Satisfying G.A.S. by Reworking an Old Build - Inspired by Kramer

DocNrock

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I've seen a few posts on here where people have reworked an older build of theirs for a variety of reasons.  One big benefit of reworking an old build is it kind of satisfies the "GAS" for something new, but doesn't require as much cash outlay.  And ultimately, it lays the groundwork for a new build sometime down the road, as there are bound to be leftover parts from the original build begging to be used (ie., a neck).  :laughing7: 

That said, I decided to do some more reworking to my Bloodwood Soloist, "Bloody Mary,"  I loved it the way it was, and many of you gave me some great compliments on it, particularly after I swapped out some (but not all) of the hardware from gold to black (http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=4693.45).  But there was one thing that always bothered me about this guitar.  It is personal taste, but I never particularly cared for the 3+3 Warmoth headstock on this build.  I personally think the Soloist body style looks better with an inline-6 pointy headstock.  Again, it's just a matter of personal taste.  Originally, I chose this particular 3+3 Warmoth headstock neck because it did have a "cool factor" element.  There were two necks in the Showcase, both with Warmoth headstocks, that were made from an "unknown Bolivian hardwood" that did not need a finish.  The description stated that it sounded like a Marimba when you thumped on it.  The unique carved top Soloist, with a Mahogany body, maple pinstripe, and Bloodwood top, definitely had its own "cool factor" going on.  But every time I picked the guitar up to play it, my first thought was always, "this thing needs an inline-6 headstock."  So finally, that's what it is going to get.  But the headstock got a bit of a modification, first. 

The carved top Soloist body reminds me of the Kramer American Series Stagemasters.  I had a Stagemaster Custom I that I foolishly sold back in '96 when I was short on cash; I was an Intern at the time.  That was a great guitar and I have missed it ever since.  The construction was neck-through though.  Another high-end Kramer model that I never owned, but I always liked, was the Nightswan, which is a bolt-on.  Low and behold, Warmoth does the Nightswan-style inlays!  :sign13: :sign13: :sign13:

So, Roasted Maple neck with an Arcade headstock, Ebony fretboard, Nightswan inlay (pearloid), 6100SS frets, Wizard profile, compound radius, and 1-11/16" width.  In case it isn't totally obvious at this point, I am reworking the guitar into a hybrid inspired by what I think are a couple of the hottest Kramers that were made back in the late 80s/early 90s:  the Stagemaster and the Nightswan.  Interestingly, neither of these models were actually built by Kramer.  In fact, the original Nightswan prototypes were made using modified Warmoth parts (http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=25580.msg368093#msg368093).  In production, the Nightswan and the Stagemaster, both part of the "American Series," were made by ESP in Japan (!).

Back to the neck, I have cut the headstock into a Kramer shape.  I did not have measurements, so I eyeballed it the best I could.  It therefore has a resemblance to the Kramer headstock, but it's not an exact copy.  The pegfaces of the Kramer American Series came in a number of colors, and some were clear-coat over maple  One of the more common pegface colors of the American Series Kramers was black, regardless of the body color (My Stagemaster was flip-flop pink with a black pegface.), so I went with black.  I thought about putting a Bloodwood veneer on it to match the body, but unless someone has a source for smaller veneer pieces, the only such veneer I could find for sale online was sold in bunches of four sheets, 6" x 50" each sheet.  So, no veneer.  :sad:  But, I don't think any of the Kramers ever had matching headstocks unless they were painted the same solid color as the body.

All that is left to do is to make a waterslide decal for the pegface and cover it with clear coat. 

Question:  Since the guitar is inspired by the Stagemaster and the Nightswan, I have been trying to come up with a hybrid name to put on the waterslide.  I was thinking of StageSwan or NightMaster.  Someone in the Kramer Group on FB suggested SwanMaster.  I'm kind of leaning towards StageSwan.  Any thoughts?

Photos:

As it was:



Arcade headstock:



Nightswan inlays:



Headstock masked to mark lines to cut:



Mockup:



Headstock cut, sanded, and painted:



Second mockup:



DangerousDoug neckplate :)icon_thumright:):



I'm also going to remove the mounting rings on the single-coil sized pickups, fill the screw holes, and direct mount the pickups, now that I know how to do the direct mounting.

:headbang1: :headbang1: :headbang1: :headbang1: :headbang1:

The neck that I took off of the guitar still has that "cool factor."  However, even though I wash my hands before playing any of my guitars, this neck really picked up hand oils and ambient dust and dirt.  It actually looked filthy.  I wish I would have taken a picture before sanding, but I sanded the entire neck (except the fretboard) with 60 > 100 > 150 > 220.  Given the way this particular "unknown Bolivian hardwood" soaks up oils and grime, I am going to give it a thin polyurethane satin clear coat (I know, sacrelig).  Then it will wait until I have an equally cool project for which to use it.  One thought is to pair it with the Iceman that I have.  Alternatively, I have been thinking of getting a body blank and cutting my own BC Rich Bich copy.  If I go with the latter, it will be quite some time before I have the time to commit to a project like that.   

Old neck after sanding:



 
Looking sweet! I'm in the same process right now with my surfgreen strat. I'm all excited to be stoked on it again. That new neck you got is looking good with those inlays.
 
Surf n Music said:
Looking sweet! I'm in the same process right now with my surfgreen strat. I'm all excited to be stoked on it again. That new neck you got is looking good with those inlays.

Thank you, Eric!  Do you have a link to a progress thread on your Strat?
 
UPDATE:

I couldn't leave well enough alone, so I decided to bevel the edges of the headstock and give it a painted border.  Using Testor's model enamels, I was able to mix their Gloss Dark Red with a bit of Gloss Brown and come up with a color that matched the body fairly well.  I tried matching the color with the waterslide decals, but for some reason the colors were inconsistent within the decal, itself.  Yellow goes reasonably well with it, and should pop with the gold hardware, so I went that route. 

Now I just need to get a few more coats of black inside of the painted border, sand back, actually mount the waterslide decal, then it will be ready for the clear coat.  Just doing a pegface takes a long time!  :laughing7:

Mockup with the body in the background.  Note the color match of the border to the Bloodwood lam top on the body.

 
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