Frippin'rocker RC-1M

[Tekrytor]

Howdy Dawgs,

I just completed my first PitBull guitar and am pretty happy with the results. Pix pending upload. I'm new here, so pardon the wait while I figure out how it's done here.

Regards to all you builder brothers and sisters out there.

Steve
a.k.a. Tekrytor

[Tekrytor]

So, this is the kit I bought:
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/?s=Rc-1m&post_type=any

I also bought the following from PitBull, cost ~$60 extra plus postage:

- Grover mini-tuners upgrade
- neck glue
- shielding foil

I also bought NY-III pickups from guitarfetish.com, neck and bridge types. I had to snip the corners and carefully grind the edges smooth, drill center holes and thread them, plus file the pickup mounting plates and improvise springs to mount the pickups. It would have been a lot easier to use the standard humbuckers but I wanted a more Ricky look and sound. The look is there sort of, but the sound I'm still not sure of. It's nice though, just not real Ricky pups. Price, $75 for both pups.

I also made the Frippin'rocker trussrod cover from acrylic and resin with letters from Michael's, the craft store. I bought a mold kit and resin and letters. Cost, $75 US. Pricy, but I like the result.

I also made the pick guard from acrylic from TAP Plastics, a California plastic supplies company. They also had the glitter foil that I used on the pick guard.







More photos in the follow posts.

[Tekrytor]

More pix...






FYI, the only problem I had with the audio was an enormous hum the first test, which was due to not trying the foil from around the cavity hole to the jack. It took me a while to find, but unscrewing the jack and jiggling it around led to the solution. Trim, attach, perfect.

Also the jack, pots and knobs are really junky. They will all be replaced soon and a nice tremolo/vibrato will probably be added.

I had to file the nut and the string slots quite a bit too get it to play nice. But that's normal. Intonation was dead on without adjusting the saddle. Surprise!

I'm just getting the feel of this instrument, but I've noticed the wood is VERY light. I expected more density from mahagony. The top wood is not mahagony, which I would have much preferred. Oh well.

It's playing nice and sounding good. It's lightness makes it very comfortable to play but probably affects sustain. I can't complain about the look, since I did it myself. It was my first kit, so I'm pretty happy with the results.

Thanks to the other builders here for their posts, it really helped when I had questions.

[Fretworn]

Looks great Tekrytor. (and welcome to the site)

[Andy40]

Welcome Steve, nice build

[Tekrytor]

Looks great Tekrytor. (and welcome to the site)

Thank you.

[Tekrytor]

Welcome Steve, nice build

Thank you too.

[UpperCaseH]

Love that finish, and the pickguard and logo look ace!

[Tekrytor]

Thanks UpperCaseH!

[FrankenWashie]

Great Job Steve!