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Post by LVF on Jan 21, 2021 14:51:41 GMT -5
Decided to get to the preliminary wiring before installing the pickups. Seymour Duncan Classic Stack Pluses in all three positions. However, I'm wiring for standard configuration for now. I'm using a schematic to do this and I've installed a .047 resistor instead of the .022 they suggested.
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Post by Leftee on Jan 21, 2021 15:27:49 GMT -5
Nice work!
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sirWheat
Wholenote
For a better future, play Stevie Wonder for your children.
Posts: 319
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Post by sirWheat on Jan 21, 2021 16:51:14 GMT -5
I've used that tung oil quite a bit. It looks nice if you give it some 0000 steel wool when you're done. It'll shine up a bit over time in places that you touch regularly but you can always wool it again or re-apply if necessary.
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Post by LVF on Jan 21, 2021 17:32:34 GMT -5
Thanks, Lefty! I need to get more of that copper shielding.
sirWheat, I mulled over and listened to some comments and ideas from you folks on what to do about the finish of this guitar. Having used Tung oil in the past, the process is an ongoing exercise with it. I've started with two coats to begin with and down the road, I'll do another coat and it will be a continuing process like it is on my walnut Ric 380L. I want to keep this new one as natural as I can.
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Post by LVF on Jan 25, 2021 17:31:28 GMT -5
Needs a neck. OK, here is the mostly finished body of this build. Hand wired and tested electronics, fancy, aesthetic hardware and woodsy looks. Neck should be showing up real soon. This build has progressed as planned, so far.
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Post by Leftee on Jan 25, 2021 17:33:16 GMT -5
Very very nice!
I loves me some Padouk and gold.
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sirWheat
Wholenote
For a better future, play Stevie Wonder for your children.
Posts: 319
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Post by sirWheat on Jan 25, 2021 18:54:20 GMT -5
Indeed. If I got along with strats i'd be jealous.
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Post by LVF on Jan 25, 2021 19:36:34 GMT -5
Thanks guys. While this pic is good, it really doesn't show just how rich the Padouk is. My thoughts have now turned to the neck I ordered for it and having some kind of unique head stock logo or graphic or both.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Jan 28, 2021 19:45:49 GMT -5
If you end up with issues with the wiring, check for shorting... the legs on the cap and the tip of the cable could end up touching something wired to ground. Looks okay now, just something to keep in mind.
Years ago I decided to try for myself a whole bunch of capacitors. Long story short I heard differences in brands/compositions, but they were very small. I bring it up because of the dozen or so that I tried, the "Vitamin T" was my favorite!
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Post by LVF on Jan 28, 2021 20:42:33 GMT -5
If you end up with issues with the wiring, check for shorting... the legs on the cap and the tip of the cable could end up touching something wired to ground. Looks okay now, just something to keep in mind. Years ago I decided to try for myself a whole bunch of capacitors. Long story short I heard differences in brands/compositions, but they were very small. I bring it up because of the dozen or so that I tried, the "Vitamin T" was my favorite! The only pic I have of the electronics on this build is in this thread and it is the only clean look you'll see. I'll put up what it looks like now with the pickups installed at some point. Looks like a rats nest but, is quite clean in actuality. Testing has been done to ensure there are no issues with the operation. At this point, plugged in, it is quite noiseless but, it also is headless. Things could change once the neck is installed and the guitar is strung and set up. Time will tell...
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Post by LVF on Jan 28, 2021 21:13:44 GMT -5
I have the guitar wired in a standard Strat circuitry. The Cap is a .047 MF which should work out good to cut any harshness that could be present. I'll give it a go with that in mind, anyway.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Jan 29, 2021 9:36:31 GMT -5
Sometimes the cell phone pictures are so compressed it will seem like two surfaces are closer than they actually are. That in mind, a couple things looked close to me, but grains of salt and all that...
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jan 29, 2021 11:18:14 GMT -5
Looks good!
If your jack connection goes intermittent, tip contact might be touching the copper foil when a plug is inserted into the jack..It flexes quite a bit to maintain solid contact with the plug. You can prevent this by rotating the jack in the mounting plate.
