I've been looking forward to seeing this ever since you first mentioned it, looks terrific! I like the ebony board, and the frets/binding look perfect. :D
I've probably asked this before ( :oops: ), but does the purpleheart retain its colour, or does it go brown over time?
And while I'm asking questions :lol: :
Is it a heavy wood?
What's the tone like compared with mahogany?
What kind of fnish did you use?
Thanks Phil :D
The Purpleheart will retain it's colour if you keep it out of the sun, I'm using Superior Danish oil which has added UV filter protection against sunlight. I doubt that really works lol but the guitar wouldn't be left in sunlight anyway. Most oils need re coating twice a year but this stuff is a lot harder and only needs doing once a year.
The weight is not bad, kinda Les Paul or a bit less, I wouldn't make a Les Paul out if it but My SG is 35mm for purpleheart and 36mm for Padauk instead of Gibson 34mm and although it is only a mm it does make a difference. If you read the Guitar Buyer review he says how strong and stable the neck joint is.
I hand pick all my wood in person to make sure the grain is straight, the colour is nice and the weight is ok, someone making a guitar out of Purpleheart might end up using a heavy piece. There can be a big difference from one piece to another.
The Ebony fingerboard on this guitar is totally black and not stained, It's getting very hard to get that quality of wood but I'm still getting my hands on some first class stuff. That's something the big company's can't do. :D
Takes about eight hours of work to get the fingerboard that good lol, any marks show up on Ebony so it has to be perfect.
Sounds really nice, the problem with using very hard woods is the sound can be a bit harsh but it sounds very much like Padauk which I love the sound of. Nice bottom end with loads of sustain. Good all round sound. My brother has a Mahogany SG I made for him which has a few overtones compared to the Purpleheart which is smoother and more powerful sound.
