The Axe of Destiny...

Hi all,

Here is my first scratch built axe. Normally I just build Basses but after my Strat kit and LP1 kit I decided to give it a go.

Thus, the Axe of Destiny was born in the Man Cave of Luthierie....

She has an Ash body with Spalted Maple top. I cheated on the neck and bought a ready made one from Stewmac.
Grover locking tuners, Floyd Rose and GFS pups from Guitarfetish.

The finish is a French Polish, there will be a video on how to do this posted soon.
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...c-IMG_1023.JPG

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Quote from dingobass on October 24, 2012, 18:13
Hi all,

Here is my first scratch built axe. Normally I just build Basses but after my Strat kit and LP1 kit I decided to give it a go.


Thus, the Axe of Destiny was born in the Man Cave of Luthierie....

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The Man Cave... The Top Secret Bunker... This says that we are a little mad, and what's more- it helps.

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Quote from dingobass on October 24, 2012, 18:13

She has an Ash body with Spalted Maple top. I cheated on the neck and bought a ready made one from Stewmac.
Grover locking tuners, Floyd Rose and GFS pups from Guitarfetish.

The finish is a French Polish, there will be a video on how to do this posted soon.
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...c-IMG_1023.JPG

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A very impressive piece, Mr Dingobass. For some reason, the shape stirs in me a vision of you on stage with the leather, furs and horns of EuroMetal- except it would have to be matt black!

Aust Luthier Supplies?

Oh, look what I can see. You may have just left yourself open to writing up a binding how-to... :D

Looking forwards to the French Polishing tute.

Thanks dMac :D

Yes, there will be a binding tute in the near future, for those mad enought to give it a go! :o

ALS, are in Brisbane. I usually get small items from them such as shell dots and the occasional length of binding. They are a touch expensive when compared to Stewmac but they do have excellent service and get items out to you within a few days. Handy when you are in a hurry to get stuff.

http://luthierssupplies.com.au


http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...-24-215916.png

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Quote from dingobass on October 24, 2012, 22:00
Thanks dMac :D

Yes, there will be a binding tute in the near future, for those mad enought to give it a go! :o

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Sorry, I wasn't making a lot of sense when I replied. I should have written-

"Did you get the cap from ALS?"

And now I will add-

"Why couldn't you read my mind? It made perfect sense to me!!" :D :D

(That's what happens when you put 29 items on eBay- your head spins trying to keep track of everything.)

hi dMac

Hahahaha, sorry Mate, I should have read your mind! :D

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Sorry, I wasn't making a lot of sense when I replied. I should have written-

"Did you get the cap from ALS?"

And now I will add-

"Why couldn't you read my mind? It made perfect sense to me!!" :D :D

(That's what happens when you put 29 items on eBay- your head spins trying to keep track of everything.)[/quote

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The topwood is from Stewmac...

Question regarding capacitors. Do you use ceramics or Orange Drops or something else?

Cheers!

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Quote from dingobass on October 25, 2012, 11:26
hi dMac

Question regarding capacitors. Do you use ceramics or Orange Drops or something else?

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You'll be sorry you asked that, Dingo!! :D

First question- would you use an Eminence cable with a $50 guitar? There is a line of thought that it will make the $50 guitar sound better, but I say pigs ear, etc.

I generally use Orange Drops on tone controls with above-average pickups and greencaps on treble bleeds (222/.002 uF + 100k). That is what Junior will be wearing.

If it's not a top-end setup, I use good quality greencaps. I've tried them out myself on a couple of gig-only guitars with pretty good pickups. IMO in a noisy environment there's not a worthwhile difference. (Gig guitars? Would you take your $25K Custom Shop David Gilmour Black Strat to a gig? David Gilmour didn't even do it for years!)

Also I use greencaps to keep the costs down if it's appropriate, which also generally means non-high end pickups.

