Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Tech => Topic started by: Ted on July 19, 2007, 01:06:00 PM
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I am seriously considering starting buying parts bit by bit from Warmoth and building my own lovely SG. At the moment I'm bordering on the obsessed.
Has anyone here tried assembling a guitar from Warmoth?
I am paricularly keen to finish the guitar body myself and want to do a nice natural oiled finish much like this simply stunning example from Feline's Explorer made for Tim in this thread.
http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1282
How hard is wood finishing and does anyone have any tips, potenial hazards with oils, fumes etc.
For the neck, I would get the guys at Warmoth to finish.
As Wezv mentioned in a previous thread, the current exchange rate seems too good to be true for buying in the US.
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An oil finish is a great idea for a project like this and is much easier to do at home
I use danish oil and briwax for my oil finishes and they can both found easily in the UK.
I always recommend this book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Make-Your-Own-Electric-Guitar/dp/0953104907/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/203-8762189-0976729?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184846982&sr=8-1
It has information on puting guitars together from parts, set up and wiring as well as having a good chapter where he builds a 8 string bass that gets an oil fnish and he descibes a really good technique for doing it
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oh, if doing an oiled finish on teh body do it on the neck as well - feels great!!!!!
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Wez cheers for the tip, book is on its way!
Are there any good web resources for using Danish Oil + Briwax?
Also in terms of woods i'm gonna go for either Mahogany or Black Korina (Limba). Have you ever worked with Black Korina?
I have Miracle Men in my Korina Epi Flying V and even though that has a black gloss finish, I love the Korina + hot pickups combo, it sounds fantastic.
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Oh and the new "project" guitar is getting a Warpig (bridge) and MQ alnico V (neck) combo. Should be pretty brutal...
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The black korina/limba comes from the same tree as the white limba/korina - although there is another tree thats wood also gets called limba that only produces the white stuff. Its adifferent tree but the wood is identical structurally and tonally..... anyway the point is that black and white limba sound the same.
I have used black limba for bodies a few times, its main appeal is the black (and occasionally orange) streaks that run though it.
The book take you through the danish oil method in more detail but it basically goes like this.
1. Sand to about 400 grit
2. Heavy coat of oil - leave for a while and buff of the excess - leave over night
3. get some 400 grit wet and dry paper and wet-sand the guitar with the oil. Buff of the excess and feel how smooooooth it is.
4. Repeat this a few times going up to 800-1000 grit wet and dry paper.
5 . buff off all the gunk and leave overnight
6. apply wax with 0000 wire wool, really rub it in then buff it off.
7. Repeat till happy - keep going and you can get it up to quite a nice semi-gloss and you can always add more if you decide it needs it
All supplies can be ordered from www.axminster.co.uk
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Thanks again Wez! Thats seems really straight forward!
If I used black limba and used Danish Oil + BriWax, would I need to use any sort of staining to get this sort of colour?
http://www.mykaguitars.com/instruments/028/default.htm
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Ted - have a look in the tutorials over at www.projectguitar.com for the assembly and finishing. I think there an oil finish tutorial.
Myka is a member over there too, but I haven't seen him about for a while. They're some looovely guitars. There's a blue hollow body which I'm in love with.
The book that Wez recommends is an awesome book. Be warned though, you'll be wanting to build it from scratch before too long :wink:
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gotta love davids work!!
yeah - that has been dyed as well. If you want that it turns a simple oil and wax into something a bit more skilled - getting an even, streak free stain is difficult
These are black limba under lacquer with no colour added- oil would make them slightly darker but nowhere near the colour of the Myka
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/th_back1.jpg) (http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/back1.jpg)
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/th_PICT0217.jpg) (http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/PICT0217.jpg)
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Cheers guys,
OK, i'm no staining expert, so I'm going to go with Mahogany, its cheaper and it will look nicer IMO with the oil/wax finish.
Maybe then I can get a really nice brazillian rosewood fretboard...
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Good decision making a Guitar mate, I am saving up for materials myself. I just gotta get my book back as I'm sure I lent it to a mate ages ago, heh.
Hope it goes well!
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Maybe then I can get a really nice brazillian rosewood fretboard...
dont get sucked into the hype too much. Brazilian rosewood can be very nice but other woods are just as good and can be found a lot cheaper because you are not paying for the name!!!.
I personally like ziracote as a braz rosewood substitute and i can get a very nice ziracote fretboard blank for $20
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I am not sure what neck wood to use now, the fingerboard will probably be Rosewood and I would like a nice WARM neck wood which ideally doesnt require a finish and is a nice dark brown colour. Any ideas?
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wenge - very dark chocolatey brown - very open pored but feels great as an oiled/waxed neck. I hate making stuff out of it because it seems to produce the mother of all splinters, and they sting too!!! but once its all done with it is great stuff
Any other rosewood really - it does make great necks - i just dont believe that most of the braz stuff on the market is gonna live up to the hype and even if it does there are other woods that are as good.
