NRFB - A Half-moth

whitebison66

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Finally have a minute so I can share this one...

Non-Warmoth Non-reverse Firebird in mahogany. 1 3/4" thick; I added the forearm contour. Was tempted to drop-top bind it, but decided against it.

Warmoth Superwide Fatback mahogany/ebony, clay dots, ss6115 frets.

Wraparound bridge since a) I intend to use it for slide and b) I had it laying around.

Routed for 3 P90s; will have a dummy coil in the middle for hum-cancelling, a necessity in this neon jungle. Will have two or three pots and a Gibson type toggle. Just ordered the SD vintage soapbars last night form W.

I think all my fellow crack babies can relate to this: I figured since I was on the phone, I may as well order that other guitar I was going to get...  :binkybaby:

I used locally bought water-based red stain and rattle-can nitro (Pylox brand). I was pleasantly surprised I got so close to Gibson red. I'm not saying I'm close, just that it was closer than I thought it would be. I had to sand the sealer off the neck to get the stain to take, but it was pretty easy. Notice the before and after of the neck in the last photo for color comparison. Speaking of which, the neck and body matched better than I'd expected too!

The finish is not great, including what are likely finger oil or water spots in the area below the pickups. But living in Hong Kong and spraying this thing next to the rubbish pile outside my apartment building in the less-ferociously humid part of the year (there is no dry part), I tried to keep my expectations low.

If I had the space, time, and weather to do it right, I could have done a much better job, even with rattle cans. Still, it came out okay, I think.

Once the pickups show, I will start to put it together. I figure that the 4-8 weeks build time I have to wait to get the pickups - because of the construction and finish of the neck (1 3/4" Fatback maple/rosewood strat, SS6115, Earvana factory install) and finishing Screamin' Deal body S3394 (in Surf Green; I am doing my own version of the Jeff Beck) that I ordered - will allow the nitro to cure that much more.


 
Cool stuff! Looks really good too. What bridge is that?

Also: is that a dismantled Fernandes in the background, and what will happen to the Iceman body?
 
Yes, it's a Fernandes. I put it back together, will give it to a friend since I never touch it. The Iceman is being painted flat black, though the weather is making that tough.

Like the soloist in the photo (which is a Warmoth and will be white), they will both get painted by a friend, Mimi Leung: http://www.mimileung.co.uk/

I think it will look great on these guitars. For the Soloist, it'll be a real 80's thing, for the Iceman just an utter freakshow. I'm using garish DiMarzio appointments (see attached), currently thinking red, blue and yellow humbuckers with clashing rings. Again, given her art, it isn't quite as much visual vomit as it sounds. Even if it is, I don't care!

In exchange for her painting the pair, I'm building her a tele in white (also half-moth), with a W CBS w/white headstock, HSS, dual comfort contours. 

The bridge is a Stew Mac purchase, apparently a repro of the original replacements for the old Gibson pre-TOM bridges. I was going to use it on a mini Les Paul project, but during my last W order I got a Gotoh 510 in chrome by mistake (I needed black), so I will use the 510 if and when I ever get round to the "Less Paul" [groans]

I ordered the correct color 510 along with the SDs last night.

 
Everything I see in this thread is awesome. That Firebird looks great, I think the "garish" 80's Soloist should be completely ridiculous (in a good way), and that flat-black Iceman is going to be evil. Great stuff.
 
Got back to Hong Kong to a waiting Warmoth delivery. Wheee!!!

The middle coil is a dummy that helps with noise reduction; I am still working on it, because I want to adda 'blend' pot to adjust how much of it works. I read about a similar setup someone did with a strat.

I need more pots for the two empty holes (dummy blend and tone), and it needs some setup, but it's a darn fine guitar already.

Superwide Fatback in mahogany with P-90s and open G tuning? A-ronk a-ronk a-ronk...
 
i checked out the 67 "vee" ate kne, and i was wondering if it is worth the $130. whats your UNBIASED opinion on their quality:price ratio?
 
Well, I can't be un-biased, but I can give you a qualified opinion. I have a background in woodworking and have worked on and built guitars for 20+ years. I tech for a Warmoth endorsee. I am not easy to impress with this sort of stuff.

I assume Mitch has a CNC machine, because I can't for the life of me figure out how he makes bodies so quickly and cheaply that are as well-made as these are. The wood is high-quality too, as is the customer service.

I recommend him, and I'm glad to do so.
 
whitebison66 said:
Well, I can't be un-biased, but I can give you a qualified opinion. I have a background in woodworking and have worked on and built guitars for 20+ years. I tech for a Warmoth endorsee. I am not easy to impress with this sort of stuff.

I assume Mitch has a CNC machine, because I can't for the life of me figure out how he makes bodies so quickly and cheaply that are as well-made as these are. The wood is high-quality too, as is the customer service.

I recommend him, and I'm glad to do so.
I'll second that motion. Their work is top notch, everything is dead on. And yes they have a cnc mill to make their bodies with. I sent them a .dxf file of Krank n stein for them to make. And it's perfect, even the neck joint was dead on to the Warmoth made neck. I'd give mem a 5 star rating.... :headbang1:
 
Designated slide guitars are a gas. I'm gonna end up with three, when I get off my duff and finish the other two - one a seven-string with a steel guitar-like 6th tuning. I eventually end up making them their own nut, but if you raise a properly-adjusted nut with a slice of credit card (.020" or so) you can still play chords, out-of-tunishly.
How in-tune do you really need to be to bash out "Brown Sugar".... :party07:
 
Have had this done for some time, just too busy to put up the final photo:

The middle pickup is a dummy coil. Works great, even with high gain.

Superwide Fatback; not just a roller derby position any more.
 
This is really cool, and I might do a build with the same body, can you explain the dummy coil to me though?
 
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