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Post by LVF on Feb 10, 2021 13:02:43 GMT -5
First. Thank you all for your concern about the electronics. I assure you, they are fine...with this exception...maybe : During the long wait period for my neck piece to show up due to covid, taking an extra couple of weeks, I have been pondering what name or logo I would put on the headstock. I want the font to be that used by Fender but, I don't know what that is. I didn't want to plagiarize a name or a logo for this part. It had to be at least, somewhat unique. Well and this gets back to the electronics, after much time and 'discovery', I have come up with what I think may be the perfect name to put on the headstock and it's because of a mistake I made in doing the electronics portion of this build. For me, it was an easy mistake because it required no thinking...what I did was when I installed the pick ups, I installed the neck pick up in the bridge pocket and the bridge pickup in the neck pocket. Now, some of you may be thinking that it was done this way because I have some sort of affliction. I was thinking this may be the case as well. It wasn't long afterwards I had come up with the name I would put on the headstock. Also, it occurred to me that if I was going to become a manufacturer of guitars, this name may be a good one along with the now established feature that would be the cornerstone of this product and maybe a motto I could come up with. Now, before I reveal this name, I want to claim my due rights to in under copyright law and what ever other legal thing that applies to protect it from illegal use of 'intellectual property'. The name I've decided to put on the headstock issszzzzzz.....................DISELECTRIC. I also thought about the name, 'Diselectress' to give it the female touch. What do you think? I want to leave the pickups in the positions they are in and see if I may have discovered something much like how Ivory soap was discovered. (See Paul Harvey's story on this). At any rate, this guitar has instant history with an interesting story behind it...or not. Need to get a decal of the name made in the way I described though. Any thoughts on this part?
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Post by LVF on Feb 10, 2021 13:31:23 GMT -5
Speaking of guitar necks, I just got this email from Warmoth: Hi Michael, Thank you for being a Warmoth customer. I’m afraid that I have unfortunate news today. Your build-to-order neck did not pass one of its Quality Control inspections, and we will not be able to complete its build. Our QC department does not provide us further information on what exactly went wrong, but it evidently did not meet our high standards. We have already put a new neck into production and will process this order with maximum priority but the QC failure will result in a delay of 2-4 weeks. Sorry for the inconvenience. Jake Alejo Warmoth Guitar Products, Inc. Customer Service Representative PHONE 253-845-0403 www.warmoth.comTHUNDERATION!! We're talking the middle of March now! I wonder what the defect was? I'll write back to see if I can get an answer. In the meantime.... THUNDERATION!!!
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Post by LVF on Feb 10, 2021 18:10:00 GMT -5
As a follow up to the inquiry on what happened to the neck, I emailed Warmoth and got a rather corporate response. Not something I expect from a small business but, I guess they all get the same training in such things. Anyway the response was this: "I think we don’t get access to the info because people try to make offers on the failed neck and it is against our policy to send out anything that doesn’t meet our QC standards."I, of course, made no such offer. Just info on what caused them to fail this neck. Since I'm not going to get the straight answer of it, let the speculation begin. What do you think failed on this neck? My speculation is they didn't actually have the roasted maple I ordered for this build and they tried to use some other... inferior...wood and it failed miserably!! I could be wrong. On the other hand, maybe they couldn't pay their heating bill last month and had to burn wood to keep warm and they sacrificed my, custom built neck, as kindling. What say you?
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Post by LVF on Mar 2, 2021 19:41:20 GMT -5
Oh my. After 3 months and one QC failed neck, this is what I've been waiting for. Roasted flame Maple, modern construction, 1-5/8 inch nut width, standard thin, SS6105 stainless frets, drilled for Schaller tuners, 22 frets, straight 10" radius, black mother of Pearl dot inlays, Graph Tech Black Earvana Nut and No finish.
It's not hard to tell that the neck is going to glide like butter just the way it is. I have a pic of the neck and body together but, it doesn't do it justice at the moment but, I can tell you that this guitar is going to look magnificent when all is said and done. For now, miles to go until it's done. Will keep updating as time goes by.
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Post by LVF on Mar 4, 2021 13:13:13 GMT -5
What was I thinking by wanting to put some sort of Logo on the head stock. No, nothing goes on this headstock...at least for the time being. It would be like defiling it or something. Besides, being as this guitar was assembled by a non union worker...namely me...it should not have any graphics on it...for now.
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DrKev
Wholenote
It's just a guitar, it's not rocket science.
Posts: 416
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Post by DrKev on Mar 4, 2021 13:27:14 GMT -5
That's almost exactly the neck I wold order for myself! Very nice!
