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Post by Leftee on Feb 12, 2021 13:05:30 GMT -5
Ever have a build that just seemed snake-bit? I've got one that I recently finished. It almost became firewood at least twice.
This goes back maybe threes years when I started to get into the Sugar Pine bodies. This was my second Sugar Pine body. I stained it and, for the first (and last) time, I used wipe-on poly.
That didn't work so well. Some sanding and reapplication (and occasionally stain) happened a few times. I found that I ended up polishing through coats a bit too easily. So, in the end, the clear is pretty wavy. The body got a grain split and carried though the poly. I filled it with the poly. Whatever...
Then I put the body in a box and forgot about it.
I found the body, a few weeks ago, and thought "Boneyard Wrangler!!!"
All the hardware and pickups are from my benchstock. The pickups saw brief use in another guitar years ago. They're Toneriders; A2 at the bridge and a Rocksong neck. The first neck was an Allparts maple, but I used it on another guitar. This one is a MIJ Allparts vintage.
It plays and sounds great. It looks like crap. Note - don't pop out string ferrules from sugar pine. 😂
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Post by Jim D. on Feb 12, 2021 14:08:40 GMT -5
Not quite the same but starting with a great Am Tele, SB, rosewood board: I bought a Nashville guard, middle pup and 5 way switch. I did not care for it or the looks. Then I took the original guard and modified the neck pup hole for a full size humbucker. So I had the bridge and humbucker only. I balanced the humbucker with a resistor like in the Am Fat Tele and used the 5 way switch for coil tapping. It was probably as good as a stock Fat Tele, but I lost much of the utility of what I started with. I then bought a single ply conventional guard, used a 3 way switch and went back to stock. It sounds great and I finally realized this is what I wanted all along. Sad thing is my now go to Tele languished in its case between all these modifications.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Feb 12, 2021 15:48:21 GMT -5
Looks good! I have a few that did become firewood. Do this stuff enough and you discover a guitar can be more than the sum of its parts--or sometimes it can turn out to be a complete dud despite the time and effort and quality of parts. Sometimes the guitar actively protests. Here's a story that's the opposite of your experience. About 10 years ago I built an LP-shaped Tele like that one that had an innocuous-looking wavy bit of grain on the back in the bass-side waist. I shot a pretty nice antique 'burst on it that came out great. About six months after I completed it, the wood decided it didn't like being a guitar at all, and developed a long split right through the wavy part on the back, and the body twisted a bit. Weirdest thing I've seen a finished body do. It was clear pine, plenty cured by the time I cut it into the shape I wanted. So the parts came off and the body was unceremoniously converted into BTUs. Unlike your Phoenix rising from the ashes, all that's left of this one is soot, memories, and this photo:  |
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Post by Leftee on Feb 12, 2021 20:20:20 GMT -5
Ya win some, ya lose some.
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Post by LTB on Feb 13, 2021 5:19:10 GMT -5
Looks good! I have a few that did become firewood. Do this stuff enough and you discover a guitar can be more than the sum of its parts--or sometimes it can turn out to be a complete dud despite the time and effort and quality of parts. Sometimes the guitar actively protests. Here's a story that's the opposite of your experience. About 10 years ago I built an LP-shaped Tele like that one that had an innocuous-looking wavy bit of grain on the back in the bass-side waist. I shot a pretty nice antique 'burst on it that came out great. About six months after I completed it, the wood decided it didn't like being a guitar at all, and developed a long split right through the wavy part on the back, and the body twisted a bit. Weirdest thing I've seen a finished body do. It was clear pine, plenty cured by the time I cut it into the shape I wanted. So the parts came off and the body was unceremoniously converted into BTUs. Unlike your Phoenix rising from the ashes, all that's left of this one is soot, memories, and this photo: I really like this guitar Gino! Very cool |
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Post by Leftee on Feb 13, 2021 7:58:05 GMT -5
I have never heard of a body twisting. It’s such a shame as that was one great-looking guitar.
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