Rick said:
Yessir! As follows a few rows below!
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Cagey; Thanx again.
Regarding the hardened steel/bolts/knife-edges i have actually experience from it myself, but its back in early nineties. I remember i did return a Kramer guitar which after a month of playing refused to stay in tune; it turned out that the whole tremolo block were eaten up by the screw, and that was without touching it, just using the tremolo. But lets assume that was a cheap floydrosecopy. Also i have (still in use on a strat) an old Kahler fulcrum, where it sais in the instructions that turning the screws under pressure is a big nono. But thats Kahler :icon_tongue: ... Good to know that Wilkinson pass though. I had to ask
Thanx for your setup process too. Intuitive. I started with a basic setup (as mentioned above), and followed you a few steps. it sort of fell into place fairly easily, and for now i am happy with it. I will play it for a week as it is now, and then come back to the hex keys and see if i can get it even better. Or if i
want even lower action. It's obviously a matter of personal taste, and as i am searching for "that feeling" (we all are, i assume) i'm not sure if its about easier hammer-ons. I could talk about this for a while... one of my guitars is an Ibanez RG505 (yes 505, not 550); lightweight, well balanced and perfectly easy to play with low action and slim wizard neck. I played it for many years, but for some reason never liked it... it just doesnt mean anything to hit a note on it. No soul. Main point: This tele feels good, really good, as it is now, let's see how it grows
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So; it's all setup, adjusted and intonated.
I finnished soldering the electronics yesterday too. It's just straightforward; vol- and tonepot, threewayswitch. I chose Alpha 24mm pots and a Neutrik jack, which is good quality stuff. (Maybe i can again share a hint here, as electronics is my playground and i have these things in my drawers: I have seen companys billing ridiculous money for guitar electronics... 100 USD for four pots, a jack and two "vintage orange caps". THAT is insanely expensive, dont buy it
... a cap shall cost virtually nothing and a pot maybe 3-5 USD).
It has a sweet acoustic sustain, and i am happy with the overall amplified sound/tone too (though i have only played it at home, as loud as i dare with neighbours).
And i am truly extremely satisfied with the aestethics of the whole thing (indeed part of the idea in customizing your own instrument, right). Chrome-red-turtoise-ebony. Yep! And i am happy with one pickup in the pickguard, and one woodmounted with just the right cut-out lines in that same pickguard, an idea i borrowed from a Suhr guitar somewhere. Looks cool to me. Ok... that was the bragging paragraph.
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Some pics, and a repeat of whats in there:
Neck: Warmoth showroom canary with ebony, medium fat frets, graphtech nut. Turned out to be crack-crap on delivery, but repaired now and plays nice. 10-16 compound radius and warmoth double-adjustment trussrod. Unfinnished is the s##t indeed! The decal on peghead is a waterslide laser-printed one. I couldnt manage to get it all invisible, but its the first time i put a waterslide decal on wood, so maybe it is so it turns out. Original Bullfinch artwork by the youngest family member here (he's 10 years old).
Body: One-piece solid black Limba (Korina), also from Warmoth showroom. All extra contours. For some reason (im not exactly sure why, but i guess it can be related to Gibson Explorer), i really wanted to have a Korina guitar. Now i have one!
The finnish is from Wudtone; Cherry Flamenco.
Pickups: Oil City pickups (UK), "Scrapyard Dog Plus", handwired.
Pickguard: Warmoth
Hardware: Wilkinson tremolo (i got it from guitarfetish), Hipshot locking staggered tuners.
The "only dirtcheap" part is the control plate, i got it from china/ebay and payed 3USD i think, including pots and switch. Free shipping. When i ordered parts, i wasnt fully sure that i should have such a plate at all (the body is rear routed), so i orderred it just to keep the option. And somewhere along the line i really wanted it there, so... good buy
(i replaced the switch and pots though, Alpha pots, see above).
did i miss something? Here we go:
...notice the artistic brain drop at the birds forefoot^^ ... love it!