New Guitar Based On An Old One

[Fagerholm]

I'm really not an active chatting fellow so I prefer to read your topics. However I'm going to present my current project, whitch was actually started in 2007. It was my first guitar build and I have to say, the outcome was utterly hideous and unusable piece of wood. Afterwards guitar went to pieces, but It was a valuable learning experience and the second project sprang up to be the one of my most belowed instruments.

Guitar2007 was out of sight, out of mind for few years until I decided to repair it into practise-thrash metal-condition (with the help of an angle grinder - not anything too fancy). Main flaws were too thick neck, string adjustment, ugly finishing, cheap hardware an so on. Body and neck were made of good quality alder and maple, bought fingerboard without inlays was also in good shape so why wouldn't I put it together once again?

Old "guitar" in 2007, quite embarrasing sight

Body after planering and improvised re-shaping

Original idea wasn't to laminate and hide the routings on top and back, but while working I started to want more and more. Finally I ended up to do my best, what can I say; love won for once.

[Fagerholm]

I'm not a fan of that warlock/SuperStrat -reminiscent shape, explorers are more to my taste. But compared to old shape, this looks quite nice to my eye. Body is now relatively small so my favourite Floyd Rose Original won't fit there. That Strat-bridge, tuners, single-coils and neck plate had to go, when I ordered Schaller 477 -bridge, Seymour Duncan Hot Roddeds and neck pushings and Grover Rotomatics.

Headstock got a flamed cherry veneer

Scalloping experiments

Repairing old blunders

Re-routed cavity

[Fagerholm]

Carved top & back

For finishing I have thought red staining, black burst and 2-component acrylic lacquer.

At the moment this treatment seems to be effective and guitar has positive predictions.

[Blazer]

That looks good.

Say are you familiar with Neil Moser? He designed the classic BC Rich rock shapes and now has his own company.

They have a guitar called the "Genesis" that reminds me of your work.

http://www.mosercustomshop.com/index.php?m...products_id=191

Edited April 15, 2010 by Blazer

[MuffinPunch]

Im not gonna lie to you dude. I actually kinda like the original shape better. Not so much the finish, but the warlockesque shape looked a lot more unique to me. kinda like a warlock and a Moser Arachnid had a baby. Im not really a BC Rich guy, but they do have some rad looking guitars. The revision is cool too tho. It just looks kinda tame to me but Im sure thats exactly what you were going for. Ill be following this one.

Edited April 16, 2010 by MuffinPunch

[Fagerholm]

I have seen some of those Moser customs in other contexts, but never knew where they come from. Thanks for the link, looking cool.

I'm not really into the new shape, but the old one had too many bad memories. I know what you mean and this looks too safe to my personal taste and music genre. But it wasn't the guitar fault that I never liked it, I just have to make up for it somehow.

If it was a completely new build, this would look far more brutal and masculine with exotic woods like former projects.

Edited April 16, 2010 by Fagerholm

[Fagerholm]

I finally got all parts except pot knobs and yesterday guitar showed some progress.

[ihocky2]

I like the revised shape much better, but the neck throws it off. If you build another one this shape I think the body needs to be scaled up, the neck just looks huge compared to the body.