Soloist in a PRS-style Dragon Breath stain pattern

[Chad11491]

That looks really great and I like how the fade continues on the buttons. FWIW my 24-08 has the 85/15's with both screw poles facing south. Not sure if it will make any overall difference or not, but just thought I'd throw that out there. When I first got it I had to do a double take and look online to make sure mine weren't in backwards hahaha. It's the only 24-08 I've ever seen in person so had no reference.

anyway, that's a fantastic looking guitar and I bet it'll sound great too once done. I know PRS pickups are love/hate, but I really like the 85/15's once the amp is dialed in for them.

 

[docteurseb]

That looks really great and I like how the fade continues on the buttons. FWIW my 24-08 has the 85/15's with both screw poles facing south. Not sure if it will make any overall difference or not, but just thought I'd throw that out there. When I first got it I had to do a double take and look online to make sure mine weren't in backwards hahaha. It's the only 24-08 I've ever seen in person so had no reference.

anyway, that's a fantastic looking guitar and I bet it'll sound great too once done. I know PRS pickups are love/hate, but I really like the 85/15's once the amp is dialed in for them.

It's a bit odd as my two 24-08 (well one, I sold one recently) have 58/15 MT also with pole pieces oriented south.
However every other guitar w/ 85/15 (e.g. CE24) that I'm seeing has the neck pole pieces up though.

 

[docteurseb]

That looks really great and I like how the fade continues on the buttons. FWIW my 24-08 has the 85/15's with both screw poles facing south. Not sure if it will make any overall difference or not, but just thought I'd throw that out there. When I first got it I had to do a double take and look online to make sure mine weren't in backwards hahaha. It's the only 24-08 I've ever seen in person so had no reference.

I knew I had seen your CU24-08 before, of course it was from Brian's Guitars.
By the way, I'm not sure if you're new to PRS but if you are and want to preserve the color please keep the guitar in its case when you're not playing it. The dyes PRS uses are insanely sensitive to light and fade far more rapidly than pretty much any other brand. Better know beforehand than learn the hard way.

anyway, that's a fantastic looking guitar and I bet it'll sound great too once done. I know PRS pickups are love/hate, but I really like the 85/15's once the amp is dialed in for them.

 

[DangerousR6]

Duuuuuude, that finish is insane, fantastic job, truly outstanding. :kewlpics:  :yourock:

 

[docteurseb]

Thanks !

Funny enough (not really) I'm still having tuning stability issues on wound strings despite, I think, the nut slots being smooth and not binding with a GraphTech TUSQ XL nut.

Maybe I got accidentally lucky to manage to make one of my Strat-style builds completely rock stable heavy with dive bombs before ?

I'm going to give another try or two once I receive new nuts before considering going with a LSR nut.
If I go with the latter it'd almost be worth it to just re-order a new neck rather than having a local tech retrofit a LSR nut onto the existing one.

 

[docteurseb]

It very much looks like the tuners are to blame for my tuning woes with the last two builds.

As you can see I went for the variant of Gotoh locking tuners that doesn't use a thumb screw.
On paper it's a great design that saves weight, however it appears to be an unstable one.

Even though you're not supposed to have to tighten the tuner post (it's supposed to self lock) it clearly isn't locked fully in place as you can still easily tighten it (even then it's still not staying in tune).

I found a review comparing these tuners to Schaller and other locking tuners. His observation was that Gotoh's tuning was all over the place (flat when bending, back in tune with tremolo use which is exactly what I'm seeing) and took at least a day to stabilize. In contrast Schaller and others were rock solid after couple bends and stretching.

I ordered a set of Gotoh with thumbscrews to see if that improves things, I'm moderately optimistic that will suffice.
Sure I could have gone with Schaller and call it a day, but I wouldn't be able to re-use the wood tuner buttons I have. I also haven't yet found anyone doing wood tuner buttons for Schaller that I could stain myself (I've found finished ones only).

 

[docteurseb]

Looks like I had real crazy expectations as far was what is considered 'stable' for a non-locking tremolo.

