New Showcase Body Build Underway

[fdesalvo]

Some parts..now I wait  :sad:

Other details:
-HxS pickups in brown tortoise guard; 1v/t 3 way gibbo toggle; recessed OFR
-Quartersawn 3 - 4A flamed maple/maple neck; thin C (79 - 89); ss6150; semi-rolled edges; black dots (wide spacing 12th); 10' - 16"; will be finished in TO

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I'm still playing on the same Gotoh some 20 + years later & just now the knife edges are starting to show signs of wear.

Great trem all around, very comfy on the hand.

That's gonna be a purty axe!
http://i.giphy.com/LCK1miflCFmCY.gif

 

[fdesalvo]

I'm still playing on the same Gotoh some 20 + years later & just now the knife edges are starting to show signs of wear.

Great trem all around, very comfy on the hand.

That's gonna be a purty axe!
http://i.giphy.com/LCK1miflCFmCY.gif

Thanks, brother!  I'm pretty chuffed, myself!  I was hoping for a similar body to pop up without the f-hole, but that grain and the smooth and warm tones of that burst crushed my will to resist. 

BTW - wasn't able to edit my post, but she's getting a fat and nasty CBS head stock.

I used machine gun lube on the posts of my old Ibz Edge trem and that sucker was flawless.  Highly recommended!

 

[rgand]

The CBS headstock will look really good on it. Can't wait to see it.

 

[fdesalvo]

Thanks RG - I ordered a custom water slide for the head stock.  Will have to study the procedure.  :icon_scratch:

 

[MikeW]

Man, Frank. That's gonna be gorgeous. Looking forward to seeing it when it's done.

 

[rgand]

Thanks RG - I ordered a custom water slide for the head stock.  Will have to study the procedure.  :icon_scratch:

Looking forward to following it.  :icon_thumright:

 

[fdesalvo]

Thanks RG - I ordered a custom water slide for the head stock.  Will have to study the procedure.  :icon_scratch:

Looking forward to following it.  :icon_thumright:

That makes two of us!

Man, Frank. That's gonna be gorgeous. Looking forward to seeing it when it's done.

Thanks, man. Your blue strat haunts me every time I see it. Such a good color combo.

 

[Verne Bunsen]

This will be nice, looking forward to it!

 

[fdesalvo]

This will be nice, looking forward to it!

You know it!  The gotoh bridge is very nice. I'm contemplating an oversized block down the line, but it's quite a bit larger than the steel block that was on my Edge.

A Callaham steel block absolutely ruined the tone of one of my former strats. Removed all depth and replaced it with a cold and hard metallic tone.  Brass is such a better option imho.

Cheers!

 

[Verne Bunsen]

This will be nice, looking forward to it!

A Callaham steel block absolutely ruined the tone of one of my former strats. Removed all depth and replaced it with a cold and hard metallic tone.  Brass is such a better option imho.

That is interesting... When I built my Strat I went straight to a Callaham trem with their steel block and I have known nothing else. Might be something to try when it's time to tinker with that guitar some more! Who's do you use?

 

[Cagey]

Before you spend any money, keep in mind that the difference might not be due to the block. It might be the bridge in general. There has been some question about the effect different "sustain block" materials have on "tone". One school of thought says it shouldn't make much difference, another (usually sellers and/or buyers who have money on the line) says it's huge. I haven't tried changing it myself, as most of the time replacement blocks are surprisingly expensive and I haven't been disappointed enough with any of my guitar's character to head down that road.

However, I noticed the other day that Guitar Fetish is offering milled steel and brass blocks for $22 and $26, respectively. At that price, an experiment wouldn't be much of risk. Throw one in at a string change, live with it until the next string change and decide then whether or not it was a Good Thing.

 

[fdesalvo]

This will be nice, looking forward to it!

A Callaham steel block absolutely ruined the tone of one of my former strats. Removed all depth and replaced it with a cold and hard metallic tone.  Brass is such a better option imho.

That is interesting... When I built my Strat I went straight to a Callaham trem with their steel block and I have known nothing else. Might be something to try when it's time to tinker with that guitar some more! Who's do you use?

I almost did the same. Learned a lesson about upgrading before listening to the baseline tone. I sold the strat, but found that the softer stock block played a greater role than I ever thought it could.  I think brass is where it's at for trem blocks.

 

[fdesalvo]

Neck and body will arrive this Monday!  A heap of parts have arrived since my last post - pics will be posted this evening.  Really excited about this build. 

I have a certain ritual that I perform in the spirit of whichever project I'm working on.  For this 70's build, I decided to prepare in that special way that I do, while taking it up a notch.  For example: when I'm building an amp, I play music from the era of the circuit.  It lets the amp know what's up and it keeps the wife out of the lab.  But this guitar - this one's special since it's going to be built in the spirit of my vintage.

In light of this, I'm enforcing a 1 month man-scaping moratorium.  To the chagrin of my wife, chest hair and sideburns will go free range.  I may throw in a couple armpits and a crotch to energize the build, but I'm not sure how committed I am to this. 

Feel free to recommend some appropriate late 60's - mid 70's tunes for my project and I will add them to the play list.

Cheers,

 

[fdesalvo]

Some fresh pics of the parts hoarding.  The Gotoh 1996T has a small, but superbly crafted block.  I have a KGC 5/8" replacement on the way.  I don't like having to tear down Floyded guitars to do simple mods. 

Really hoping thee DiMarzios deliver the goods.  Nothing worse than the lost and desolate vacuum of pickup hell.  If these aren't the ones, I have to default back to what I know BK Abraxas/63 Veneer).

 

[rgand]

Well, that's a darn good start. Those DiMarzios should make it sound like a dream.

 

[fdesalvo]

Well, that's a darn good start. Those DiMarzios should make it sound like a dream.

Hoping so!

 

[Great Ape]

Ummm...does that ''ritual'' of yours mean you're also gonna post ''sideburns-in-progress'' pics also, Frank?  :toothy10:

 

[fdesalvo]

:dontknow:

 

[fdesalvo]

Mixed up a bit of Transtint Dark Vintage Maple to touch up the trem recess and f-hole.  I used multiple coats on the recess, but only one in the f-hole.  I decided to maintain the wood tone in these places instead of going for such a stark contrast with black paint.  A test on the pickup route revealed that the dye wouldn't leach into the surface under the clear.

Installed a trem-stopper for string changes.

For those of you intending on using a Gotoh 1996T in the OFR route, you will have to slightly expand the roundover on the base plate (rear portion before it narrows onto the fine tuners).  A little time with some 220 wrapped around a dowel did the trick.