TheIRS Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 (edited) Hello PGer's! After the mess that i call my first guitar, I decided to start work on a second one that is so far much better than the first. I still have lots of work to do on it and since school ended for me, I dont have access to a shop or tools anymore. Hopefully I'm going to be picking up a router and some wood clamps today so I can continue working soon. So here is my new favorite pastime, guitar #2! Here's the routing: http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/Rokai...AR/DSCN1727.jpg Neck Mounts And Carve: http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/Rokai...AR/DSCN1728.jpg Neck Mounts: http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/Rokai...AR/DSCN1729.jpg Neck and Single Routs: http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/Rokai...AR/DSCN1730.jpg Router Slip...: http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/Rokai...AR/DSCN1731.jpg The Neck: http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/Rokai...AR/DSCN1732.jpg Hope everyone enjoys this project and any tips or comments are appreciated! As stated before, I am still relatively new to this and I'm learning as I work on this guitar so its not a perfect masterpiece. Thanks for looking! TheIRS EDIT: I forgot to include that the body is a single piece of alder. Edited June 20, 2007 by TheIRS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheIRS Posted June 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 More pictures: pickups & hardware: http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/Rokai...AR/DSCN1733.jpg Pickups: http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/Rokai...AR/DSCN1735.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyManAndy Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 That thing is freaky lookin'! It looks like the body is eating the neck, lol. Nice job! CMA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 Like one of those big scary 3-inch-long beetles. Looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheIRS Posted June 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 Like one of those big scary 3-inch-long beetles. Looking good! I like that visual! Thanks for the positive feedback guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 (edited) Like one of those big scary 3-inch-long beetles. Looking good! Ha! It looks like one of those scarab jobbies like from the mummy or something. Especially with the natural wood pickguard which is like a hinged mandible thingy. Anyhow, thats a nice build, wood looks great, shape is well done and I like the natural wood pickguard. Nice stuff and keep the progress pics coming. J Edited June 21, 2007 by jmrentis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 There are a few "problems" (using the term very very loosely because there are no rules) with the body from my perspective, but overall this is shaping up to be an impressive 2nd build! Or re-1st build if you want to look at it that way. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheIRS Posted June 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 When you say problems do you just mean things preference wise? I'm just wondering that's all. I really don't want to make any big mistakes again. And yes! I do think of it as a re-first since the first was basically an experiment. Hopefully I'll be getting back to work on it soon since i just acquired a router of my own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 IRS, Almost anything I could say would indeed be classed as "preference," though I suspect that some people might share my preferences. For example, the cutaway horns seem too long in general, and since they "enclose" the neck so tightly, the eye sees the entire body carrying into the 12th fret, even though the actual join is much further back. In contrast, superstrat-type necks don't have the same amount of mass, and therefore don't feel like they're carrying the whole body forward... and that's the other half of the equation is the sheer "mass" of the cutaway horns. They're bulkier than I like. The next thing that seems problematic for me is that the bottom "horn" seems like it would get in the way. I'm quite sure my hand and forearm would fit in there to play, but I feel like I'd have to adjust the way my arm naturally wants to navigate the neck, in order to "force" myself into the upper registers properly. If you have a different playing style, this might be a complete non-issue, but just by looking at it I strongly suspect for my individual preferences, it would feel claustrophobic playing up there. The waist is a little too long, IMO. If you cut out a good 2-3 inches from in-between the pickups, and squish it all back together, you'll get a body shape that makes me more confident in the design. Out of curiousity, I just mocked it up in Paint Shop, and the overall effect was so dramatic (to me, just my own opinion!) that even the above-describe cutaway issues were minimized. It somehow gave the guitar (IMO) a better sense of balance. Thing is, I'm just some guy. I'm less than an amateur-- I'm just a guitar enthusiast. The pros might have a different perspective, and many people will prefer THIS exact guitar to the one I visualize in my head. ;-) Don't take any of the above personally. I think you did a kick-butt job and you should be rather happy with the outcome. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheIRS Posted June 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 Greg, Most of that makes sense to me, especially the part about the horns. But I haven't completely finished this guitar's shaping yet so thats not 100% of what it will look like when its done. I'm going to be doing a lot of carving on the upper horn to make it look more 'friendly' to the eye. And yes, I see the whole thing with the horns looking as though they are eating the neck, but I kind of like that look. Yes, the waist is a bit long (error on the bandsaw...) but I just tried to see if its any less comfortable and usable than i thought previously. I put the neck on and 'played' the guitar a bit to see if anything was amiss in its playabilty. I found that accessing those upper frets isMUCH easier than it might look from the pictures. Infact the guitar is quite comfortable and seems much smaller that it looks in the pictures. Thanks a lot for your thoughts on this Greg, I like when people are actually able to tell me what they think. And yes I am quite happy with the outcome! TheIRS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheIRS Posted August 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 I just got my last shipment of parts in, and I should be making some more real progress tomorrow, hopefully routing out the rear cavity.. If I get that done, expect new pictures up tomorrow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheIRS Posted August 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2007 (edited) Okay I have a real update, I started routing out the electronics cavity. It isn't perfect, I have to clean it up and make everything even, as well as rout it deeper, but here it is so far. I know the line on top is not straight, and I am going to fix that but, my rout looks crooked to me, and its really bothering me. Maybe it is because of the lines, or maybe it is actually crooked? Can someone please help me out with this because I have about 3mm that I can use to make it more straight but thats it. Thanks for looking, and any helpful feedback is greatly appreciated! Edited August 2, 2007 by TheIRS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyroiguana Posted August 2, 2007 Report Share Posted August 2, 2007 Only way to tell if it's straight is ta measure it yourself, ya know. ; ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheIRS Posted August 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2007 Doh! That may have been stupid. Have to find a ruler that isn't bent first.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyroiguana Posted August 2, 2007 Report Share Posted August 2, 2007 Haha, it's ok, can't count the number of times i've done something like that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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