Well I just pulled the trigger for Warmoth #2, the body at least. There are some details still to be decided, but I'll get a start with finishing this body while I figure the rest out.
The plan was to get a nice thinline with a P90 and put that piezo saddles in it, too. I'll put some heavier strings on it, and hopefully that'll give it a feel closer to a real acoustic. One of my issues with the piezo thing was that it is actually very strange-feeling to play folk fingerstyle and acoustic blues stuff on a strat - part of that is just skills, but the much lower string tension really changes the dynamics. So I'm hopeful that with .11s, or even flatwounds, and the hollowbody, I'll get a true happy medium between acoustic and electric.
Body: Walnut thinline routed for P90 / Tele from Showcase.
Neck: At this point, I'm thinking pro construction, maple / rosewood standard thin with blocks and a graphtech nut. 25.5" and 6130 frets. I love ebony boards, but don't think it matches the vibe very well here, and I'm not crazy about the look of a lot of the pau ferro boards, and have never played a pau ferro guitar. What I don't like is the prominent north - south streaking, I think it's distracting. Another possibility is to go with mahogany instead of maple. Love the look of the blocks on a telecaster, though.
Pickups, you guys have me thinking I'll try Rio Grandes - a 'jazzbar' neck and a 'dirty harry' tele bridge?
Pickguard / controls: white pearloid, with, from right to left in the picture below: LP toggle switch, master mag volume, master mag tone, piezo volume, mini switch for piezo / mag / both options. That's going to entail drilling all the holes myself and placing the LP switch, but it doesn't sound that hard.
Finish: Thinking a little brown stain, one grain fill, little more stain, then slow, careful tung oiling.
So, any suggestions for the control layout, the pickups, or any aspect of the neck? Does Walnut need special handling when finishing? Any suggestions appreciated.
The plan was to get a nice thinline with a P90 and put that piezo saddles in it, too. I'll put some heavier strings on it, and hopefully that'll give it a feel closer to a real acoustic. One of my issues with the piezo thing was that it is actually very strange-feeling to play folk fingerstyle and acoustic blues stuff on a strat - part of that is just skills, but the much lower string tension really changes the dynamics. So I'm hopeful that with .11s, or even flatwounds, and the hollowbody, I'll get a true happy medium between acoustic and electric.
Body: Walnut thinline routed for P90 / Tele from Showcase.
Neck: At this point, I'm thinking pro construction, maple / rosewood standard thin with blocks and a graphtech nut. 25.5" and 6130 frets. I love ebony boards, but don't think it matches the vibe very well here, and I'm not crazy about the look of a lot of the pau ferro boards, and have never played a pau ferro guitar. What I don't like is the prominent north - south streaking, I think it's distracting. Another possibility is to go with mahogany instead of maple. Love the look of the blocks on a telecaster, though.
Pickups, you guys have me thinking I'll try Rio Grandes - a 'jazzbar' neck and a 'dirty harry' tele bridge?
Pickguard / controls: white pearloid, with, from right to left in the picture below: LP toggle switch, master mag volume, master mag tone, piezo volume, mini switch for piezo / mag / both options. That's going to entail drilling all the holes myself and placing the LP switch, but it doesn't sound that hard.
Finish: Thinking a little brown stain, one grain fill, little more stain, then slow, careful tung oiling.
So, any suggestions for the control layout, the pickups, or any aspect of the neck? Does Walnut need special handling when finishing? Any suggestions appreciated.