Purple Burst Musiclander Build

[Hagwood]

So I was getting a little carried away with designing my first Warmoth build with VIP body and Wenge/Ebony neck, and thought I would scale it back to something less expensive for my first attempt at dying.

Got a Musiclander body for something different, and decided to do a Purple Burst since I’m planning Blue for my next one. Also went with P90’s since I don’t have a guitar with those yet.

Core Wood
Mahogany

Lam Top Wood
Quilt Maple

Neck Pickup Rout
P90

Bridge Pickup Rout
P90

Controls
Volume 1, Tone 1, Blade Switch

Jack Rout
7/8" (22mm) Side Jack Hole

Bridge Rout Type
Hardtail

Bridge Rout
Hipshot Hardtail Bridge

I used Keda dye and played around on some scrap maple veneer to get the right shade of purple. The dye went on great, but it looked like more of a black burst around the edges until I started spraying the nitro, kinda strange, but think it still looks good. I Used grain filler on the mahogany back and sides, and the sides turned out great with a deep smooth black, almost paint like. Just finished up my 20th coat of Stew Mac Colortone Nitro Lacquer and just waiting for curing before sanding and polishing. Before the final coat I dry sanded with 600 and then used my best technique to get a very smooth and wet final coat. I’m thinking of just starting with 800 wet sanding up to 2000 before polishing. I tried getting a picture of the light reflection, but very little orange peel. Overall pretty happy so far.

Already have all the hardware ready and have started soldering up my controls on a template board. Everything in Black:

MojoTone ’56 Quiet Coil P90 Neck

MojoTone Hot Quiet Coil P90 Bridge

Hipshot Hardtail Bridge

Wiring from scratch with CTS 500k Pots and Swithcraft 3 way switch

Gotoh Locking Tuners in Cosmo Black





* Had to swap out the Dog Ears for Soap Bars. They were too tall for the hipshot bridge.

 

[ragamuffin]

Great job on the finish!

 

[Hagwood]

Great job on the finish!

Thanks ! I must say I really like the Colortone Nitro. I have used Deft in the past on other woodworking, but the last stuff I bought after the name change to ProLuxe was definitely different. Also, very impressed with the Keda Dye.

Now, as Tom Petty said..... 'The Waiting is the Hardest Part'.........

 

[MoreSpaceEcho]

That's your first attempt at dyeing? Damn! I've done like 10 now and none of them look that good. Psyched to see this finished, I'm a big fan of the Musiclander, I've got two. I think that body shape is adorably goofy, like a BC Rich made by really stoned elves.

 

[Hagwood]

That's your first attempt at dyeing? Damn! I've done like 10 now and none of them look that good. Psyched to see this finished, I'm a big fan of the Musiclander, I've got two. I think that body shape is adorably goofy, like a BC Rich made by really stoned elves.

Ha ha, good comparison, and thanks for the compliment. To be fair, I have done woodworking and finishing for decades on mostly furniture, but have never used the dye before. It is a cool looking body, and I wanted something totally different (hence the purple) for this experiment, so I don’t end up with something to close to my next one.

 

[Hagwood]

I received the neck Friday, and went ahead and installed the Gotoh Locking Tuners to do a test fit and make small adjustments to the neck pocket. Also put the low E String on to center the pickups and drill the mounting holes. I was originally going to use a spare Warmoth Strat replacement neck I had in maple/maple, but really wanted something dark. I found this roasted maple / dark rosewood warhead neck on a screaming deal and think it will look pretty good. At least it gives me something to do while I’m waiting for curing before sanding and polishing.

 

[stultzies9]

I love it! I always thought the Musiclander body shape was pretty underrated. And I love that you're putting P90s in it. It's going to be a killer guitar!

 

[Hagwood]

I love it! I always thought the Musiclander body shape was pretty underrated. And I love that you're putting P90s in it. It's going to be a killer guitar!

Thanks, can't wait to finish it up !

