Not Warmoth, but kinda cool anyway (les paul triplets inside)

[Orpheo]

After having bought or build 5 warmoth les pauls, It was time to take it to the next level. A british luthier, crimson guitars, is going to build me 2 (now: 3) les pauls to my specs.

#1:
purpleheart body
rosewood top
pau ferro/bubinga/maple 9 piece laminate neck,neckthru
ebony fingerboard, custom inlay, stainless steel frets
snakewood binding, maple purfling
multiply binding

#2:
padouk body
wenge top
bocote/wenge/maple 9 piece laminate neck, neckthru
ebony fingerboard, custom inlay, stainless steel frets
snakewood binding, maple purfling
multiply binding

#3:
mahogany back, chambered
bubinga top, carved in and outside
d'aquisto style f-holes
mahogany/maple neckhru 5 play
ebony fingerboard, stainless steel frets, custom inlay

all the inlay will be celtic cross by the way.

#3 wasn't mine actually. the luthier made it as  a project, but I digg is SO much, and it wasn't bespoke, so, I said, I'm gonna do it! I've got to sell 4 of my 8 gibsons, but ey, its worth it (well, 2 of 4 is good enough too, but the more I sell, the better).

Its got a lot of custom features, but here are some pics

this is #3. she has an english walnut fingerboard, but she'll get an ebony board though.

the front body isn't mine the others are, though.

I haven't given you all the pics, but the most important ones.

which pickups, I hear you ask? well...

wizard pickups, ofcourse! customwound. its difficult to describe...
for the bubinga, its gonna be filtertronstyle pickups. from bright and twangy to fullfat and raunchy, with the flick of a switch. and also coiltapping!
for the others, its gonna be a 4coil humbucker (normal looks though), gold covers, with a LOT of different sounds.

Well, just wanted you to know there are many luthiers in europe who can do nice stuff without CNC's

oh, and the price, you ask?




Think of the price of a gibson les paul standard, but less no, not the customshop, the normal version. yeah, these guitars are 'dirt cheap', but so good...sooo good.

 

[Nando Vallart]

Looks good!
Congrats!

 

[m4rk0]

Deja vu!
I do love them though!
will you get those modern contours on any of them?? really liking that! 

 

[Orpheo]

Deja vu!
I do love them though!
will you get those modern contours on any of them?? really liking that! 

the bubinga will get those on the back, but the top will be a bit more conservative, I think that would be cool with the overall look of this axe.

the others will be as flat as can be. no comfortcontours on those, except for an easy access neckheel. Smoother and slicker than most of the heels i've ever seen!

something like this:

 

[DangerousR6]

Wowo, those are pretty sweet orpheo. I especially like #3, that's wicked...Looks like some guitar building fun there.... :icon_thumright:

 

[djf67]

Oh, man, I've been following that hollow build! Great to know you can update on the final outcome. Would be very interested in what price you actually mean (US Gibson prices bit variable given the collapse of the pound!) - PM me if you're willing to share but don't want to put on the board. Thanks.

 

[Orpheo]

Oh, man, I've been following that hollow build! Great to know you can update on the final outcome. Would be very interested in what price you actually mean (US Gibson prices bit variable given the collapse of the pound!) - PM me if you're willing to share but don't want to put on the board. Thanks.

well, its LESS than a gibson LP standard...

 

[kboman]

Whoa whoa, that build is for you?! You lucky lucky man! I've been quietly drooling over Ben's workshop diary since its beginning... There will definitely be Crimson guitars in my future! Congrats

I would love to hear your thoughts on wood choices for the bodies and necks.

 

[Orpheo]

Whoa whoa, that build is for you?! You lucky lucky man! I've been quietly drooling over Ben's workshop diary since its beginning... There will definitely be Crimson guitars in my future! Congrats

I would love to hear your thoughts on wood choices for the bodies and necks.

well, its uhm.. THOSE builds. the hollowbody is mine now, and the others you saw, too. the woodspecs, i believe I've listed them...? its for the bodies purpleheart (padouk) back and rosewood (wenge) top, and for the necks pau ferro/bubinga/maple (bocote/wenge/maple) laminates. between the brackets is for the second guitar.

 

[kboman]

Whoa whoa, that build is for you?! You lucky lucky man! I've been quietly drooling over Ben's workshop diary since its beginning... There will definitely be Crimson guitars in my future! Congrats

I would love to hear your thoughts on wood choices for the bodies and necks.

well, its uhm.. THOSE builds. the hollowbody is mine now, and the others you saw, too. the woodspecs, i believe I've listed them...? its for the bodies purpleheart (padouk) back and rosewood (wenge) top, and for the necks pau ferro/bubinga/maple (bocote/wenge/maple) laminates. between the brackets is for the second guitar.

