SG-X first build

[Jasonn]

1 1/2" mahogany body with X-X-H
24 fret mahogany/rosewood neck

I've never done this before and i am new to the forum.  I was wondering what direction any of you think i should go with as far as paints or finishes?
i was originally planning on going with the Caribbean blue color like the stock SG-X but warmoth said i should consider doing clear finish or dye because of the grain.  however i still haven't gotten the body or neck yet so i really cant decide just yet.

as soon as it all gets here i will post pictures,
thanks in advance for your help.

 

[NonsenseTele]

1st advice: Post only 1 topic per subject...  :icon_thumright:

2nd: Would help put a picture of this SG, because not everybody will remember which model is this X, I don't remember...
Is this one:

Are you going to use a figured top or the finish is going on mahogany? If yes, not every burst will look cool... perhaps Tobacco, Black/brown/transparent...

Mahogany is a wood that can look nice, but it's not guaranted, as with maple... some ones are really plain and reddish... Fender made a serie of Mahogany teles with DeArmond pickups, everyone that I saw pic was horrible...

Get more information, for what you have said, is hard to give hints...


Welcome to the forum  ccasion14:

 

[Jasonn]

Yeah sorry about that i posted it in the other subject and then this one not knowing which one i should do but i deleted the other post already.

<a href="http://tinypic.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i34.tinypic.com/288p2cp.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a>

no figured top just mahogany,  what warmoth said was that i should use a darker dye to bring out the grain and re-sand the body and then do clear or maybe an amber tinted dye over that.

 

[Jasonn]

sorry that last pic was html this one should work

 

[NonsenseTele]

Ok, but which color do you want?

This pickguard you won't get by warmoth... I can't remember now which online store had those...

I like the main project... it's a very raw power guitar  :evil4:

 

[Jasonn]

im still thinking about doing the blue, it all depends on how nice the grain looks when i actually get the body. 

yeah they didn't have that big of a selection especially for anything SG , but i found some white pearloid pick guards on eBay i might by one of those. 

the only problem is warmoth couldn't drill the controls the way i want so i just had the top volume and tone positions drilled.  and was going to drill my own hole for the coil-splitter when the body got here.

warmoth called and told me they messed up on the body and drilled a toggle switch in the normal position.  i don't think it will be that big of a deal i can just wire it to be a kill switch. 

i didn't know if i could just a normal 3-way toggle switch for a coil splitter if i wired it right would that work?

 

[Mor Paul]

You could have it wired to choose which coil to use or both.

I'm biased, but I think that would look even better with a covered 'bucker.

 

[NonsenseTele]

Depends on the blue, don't think the trans or dyed blue will look nice in Mahogany... I think would look nicier in sometihng that way:

(Pics stoled from a user of Bare Knuckle forum)

 

[Jasonn]

i never thought about wiring it that way.  i doubt i would use the coil splitter all that often but it would be nice to have it and go further to pick which coil i wanted.

but that is a nice blue color.  i was thinking about going darker than that pic i posted anyways but not that dark.

the pickups i could always put a cover on or off to see what i liked better.

the pickups i was either going with the stock Gibson 500t or a JB.  don't know much about different pickups.  what would you suggest for warm clean sounds and heavy distorted sounds.

to give you an idea of what i use now i have Yamaha SG 500B sovtek Big muff and a fender DeVille 410

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

On both of the single hum SGs, the pickguard covers where a neck hum would go.  If you're going to do this route and Warmoth still has the body, I would have it routed for a neck hum, so it's there if you want to add it.  The pickguard will cover the route if you don't want to use it.

 

[Jasonn]

thats i really good idea i was thinking about maybe later routing it out and adding another pickup later on so i guess i could just save myself the trouble and have them do it now.

 

[tfarny]

I like the more standard-looking PG in the second pic a little better, and Warmoth could easily make you one like that. Definitely get the neck pickup route instead of doing it yourself later.
For paint, solid colors may be a bit tough to get right if it's your first time finishing, depending on what equipment and experience you have and your pickiness. I usually prefer SGs with the more traditional transparent finishes anyhow. You can go to reranch and look at their color selection, that might be your first stop if you are not sure about the finishes. I would have Warmoth finish it if it were my first and I wanted a solid color.