My idea of it was a clinical/mathematical one where each strings remains perfectly in tune (as in '0 cents off') when measured with a tuner even after bending/tremolo use.
The 1st Strat I built for tremolo use couple years ago effectively performs that way, even with dive bombs it typically always remain within +/- 1 cent on each string. Thus I thought that was the standard for tuning stability.

This build is pretty close to that now, albeit after way too much time spent on nut slots.

Having said that I did receive the thumbscrew version of Gotoh tuners and prefer them to the delta/510 tuners I had. They do seem the settle much more quickly and changing strings is so much easier than I'm more happy to gain a bit of weigth even in that critical area of the guitar (the wood buttons offset that a bit).

I consider the guitar completed, I'll trim the side of the nuts and take some beauty pics in the coming days.

Out of curiosity though I did order a neck with LSR nut preparation as I'm very curious now to see how that performs. I don't think I would consider retrofitting the neck of this Soloist with a LSR nut given the above though, but I may use them moving forward.

 

[Dazkeirle]

hmm, curious.

I do use an LSR and yeah, it definitely removes binding from any potential issue but tbh I haven't really had all that much trouble with solid nuts either. You're right though they do need to be prepped well but it sounds like you're all over that.

Perhaps it has been the tuners all along but I'd suspect that it may be just the spring in the tremelo not returning exactly each time. Have you considered a tremsetter?

https://hipshotproducts.com/products/tremsetter

Personally I think you should just be done with the horrible thing and send it to me for disposal.

 

[docteurseb]

hmm, curious.

I do use an LSR and yeah, it definitely removes binding from any potential issue but tbh I haven't really had all that much trouble with solid nuts either. You're right though they do need to be prepped well but it sounds like you're all over that.

Perhaps it has been the tuners all along but I'd suspect that it may be just the spring in the tremelo not returning exactly each time. Have you considered a tremsetter?

https://hipshotproducts.com/products/tremsetter

Personally I think you should just be done with the horrible thing and send it to me for disposal.

It was not the trem not going back to the right spot, if that were the case most strings would have been off.

And let me explain what my idea of stability was:
  - stretch strings and tune up to pitch
  - bend each string, then measure with a tuner each string. Is each string spot on, or off by a few cents ?
  - use the tremolo -> check tuning again for each string. Are they spot on with a tuner, or just in tune to the ears ?

 

[docteurseb]

I consider this one done, actually I only need to setup the intonation at this point.

Big thanks to Jeff Bridges and the shop's foreman at Warmoth for unearthing this monster laminate top which matched beautifully the figuring I was looking for; specifically that PRS Private Stock build from Brian's Guitars:

Without further delay here is the nearly completed build:

A closer look at the chattoyance:

 

[rgand]

That's absolutely amazing! You won't see a better looking top anywhere.  :icon_thumright: :icon_thumright:

 

[stratamania]

Very good indeed... :icon_thumright:

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

WOW - the tuner knobs are an awesome touch!  :headbanging: Thanks so much for the time lapse videos, I'm going to have to play around with it a bit.  One question - it looked like you used the same applicator for all the different colors, did I see that right, or just missed it?

On not popping the finish here's what works for me:

Start with a VERY small drill bit - like the smallest you have and use that in your fingers to mark your spots - start in reverse and then forward.  You can just roll it back and forth with your fingers.  Then step up to a larger bit, finally to the size you want it.  Each time using just my fingers until I get down to wood.  Then I drill the hole and lastly use a counter sink tool like this one: https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/types-of-tools/drill-bits/no-chip-tuner-hole-countersink.html to open it up beyond the width of the screw threads at the finish - that way the screw is going straight into wood and isn't hitting your finish at all.  When your using the bits in your fingers you can feel if it's getting stuck - if so, stop and then go backwards and get it going again. The feel is what keeps the finish from popping. 

 

[docteurseb]

One question - it looked like you used the same applicator for all the different colors, did I see that right, or just missed it?

I don't and you definitely don't want to reuse the same.
I had pre-cut the paper towels before starting and the time-lapse is considerably sped up so it's easy to miss.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

That's what I figured and why I asked!

 

[Rick]

nice