Oh boy, was I that unclear? Sorry. I meant, why did you choose those woods?
(and yes I know there are three builds, obviously: I was referring specifically to the hollow one because that's just extra special cool)

 

[Orpheo]

Whoa whoa, that build is for you?! You lucky lucky man! I've been quietly drooling over Ben's workshop diary since its beginning... There will definitely be Crimson guitars in my future! Congrats

I would love to hear your thoughts on wood choices for the bodies and necks.

well, its uhm.. THOSE builds. the hollowbody is mine now, and the others you saw, too. the woodspecs, i believe I've listed them...? its for the bodies purpleheart (padouk) back and rosewood (wenge) top, and for the necks pau ferro/bubinga/maple (bocote/wenge/maple) laminates. between the brackets is for the second guitar.

Oh boy, was I that unclear? Sorry. I meant, why did you choose those woods?
(and yes I know there are three builds, obviously: I was referring specifically to the hollow one because that's just extra special cool)

I thought you meant that, but it was eather that, or the thing I thought otherwise, and I responded to the latter

i chose those, some for looks, some for tone. I've got my main guitar, which is koa on walnut, with a ziricote/ebony neck. I know that thats THE combination for me. softter wood on top, harder wood on the back. I wanted something like the black beauty for the looks (topwood anyway!) so thats why I got wenge and rosewood. its not black-black, but it comes close the neckwoods are in line of the ziricote neck, in terms of sound and density, so, thats why I chose it

the bubinga hollowbody was something I jumped upon the moment I saw it was for sale. I didn't chose the woods, but it was coincidence I liked them as they are. At first, my idea was to have bubinga on padouk, but I didnt like it, I felt safer with wenge, but now I see this, as a semi, I really dig it!

this is a guitar I've alwyas drooled about. and now I'm going to get a better version of this one!

 

[kboman]

I chose those, some for looks, some for tone. I've got my main guitar, which is koa on walnut, with a ziricote/ebony neck. I know that thats THE combination for me. softter wood on top, harder wood on the back.

Interesting! What would you say are the tonal characteristics of a soft top/hard back combo, what are the benefits?

 

[Orpheo]

I chose those, some for looks, some for tone. I've got my main guitar, which is koa on walnut, with a ziricote/ebony neck. I know that thats THE combination for me. softter wood on top, harder wood on the back.

Interesting! What would you say are the tonal characteristics of a soft top/hard back combo, what are the benefits?

well, I'd only know it for a les paul ofcourse, but here's what i feel about it.

its tighter than the usual (maple top mahogany or korina back). its got a tighter low, punchier mids, and a more piercing high, but not shrieking highs, so to say. I've always loved the sound of several telecasters, especially my own, and I think, this combination gives me that tone. its very allround. bright and open enough for country, but tight and crunchy enough for metal and rock, and smooth enough for blues and high gain leadsolo's, and open and complex enough for jazz. its for me, the best I could wish for.


BUT be warned! walnut does NOT respond well to your average pickup! you need a special balanced pickup! the regular JB, duncan distortion or something like that wont work. For me, the prails with a 1 megaohm pot work best. she's just like your mother in law. a pain in the ass with the lightest mishap, but once its tweaked, she'll do anything for you.

 

[Orpheo]

I just realised; its just like with a violin, or a jazz-guitars. softer wood as the top for the projection and harder for teh back.

 

[nathan a]

Incredible. Brilliant. Classsssy! I expect so many pictures and sound clips.

 

[whitebison66]

I've spent the last two days going through that WHOLE diary from 2006!!! And I'm STILL only up to September of '08!

But I have enjoyed it a lot, and it has made me start thinking about another scratch build, especially with all the extra parts and stuff I have laying around...

 

[stubhead]

He does do lovely work:

Except, when he does what the customer tells him:

Robert Fripp's own guitar has almost enough knobs and switches to satisfy me! :headbang:

 

[Wyliee]

Robert Fripp's own guitar has almost enough knobs and switches to satisfy me! :headbang:

You want knobs and switches mister??!!  My old FBass:

 

[Soylent]

That's horrifying and yet I can't look away..

 

[mayfly]

It's kinda like a car crash... you know you want to look away, but you can't