Flat top LP - Koa on Mahogany
- Thread starter bagman67
- Start date
Tipperman
Hero Member
- Messages
- 877
I've always liked flat top LPs more than carved top. I get that a carved is supposed to look better/more beautiful or whatever.... but I really like flat tops. Not because they cost less, but they give you a really good amount of options for modding later on. Plus, a flat top LP with two P90s is hard to resist. Yeah, I know, they're humboogler routes. But the Flat Top P90 LP was the first flat top LP I saw in my life, and I've had a secret love for flat tops since. Granted the only Single Cut I will ever own and be happy with is a Telecaster, but what the hell!
TL;DR/point: I love it. :icon_thumright:
TL;DR/point: I love it. :icon_thumright:
ZionWarmoth
Junior Member
- Messages
- 169
Awesome!!!!Cagey said:Not sure I have a full-length shot. Not finding it, anyway. But, here are shots of the headstock and center rear...
It's not clear from the picture, but that brown is actually transparent so you can see the Swamp Ash grain through it.
Very sweet. I'm looking forward to a Jazzmaster with a koa top as my first build. I was wondering if I'd want to fill everything with black filler, or if that would dull the great grain pattern of the koa (ash main body). From your pics, I'm going to seal it, fill it, sand it.
Then build up the tru-oil.
Thanks!
Then build up the tru-oil.
Thanks!
whitebison66
Hero Member
- Messages
- 777
It's already looking very nice!!!
bagman67
Epic Member
- Messages
- 9,111
Well, hooray for learning experiences.
Looks like my grain fill was not as complete as I had hoped. The pores are quite evidently sunken under the gloss finish.
Also, I'm not crazy about this brushing lacquer. It does go on pretty nicely, but as Cagey has noted in connection with his cranberry VIP, the stuff does take a while to set up and is prone to drips/sags.
So I'm sanding it back a bit and filling again.
Once I and back and re-fill the grain, I'm gonna go back to spray lacquer. Rattle-can Deft has been good to me so far.
Looks like my grain fill was not as complete as I had hoped. The pores are quite evidently sunken under the gloss finish.
Also, I'm not crazy about this brushing lacquer. It does go on pretty nicely, but as Cagey has noted in connection with his cranberry VIP, the stuff does take a while to set up and is prone to drips/sags.
So I'm sanding it back a bit and filling again.
Once I and back and re-fill the grain, I'm gonna go back to spray lacquer. Rattle-can Deft has been good to me so far.
jackthehack
Epic Member
- Messages
- 5,630
Bagman67 said:
Wait till you try to do a final wet-sand and big pieces of that brushing lacquer lift up....
bagman67
Epic Member
- Messages
- 9,111
I think Jackthehack is referring to his blue swamp-ash bass. Did that thing ever come together, Jack?
So ... progress this weekend. I went back and filled the grain some more, and some more, and some more. Koa, it turns out, is a mother-humper to fill.
Having filled and filled, I got some Deft spraycan gloss lacquer on it. I'm five or six coats deep now, and will keep at it until I run out (I have a couple more new cans on hand).
Here it is indoors with a flash, which actually kinda better displays the figure in the wood:
And I decided I wanted a black peghead face, so I did that this afternoon as well:
So ... progress this weekend. I went back and filled the grain some more, and some more, and some more. Koa, it turns out, is a mother-humper to fill.
Having filled and filled, I got some Deft spraycan gloss lacquer on it. I'm five or six coats deep now, and will keep at it until I run out (I have a couple more new cans on hand).
Here it is indoors with a flash, which actually kinda better displays the figure in the wood:
And I decided I wanted a black peghead face, so I did that this afternoon as well:
bagman67
Epic Member
- Messages
- 9,111
I do have a lot of lacquer on the body, and I'm gonna do a few more coats and then give it a rest for a few weeks before wet-sanding and polishing.
Alas, I did ding the front of the body between the bridge stud holes, which kinda annoys me, but it will be hidden once I get the TOM in place. I gotta tell ya, it's really nice to shift it around in the light and watch the grain flash. It's a subtle bit of chatoyancy, but it's most definitely there. I'm glad I went with a gloss finish instead of satin.
And to supplement Cagey's comment re: cost for carved-top bodies vs. flat-tops:
It's what the market will bear. They're selling enough units to make them happy at the price they're charging, so it would seem they feel there's no pressing need to lower prices to maximize overall revenue/profit.
Alas, I did ding the front of the body between the bridge stud holes, which kinda annoys me, but it will be hidden once I get the TOM in place. I gotta tell ya, it's really nice to shift it around in the light and watch the grain flash. It's a subtle bit of chatoyancy, but it's most definitely there. I'm glad I went with a gloss finish instead of satin.
And to supplement Cagey's comment re: cost for carved-top bodies vs. flat-tops:
It's what the market will bear. They're selling enough units to make them happy at the price they're charging, so it would seem they feel there's no pressing need to lower prices to maximize overall revenue/profit.
I guess the LP is pretty popular, but it can't be as popular as the less expensive Strat, which has to be the most popular of their body shapes. :dontknow:
I lost track of how many tru-oil coats I've got on this koa. It's probably not near as tidy as your multi-lacquered baby, but it looks wet all the time. Sure a lot easier than lacquer.
I lost track of how many tru-oil coats I've got on this koa. It's probably not near as tidy as your multi-lacquered baby, but it looks wet all the time. Sure a lot easier than lacquer.
bagman67
Epic Member
- Messages
- 9,111
Things are moving again.... this is after wet-sanding to 3200 and applying Meguiar's No. 9 Swirl Remover, all by hand. If you think you see a nice ding next to the left-hand stud for the TOM bridge, you're not hallucinating. It is covered by the TOM when it's installed, but it's there, alas. I frankly don't recall how it got there, but I decided when I saw it that I wouldn't bother stripping and steaming out the ding and starting over - it's a keeper.
