Thread: A Few Projects To Share With You

A ha! The Matthews Raider himself . Some say "there ain't nothing like the smell of a new car"....others say "there ain't nothin like goin home with a boof full of lumber!!!!!"....

Originally Posted by EtherealGuitars

A ha! The Matthews Raider himself . Some say "there ain't nothing like the smell of a new car"....others say "there ain't nothin like goin home with a boof full of lumber!!!!!"....

boof??

ack ack ack ack ack

er....did that read BOOT!.....hehehehehehe

Originally Posted by oz tradie

AFT is great, just too hard for me to get there as they're closed Saturday mornings.

I'm going to Maiden on the first night in Melbourne. Can't wait............
And I luv the V, hammered.

Oh fudge! Closed Saturday? That means I basically can't get there either, unless I pull a sickie

I'm going the first night too Stu. Can't wait, will be awesome.

If you want a copy of the V plans when they are finished, send me a PM with your email addy and I'll send it.

Hi Folks,

An update to this thread. I have just finished 3 builds I have been working on for while and thought I'd share the news and some of the findings. I consider all of these to be 'entry level' models in that the timbers are not overly figured, hardware and pickups quite standard, no elaborate fingerboards etc.

The first build that you see is a double cutaway (DC) solid 2 piece Blackwood body with a one piece Blackwood neck and a Jarrah fingerboard, Blackwood dot inlays and plastic side dots. The sound of all of these I am just wrapped with, mild differences though which is largely due to the timbers as all 3 builds have TOM bridges with stopbars, the same GFS pickups (15.9k in the bridge and about 8k in the neck), 3 way toggle switches, 500k pots, same grover style tuners, same graphtec nut, same danish oil and wax finish. The DC is a wonderful balance of warm mids and lows with nice treble overtones to brighten it up. Both on clean and distorted channels through the JCM 2000, the tone is lively, vibrant and as much sustain as you could ever want. Tone to me is generally "Les Paul warm".

The second build (2 photos, front and back to show the Vic Ash) is a single cutaway (SC) solid 2 piece Vic Ash body with a Blackwood (13mm) top, a one piece QLD Maple neck with a Wandoo fingerboard, Blackwood dot inlays and plastic side dots. Same hardware as the first description however the tone of thie guitar is certainly brighter. This must be due largely to the Vic Ash body and also the QLD Maple neck. The brightness/treble is very noticeable on the clean channels and the dirty channel really brings out increased attack. This could be 'warmed up' with 250k pots but I really like the different sound of this build......to me it leans towards "Fender bright".....excellent clarity in the notes comes with the increased brightness and this can be dulled out by reducing the tone control as required. I like Vic Ash

The third build is a metal series solid 2 piece 50mm thick Blackwood body with a one piece Blackwood neck, Jarrah fingerboard w/Figured Blackwood binding, Blackwood dot inlays and plastic side dots. Same hadrware as up top but obviously BLACK! The other difference is that this has a push pull 250k tone pot with BLACK ICE fitted for a bit of fun and variety. This means in the down position, the tone operates as a normal tone control and in the up position, you can dial in some tube like gain for more tone options.....this is a cool add on, I really like it. Works well on the clean channel when you just want to add a TOUCH of tube like overdrive....not full on distortion, just a mild gain. Overall this build, other than the tone pot variations, is quite similar to build one in terms of sound......plenty of warm mids and lows and a nice brightness that you can dial in on the tone pot....to me Blackwood is the perfect tonal balance, it has it all for my tastes. I think the 250k tone pot has brightened the overall sound of this but I am still evalutating.....the Black Ice instructions recommend a 250k pot to be used so that is why I have done it....I did use a .022 capacitor first as recommended and the standard tone (no Black Ice) was muddy and dull.....I then pulled the cap out and replaced it with a .008 job and this fixed the issue!....brightened it up and added the clarity that was missing.

Any way, I have heaps more pics if anyone is interested in them but thought I'd just start with a basic shot of each build. These are NOT perfect but each build is getting closer towards perfection, I will not rest until I get there . All 3 play beautifully though and my self criticism is more about aesthetics than functionality.....oh well, getting there slowly but surely. Over the coming weeks and months, I have 6 more builds as follows: same 3 shapes and each of the 2 will be upgraded in terms of figured timbers, laminated feature necks, bindings, hardware, string thru and tremolo models, Seymour Duncan and EMG Active pickups etc etc.....stay tuned and thanks for the interest. I'd be delighted to answer any questions anyone may have about my experiences with the wood, tone etc.

i think your aesthetics are bang on with these 3
you have used the kiss principle and produced understated and quite stunning looking guitars... i see on the various forums frequent, way too much emphasis on fancy high dollar woods with complex inlays and sandwiches of a dozen different timbers. it all becomes an exercise in showcasing the makers understanding of using the tools and the ability to score fancy wood. do the real fancy ones play better?
i really dont think so

you interestingly focussed more attention on the critical elements of electronics, tone and your delivery unit [marshall] than most posters.
i would love to see shematics of your boost circuit. i also think using a standard pickup, bridge and limiting it to a voloume and tone was a great way to start and provided you with an excellent benchmark for testing tones of timbers.

quite often "it plays great" is all you get about how a build sounds

well done on your 1st three and may the next 6 reflect your obvious ability to turn a piece of wood into a work art.

to me, simplicity is the essence of good art and building a great playing guitar is definitely an art

