG Steve Lukather set with active tone and SPC (had to solder a new long shaft pot onto it), 18V supply
- Locking tuners from Philadelphia Luthier
- Gotoh EV510TS bridge
The design is certainly 80s inspired (Prince, Luke) and a bit of PRS Fiore influence. I actually considered a Fiore before doing this, but didn't jive with the neck.
The build started in December after all the parts arrived. Things went very easily at first. Then when it came to wood mounting the pickups it was abject failure. Wood screws snapped. Drill bits seized up. Some of the finish near the cavity got compromised. Despite following most typical advice (drilling the right sized pilot holes, using wax on the screws, masking off the body), it just wouldn't work. It was a humbling experience.
Eventually, with the help from some past threads here, I found some brass threaded inserts. I used brad point drill bits for the holes, starting small and increasing to 5/16". The inserts went in like butter and within a couple hours I had a functioning guitar! Now it's time to fix the finish damage and dial it in just right
Specs:
- Body: roasted swamp ash, chambered strat, purple metallic finish, contoured heel
- Neck: Slapshot reverse birdseye maple shaft and fretboard, SS medium jumbo frets, vintage-modern, LSR nut
- EMG Steve Lukather set with active tone and SPC (had to solder a new long shaft pot onto it), 18V supply
- Locking tuners from Philadelphia Luthier
- Gotoh EV510TS bridge