For the pickup, you should probably do a bit of research. Seymour Duncan's sound samples are a great place to get started with that. For "warm clean sounds" I don't think you're likely to be satisfied with either a JB or a Gibson 500t bridge pup. You would be better off with a PAF type neck pickup. Are you looking for more of a classic sound or more of a modern sound? What guitarists out there have tones that you'd like to come close to? If you want both a "warm clean sound" and a "heavy distorted sound" why go for a one pickup design? I'm not trying to criticize, just to get you thinking. Good luck on the build and send us pictures please!

 

[kreig]

First, you posted X-X-H, and your picture is H-X-X, did you make a mistake on your order ? If you did, call them to see if where they are in the making of your body ! If they routed X-X-H, and you wanted H-X-X, ask them to make it H-X-H while it's still in the shop,
or it's going to be a nightmare, logistically speaking.

Second, I'm having a hard time believing they are recommending "trans/dye because of the grain".
Unless your conversation went there. It's your personal preference.

Thirdly, for your first build, personally I would have Warmoth do as much as they do, you'll pony-up more, but . . .

Do you have the tools and space?

go ahead and post how much of a build sheet you have determined so far . . .

 

[NonsenseTele]

the pickups i was either going with the stock Gibson 500t or a JB.  don't know much about different pickups.  what would you suggest for warm clean sounds and heavy distorted sounds.

Bare Knuckle Pickups: Warpig (Alnico)

 

[-CB-]

On both of the single hum SGs, the pickguard covers where a neck hum would go.  If you're going to do this route and Warmoth still has the body, I would have it routed for a neck hum, so it's there if you want to add it.  The pickguard will cover the route if you don't want to use it.

I'm nearly positive that Warmoth's body shape is not compatible with the full coverage SG pickguards commercially available.  They do their own version of the smaller pickguard, and I think... it only fits their body.

Keep in mind there were allowances made for scale length, and placement of the bridge, stop bar etc.

 

 

[Jasonn]

i mention the JB and 500t because those are the only pickups i remember playing that i liked enough to remember.  i know the 500t is a little overpowering to some and may sound terrible clean to some but i found that if you careful and turned the volume and tone down you could get great clean sounds.  and it was almost the same experience with the JB.  but i will definitely look into the bare knuckle pickups.

as far as the pick guard goes i know warmoth doesn't have what i want and i don't like the look of the standard looking one.  the one i found should fit with only a few adjustments. i know warmoth and gibson wont fit perfectly and im fine with that they should not be so far off that i would need to change the design entirely.

that's what i plan on going with if all goes as planned.

i don't think i made a mistake on the order i just typed it wrong here then.  i talked to spike at warmoth and he knew about the sg-x and told me that they could also make a 24 fret neck with the body if i wanted to do that which was what i wanted to do but heard things about the 24fret necks hanging over and stuff like that so decided to go with a normal 24 3/4" neck until he mentioned that.  but thanks for letting me know im going to call them tmrw to see if i did actually make a mistake to double check.

it wasn't as much as a recommendation as a "give it some thought" type thing his actual words were "its a shame your going to do a solid color over this, there is some really nice grain on this body.  but you never know, if you change your mind down the line you'll always know what under the finish."

as far as after i get the order goes and doing the actual build i plan on doing the majority of it myself.  i never mentioned earlier that i am building this for my high school senior project.  so that gives you an idea about my age and means i cant have the greatest amount of experience, i know a lot about all of the stuff im going to be doing already just want more information and others opinions before it all starts.

 

[DangerousR6]

Go for the SG-GT look, this is pretty kewl....

 

[Wana_make_a_guitar]

Hey, that looks cool!

 

[DangerousR6]

I dig the sparkle too, would look better with the GT bridge....

 

[Mor Paul]

Go for the SG-GT look, this is pretty kewl....

I like the metallic blue and white version of that.


And I still want to see an SG special with crushed steel on top, natural on back. Creme and nickel for the hardware.