Got this back end of August, using Crimsons amber stain and their finishing oil... turning out a lot darker than what I wanted but its growing on me...slowly....all I need to decide now is the top..what colour...any ideas?
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Got this back end of August, using Crimsons amber stain and their finishing oil... turning out a lot darker than what I wanted but its growing on me...slowly....all I need to decide now is the top..what colour...any ideas?
All up to you, mate. The back looks nice. You plan on using Crimson stains for the top as well? That limits your choice of exactly what colour to use. Ignore the colours you definitely won't want to use and what are you left with?
The original plan was a light amber back, sides and neck and a green top. don't think green goes with it now...
All depends on the shade of Green.... Maybe you could start with a very light shade, and then keep darkening it with repeated colour coats until you get a hue and depth that you like and are satisfied with... Keep in mind the clear will enrich and probably darken the colour coats..
PRS's are known for their unique and vibrant colours... why should your build be any less bold and different?
I'd be tempted to try and pop the grain with a darker stain, then use a light amber stain for the top - lighter than the back.
I've got a Hamer Artist which is quite a similar shape to the PRS. The back's about the same colour as yours.
Attachment 22346
Its top has a great flame, but it's not really brought out like it could be. In most lights you can't see the flame from any distance. But had it been popped so that the flame was much stronger, it would have a superb look.
I would agree with you Simon, one coat of the amber was a nice finish...I did 2 on the back then the oil which made it as dark as it is now, to put a dark coat on, say black, then sand it off frightens the hell outa me with that top being so thin
I'd use a dark brown rather than black, and just rag it on and then rag it off again with a damp cloth after a few minutes. However it's probably not a technique you want to try for the first time on the real thing.
My Vintage V100 Lemon Drop was popped in black by the factory, and it ended up looking tiger striped, rather than the mellow amber and dark brown of the original Peter Green/Gary Moore LP. The black has faded over time to more of a brown, so it's looking better now than it did when new.
The crimson stains at best can be described as a water consistency... so soak in straight away, no chance to rag off... that said I am coming round to the finish you can get with their oil, getting quite shiny at the moment, lightly wet sanding oil on the 4th and now 6th coat, one more will do I think...all learning ready for the next one and tru oil.....
Gone purple since I had it .... a couple of glue spots which would not remove, stained the top let it dry a while, lightly sanded with 1500 then re applied, covered it up better but not perfect.. hey ho...
Got a couple of items somehow need to correct.... the neck to me sits really high in the pocket as per pic, but running a straight edge through to the bridge, that will sit up but not that high so don't think need to take anything off the heel?...
Next issue is from nut to 12th fret centre is 313 mm... from 12th to front of bridge is 320mm, the neck would go in a bit more but then the humbucker wouldn't fit.. its tight now, any ideas gents. anyone else had a similar issue?
Measure full scale length from inner side of nut to high E bridge saddle. Presume the kit comes with standard Gibbo scale which should be 24.75" which equals 628.65mm. Half is roughly 314.32mm so that would suggest your measurement to 12th fret is slightly out?
On my EX-1 it has a set neck and I spent ages worrying about scale length that once fully set and well cured only then did I then notice neck PUP mounting ring would not fit. Bummer but better having an axe that you can intonate and is in tune all the way up the neck than one that looks aesthetically pleasing but sounds out of tune.
I ended up top mounting the PUP's as a way around the usual setup. Looked at cutting various neck mounting rings made from timbers (Rosewood looked good and blended with end of fret board) through to metal or chrome ones. Was not confident I could make it work and went top loaded instead.
I've been away for a few days working Waz, going to give it a good looking over this weekend, the brain is telling me to complete the oil finishing first then fit the bridge properly in place and go from there, my measurements were with the bridge just sat on top so may well be a couple of mm out.
Neck is glued on and set, not happy with this one, mainly because of the staining and glue showing through albeit I did wet it and none showed.... so... have decided this one will be my trial and error for a fret level excersise, and anything else I try... we will get it to a playable state for sure but think I'm classing this one as a big learning curve guitar
Bummer that this one isn't what you expected...
Most builds throw up some challenges.
Never had one go perfectly to plan and just had to adapt/amend/accept along the way. All part of the journey and most times we end up appreciating the end result. Strange how others will not see any flaws and quite often be marvelled by how it looks....that is when you can stand back and see it from another perspective.....glass half full perspective.
I'm sorta happy with it Waz, don't regret doing it for one minute, the back and side stains ended up darker than what i wanted, then the top with the glue marks showing through..I've just decided that as this one (for me) hasn't turned out exactly how I wanted it, so it will be the one i do my first fret level on, before going onto the 3 kits I've done I'm happy with, don't want to cock one of them up....
Know what you mean as the quality of finish gets better after you have done a couple of builds.Quote:
Originally Posted by chrissyinbkk
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Glue spots are a bummer. They're what's keeping me from being fully happy with the finish on my MM1. It's all been a learning curve for me. Maybe it prepares us for making great guitars in the future. :)
I only have one build with binding and a flame maple veneer and glue spots is a major reason why i have steered away from doing any more of them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Spychocyco
Solid Ash, Basswood or Mahogany only come with glue lines that may need a bit of attention but otherwise usually a safer bet.
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The first go at the fret level starts here... before going onto the better built kits I've done...watched tons of vids...
I've done two fret levels now, and with the right tools, it's easier than I expected. The first one looked a little messy, but the second on my MM-1 build, I'm really proud of. Crowning once you've got them all leveled out is the tough part. I highly recommend investing in a crowning file if you haven't already.
This file is supposed to do the leveling and the crowning along with the fret polishing rubbers,