Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Twinfan on April 02, 2010, 05:45:49 PM

Title: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: Twinfan on April 02, 2010, 05:45:49 PM
Yep, the '65 SG is finished!  Sort of.....

All re-fretted and good to go, "Trigger" plays and sounds great!  Really, really great.  Can't wait to try it out at gig volume in the near future.  I'm about to put "If You Want Blood..." on the stereo to play along to  :D

Two things I've yet to do to completely finish it off:

1)  The nut.  I asked Matt, the luthier, to re-use the existing nut to see if we could get away with it as the top E was fairly close to the end of the fretboard.  Turns out it's too close  :(  I keep popping the string over the edge when playing, so I'll be ordering a Tusq nut ASAP for fitting.

2)  The knobs.  They're brand new and stand out a mile.  I've got a second set to try and age, which I'll get round to at some point.  Not a major problem, and I can live with it as is.  Unlike the nut.....

So anyway, here's a couple of (almost) finished pics!

(http://www.doppelganger-rock.com/Twinfan/1965 SG/65_Body.jpg)

(http://www.doppelganger-rock.com/Twinfan/1965 SG/65_Neck.jpg)

(http://www.doppelganger-rock.com/Twinfan/1965 SG/65_Angle.jpg)

(http://www.doppelganger-rock.com/Twinfan/1965 SG/65_Headstock.jpg)

(http://www.doppelganger-rock.com/Twinfan/1965 SG/65_Full.jpg)
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: Andrew W on April 02, 2010, 05:57:51 PM
That's one purdy geetar. Looks like a lovely job's been made of the refret. You've got yourself a real beauty there and I'm still jealous as hell. ;)
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: sgmypod on April 02, 2010, 05:58:28 PM
mmmm pretty..love sg's
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: Twinfan on April 02, 2010, 06:05:53 PM
Yep, it's all good to go as a player!

Just ordered the new nut, so I'll see if I can take it back next week to finish it off.....
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: sgmypod on April 02, 2010, 06:07:06 PM
e is a little close
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: Twinfan on April 02, 2010, 06:26:11 PM
Yep, it's about 1mm too far over.  Not very much, but enough to cause a problem...
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: PhilKing on April 02, 2010, 07:18:02 PM
It looks really nice.  It looks like when it needs a refret you could get more width by having them fret over the binding.  I have this on one of my Les Pauls and you can get the string spacing without the strings coming off the edge of the board. 
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: Stevepage on April 02, 2010, 07:22:29 PM
Sooo much mojo
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: dragonfire709 on April 02, 2010, 07:37:57 PM
Its nice to see a properly aged guitar. I bet it sounds great.
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: d1dsj on April 02, 2010, 07:49:36 PM
A new lease of life for the coolest guitar I've seen for a few years! Great stuff Dave, it's ace.  :)
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: sgmypod on April 02, 2010, 07:50:38 PM
what kinda weight does this have behind it
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: Twinfan on April 02, 2010, 07:54:24 PM
It looks really nice.  It looks like when it needs a refret you could get more width by having them fret over the binding.  I have this on one of my Les Pauls and you can get the string spacing without the strings coming off the edge of the board. 

It's just been re-fretted Phil, and that's what I asked for!  I'm a bit miffed that he didn't make as much effort as possible to widen the playing surface, but as it's a thinner neck and I play wrapover style I think I'd end up slicing the inside of my thumb/fingers on the fret ends.  I will speak to him about it though.

You can tell it's not the frets but the nut though, as the bass E has been brought in a touch and while still close-ish it plays fine.  I'll ask him to bring the top E in the same amount as the low E with the new nut.....
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: Twinfan on April 02, 2010, 07:55:55 PM
what kinda weight does this have behind it

Do you mean how heavy is it?  I dunno, I haven't weighed it but it's light.

What I find really incredible is that the whole guitar resonates when you play it.  I give it plenty of welly when doing my Angus bit and you can feel the whole guitar vibrating with the strings.

It's alive I tell you, ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!  :lol:
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: TheIronBeast on April 02, 2010, 08:02:40 PM
Looks great! I'll bet it sounds fantastic too!