I also knock together pedals. Unless we're talking about very low values (in the low pF range) I avoid ceramics and use MKTs in the signal path. In the power path, it makes no difference. I might use a ceramic for power filtering or RF bleed off, but if it's between "IN" and "OUT" you can't go with noisy components.

http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...z-RIMG0127.JPG

This is a Tele control plate I did. Left to right is Tone, Volume (with treble bleed mod) and 4-way switch, set up for Bridge / Parallel / Neck / Series. Red and white are to the jack.

Thanks for that dMac.

I have been wondering about ceramics for a while, I just got some orange drops on a whim and after reading what you have written I will be ripping those pesky little guys out and replacing them with the orange...

I have realised that there is so much to learn about wireing set ups and that I know far less than I would like, especially whith Guitars! :?

Any good reference books that you would reccomend?

Cheers

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Quote from dingobass on October 25, 2012, 13:57
I have realised that there is so much to learn about wireing set ups and that I know far less than I would like, especially whith Guitars! :?

Any good reference books that you would reccomend?

Cheers

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Sorry if this comes across wrong, but guitar wiring is pretty simple. Seymour Duncan's web site has a heap of wiring diagrams, and you can normally hack them around to meet your needs. Then it may just seem simpler after building a pedal!

As far as techniques go, I can run through some tricks when I do Junior.

As far as learning what bit does what, Craig Anderton is responsible for more musicians getting into the electronic side of things than anyone else. That includes things like onboard preamps, switching options and the like. Amazon has his library- they are a bit old so there's always a selection available. I'm not sure if he's still a columnist with Guitar Player.

There's a few more that are more pedal related, but if you want them, let me know!

Thanks dMac :D

I will check out both of your suggestions.

[quote"Did you get the cap from ALS?"

Cheers![/quote]

Dane and Sean from ALS are very down to earth guys and very helpful. They run an acoustic two week program showing how to build an acoustic. My love for guitar building stems from attending one of their courses. True that they are a bit expensive,

[quote]Quote from Gavin1393 on October 26, 2012, 22:56
[quote"Did you get the cap from ALS?"



ALS are really good! I hope no one is put off by my remark about them being a tad expensive..... They more than make up for this with amazing, professional and courteous service!
I had a drama with one of my deliveries- (Dratted Aus Post), and Sean chased it down for me, nothing is too much trouble for these guys when it comes to customer service. 10 out of 10 for ALS.

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[b]I hope no one is put off by my remark about them being a tad expensive...

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:P
I wouldnt be too concerned. I think ALS do get a fair amount of their product from the same source that most of us do and hence they add shipping costs to everything as one might expect. The local stuff is always reasonably priced and nothing is ever too much trouble for them! They make a mean Arch top guitar these days too!

So, the Axe of Destiny is so close to being finished.

Just waiting for my brain to decide which pups to replace the GFS's with....

Do I go for Bareknuckle Nailbombs, Warpigs or Abraxsis?
Or, do I go for the Aussie made Kinman's?.....

so many choices to be had these days!
Oh well, I will just have to make up my mind by putting all the names in a hat and drawing out the winner I guess...

Gotta put Kinmans in this one!!! That's my 5c worth, which wont go too far in assisting with the purchase I know!!!

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Quote from Gavin1393 on November 4, 2012, 09:13
Gotta put Kinmans in this one!!! That's my 5c worth, which wont go too far in assisting with the purchase I know!!!

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I do believe you are right Gavin.
Kinmans it is!
Been researching and listening to a lot of sound clips and the Kinmans do sound the best for the price.
All I gotta do now is convince my better half that it is a good investment :D

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Quote from dingobass on November 6, 2012, 23:16

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Quote from Gavin1393 on November 4, 2012, 09:13
Gotta put Kinmans in this one!!! That's my 5c worth, which wont go too far in assisting with the purchase I know!!!

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I do believe you are right Gavin.
Kinmans it is!
Been researching and listening to a lot of sound clips and the Kinmans do sound the best for the price.
All I gotta do now is convince my better half that it is a good investment :D

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Then again, you could use:

• Fender Custom Shop 69s (neck and middle)
• Duncan SSL5 (bridge

And borrow my Hiwatt, Baja Tube Overdrive, and a Muff. That produces one heck of a tone.