Bocote - sometimes called mexican rosewood it had paler orangey grain between dark black grain - i have used it a few times, feels great without a finish but not always that pretty to look at, i find it a but sickly
Ziracote - probably expensive as a neck blank but the closest to braz rw in terms of tone. A very pretty wood and one of my favorites
Walnut might be a good choice for warmth and feels nice under an oil finish but is softer and might dent easily
Zebrano - not strictly in your colour scheme but one of my favorites for unfinished necks
And just to top it off, a rant about Brazilian Rosewood
When i see old braz rw guitars i see even coloured - straight grained wood. When i see braz rw for sale i see crazy figuring and worm holes!!!
There is a legal loop hole which makes it ok to dig up the stumps of these old trees that where left behind and sell the wood from these. some of these stumps are huge and easily produce wood big enough for guitars - but stump wood isnt structurally as good as the straight wood from the trunk - it is generally prettier though. A lot of the Braz we see on the market now is stump wood unless you can garantee its an old stock.
If it isnt stump wood or old stock cut before the logging ban then it is illegal. Alot of people selling it (particularly on eBay) claim its all old stock stuff and some of it probably is but some will be illegally logged
Personally i would rather not endorse illegal logging of the remaining trees by using this wood or doing anything to raise its status as the 'holy grail' of tonewoods.
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cheers Wez, what about a bubinga neck wood with just a normal rosewood fingerboard? I hope this will mate well with a Black Korina body.
I've emailed Warmoth to see what they say, but essentially I'm 80% ready to put the order in... :D
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bubinga is a good choice, more of a deep mahogany colour though. should complimet the black limba tone quite well (sound wise)
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bubinga is a good choice, more of a deep mahogany colour though. should complimet the black limba tone quite well (sound wise)
Cheers Wez, i'm being a complete pussy and getting Warmoth to finish the guitar body for me in trans red. The dark bubinga unfinished should complement the body I feel.
I'm hoping it will look like this but try and imagine it in an SG shape.
(http://www.warmoth.com/gallery/images/lp/bob_randolph.jpg) (http://www.warmoth.com/gallery/galcontainer.cfm?id=879)
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yeah, a deep red body with natural bubinga neck will look nice together - just make sure warmoth know how dark you want the red to be!!!!
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THanks for all your help Wez. :D
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Jumping in a bit late, but I just finished 2 Warmoth necked guitars, one is a tele with Swamp Ash body and a Goncalo Alves neck with Kingwood fingerboard (you might want this instead of rosewood - it looks and sounds great). The other is a big headstock late 60's strat with a Wenge heck with Bloodwood (Satine) fingerboard. The bloodwood is an amazing looking wood with an almost 3D colouring in the grain. I also have the following with Warmoth necks:
an Ibanez with aBloodwood neck with Ebony Fingerboard
a hardtail Strat with an Anagre neck with Pao Ferro fingerboard (another nice substitute for rosewood)
a Black Korina Mockingbird with a one piece Aframosa neck
a Warmoth VIP in Korina with a Maple cap and a Rosewood neck with Ebony fingerboard
I have put other Warmoths together too. They do very good work and are priced really well. I have a few of the different neck carves too. The Clapton is a very nice carve if you like the older V-neck shape.
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Cheers Phil, I've considered all of these, but i'm just going to stick to good ole' roseweood. I've also asked the guys at Warmoth what they thought about my neck woods combo and I'll wait to hear from them.
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check her out
(http://www.warmoth.com/showcase/bodies/large/MP50A.jpg) (http://www.warmoth.com/showcase/sc_guitar_bodies.cfm?type=guitar&itemNumber=MP50&menuItem=13&subMenuItem=5&subMenuItem2=0)
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Oh, now then! That's a really nice looking finish on there. What Warmoth finish is that? I'm looking for something interesting for my next build.
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It's flame maple top and black-red-yellow burst.
On the options for SG's finishes laminate tops are not an option so I wonder how they got this one done. Its a mahogany body.
Its a decent price and they told me a black korina body would take 12 weeks :(
Just need to figure out which neck I want. :x
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there seems to be a bit of a black korina shortage at the moment affecting a few suppliers. Hopefully it shouldnt last to long but if it does expect prices to go up!!!
Other types of korina are still widely available, just not as pretty as the black stuff.
the SG body looks nice, probably be sturdier than a gibson for the bolt-on neck!
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Got the body couple of days ago and have started working on her.
Just a couple of phone camera pics as an update for anyone who may be interested.
Her neck is currently being made and will be with me in 5 weeks time.
Shielding:
(http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m14/ved1980/picture1.jpg)
With mounting rings and pickups installed:
(http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m14/ved1980/picture2.jpg)[/img]
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looks nice - but get us some better pictures!!
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I will post better pictures once I have the use of a digital camera.