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Mar 5, 2021 9:13:05 GMT -5
What do you think failed on this neck? Probably something far less interesting. Like, fell off of a cart and got dinged beyond repair, neck shaper sanded through the skunk stripe, tuner drilling had a big blow out that couldn't be fixed reasonably... I always think of the Car Talk guys, and the fabled "FOL"... "fall off lift". Maybe it did get to final QC and get rejected for something like a bit of a twist or uneven color, but my money is on the fallout. They're probably telling a bit of truth in that if they tell customers that "x,y and z happened, so we're scrapping it and starting over" a good number of people probably say "give it to me xx% less and save yourself the trouble" which would put a lot of crummy looking B stock out there in the wild, making warranty super murky (even if you say no warranty, people will still call and try any time you charge money), and things that are sold as B stock aren't always immediately known as such when showing off to the Joneses or at the local repair shop, so bad press can happen. Also, the labor is far more expensive than materials, so sending a botched neck through to completion at a discount is no more profitable than just starting over.
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Post by Leftee on Mar 5, 2021 17:50:37 GMT -5
Beautiful neck!!!
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Post by Cal-Woody on Mar 5, 2021 19:18:42 GMT -5
That is a beautiful neck and the rest of the guitar is simply gorgeous. What a sweet combination of woods! Taking your time has paid off in spades. Can't wait to hear your final thoughts about how it sounds and performs. The other neck that failed, is a non-issue, as this one is completely, freaking awesome!! I wait to hear your overall thoughts... Woody
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Post by LVF on Mar 6, 2021 10:02:51 GMT -5
Thank you all for the comments and your interest. This guitar is finally put together and later, when I have the 'back drop' I want namely, the Twin Reverb I ordered which should have been delivered yesterday and I now have to go pick up from Fed Ex but, that's another story, I'll put a pick together of the final product. I've done the initial 'tweaking' and adjustments on this guitar and will be rechecking the set up to do the fine tune. So far, the feel of this guitar is magnificent. The neck is as smooth as it looks and the overall weight of the guitar is very light @ 6.9 lbs. I put Ernie Ball 9-42 slinkys on it. As far a the sound goes, it's wide ranging in tone which allows for good adjustment and great sound. I haven't yet put pedals in front of it yet but, it seems that the tone of this guitar will enhance the FX.
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Post by LVF on Mar 6, 2021 20:46:44 GMT -5
Received my Twin today and it was time to reveal the Strat in full dress that this thread has been all about. Still in tweaking stage but, it sounds great.
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Post by Leftee on Mar 6, 2021 21:10:19 GMT -5
That
Is
Awesome
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sirWheat
Wholenote
For a better future, play Stevie Wonder for your children.
Posts: 319
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Post by sirWheat on Mar 7, 2021 7:21:37 GMT -5
Very nice! I don't often care for gold hardware but it looks great in this instance. I'm jealous of your twin, I've always wanted one.
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Post by Leftee on Mar 7, 2021 9:59:55 GMT -5
I put gold hw on my Padouk build, as well. It really works well together.
There will be more padouk in my future.
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Post by LVF on Mar 7, 2021 10:08:12 GMT -5
I have to say that this pic does not do the guitar justice but, still looks pretty good. As for the Twin, I believe I'm going to have some words with Sweetwater on how this amp was packed using a 'road worn' [to say the least] box to pack it in. The amp is OK and in new condition as you would expect but, I'm not used to Sweetwater doing this kind of thing. They even loaded the amp in the box upside down according to the warnings of 'this side up'. There may be another issue with this amp but, that's not what this thread is about. I'll have more to say about that in the other thread dealing with this amp.
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Bopper
Wholenote
Motor City USA
Posts: 505
Age: 72
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Post by Bopper on Mar 7, 2021 12:04:28 GMT -5
They even loaded the amp in the box upside down I've seen that before with shipping tube amps (it's a tube Twin, isn't it?). I think it's because the transformers can weigh enough to make the whole thing top heavy, so packing it upside down actually makes it more stable (less likely to tip over) on the road.
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Post by LVF on Mar 7, 2021 12:15:44 GMT -5
That makes a lot of sense, Bopper. I had not considered that and this is the kind of answer I would wait for before making it a bone of contention with the seller. It will now be a different question that I ask about when I make my inquiry. Thanks
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