My First Build - finished pictures a few pages in

[dNA]

Soooo I put the last coat of linseed oil on my first body and neck right before I went to visit Portland, OR for a week. After my trip, during which I got to meet Ken and try out some pickups, there also came the conclusion that I'm not moving out there until the end of the summer.
With that in mind, I had the money to order the last of my hardware! I've got everything but the neck pickup now, and I'm waiting for that to come before I really get to it. But I had the bridge the tuning machines before and I slapped them on and strung her up so I can get a feel for things.
So far:

I haven't taken off the protective film yet, because the pickguard doesn't really meet flush w/ the bridge and I wasn't sure if it's supposed to be like that or if I should get it replaced.... What do you think?  :icon_scratch:

Let's see some backside.

I have to admit that I'm not thrilled w/ the feeling of the oiled neck. Everyone seems to rave about satin necks and raw necks, but going back to any of my gloss-neck guitars felt much better. I gotta take some 0000 steel wool to it to see if it'll feel a little smoother, because I don't think I did it after the last coat. We'll see!
Really need to get this baby set up proper - the action is a little weird and i have some buzzing spots, but I think once it's all said and done, it's going to kick some ass. It sounds and feels nothing like any guitar i've ever owned.  :blob7:

 

[Patrick]

is that figured walnut?
looks amazing  :icon_thumright:

 

[The Norwegian Guy]

A beauty! I'm not a fan of those F-holes, but I have to admit that it fits this guitar perfectly!

 

[Jeremiah]

That wood looks amazing. I love F-holes, and this guitar makes them look even better.

 

[dNA]

thanks! I actually the asymmetrical grain on the back more than the figuring on the front - i'm not a big fan of the quilt kind of figuring.
it's funny, because I would gotten an alternative f-hole like a tear-drop. I'm not a big fan of the traditional one. But in the end I think w/ the pickguard and all the other hardware on there, it will look really classy and balanced.

 

[DangerousR6]

One word........WOW......

 

[lafromla1]

Not a fan of Tele's, but this one is really, really nice.

 

[m4rk0]

best top .... ever!!! I love the figured walnut!

I sometimes wish my walnut thinline was a little darker, like this..

 

[dNA]

best top .... ever!!! I love the figured walnut!
I sometimes wish my walnut thinline was a little darker, like this..

I saw a lot of lighter, more reddish-colored walnut guitars that i didn't like as much. But I saw this strat and I knew what i had to do:
http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=6971.0

in retrospect, I wish i'd gone for a neck w/ a rosewood board too, but I can't complain. I just figure eventually I'll get another tele and trade necks around.

 

[Paul-less]

I absolutely love walnut. Figured, plain, it makes no difference!

About the linseed, doesn't it take a while for that to dry? I thought that was one of the long cure oils....

 

[baskruit]

thanks! I actually the asymmetrical grain on the back more than the figuring on the front.

You know, I agree.

 

[dNA]

About the linseed, doesn't it take a while for that to dry? I thought that was one of the long cure oils....

you know, it's possible. I'd be lying if i said it felt totally dry to me. i just kinda got sick of waiting. it feels fine and the finish looks even and consistent, without any sign of change on the neck or body where my skin is in contact with it the most. It was boiled linseed oil, which is supposed to dry faster than the regular stuff.

 

[Cagey]

I have to admit that I'm not thrilled w/ the feeling of the oiled neck. Everyone seems to rave about satin necks and raw necks, but going back to any of my gloss-neck guitars felt much better.

You're not alone. I like the feel of a raw neck, but can't shake the feeling that it's a festering biohazard. Then, oiled necks never feel quite right to me - they always feel like they need to be wiped down or something. A nice gloss finish feels right. Fast, clean, smooth... what's not to love? Although, I can imagine if one had particularly sweaty hands, the gloss might slow you down. But, if that's the case, then the first two situations get worse. Your neck is soaking up sweat and oil and dead skin cells and who knows what. I'm not a germophobe, but I don't like to tempt fate, either.

