New 1st Guitar Build - Walnut body, flamed maple neck

[almico]

First time build. I went with a walnut body and maple neck. Both unfinished. I'm probably just going to oil them.

Sperzel Trim-Lok open back tuners. 2 vintage staggered strat and one custom staggered strat pickups with a 920D "Custom S3W-HENDRIX 60's Jimi Hendrix Style 3-Way Wiring Harness w/ Treble Bleed and Middle Pickup Blend × 1" and a vintage style bridge. I wanted a 59ish guitar.

It will be very interesting to here the tone of the walnut body and maple neck. I have a Gibson "The Paul" with walnut body and mahogany neck.

 

[vetteman]

Should be cool!  Looking forward to the finished product. :headbanging:

 

[rgand]

Oil should make that body pop. Nice build. Welcome to the forum.

 

[Cagey]

Indeed. Walnut is one of those woods like Mahogany or roasted Ash that really respond well to clear finishes. Richen up dramatically.

 

[almico]

I'm even thinking about using a dark walnut oil around the edges and clear for the middle, like a subtle sunburst. I'm a coffee roaster by trade so anything smokey and brown works for me.

 

[BigSteve22]

I even thinking about using a dark walnut oil around the edges and clear for the middle, like a subtle sunburst....

Interesting, I don't think I've seen that done before. Looking forward to seeing the result.

 

[rgand]

I even thinking about using a dark walnut oil around the edges and clear for the middle, like a subtle sunburst. I'm a coffee roaster by trade so anything smokey and brown works for me.

Have you considered making a super strong batch of dark roast coffee to use as a dye? I've used that on leather and it makes a nice brown tint. A pound of coffee in 1-1/2 gal water. Boil the hell out of it for several hours. Strain the grounds and there you go. Once strained, you can also further reduce the volume by boiling if needed. Of course, you can make a smaller batch but with leather, you need enough to submerse the piece in. One guy on the leather forum used instant coffee and got good results, too. I have no idea how much he used but he was pleased with the results. A little experimentation on some wood scraps is useful here. The house smells pretty good while you are boiling it, too. :icon_biggrin:

 

[almico]

I even thinking about using a dark walnut oil around the edges and clear for the middle, like a subtle sunburst. I'm a coffee roaster by trade so anything smokey and brown works for me.

Have you considered making a super strong batch of dark roast coffee to use as a dye? I've used that on leather and it makes a nice brown tint. A pound of coffee in 1-1/2 gal water. Boil the hell out of it for several hours. Strain the grounds and there you go. Once strained, you can also further reduce the volume by boiling if needed. Of course, you can make a smaller batch but with leather, you need enough to submerse the piece in. One guy on the leather forum used instant coffee and got good results, too. I have no idea how much he used but he was pleased with the results. A little experimentation on some wood scraps is useful here. The house smells pretty good while you are boiling it, too. :icon_biggrin:

Very neat idea. I'm concerned about rubbing too much water on the bare wood though. Maybe just rubbing wet coffee grounds into the wood. I'll have to experiment...

 

[rgand]

I even thinking about using a dark walnut oil around the edges and clear for the middle, like a subtle sunburst. I'm a coffee roaster by trade so anything smokey and brown works for me.

Have you considered making a super strong batch of dark roast coffee to use as a dye? I've used that on leather and it makes a nice brown tint. A pound of coffee in 1-1/2 gal water. Boil the hell out of it for several hours. Strain the grounds and there you go. Once strained, you can also further reduce the volume by boiling if needed. Of course, you can make a smaller batch but with leather, you need enough to submerse the piece in. One guy on the leather forum used instant coffee and got good results, too. I have no idea how much he used but he was pleased with the results. A little experimentation on some wood scraps is useful here. The house smells pretty good while you are boiling it, too. :icon_biggrin:

Very neat idea. I'm concerned about rubbing too much water on the bare wood though. Maybe just rubbing wet coffee grounds into the wood. I'll have to experiment...

I guess you could always soak some grounds in alcohol to see if that would extract some color. If you try that, I'd be interested in the results.

 

[almico]

I have one issue with the parts for this project. The nut seems a bit buggered up...

 

[Cagey]

No, that's a "compensated" nut. Earvana style. Supposed to look like that.

 

[almico]

No, that's a "compensated" nut. Earvana style. Supposed to look like that.

Well blow me down! I just googled earvana nut. Seems this is a good thing. Glad I don't have to send the neck back. On to the finish.

 

[Cagey]

I'm surprised you're surprised. You paid extra for that nut - it's not the "standard issue".

 

[Michaelga]

Is the 4th slot supposed to look like that? It looks like an incomplete milling job.

Michael

 

[stratamania]

Is the 4th slot supposed to look like that? It looks like an incomplete milling job.

Michael

Not sure what is meant by 4th slot. Assuming it is the slot for the G string 4th from the left yes. Assuming it is any of the others yes. It looks like an Earvana compensated nut is meant to look.

 

[Michaelga]

Forgive my ignorance. I understand now what the Earvana nut is supposed to do. I play bass so I don't use chords very often in my playing.

Michael

 

[Cagey]

Not even many guitar players recognize them. They're not "standard issue" on any guitars I'm aware of, and among those who know about them there's a certain amount of skepticism as to their efficacy and/or value.

Lest you be concerned, be aware that they certainly don't hurt or change anything about the guitar. In some cases for some players, they facilitate slightly better intonation, so for them it's a worthwhile improvement.

The human ear's ability to hear differences in frequency and/or amplitude deteriorates over time, for some more than others. Usually, by the time you're past being a toddler, you've already lost several cents worth, so most people can't hear much better than about a 3-4 cent difference in frequency even with fairly good hearing. But, most people will hear dissonance very easily, even when two notes are off by even a tiny bit. This is where dead-nuts tuning comes into play, which that nut is supposed to help with.

 

[stratamania]

Forgive my ignorance. I understand now what the Earvana nut is supposed to do. I play bass so I don't use chords very often in my playing.

Michael

Not a problem...

Not even many guitar players recognize them. They're not "standard issue" on any guitars I'm aware of, and among those who know about them there's a certain amount of skepticism as to their efficacy and/or value.

Musicman guitars come with compensated nuts that are extremely similar. In fact, there was a lawsuit that Musicman had at one time against Earvana that they lost.

I like Earvana nuts and for me, they do make a difference.

 

[Cagey]

I used to hear more of a difference when I played downscale cowboy chords, but less so these days.