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Looking great!
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Ok as promised some better shots:
(http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m14/ved1980/CIMG2550.jpg)
(http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m14/ved1980/CIMG2547.jpg)
(http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m14/ved1980/CIMG2554.jpg)
(http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m14/ved1980/CIMG2558.jpg)
Pickups are Warpig (alnico) and MQ neck with alnico v magnet. MQ is wund quite a bit brighter as per Tim's recommendation.
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looks great!
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***DISCLAIMER: I don't claim to be an expert, have no formal training & defer to the wisdom of Wez/Feline etc on all guitar building matters, this is JMHO, YMMV etc....
Nice looking body, but please tell me you didn't screw down the pickup bezels before you attached a neck & verified that the strings will line up?
When I assembled mine, I attached the neck, the bridge & put on some strings before lining up the pickups, taping them down & marking the screw hole locations with a bradawl.
Anyway, good luck with it, assembling Warmoths is what got me started on BKPs, so I certainly benefitted from doing it :D
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Yes tis is a bit of a concern!
:roll: But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it...
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tis a good point antag but he will probably be alright - or at worst might jut have to fill the holes and move them slightly
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^ I'll try and avoid that if possible.
If its a few mm out I'll still be content
My main concern was that the fretboard lip had enough space to fit next to the humbucker ring.
Oh well, live and learn.
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ALL DONE!
(http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m14/ved1980/CIMG2675.jpg)
(http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m14/ved1980/CIMG2679.jpg)
(http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m14/ved1980/CIMG2682.jpg)
Big thanks to Wez, Simon D, Phil King & Jon@Feline for their help.
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Damn that's nice :D
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looks great as it is but if it was mine i would be tempted by a small scratchplate and finishing the face of the headstock
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looks great as it is but if it was mine i would be tempted by a small scratchplate and finishing the face of the headstock
that would be gobsmackingly good if it had a black '61 style guard.
although even as it is, it is still droolworthy.
Very nice!
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but you can't put a pickguard over a flame finish! :o
although I do almost like the small SG pickguards
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cheers chaps.
I don't like small SG guards and like Will said, wouldn't want to detract from the finish.
as per the headstock, yes when I first put it together I thought the same, but now the black tuners are on and the truss rod cover it looks better.
I could have got Warmoth to stick a black ebony headstock laminate to match the fingerboard though...too late now.
I quite like the "homebrew" look.
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That's one fine loking guitar you've got there Ted! The distressed covers work really well with the black hardware, and that finish is lovely. It really has the Down/Corrosion of Conformity vibe to it too.
How does it sound?
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That's one fine loking guitar you've got there Ted! The distressed covers work really well with the black hardware, and that finish is lovely. It really has the Down/Corrosion of Conformity vibe to it too.
How does it sound?
Hello Simon, thanks man! I can't believe you asked me how it sounds. You answered that question in your post above! :P :lol:
It sounds pretty spot on "Pepper J Keenan" including his P90 solo tone, which I spoke to Tim about and he absolutely nailed it, with the alnico V mississippi queen.
Put it this way. I haven't played it clean yet...
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Put it this way. I haven't played it clean yet...
Hahaha, good man! That thing was made grinding it out all day - no cleans needed! :D
I'm glad you're pleased with it, it's always cool when something you've invested a lot of time and effort in turns out right.
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Nice!!
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Very nice - well done :)
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looks great as it is but if it was mine i would be tempted by a small scratchplate and finishing the face of the headstock
I agree about the headstock, but still - Good lord, lovely guitar!
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Cheers chaps.
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Personally i'd have gone without the flamed top - but it is gorgeous anyways!
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It looks lovely Ted, well done! I bet it sounds great too.
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Its in with Jonathan @ Feline for a once over. Should be awesome when I get it back.
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Well I got it back last night from Jon and plugged it in.
Holy f*ck (as if I didn't know it anyway) with a proper set up at Feline and lovely action this thing is a flamethrower. It just grinds... PDT_045
The tone is EXACTLY what I wanted and the AV MQ in the neck wails...
I've been watching a Crowbar "Live with Full Force" DVD lately and just couldn't stop chuggin' out the riffs...
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excellent news!! - anymore projects planned?
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excellent news!! - anymore projects planned?
Yes of course! Looking for a strat body to fit a Apache loaded scratchplate I bought from everton_fc.
But thats more longer term (say 2008). Going to get parts bit by bit as I am a bit skint now. :o
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ah another warmoth-customer! cool to see another guy with a warmoth guitar, with BKP's!!! sweet guitar! :D
I have 2 warmoths, and one is now with nailbombs, and the other will get a pair of MM's. oh, both are les pauls, one with flamed limba back/AAAAAflamed maple top, the other singlepiece mahogany/AAAAAquilt maple top. both with full rosewood necks.
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Hey there stick some pics up, I love seeing other Warmoths!