.

.

.

(Especially if you're David Gilmour.)

I am convinced.... Overwhelmingy so.
Kinmans it is.....
Just gotta get 'em, install'em and hope the other half don't notice :o

Hope to finish this build by the end of next week so I can package it up and send it over East to it's unsuspecting new owner before Christmas sneaks up on us :D

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Quote from dingobass on November 7, 2012, 11:06
I am convinced.... Overwhelmingy so.
Kinmans it is.....
Just gotta get 'em, install'em and hope the other half don't notice :o

Hope to finish this build by the end of next week so I can package it up and send it over East to it's unsuspecting new owner before Christmas sneaks up on us :D

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If she does notice and complains....just ask her how many pairs of shoes she has and why on earth does she need to buy more....that's kinda how I have accumulated 5 electrics, one MIDI, eleven acoustics and two uke's...and a cupboard full of my wifes shoes! :D

[/quote] If she does notice and complains....just ask her how many pairs of shoes she has and why on earth does she need to buy more....that's kinda how I have accumulated 5 electrics, one MIDI, eleven acoustics and two uke's...and a cupboard full of my wifes shoes! :D[/quote]

Thing is, my Better Half isn't really all that into shoes......More of a garden plant kinda Gal.... I suppose I could try the same line of logic and transpose shoes for plants..... I am so gunna be dead when she realises I have spent another s#%t load of cash on this build :D

Well, the French Polish has not worked out on this build for reasons known only to the Guitar Gods....
So off it came, giving me the perfect excuse to test out Wudtone finishes.

Two base coats and all I can say is WOW




http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...m-IMG_1101.JPG

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Quote from dingobass on November 12, 2012, 18:16
Well, the French Polish has not worked out on this build for reasons known only to the Guitar Gods....
So off it came, giving me the perfect excuse to test out Wudtone finishes.

Two base coats and all I can say is WOW




http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...m-IMG_1101.JPG

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It looked really good with the gloss of the french polish. What made you feel it hadnt worked?
That said, this Wudtone version looks fantastic. Did you give it a light brush with black to bring out the grain?

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Quote from Gavin1393 on November 12, 2012, 21:15

Quote:

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Quote from dingobass on November 12, 2012, 18:16
Well, the French Polish has not worked out on this build for reasons known only to the Guitar Gods....
So off it came, giving me the perfect excuse to test out Wudtone finishes.

Two base coats and all I can say is WOW




http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...m-IMG_1101.JPG

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It looked really good with the gloss of the french polish. What made you feel it hadnt worked?
That said, this Wudtone version looks fantastic. Did you give it a light brush with black to bring out the grain?

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Hey Gavin.

When I had buffed the FP to a high gloss I noticed that there were milky patches.
I don't know why this happened, usually it is caused by moisture, but as it has been in a dry Man Cave I am at a loss as to how... Hasn't happened to the other builds under way at this time....

No black, that is just the natural colour of the grain, pretty amazing timber.

Well folks, she is done.

6 coats all up of Wudtone Carmine Gypsy and 3 coats of Ageing gloss finish.

Check it out 8-)
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...v-IMG_1246.JPG

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Quote from dingobass on December 12, 2012, 17:03
Well folks, she is done.

6 coats all up of Wudtone Carmine Gypsy and 3 coats of Ageing gloss finish.

Check it out 8-)

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Just gorgeous DB, one of the sexiest finishes I've ever seen.

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Quote from dingobass on December 12, 2012, 17:03
Well folks, she is done.

6 coats all up of Wudtone Carmine Gypsy and 3 coats of Ageing gloss finish.

Check it out 8-)
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...v-IMG_1246.JPG

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What a beaut! Can I nominate this for Non-Pitbull Guitar of the month. That finish is just sensational! Well done!

Awwww shucks, thanks Adam and Gavin....

Hope this inspires others to have a go at Wudtone finish...

The Spalt top LP is early done and she is just beautiful, pics will be up by this weekend.


http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...h-IMG_1258.JPG