 

[Paul-less]

I sweat bullets, and the only thing I can do is play a satin or raw neck, and rub her down with steel wool frequently to get rid of dead skin and a "pseudo gloss" that seems to build up after a couple months of play.

 

[dNA]

I sweat bullets, and the only thing I can do is play a satin or raw neck, and rub her down with steel wool frequently to get rid of dead skin and a "pseudo gloss" that seems to build up after a couple months of play.

ew





:headbang1:

 

[Cagey]

I've got a buddy who's the same way, only instead of bullets it's that alien acid sweat. He can eat the plating off any hardware in no time flat. He has to buy strings by the 10-pack because they get changed so often. I don't even let him touch my guitars <grin>

And you can't play with my ball, either!​

 

[Nando Vallart]

Nice score, love the figuring of the Walnut! the 'guard looks cool on it too

 

[DangerousR6]

I've got a buddy who's the same way, only instead of bullets it's that alien acid sweat. He can eat the plating off any hardware in no time flat. He has to buy strings by the 10-pack because they get changed so often. I don't even let him touch my guitars <grin>

And you can't play with my ball, either!​

My little brother is the same way, I don't let him play my guitars any more because of the alien acid sweat...He can play them one time and the strings will corrode...

 

[dNA]

:blob7: WOO!
After getting a 4-way switch and realizing I couldn't wire it properly with my current pickups, I found I couldn't get a standard switch locally. So the new switch just came in the mail and I finally wired this baby up today.

First: let me say that I hate wiring guitars. I seriously cant' wait til I make enough money to just pay someone else to do this shit. )!(@*$

Second: let me say that the guitar needs a bit of setting up and the tone pot for some reason doesn't do anything - except if you roll it all the way down it turns the signal off. But otherwise seems to have no effect. So the guitar needs a bit of tweaking before I can fully assess how it is

Third: When i strung this guitar up w/o electronics a few weeks ago i felt that the lows were alright, if not a bit thin, and the unwound strings lacked that chimey kind of sparkle (at least in the open position) that I'm used to. So I was actually feeling a bit skeptical about how the guitar would sound.

It plays wonderfully. The frets are lower than the frets on all my other electrics, but it didn't bother me much at all. The fact is that i didn't think about playability at all when I was messing with it - which is a very good thing. The Roadhouse Hybrid Tele neck pickup sounds fudging amazing. It's exactly what I've been missing from electric guitar for so many years. It's just articulate and open and balanced and doesn't have too much of anything. And it really sounds a lot like the guitar itself.

It's got great sustain and overall a good sound. It's very even and responsive. I can't figure out why the unwound strings are missing that top end sparkle though. I had originally thought it was because it needed a string tree to get the right tension, but I installed one and it made no difference. I'll give it a few days to break in and see how it goes, but I'm definitely considering selling the maple neck and buying something else. Warmoth told me they have a few pieces of Goncalo Alves big enough to make a one-piece vintage modern neck.  :toothy10:

I will write more as I play it more in the next week or so. Tomorrow I have a back-to-back two job work day so it'll sit on the sidelines for a while. If I can't get the buzzing to stop and the tone knob working I may just cave and take it to a tech to get it all worked out.

oh. and of course pictures will follow too.

 

[Cagey]

If adding a string tree changed the tension on the string, it would have also changed the pitch, which is NFG.

What the string trees are for is to put a steeper angle on the string at the nut so it has less tendency to jump out of its slot from bending or heavy strumming. Usually, they're only needed if the nut wasn't cut properly.

Some trivia: Fender started putting string trees on their headstocks back 100 years ago because with production guitars, they didn't have time to do a great job on the nuts. A tree was an inexpensive and easy fix. They could either spend 10 cents to put one of those on, or $10 to allow the time for the neck guy to do a decent job. Guess which way they went?