Custom EX-1R Build

Hey guys,

I'm pretty new to this server so I'll give a quick overview of my previous builds. I've built 2 guitars so far, a Les Paul kit, and the Pitbull Guitars SV-1.

A few months ago I intended to order a Strat kit so that I could have a guitar to play in Standard Tuning with a Floyd Rose trem, the idea in my head was pretty close to Tom Morello's "Soul Power" guitar.. However when I asked for the specs I wanted, PBG told me that they couldn't alter the body shape so it didn't have body contours (I realised after that I probably could have asked for a solid body Thinline style kit). So I thought of any guitars I didn't have and that I would like, and my mind instantly jumped to an Explorer. Here are the specs:

- Basswood Body
- Maple Neck with Rosewood Fretboard
- Chrome Hardware (including Licensed Floyd Rose)
- 2 Volume Pots instead of 1 Volume and 1 Tone so I can use the toggle switch as a kill switch
- Bolt-on Neck (I don't feel comfortable with glueing a neck just yet)
- Artist Bullbucker Humbuckers (Neck and Bridge)
- Dimarzio Cliplock Strap
- Dunlop 10-52 Strings

The guitar will be painted a solid Gloss Black to match the Chrome Hardware. The kit should be arriving on Monday or Tuesday and I can't wait to get started on it.

- Pony

Hi and welcome.

Sounds great. Gluing a neck in is very easy (all 5 of my builds have set necks), but there's no problem at all running with what you feel comfortable with, plus it is more adjustable if necessary.

All the best with the build and you know we're here for advice if you need it.

Thanks Simon. I appreciate the kind words.

Hi Pony,
I'm with you and have not attempted a glue in neck yet!
I love the explorer also. I hope it all goes well.

Thanks Trevor

So I just got the kit today and I got stuck straight into it. For some reason I can't upload images so I'll try my best to explain it.

The kit came pretty much as I imagined with only a few problems.
1. They sent a Volume Pot and a Tone Pot even though I specified 2 Volume pots
2. There's a quite noticeable hump on the top of the guitar but an orbital sander should fix that
3. They didn't pre-drill a hole for the toggle switch but that turned out to be a good thing and I'll explain why later.

I decided to do things a little differently this time around and I pre-drilled and tapped the majority of holes needed first. The neck seats fine. I got round to putting the pickups into the pickup rings and I test fitted those. The pickups I chose are meant to be Seymour Duncan JB copies. I've heard sound samples of them online and they sound extremely close. I also made the fret ends smoother with a sanding sponge and some 1200 grit sandpaper. The Rosewood fretboard looks amazing. So onto the toggle switch dilemma. When I realised I was a little disappointed, however I quickly realised that I could use this to my advantage. I bought a cheap killswitch on ebay for $5 on top of the toggle switch. I probably wouldn't have been able to use the kill switch if there was a pre-drilled hole for the toggle switch, however, now I can drill 2 holes next to each other and have both the toggle switch and the killswitch on the guitar.

The next step will be to start prepping for paint work. I guess I'll burn that bridge when I get there.

- Pony

EDIT: Ok I figured out how to use Imgur so here are the photos.
https://i.imgur.com/MZbLblx.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/eH3oubd.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/8IkaSFA.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/WIxkpKN.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ePVZqOK.jpg

The kit looks very nice! I like the grain, I think would also look great if it stayed clear!
Good luck! :)

Hi Alexej, the grain does look quite nice but I don't want it to be jusclear coated. Thanks!

So I've gotten a fair bit done in the last 2 days. Yesterday I sanded down the body a bit and then put some wood filler on it.
https://i.imgur.com/mSCksxx.jpg

That's pretty much everything I did yesterday. Today I got around to sanding down the body filler and putting the first few coats of undercoat on.
https://i.imgur.com/tU8CQow.jpg

I'll try and get another coat in tomorrow morning and I'll rub it down in the arvo. If you have any questions about it so far just ask.

- Pony

Looks good.

