December GOTM

[urhop]

BG-46 plays well but it is a bit quieter than my other basses. Probably cause both guitar and bass are with the same plug but that isn't really a problem because there is still some unused power in my bass amp.

[Arzi]

Hi

might as well throw this one in the mix even though by looking at this month's contestants I don't stand a chance...

Here's my "Barncaster" where I aimed to get an old Barnwood look.

Specs:

TLA-1 kit with following mods and stuff

Body brushed with a wirebrush drill bit to remove wood between the grains. Banged and scrached it wit various tools. Stained with dark gray water based stain, sanded and lighter gray stain to follow. Finished with 6 coats of Tru Oil and steel wooling to half matte (deeper grain kept the shinier look).

Neck I also wirebrushed the top of headstock only, then darker gray water based stain and sanding it off. For the fretboard I used a more lighter shade of gray and then sanded to give old dirty look. 3 coats of Tru Oil to finish.

Bridge changed to a six saddle version for better intonation

String through drilling and ferrules (had to do free hand and that slightly shows - somewhat pisses me off but the drill I was gonna use died on me)

Bone nut

Wilkinson EZ-Lok tuners (love them by the way), Rolling string trees

Q Pickups Tele set from a small time manufacturer in Kroatia. Vintage specs on copper wire, wax potting with a mix on bees wax (!), vintage wiring etc, Alnico 5 magnets with 6,225 KOhm neck and 8,01 KOhm bridge.

4-way Brigsby switch mod

500K pots with a 047 (normally bass) capasitor. Gives a somewhat different tonal variation than traditional. The twang is there and both clean and crunch are awesome.

Stringed with D'Addario 9-42 set, Frets leveled and polished, nut filed, truss rod for relief adjusted, Intonation is spot on. No buzz with 1,5-2,5mm action on 12:th fret.

Even though people are asking for a decal/logo on the headstock - decided to leave this one without it. Might put one on if I decide to sell this piece later and when I design one...

All and all it's a very playable guitar or that's what I've been told by a few who have tried it. And while doing it I was able to leave any scratch on it - one doesn't have to handle this one with silk gloves cause every ding just adds character later.

So here goes:











more to come...

[Arzi]

Some more pics...

[Simon Barden]

Don't under-sell yourself, Arzi, you've done a great job! You knew what you wanted it to look like and you've certainly achieved that. I'd be very happy if I owned that guitar.

My only negative comment would be that the bridge looks a little awkward, with some of those adjustment screws sitting very proud on the saddles, and screws on the same saddle being of different lengths. You might be able to move them round so that their heights are more appropriate for the saddles they fit in. Or you could simply replace some of them. You should be able to get shorter length grub-screws by looking on eBay (I'd expect with that saddle they would be a metric rather than imperial size), which would help stop the ends digging into your palm.

You'd also probably benefit from both ends of each saddle being the same height. I find that if the saddles are even slightly angled, then all the downward force is on the lowest-end screw and the other screw doesn't make good contact, is often floating above the bridge base, and can even buzz slightly at times.

[HatchA]

I love the fretboard finish, Arzi.

[Arzi]

Thanks for the kind words Simon and you're right about the saddle screws. I'll fix that. I had to make a small shim to the pocket to get them to that height but it still is what it is. Easy enough to do later.

The neck was a nice surprise with the fretboard figure and the back of it looking a bit like birdseye with the many spots/dots it has.

[stan]

nailed the old barn wood look Arzi, great job

[urhop]

On todella hieno kitara Arzi. Ja on muuten upee kaula ja mahtava väri.
"Really pretty guitar Arzi. Awesome fretboard and spectacular colour."

[Arzi]

Kiitti Urho. Eipä ole todellakaan hassumpi tuo sinunkaan keihääsi. Mukavaa, että löytyy kotimaasta muitakin tässä yhteisössä.

Thanks Urho. Yours is definately not any less of an axe. Nice job. Good to find others from Finland in this community.

[FrankenWashie]

Kiitti Urho. Eipä ole todellakaan hassumpi tuo sinunkaan keihääsi. Mukavaa, että löytyy kotimaasta muitakin tässä yhteisössä.

Thanks Urho. Yours is definately not any less of an axe. Nice job. Good to find others from Finland in this community.

Tell me how rough my Suomi is guys, its been a while:

Se on Suomen Kitara arvostus society, Pitbull luku! Arzi, rakastan maalaismainen tunnelma olet työskennellyt Barncaster.

Onnea teille molemmille.