I'm assuming that you will be using this with your AC/DC band? ;)
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: Twinfan on April 02, 2010, 08:19:57 PM
Yep - this will be the #1 for 'DC duties.

I've just checked the re-fret closely and he has actually done it over the binding.  The binding is actually quite thin where it meets the 'board due to paying wear and I assume a bit of rounding from the previous re-fret.  That didn't exactly leave Matt a lot to work with!  It looks like a minor tweak to the nut will sort it though, but further narrow the already skinny string spacing.

Good job Angus doesn't do a load of complex arpeggiated chords in the first position  ;)
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: dave_mc on April 02, 2010, 08:49:06 PM
badass

Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: 38thBeatle on April 02, 2010, 09:22:06 PM
A real bargain and a guitar with character.
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: sgmypod on April 02, 2010, 10:07:47 PM
so your epi for sale?
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: FernandoDuarte on April 02, 2010, 11:10:59 PM
Looks great! :D
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: Twinfan on April 02, 2010, 11:23:04 PM
so your epi for sale?

Don't think so, I'll keep it as a backup.  It's the best Epi I've ever played.....
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: Ian Price on April 03, 2010, 10:54:25 AM
That looks great Dave - very jealous.
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: PhilKing on April 03, 2010, 02:28:05 PM
Hi Dave, I guess it is hard to see the fret edges on the photos.  It is still a great SG anyway and I'm sure you'll have lots of fun with it.
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: Twinfan on April 03, 2010, 05:27:20 PM
I'll askMartin for a second opinion on the fretwork next week, and if we agree it's not up to scratch then it'll get re-done with the nut.....
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: Crazy_Joe on April 05, 2010, 12:09:36 PM
Looks awesome!
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: horsehead on April 05, 2010, 04:41:39 PM
what pots & caps have you got in there Dave?
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: Twinfan on April 05, 2010, 05:14:26 PM
They're the ones a previous owner had fitted - CTS pots and large Orange Drop caps.
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: Philly Q on April 05, 2010, 05:51:34 PM
I'm late seeing this thread, but it's lookin' good!

Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: Twinfan on April 26, 2010, 01:52:50 PM
Another update on good old Trigger  :lol:

After taking a thorough look at the frets/binding, and talking with MartinW and Matt the luthier, we all came to the conclusion that it is what it is - an SG with a thinner neck width!  The binding had been worn a bit, which limits how much you can fret over the binding.  Matt's done as good a job as anyone could do with the re-fret and still get a smooth playing feel on the fret ends.

I dropped the guitar off with him on Saturday to have the new Tusq nut fitted to sort the top E popping off the 'board issue, and I've reverted back to to 10-46 strings in place of 9-46 to minimise any unwanted string bending (which was adding to the problem).  I should get the guitar back this weekend, in plenty of time for its first gig next month  :)

I also worked out that part of my problem with the thinner nut was that I was wearing the guitar too high (in an Angus style), which completely knackered my thumb-over playing position and it was causing some discomfort.  I've now bought myself a longer strap so I can play it in a position closer to my usual Jimmy Page/Slash position, which is waaaaay more comfortable for me, and it's finished in a nice weathered dark red to match the guitar.  Which is nice  :D

(http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/82000022/Images/49/glgd_rd_01.jpg)
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: Twinfan on April 26, 2010, 01:54:42 PM
Re. the knobs, I've not got round to ageing the spare set I have knocking about yet.  I may just leave the existing ones on as they're not that bad after all.  Plus it's in-keeping with it's style, an old guitar that's had to have new knobs!
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: Philly Q on April 26, 2010, 03:58:28 PM
Those knobs don't really look much different with age anyway, apart from the plastic yellowing a bit and the tops getting grubby.  Unless you drop something on them to shatter them and pop the tops off... which is going a bit far.
Title: Re: NBFTLGD - New Back-From-The-Luthier Guitar Day!
Post by: Twinfan on April 26, 2010, 05:03:05 PM
Yeah, that's what I thought too Philly...