 

[Hagwood]

I was all ready to finalize this weekend since my Assilex from StewMac was supposed to deliver Saturday, but it got hung up due to the winter storm. The Mahogany back needed a little heavier sanding since I didn't do a very good job of grain filling, so I made up for it with extra lacquer coats. Went ahead and did the regular old wet sanding, but using mineral spirits. Started with 400 and went to 2500, then broke out the DS polisher with Meguiars Ultimate Compound first, then the Ultimate Polish. Pretty happy with it, but gonna wait on the Assilex for the front, I hate wet sanding.......

 

[bagman67]

Beautiful work. A dye job can be so gratifying to apply. And scrupulous sanding and polishing, while tedious, are worth the effort, as your photos prove.

You may already know this, but it's helpful to use a countersink bit or deburring tool to scrape the edges of the string-through holes so you don't accidentally inflict a crack or blister on that gorgeous finish when you press the ferrules in. Voice of experience, here.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Hagwood]

Beautiful work. A dye job can be so gratifying to apply. And scrupulous sanding and polishing, while tedious, are worth the effort, as your photos prove.

You may already know this, but it's helpful to use a countersink bit or deburring tool to scrape the edges of the string-through holes so you don't accidentally inflict a crack or blister on that gorgeous finish when you press the ferrules in. Voice of experience, here.

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks ! Yes it is tedious, but luckily I enjoy stuff like that. Been restoring vintage Swiss Music Boxes for years, talk about tedious !

I did the deburr, but still got a tiny bit of chipping with the ferrules that you can see in the top photos after installed. I'm going to try to use the Assilex around the edges and re-buff.

 

[rauchman]

Wow, really nicely done. I need to learn to fill better....great job!

 

[Hagwood]

Got the Super Assilex in last night and did the sanding on the top from 600 to 2000 and it looked great. Definitely love this Assilex stuff ! It was getting late so I just did a quick hand polish with the Meguiar's, planning to do the DA polisher tonight.




But then when I looked at this morning there were some finish issues that seem to have just developed over night. Hard to explain and to photograph, but not like checking, more like wrinkles in the finish in a few spots. Very strange that I have not had any of this on the back. Maybe it didn't cure long enough ? It was 2 weeks, but I have heard of people waiting up to a month. I'm not sure how to proceed at this point, but I just hung it back up to cure for another week.....

I guess I should post over in the Finishing Forum as well.

 

[Hagwood]

Well I got it mostly done this weekend. Still a few finish imperfections, but I'll deal with it for now so I can get it set up and see how it plays. I have discovered I have a love/hate relationship with Nitro, and will probably use a 2k finish on my next build. Too damn much work and time.

Here's a few quick pics for now:

 

[Spud]

Well I got it mostly done this weekend. Still a few finish imperfections, but I'll deal with it for now so I can get it set up and see how it plays. I have discovered I have a love/hate relationship with Nitro, and will probably use a 2k finish on my next build. Too damn much work and time.

Here's a few quick pics for now:


View attachment 63918View attachment 63919View attachment 63916View attachment 63917

Guitar looks great. I am sorry your wife made you hang up hearts over the fireplace. (uh unless that was you)

 

[Hagwood]

Guitar looks great. I am sorry your wife made you hang up hearts over the fireplace. (uh unless that was you)

Thanks.
Ha ha, yep, as soon as I put up all the Christmas stuff in the attic she’s wanting Valentines stuff down……. MY decorations will be for St Paddy’s Day.

 

[Spud]

Thanks.
Ha ha, yep, as soon as I put up all the Christmas stuff in the attic she’s wanting Valentines stuff down……. MY decorations will be for St Paddy’s Day.

It just means you got a good one!

 

[Hagwood]

It just means you got a good one!

Most definitely !!!

 

[Surf n Music n Ski n Bike]

Real pretty build! Nice work. I've always eyed the music lander body. Looks comfy to play.

 

[Hagwood]

Real pretty build! Nice work. I've always eyed the music lander body. Looks comfy to play.

Thanks. It is very comfortable to play. I originally only selected it because I wanted something totally different to try my first dye job, and that wouldn't be similar to my next builds, but I must say I am impressed with the comfort and playability of the body. A little Strat-Like, but narrower. Mine is a little heavier because I did Mahogany / Maple, but I can imagine they would be very light with Alder.