Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: gwEm on January 15, 2011, 07:48:59 PM

Title: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: gwEm on January 15, 2011, 07:48:59 PM
well, more exotic than a normal strat, but still not as exotic as some woods...

body: mahogany (one piece, made in UK)
neck: bubinga (warmoth)
fingerboard: ebony
pickups: BKP Sultans

it sounds raunchy as hell, and fat too. the neck pickup is quite mellow for a strat, fluid and rich.. i hope it will still cut live.

i put it together myself, and oiled/waxed the body. unfortunately i was a bit over-eager and put the pickguard on a touch crooked. i'll fix that at some point.

after i fitted the neck, i was a bit disappointed with the warmoth fret dress, so i took it to feline guitars. no surprise there: hes done his usual great job.

i wanted a really hard rocking strat sound, like in tokyo tapes, or the tone paul gilbert gets from his fireman. i chose the neck and body woods with this in mind. i just like the feel of ebony.. so ;) its still early days, so i'm not sure if i will bond with it, or if it will give the tones i'm hoping for. like i say, it sounds very raunchy though, so thats a good start.
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: fr33man1 on January 15, 2011, 08:02:49 PM
bubinga is a great wood tone wise, but a bit heavy for a guitar body. Found it as cutting as alder but more dense and full sounding. Good choice, seems to be a nice guitar.  :)

I scored a Gibson V by the way.  :P
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: FernandoDuarte on January 15, 2011, 08:06:58 PM
That looks great! I think it will sound incredible! If not may be only a matter of wood-pickup match :)

BTW, once again, you can only be disapointed by the lack of fret dress, as they ain't do any....
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: Telerocker on January 15, 2011, 08:10:52 PM
When the sound is raunchy, the tone fits to the looks. I like this one, plain, organic, breezes rock'n'roll.
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: tomjackson on January 15, 2011, 08:31:12 PM

Very nice!
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: Philly Q on January 15, 2011, 08:39:53 PM
I like the look!  The bubinga's a surprisingly good match for the mahogany, colour-wise.
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: gwEm on January 15, 2011, 08:43:26 PM
I like the look!  The bubinga's a surprisingly good match for the mahogany, colour-wise.

yeah :) its slightly less of a match in real life, but still pretty good i reckon!
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: JacksonRR on January 15, 2011, 09:02:34 PM
Yeah, that's beautiful. Good choices on this one, indeed.
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: WezV on January 15, 2011, 11:38:55 PM
i like!

i have been looking at fireman's recently thanks to you.  i almost cut out a body the other day.  if i was not so busy i would definitely be up for such a thing
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: shobet on January 15, 2011, 11:52:02 PM
Nice 70s vibe going on there.
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: gwEm on January 16, 2011, 03:45:43 AM
i have been looking at fireman's recently thanks to you.  i almost cut out a body the other day.  if i was not so busy i would definitely be up for such a thing
funny, have been looking at Corvuses :) If you do decide to do a Fireman, might have a couple of ideas for improvements.
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: MrBump on January 16, 2011, 09:25:14 AM
gwEm, that's awesome!  Love that finish!

Mark.
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: mecca777 on January 16, 2011, 10:11:19 AM
Agree with everyone else; that looks fantastic. I didn't know I was susceptible to "big headstock" GAS until this moment... :)
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: AndyR on January 16, 2011, 12:03:44 PM
Apart from the big headstock (but that's just me :lol:), looks cute :D

That finish has come out really good, nice one :D
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: Jonny on January 16, 2011, 12:40:19 PM
I would've gone for gold hardware. But that 1pc is awesome.

Clips please, kind sir!
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: PhilKing on January 16, 2011, 01:31:50 PM
It's come out looking really nice.  Being a big fan of sultans I'm sure it sounds great too. 
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: gwEm on January 16, 2011, 02:04:29 PM
thanks for the compliments!

i've been play strats all morning, comparing my selection. this new one sounds shockingly good - its got all the grind of an SG junior! i wonder how much the combination of woods has affected it.. which of the woods gives it that raw sound.. the bubinga maybe? either way, the experiments come off in some way. clean it sounds like a really nice strat, but it doesn't sound particularly stratty when you turn up the gain i must say.

i love the tone of strats, the way they play, and the fact that you can easily knock one up yourself with some experimental ideas. with the big headstock (blackmore, hendrix, roth, malmsteen etc), i also like the look - by association, its so much more rock!

the problem i still have, and maybe always will, with strats is that they are so ubiquitous. its impossible to look individual with them.

and furthermore, i've decided i do prefer the tone of a hardtail.
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: Telerocker on January 16, 2011, 02:09:27 PM
The bubinga might influence the sound more then you think, but also the oiled body breezes more then a lacquered one.
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: gwEm on January 16, 2011, 02:11:39 PM
i also quite like the warmoth compound radius... it is a little too flat on the very highest frets though. i normally play leads around the 9th to 15th fret though, where the radius is perfect.

their modern slim profile (or whatever they call it) is a touch too slim, but its workable. ideally i'd have gone for the clapton profile i reckon, though this was a showcase bargain neck and all that!
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: Telerocker on January 16, 2011, 02:18:52 PM
When you're used to V's, most strat necks will feel slim. As a tele- and stratplayer I always have to get used to classic Gibson-style necks.
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: Philly Q on January 16, 2011, 02:40:09 PM
and furthermore, i've decided i do prefer the tone of a hardtail.

Hardtails FTW!!
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: dave_mc on January 16, 2011, 02:56:06 PM
nice :)
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: roland_rat on January 16, 2011, 09:27:30 PM
I missed this thread for a while somehow.  I seen it now though and wow that looks tasty.
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: AndyR on January 17, 2011, 08:43:56 AM
i also quite like the warmoth compound radius... it is a little too flat on the very highest frets though. i normally play leads around the 9th to 15th fret though, where the radius is perfect.

their modern slim profile (or whatever they call it) is a touch too slim, but its workable. ideally i'd have gone for the clapton profile i reckon, though this was a showcase bargain neck and all that!

You should try learning double-bass for a week or so... All my 7.25" strats/teles now feel like match-sticks with incredibly flat fingerboards!!! :lol:
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: gwEm on January 17, 2011, 09:59:53 PM
turns out my guitar has a sister!

John (who made the body, not Feline) knocked out another body at the same time for himself. Hes making a quarter sawn mahogany neck to go with it.
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: JacksonRR on January 17, 2011, 10:37:08 PM
You should get drunk sometime and run your fingers all over her sister and let the other one watch.  :lol:
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: PhilKing on January 18, 2011, 02:05:42 PM
turns out my guitar has a sister!

You keep yours and I'll take her :D
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: St.James on January 18, 2011, 04:17:39 PM
 8)
Title: Re: exotic wood strat project finished
Post by: Johnny Mac on January 19, 2011, 12:45:39 PM
Looks great gwEm  :D