NedRyerson
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alexreinhold said:
And I love it. Great work!
Heavy Tele: Swamp Ash / Mahogany + Wenge / Ebony
- Thread starter alexreinhold
- Start date
And I love it. Great work!
NedRyerson
Senior Member
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- 715
Cowbell Fever! said:
Yes, Ola, it will chug.
C
Cowbell Fever!
Guest
Alex, in looking at your build, I am wondering if you have fit the neck yet? I am assuming it is a 22 fret with the overhang for the last fret? I am wondering if once installed that the diamond plate might be high/thick enough to press upwards on the underside of the fingerboard once tightened up?! I had a guit once upon a time where I found my fret board separating from the end of neck as it was being forced up by the pick guard. I ended up sawing off the overhang and final fret to make it work. (It was not a warmoth neck). Maybe make sure a piece of paper will slip under it once installed.
Only a thought and I am probably wrong.
Only a thought and I am probably wrong.
alexreinhold
Senior Member
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- 713
Cowbell Fever! said:
We need more cowbell! You are right my friend - and it's already fixed (will update in this thread soon). See here (revelation towards the end of the thread): https://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=33990.0
C
Cowbell Fever!
Guest
I see it has been covered!
C
Cowbell Fever!
Guest
Still..........I am unsure if it will chug.
DangerousR6
Mythical Status
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[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWNOVYG7Qgg[/youtube]Cowbell Fever! said:
arty07:
alexreinhold
Senior Member
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Alright, it's been a while since I updated this thread since I had a lot of conceptual troubleshooting to do before proceeding. So here's a big update on the last steps I took:
1. Spot Corrections Finish: I decided to use swirl remover for polishing the tru oil and it left very strange white micro-spots in the grain (although the compound is brownish), very deep in the grain. To make matters even weirder, this happened only on the mahogany part of the body. The fix was easy though - I put some India ink on a piece of cloth and repolished the mahogany part of the guitar with the india ink. Afterwards I repolished again with just a tiny amount of water. Now it looks as polished as it gets and there are no more white spots. Didn't take pictures because those spots where so micro, they were barely visible.
2. Copper Shielding: Not REALLY necessary for EMGs but better safe than sorry. The scratch plate looks like it's been done sloppy - but it does the job.
3. Fret Leveling: : I did one fret that wasn't level - can you spot which one? ;-)
4. Installed Neck and Bridge. Ran into problems because the bridge was not high enough - until I realized the neck was angled because of the pickguard, see here: https://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=33990.0
5. Fixed the Pickguard: dremmeled a bit off with sandpaper so that the neck is level with the body:
6. Adjustments: Installed bridge and intonated guitar (God, I love the aesthetics of Hipshot Contours):
7. Luthier: Went to luthier for truss rod adjustment and nut filing (too scared to do this provided I have never done it).
8. Strap Pins and Neck plate: Decided that I hate the red strap pins (see some pictures before) and replaced them by black Schaller S-Locks. Also installed my neck plate:
9. Tuners: Installed Sperzel locking tuners, but they came with silver bushings - had to reorder black bushings for 50€. Still waiting for them to arrive. Will post a pic once they are here.
10. Wiring: Did the wiring and ran into several problems (see here: https://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=33993.0). The overall idea is to do a proper metal setup - i.e. EMG 81/60. Also I liked the idea of adding a low battery indicator (although I might never need it). Moreover, for the heck of it, I also wanted to add a push/pull for the 18V mod. But to avoid complexity (and nonsense), I eventually decided against the push/pull. Still, the wiring turned out to be tricky because things just didn't work - until.... I found that the wires of the battery box had been disconnected all along. My general steps for wiring were:
- drill a hole into the cavity cover for the battery indicator (will post photo when I share the final guitar later in this thread)
- do the wiring diagram. It wasn't easy because I had to combine the EMG solderless system with soldering. Soldering had to be added because
a) I used a blade switch instead of a toggle switch
b) I used a Low Battery Indicator (so I had to splice cables and join them)
c) I used the 18V mod (though I actually found a non-soldered way by just buying a battery connector from Home Depot)
- solder and fit everything into the cavity (man, Tele cavities are very small...)
- fix the battery box
11. Mounting: pickup ring for bridge pickup, screwing in pickguard, tightening all screws, etc.
Also, I gotta say, I love the brushed black chrome EMGs, here's a close up:
Next steps:
- lubing nut and bridge
- install new tuner bushings on neck
- install volume/tone knobs
- re-polish and re-intonate
- done.
1. Spot Corrections Finish: I decided to use swirl remover for polishing the tru oil and it left very strange white micro-spots in the grain (although the compound is brownish), very deep in the grain. To make matters even weirder, this happened only on the mahogany part of the body. The fix was easy though - I put some India ink on a piece of cloth and repolished the mahogany part of the guitar with the india ink. Afterwards I repolished again with just a tiny amount of water. Now it looks as polished as it gets and there are no more white spots. Didn't take pictures because those spots where so micro, they were barely visible.
2. Copper Shielding: Not REALLY necessary for EMGs but better safe than sorry. The scratch plate looks like it's been done sloppy - but it does the job.
3. Fret Leveling: : I did one fret that wasn't level - can you spot which one? ;-)
4. Installed Neck and Bridge. Ran into problems because the bridge was not high enough - until I realized the neck was angled because of the pickguard, see here: https://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=33990.0
5. Fixed the Pickguard: dremmeled a bit off with sandpaper so that the neck is level with the body:
6. Adjustments: Installed bridge and intonated guitar (God, I love the aesthetics of Hipshot Contours):
7. Luthier: Went to luthier for truss rod adjustment and nut filing (too scared to do this provided I have never done it).
