Grabbed an "Extra Light Swamp Ash" solid strat body - 2lbs 13oz

[vikingred]

Welp, I grabbed this solid body (2lbs 13oz!!):

Cuz I needed it for this:

Gonna burnish the entire neck including fretboard and headstock face, then install Gold EVO frets, and these gold vintage tuners:

And this Gold Wilkinson Tremolo:

Prolly do a white TUSQ XL nut.  Should be a great machine.  Super light.  I have one last set of really cool handwound single coils.  Does anyone have any suggestions for an interesting DIY finish on the body that would look good with that neck?  I always appreciate ya'lls input.  Thanks.. 

 

[pabloman]

Burn it!  I'm doing a charred ash body right now. I've already done the burning, might do a satin wipe on poly.

 

[stratamania]

That is light, might soak up a lot of finish. You'll need a grain filler probably.

You could try a tea stain on it.  See my Tele thread. Takes some work though.

Or a transparent dye...

 

[vikingred]

Burn it!  I'm doing a charred ash body right now. I've already done the burning, might do a satin wipe on poly.

Definitely doing a grain filler.  But never heard of charring or burning.  What's that?  And I have the satin wipe on poly, I'm just not into it.  Looking for something more like a Tru-Oil or something different.  Have plenty guitars to play now, so it won't be something I feel I need to rush. 

@stratmania I like the tea stain idea, will have to check out the tele thread.

I'm really wondering how the lightness of the body will affect tone.  Anyone know from experience?

 

[amigarobbo]

If you can call one guitar experience, light swamp ash would sound louder acoustically, than a heavier denser wood. More air spaces to resonate.

Possibly.  :icon_scratch:

 

[pabloman]

I'm on the fence with the wipe on poly or TruOil. The burned or charred finish is exactly that. Hit it with a torch. There's a lot of examples out there that leave a lot to be desired. There are some out there that look absolutely amazing though. I can't find the images that inspired me but I'll keep looking. Here's some others. Neither one is finished. I'll snap a pic of mine too.

 

[vikingred]

I'm on the fence with the wipe on poly or TruOil. The burned or charred finish is exactly that. Hit it with a torch. There's a lot of examples out there that leave a lot to be desired. There are some out there that look absolutely amazing though. I can't find the images that inspired me but I'll keep looking. Here's some others. Neither one is finished. I'll snap a pic of mine too.

Wow.  I like fire.  Fire is good.  Fire is fun.  Torch huh?  I'm gonna hunt around for some more infoz on this.  From what I have been reading, grain filling, how ever it's done is totally critical with Swamp Ash.

 

[Tonar8352]

That grain would make an exceptional Mary Kaye White finish.

 

[vikingred]

That grain would make an exceptional Mary Kaye White finish.

Yes, it would.  Would you do it for me?  I know holidays are coming up.  I'm gonna PM you.  Also, you think it would go with that neck and hardware in MKW?

Check this one out. I love that "blonde" look with the light tinted lacquer. 

What say Tonar?  :laughing7:

 

[musicispeace]

Holy Partscaster!!!!! You bought that neck!!!!!!! Oh man. Enjoy it and play a chord for me or something. That thing is a looker. If the maple with cocobollo neck I got a few months back (and the Bubinga one as well) is any indication it should sound great. (speaking to non traditional neck woods) Be careful that ash body doesn't float away though being so lite..... :hello2:

 

[vikingred]

Holy Partscaster!!!!! You bought that neck!!!!!!! Oh man. Enjoy it and play a chord for me or something. That thing is a looker. If the maple with cocobollo neck I got a few months back (and the Bubinga one as well) is any indication it should sound great. (speaking to non traditional neck woods) Be careful that ash body doesn't float away though being so lite..... :hello2:

Thanks bro.  Gonna burnish that entire neck to glass, even the fretboard itself.  I've PM'd Tonar to see if he'd do a Mary Kaye White finish on the body for me.  Hopefully he will take the job!  :laughing7:

 

[Tonar8352]

I say bring on the Mary Kaye.

 

[dmraco]

here is my burn...it was pine but the swamp ash should work well too.
http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=23951.msg349341#msg349341

That is a KILLER neck!!

 

[bagman67]

Add another vote for Mary Kaye to the tote-board.

 

[stratamania]

Mary Kay white would look good.

 

[musicispeace]

Mary Kaye will rock that neck.  :blob7:

 

[river]

If I may make a suggestion, having two swamp ash bodies weighing in at 3.0 lbs.

Titanium trem blocks are incredible on these. The heavy steel blocks seem to become a large proportion of the mass of the body, and you can really hear the steel come through. But the titanium trem block allows it to pass through more to the body, and you get a tremendous aggressive resonance that just sounds awesome. I usually prefer a steel block but in this case its a clear winner.

Also a titanium trem block cuts about a quarter pound off the weight of the body. It makes for a guitar that is so light it's a joy to pick up and throw around. I'm currently building one with these specs for a celebrity. I'll post some pics when it's finished in a week or two.

 

[vikingred]

If I may make a suggestion, having two swamp ash bodies weighing in at 3.0 lbs.

Titanium trem blocks are incredible on these. The heavy steel blocks seem to become a large proportion of the mass of the body, and you can really hear the steel come through. But the titanium trem block allows it to pass through more to the body, and you get a tremendous aggressive resonance that just sounds awesome. I usually prefer a steel block but in this case its a clear winner.

Also a titanium trem block cuts about a quarter pound off the weight of the body. It makes for a guitar that is so light it's a joy to pick up and throw around. I'm currently building one with these specs for a celebrity. I'll post some pics when it's finished in a week or two.

Cool, yeah I already grabbed the gold Wilkinson VG300 tremolo, so I am not sure if they offer a replacement block in titanium.  I'd be willing to buy one to try out if there is one.  I'll check around.  But yes, it makes good sense what you're saying.

And on another note Tonar agreed to take the job!  Yay!  :hello2:

 

[vikingred]

here is my burn...it was pine but the swamp ash should work well too.
http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=23951.msg349341#msg349341

That is a KILLER neck!!

That burn is a very interesting effect.  And yes, the neck is a beast.  Tiger looking beast I'd say.  Gonna get Tonar to do the Mary Kaye White probably with a light tan tint in the nitro finish, so it matches the neck a bit better.

 

[vikingred]

Looked everywhere for an upgrade block for Gotoh/Wilkinson VG300, and the only thing I found was a steel block.  The stock block is Zinc, and the article I read said the Zinc sounded better than the steel.  So, I think a titanium replacement would require custom order and probably be $300 or more.  Ugh.