Organist with nothing better to do...

Gday all,

I'm a long time Hammond organ player and obsessed tonewheeler. I own a 1964 Hammond A100 and Leslie 147, Hammond XK3 clone wheel with the Neo Ventilator, various synths including the Kawai K5000, Roland XV5050, Access Virus C, Moog Taurus 2 and a few other minor 80s or 90s or 00's synths.

So by now you're all wondering what the hell is a keys player doing on a forum of a DIY guitar builder/supplier?

Glad you asked. The old A100 is a valve driven, 50+ years old and needs regular maintenance and TLC. She is probably one of the top 5 Hammonds left in Australia.

Confused? Well, there is method to my madness.

To maintain a near pristine vintage beast like my A100, I need more detailed understanding of how valve amps/preamps work. So I've built a few kits - RIAA preamp and headphone amps, but now I need to migrate to the big time. Build a valve amp from scratch.

So looking around online its either a stereo amp or guitar amp. Guitar is easier. Single channel, no preamp and so on.

So I decided to build an electric guitar. After looking around online I came upon PittBull Guitars, crunched some numbers compared to buying the kit in bits and pieces and saw their LP-1S kit. I'm a Jeff Beck fan and I work in the timber industry so I was sold. That spalted veneer is gold. Price worked out too if you were to buy the components independently.

The kit arrived yesterday, with the Dingotone Natural finish kit. Right on time.

Today I've sanded it back to 800 grit and applied the "stain". No pigment so it hasn't changed the colour but wow, the timber ventures stand out. This kit will look great if I do the rest carefully.

Had to carefully grind back a couple of frets that were higher than the others but the Dremel made light work of that.

It's now hanging in two pieces in the garage. Will post photos when done..

Hey Rohster. Very cool kit. and DT natural would look great. Look forward to the photos.

Welcome to the madness.

One of my mates down your way has a lovely B3 & 147 in his studio, he plays well but is a singer guitarist by trade

Cheers Dave and Andy. I'm having fun building this kit.

Welcome Rohster, good luck with the build.

800 grit may be too fine for DT, but see how it goes. If you find the finish isn't taking to the timber evenly you may need to rough it up a touch.

Hey quick question. The bridge is non metallic, or the black coating is, so I'm supposed to ground the bridge. Do I grind a spot bare then solder the ground wire to it?

No Scott, the kit is made from softwoods. It sopped the finish up like a sponge. How well a finish is absorbed is a function of surface porosity and moisture content, not smoothness. One of the things I do in my job is formulate timber preservatives and timber finishes

Cheers,

Rohan

Welcome along Rohan! Keen to see the photos when you're ready!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rohster-70

Hey quick question. The bridge is non metallic, or the black coating is, so I'm supposed to ground the bridge. Do I grind a spot bare then solder the ground wire to it?

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I think you'll find that black coating is conductive paint my Squier Telecaster has it in the cavities but a multimeter will confirm it

No it's not Dave. Open Circuit.

Cheers

Rohan

Gday Brendan No probs. I'll post when finished.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rohster-70

No it's not Dave. Open Circuit.

Cheers

Rohan

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That stuffs that theory then doesn't it, you will need electrical contact between the earth & strings via the bridge so a bit of sanding will be in order

Hi Rohster and welcome.

With black hardware it is most likely powder coated and therefore all you need to do is sand off a bit of the coloured finish to expose some bare metal. Strip back some wire and tin it, poke it through the hole in the bridge or stop bar hole so that it comes into contact with the bushing once you have it fully inserted. This is usually a job best done when doing the final assembly.

Cheers, Waz

Update on the project. I've been busy with life but yesterday rubbed back the second coat with steel wool and put the sealing coat on the guitar. Looking good.

I've also sussed out the bit of the saddle where the strings go in and the coating on it and the pegs that hold it to the body. It's conductive in places, but not everywhere. And you guessed it, it's now where it needs to be. Except the holes where you feed in the strings. Small mercies...

I'll get the Dremel out tonight and and strip back the coating, as I'll let the final coat cure for 48 hours. It was quite tacky this morning.