Things I learned whilst building my ______

[MikeW]

From my latest Strat build:
1. Canary is hard, Ebony is harder, and the little screws that hold an LSR nut in place strip VERY easily.
2. I'll never have another Maple neck again. Raw/exotic is the way to go. Afra/Ebony or Afra/Afra is my next neck.
3. Setting the action and intonation on a Wilkinson bridge is a snap.
4. Wilkinson bridge, LSR roller nut and locking tuners = Floyd tuning stability + easier string changes.
5. Wilkinson bridge, LSR roller nut and locking tuners almost has the same range as a Floyd. Almost...
6. The SD '59er is a little muddy in the neck position when running with an open throttle. Drop the pup away from the strings and pull back on the volume for maximum effect.
7. Tone controls? We don't need no stinking tone controls!

 

[KaiserSoze]

Just two builds so far, so just a couple:

-Dont rush to put something together because you've waited too long already.  A Thursday at 11PM is not the time to attach a neck for the first time and do a full set-up.
-At some point, stop trying to get the perfect string height and LEAVE THE FRIGGEN THING ALONE!
-Don't spend a full two hours at work figuring out which wood/color/pickup/pickguard combination looks best on the body builder
-Dont sand down the bottom of the factory Graph tech nut too far....sigh
-Those little-bitty holes that need to be drilled for the Sperzel tuners?...measure three times.

 

[KaiserSoze]

I thought of another one...more esoteric,

It's occurred to me that I may not actually know what a really well set up guitar with perfect fret work feels like.  Do the blind know sight?  Maybe I've been in the dark for twenty years and "plays like buttah" is really a unicorn.  I've had guitars that felt really good, but am I just chasing a perfection and can never be tweaked into?  OR is the chase all that really matters and its a good exercise to find out just how many times one can adjust a truss rod? 

 

[Updown]

-Those little-bitty holes that need to be drilled for the Sperzel tuners?...measure three times.

And drill once  :icon_biggrin: ...... or just get a http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for_Tuner_installation/Tuner_Pin_Drill_Jig.html

 

[MikeW]

Maybe I've been in the dark for twenty years and "plays like buttah" is really a unicorn.  I've had guitars that felt really good, but am I just chasing a perfection and can never be tweaked into?  OR is the chase all that really matters and its a good exercise to find out just how many times one can adjust a truss rod?

Most likely it's just that you need a bit more experience tweaking. It took me a while to work out all the little details in getting a setup just right. I had to tweak for a while with my first couple builds before they were good enough. Having a cheap guitar to practice on is a good way to get experience as well. There are a ton of Affinity Squire Strats on craigslist for cheap.

I can't recommend Dan Erlewine's books enough either, if you don't have them already.

Stick with it. 'Plays like Buttah' isn't a unicorn, it's a destination and it takes a bit to find the yellow brick road.

 

[AutoBat]

More things!
EMG wiring diagram for the X series pups is wrong. reversing the cable for tip/ring/sleeve actually makes the volume & tone knobs work!
EMG wiring diagram is also wrong for neck/bridge pup selector.  I could and may swap it back around at a later date, for now it's manageable.
"The Key" is quite useful for setting intonation on an OFR.
Schaller strap locks rattle around when you're putting the strap on (any tips to make that go away?)
It feels great to finally have a finished instrument and play it semi-loud.
EMG 81X/85X sound good distorted and even better clean. (I wasn't expecting a good clean tone!)
The naked neck plate reminds me that it isn't truly finished until I get a DR6 plate (& truss cover?) planned out and made.