8. Strap Pins and Neck plate: Decided that I hate the red strap pins (see some pictures before) and replaced them by black Schaller S-Locks. Also installed my neck plate:
9. Tuners: Installed Sperzel locking tuners, but they came with silver bushings - had to reorder black bushings for 50€. Still waiting for them to arrive. Will post a pic once they are here.
10. Wiring: Did the wiring and ran into several problems (see here: https://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=33993.0). The overall idea is to do a proper metal setup - i.e. EMG 81/60. Also I liked the idea of adding a low battery indicator (although I might never need it). Moreover, for the heck of it, I also wanted to add a push/pull for the 18V mod. But to avoid complexity (and nonsense), I eventually decided against the push/pull. Still, the wiring turned out to be tricky because things just didn't work - until.... I found that the wires of the battery box had been disconnected all along. My general steps for wiring were:
- drill a hole into the cavity cover for the battery indicator (will post photo when I share the final guitar later in this thread)
- do the wiring diagram. It wasn't easy because I had to combine the EMG solderless system with soldering. Soldering had to be added because
a) I used a blade switch instead of a toggle switch
b) I used a Low Battery Indicator (so I had to splice cables and join them)
c) I used the 18V mod (though I actually found a non-soldered way by just buying a battery connector from Home Depot)
- solder and fit everything into the cavity (man, Tele cavities are very small...)
- fix the battery box
11. Mounting: pickup ring for bridge pickup, screwing in pickguard, tightening all screws, etc.
Also, I gotta say, I love the brushed black chrome EMGs, here's a close up:
Next steps:
- lubing nut and bridge
- install new tuner bushings on neck
- install volume/tone knobs
- re-polish and re-intonate
- done.
C
Cowbell Fever!
Guest
Looking good and mean ! Heck, even though I am running passive pickups you have inspired me to put a battery or two in my build just for fun.
Sadie-f
Senior Member
- Messages
- 427
Looks awesome! You all remind me to check if my W-strat can chugg.
Probably the copper on what I understand to be a metal pick guard seems a bit overkill ;-)
In an axe that's clearly about overkill, I kinda like it.
And I liked the red accent buttons, however they had been a real shock after a good long time following your build threads, a great choice!
Probably the copper on what I understand to be a metal pick guard seems a bit overkill ;-)
In an axe that's clearly about overkill, I kinda like it.
And I liked the red accent buttons, however they had been a real shock after a good long time following your build threads, a great choice!
alexreinhold
Senior Member
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- 713
Sadie-f said:
The red accent buttons will be offset by another accent. Will post pics in a few days when it's all set and done
alexreinhold
Senior Member
- Messages
- 713
First of all, I lubed the sharp ends of the guitar, installed the tuners and applied lemon oil to the fretboard. Now, two updates - a beautiful one (in my opinion) and a frustrating one.
Let's start with the beautiful one. I installed my volume/tone knobs which I got from Xentric:
This leaves me with a completed body :blob7:
Now on to the frustrating part. Just when I thought things can't go wrong anymore, I ran into a big problem. For design reasons, I ordered Sperzel EZ Mount tuners from the US (and I'm in Europe) so I can't really return them. Now, BEFORE (!) I fully tightened the screws, this happened:
With the super glue it works and stays in tune. But I am afraid, it's just a matter of time until wear and tear will let the tuner fall out. So, I have a finished guitar but I am facing the mission impossible to get one custom made Sperzel tuner shipped from the US to Europe. In the meantime, I hope that the super glue works. Here's a dedicated thread I opened for this issue: https://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=34047.0
Oh, and here is the headstock with the tuners (I love it):
So all in all the guitar is done and I am SUPER SUPER happy. I honestly can't stop playing it. And when I don't, I can't stop looking at it. Will post full-body pictures tomorrow or so
Let's start with the beautiful one. I installed my volume/tone knobs which I got from Xentric:
This leaves me with a completed body :blob7:
Now on to the frustrating part. Just when I thought things can't go wrong anymore, I ran into a big problem. For design reasons, I ordered Sperzel EZ Mount tuners from the US (and I'm in Europe) so I can't really return them. Now, BEFORE (!) I fully tightened the screws, this happened:
With the super glue it works and stays in tune. But I am afraid, it's just a matter of time until wear and tear will let the tuner fall out. So, I have a finished guitar but I am facing the mission impossible to get one custom made Sperzel tuner shipped from the US to Europe. In the meantime, I hope that the super glue works. Here's a dedicated thread I opened for this issue: https://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=34047.0
Oh, and here is the headstock with the tuners (I love it):
So all in all the guitar is done and I am SUPER SUPER happy. I honestly can't stop playing it. And when I don't, I can't stop looking at it. Will post full-body pictures tomorrow or so
C
Cowbell Fever!
Guest
Looking awesome! You deserve a medal in perseverance! I hope Sperzel treats you right. If not, some JB Weld epoxy would probably hold it forever.
alexreinhold
Senior Member
- Messages
- 713
The guitar - which I have lovingly called "Blood Stain" is done. Below are some pics taken with my phone. I have also added a thread here: https://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=34052.msg470760#msg470760
Front:
TRVE:
Back:
Headstock:
Front:
TRVE:
Back:
Headstock:
C
Cowbell Fever!
Guest
It is a metal machine! You did a great job.
C
Cowbell Fever!
Guest
You should name your guitar Vlad theIimpaler or Nosferatu
alexreinhold
Senior Member
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- 713
Spud said:
Actually - I am half Romanian. So it would fit
alexreinhold
Senior Member
- Messages
- 713
teleme01 said:
Thank you so much telem01 - this truly means a lot. I really built it with all my heart.
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