Originally Posted by old_picker

i think your aesthetics are bang on with these 3
you have used the kiss principle and produced understated and quite stunning looking guitars... i see on the various forums frequent, way too much emphasis on fancy high dollar woods with complex inlays and sandwiches of a dozen different timbers. it all becomes an exercise in showcasing the makers understanding of using the tools and the ability to score fancy wood. do the real fancy ones play better?
i really dont think so

you interestingly focussed more attention on the critical elements of electronics, tone and your delivery unit [marshall] than most posters.
i would love to see shematics of your boost circuit. i also think using a standard pickup, bridge and limiting it to a voloume and tone was a great way to start and provided you with an excellent benchmark for testing tones of timbers.

quite often "it plays great" is all you get about how a build sounds

well done on your 1st three and may the next 6 reflect your obvious ability to turn a piece of wood into a work art.

to me, simplicity is the essence of good art and building a great playing guitar is definitely an art

Hey thanks a heap Ray. You made some really constructive points there and I appreciate it greatly. I really did try and keep these 3 as simple as possible and the sound quality to me really shines through from the basics....good wood, good joins, good basic electronics = good tone! My good mate Stu (Oz Tradie) tells me you love your tele's? I reckon you might like the single cutaway....got that real fender 'twang' to it, allbeit with a 25" scale.

The overdrive "Black Ice" unit is a real treat and a great way to add a bit of overdrive without switching channels....

Here is the link to the Stew Mac page that has the instructions for installation options for the Black Ice....http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electron...5.html#details

I went with the "Push/Pull Pot Custom Wiring Options #2" set of instructions and matched it to a simple 2 humbucker, one tone, one vol, one 3 way switch diagram from Seymour Duncan (their diagrams match GFS pickups).

I think you have heard Oz Tradies QLD Maple build with the GFS FAT PAF pick ups in it? Well I used the GFS CRUNCHY pickups which are slightly higher wound.

All the best and thanks again for the feedback....(pardon the pun )

I should also say Ol Picker....I have finished 4 other guitars before these 3......

i agree with old picker on the simplicity, i very rarely pay alot of attention to flashy looking timber. i quite like some light figuring in timber, but what is considered really great figuring is too much for me and doesnt look real.

those guitars all look great. like the single cut as well as the double cut. im not big on pointy designs, but the third is well done and i do like the headstock shape.

i cant wait until i finish uni for the semester, ill go nuts at the woodshop and buy some more magnetwire and pickup compionents and wont stop building until ive made everything i want. if i need a break ill do some work on the amp i have been designing (i dont know too much about tube electronics, but enough to do some basic designs and copy the things i dont understand)

Originally Posted by EtherealGuitars

I think you have heard Oz Tradies QLD Maple build with the GFS FAT PAF pick ups in it? Well I used the GFS CRUNCHY pickups which are slightly higher wound.All the best and thanks again for the feedback....(pardon the pun )

i tried a set of those GFS FAT PAF in a jackson i did up a couple months back.
i must say i was a bit underwhelmed by them in that guitar [poplar solidbody]

they were pretty lively in stews guitar though thats for sure and based on that i got em for the jackson....

personally i had good tone consistently with duncans...
planning to try mike brierley's soon -
maybe in the pine tele i am doing right now

I love the look of that Vic Ash Etherial. Is that how it came up with just the oil? It looks quite dark for vic ash.

I don't know much about these GFS pickups I have to admit, but are they the ones from the Guitar Fetish site? They look nicely priced, especially considering how you have rated the sound thus far on your builds. I might just give them a go on something.

Thanks Hammered, the Vic Ash is all but natural but I added a miniscule amount of antique shellac to the first coat of oil.....this darkened it perhaps about 5% beyond natural so it blended in with the Blackwood a bit nicer....it really isn't far off natural though. Yep I love this piece of Vic Ash, it is perfectly quartersawn and cost me about $25 from Matthews in Vermont.......

The GFS pickups are from the Guitar Fetish site. I am not experienced yet with Seymour Duncan, Dimarzio, EMG etc so cannot provide a fair critique as GFS is ALL I have built with so far.....but I do own an Ibanez guitar with Duncan Designed pups and the GFS are as good as if not better than those......great value for money! I have a set of Seymour Duncan's for one of my future builds so I will be able to comment on this comparison in a few months time.

Thanks also Black Labb and roll on the end of uni eh??!!....get some dust on you

Well, that ash has come up looking fantastic. I will definately be using it on some builds in the future. Its the right price for me too, since I can get loads of it from my old man. His shed is full of offcuts of varying lengths and thicknesses left over from jobs hes done.

I'm now realising how inexpensive you can actually build your own guitar now, and get pretty good results (far better than a $100 Chinese job for sure)... I think I might build a shorter scale electric for my stepson out of ash, and put some of those GFS pups in it. He'll love it!

BTW, do you mind asking what oil exactly you are using? I love oiled finishes like yours.

Cheers
DJ!

Man Ethereal, you really get through a few builds!

They all look awesome, good work.

I plan to used some Vic Ash soon, sounds like it would make a good guitar for those songs for that fender tone, though i plan a 50mm carved top in my current double cut shape. One build i wouldn't mind doing is a heavily chambered Jarrah build, as you say it delivers the lows really well.

I may go out and blow some more cash on some timber tomorrow, should have an order coming from ALS next week too...it'll be like Christmas :P