Before you go too far, can I ask if you've checked the bushings against the two Floyd post holes? You don't want to really have to bash them in, as you are likely to split the wood (I've seen it on here before), and if you do need to drill the holes out slightly, you might as well do it before the finish is applied.

No need to fret Simon! (Pun Intended) I already checked the post holes and they're good to go. When I checked I actually pushed them in by hand too far and needed to get a hammer and pull it off.

Alright so earlier today I got around to rubbing down the undercoat today. Here's the guitar before I started sanding:
https://i.imgur.com/2Sgt6pn.jpg
The grey looks black in that lighting.

Here's the front after I sanded it with 320. I could just stop here and say that it's a relic :p
https://i.imgur.com/kF3k0tZ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/mx7TbME.jpg

Here's a picture of the back:
https://i.imgur.com/9SzqXte.jpg

And after I did all that I put on another coat of undercoat.
https://i.imgur.com/fFatU8N.jpg

I should be getting around to putting the final coat of undercoat on in 30 minutes so I'll keep you guys posted on that.

- Pony

Hey again,

I've been doing more painting over the past few nights. I got round to starting and completing the neck and I started spraying on the colour coat.

I didn't take a picture of the neck with the undercoat on but here it is after the second/final coat of paint:
https://i.imgur.com/26wPefv.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/3k7je7D.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/NWS6X9N.jpg
It's finished in Flat Black as I wanted a smooth and fast playing neck.

Here's the face of the headstock after it's first coat of Gloss Black:
https://i.imgur.com/T90ZI5c.jpg

Here's the second coat:
https://i.imgur.com/M1lvWM6.jpg
The orange peel has gone down since. I won't wet-sand and do anymore coats on the headstock as I'm happy the way it is.

Today I put on the first and second coat of colour. Here's the first coat:
https://i.imgur.com/WWZlXmb.jpg

And here's the second coat:
https://i.imgur.com/SLq1rXT.jpg

Here's the orange peel just after the second coat:
https://i.imgur.com/9Wm3Gqp.jpg

I'm going to wet-sand either tomorrow or in 2 days, then let the body dry for 24 hours, then I'll spray another 2 coats of Gloss Black on it. I'll then wait another 42 hours to assemble it.

Again, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

- Pony

Hey guys!

Sorry I haven't updated the thread in so long. I finished the guitar on Halloween. I had some trouble with the bridge pickup sounding kinda quiet. It turned out to be a wiring issue where the bridge wire was touching the output. I just pushed the wire out of the way and it was fixed. It also turns out that the killswitch that I ordered was a normally off switch, so I disconnected it. Here are some pics:
https://i.imgur.com/Ienl0El.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/aUNQqQT.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Noadffj.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Yn38wIx.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/r0vWMUu.jpg

As you can see in the 4th picture, I got some paint damage from the bar and microfibre towel I used to hold up the bridge while stringing up. It's not as noticeable now and I'm not that bothered about it. It sounds pretty great now that the wiring issue is fixed. It also holds tune WAY better than my SV-1. If you have any questions about it, don't hesitate to ask.

- Pony

Hi Pony, it looks good.

As far as the kill switch is concerned - can it be wired directly across the jack plug, so when it is pushed ON it shorts the circuit and there will be no output?

Hi Trevor,

What do you mean by wired directly across the jack plug?

Wire the switch with on side connected to the hot terminal on the jack, and the other side of the switch to the ground terminal of the jack.

Hi Trevor,

There is no on side to it. It's just 2 prongs that come off of the switch with another 2 prongs for lighting

That's right.
Wire one prong to the hot side of jack, and the other prong to the ground of the jack.

Check out the wiring diagram at https://www.premierguitar.com/articl...Switch_Part_II.

I have included a diagram (but it is not great!)

I think I see what you mean now. I'm fine with it the way it is right now because I can use the toggle switch as a kill switch since I wired the guitar with 2 volume pots. If I get a chance then I will definitely re wire it that way. Thanks for showing me that diagram.