JMA-1 First timer..

[Grubsta]

So i was lucky enough to open up a JMA kit on Christmas day which was a very unexpected gift from my wife and her parents.
When it comes to guitar building i have zero experience but its always something i have been interested in.
I haven't made a huge amount of progress just yet because i'm waiting for payday so i can invest in setting myself up with the right tools to do the job properly but i figured i can still at least get the ball rolling on my build diary.


So today i set out my kit and test fitted a few of the parts to get a better idea of what it would look like and to make sure i'm not missing anything but also to check for damaged parts and everything looks pretty good so far.





After checking out all my parts and standing about scratching my head for a good while with a cup of coffee wondering what heck I've gotten myself into i came to the conclusion that i wasn't missing anything and nothing was damaged. From there i decided to pull out a sanding block and get to work.





At this stage i wasn't looking to go into full blown sanding mode but more of a mission to identify any areas that may need a little extra work and to look for any glue marks,defects,dings etc.
I'm pretty happy with the body i didn't come across many areas of concern and the body should come up very nice once i put a bit more work into it the photo probably doesn't do it much justice but the grain is quite nice as well.
The neck and headstock however is probably going to need a little extra attention i haven't put a straight edge to the tuner holes yet but at first glance they appear to be a little out of whack and not lined up the best and one hole has a chip out of the edge from drilling.



The only other thing i did was to get an idea of how the neck sits in the pocket its not too bad not quite snug but no major dramas there either.



So i guess the next step for me is going to be more sanding and making a start on the fret board once i get the tools sorted and probably more head scratching with coffee while i think about finishes.
I'ts been a slightly tentative start but so far i'm enjoying it.

[tommycarlos]

Awesome. Keen to keep an eye on this one

[JohnH]

What a great Christmas present! You must be super chuffed.

[FrankenWashie]

Good start Grubsta, take it nice and slow and ask any question that pops into mind.

[Grubsta]

What a great Christmas present! You must be super chuffed.

Yeah very much so I've been driving my family nuts over building one for a while now.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[Volgar]

I ordered the mine the 24th,
so we will be two doing it ! ^^
And i'm a complete beginner in guitar kit to !
Good luck !

[Grubsta]

Good start Grubsta, take it nice and slow and ask any question that pops into mind.

Cheers will do

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[Grubsta]

So today i managed to get down to the big green shed and pick up a few extra supplies that i was in need of (including a couple of obligatory snags) to help with my build.
As well as ordering fret crowning and leveling files and a straight edge from pitbull.
I've decided that i'm going to stick with a Dingotone finish and i have 2 colors in mind but i'm having a very hard time choosing one at the moment Bushfire sunrise or Coolangatta gold.
I like the grain so staining is the way to go for me.



Now onto a few issues I've discovered with my kit.
The first thing i noticed was the alignment of the tuner holes, the two center holes are higher than the outer ones.
The spacing's between each hole are not too bad but its something ill have to fix otherwise it will drive me nuts.
From what i have read this can be common with this kit but it can be rectified pretty easy.





My next little issue has to do with pickups, i didn't see this initially but i have noticed that my center pickup has copper wire hanging out of it and the Humbucker has two holes in the outer casing.
Again not the end of the world here i do have a spare Humbucker i can change it out with but i'm guessing i may have to replace the center as well.



Those few little issues aside I'm pretty happy with where I'm at right now and its time to move onto test fitting the neck and checking the scale length.
I haven't gone through the whole process yet but i have made a start.
I'm not really familiar with the Tremolo so i do have a question here, In order to do the test fit and the alignment properly should i press in the post inserts? The answer is probably quite obvious here but i want to ask.



And my next question. When my neck is clamped in place i seem to have a lot of play in the pocket with a nice little gap on one side. I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this problem and how to get around it.





Thanks for reading
Cheers
Russ

[Andy40]

Hi Russ.

Wonky tuners. Unfortunately every 6 in line headstock has the wonky tuner holes. It makes zero difference to the playability and sounding of the guitar. That being said you can plug the offending holes with doweling and re-drill. Most likely you'll need to either paint or veneer the headstock if the tuners don't hide the doweling. You might as well give veneering the headstock a go, its well worth it. You can buy a marquerty pack for about $20 - $30 and get a heap of different veneers for headstocks.

I'm not liking the look of that copper wire sticking out of the humby. Test the resistance (or continuity) with a multi-meter, If she don't work, chuck it. same with the single coil. If you need a new PBG single coil or Humby, let me know I've got a stack from various kits I can send you some. Other wise there might be a forum member in Vic that has some spare.

when checking the bridge and neck alignment prior to finishing, I get some plastic tubing from the green shed and wrap it around the bridge posts to hold it in place. I don't like putting in the bushings before I finish a guitar.

Its pretty typical to have some play in the neck hole. you'll need it to get the neck square and the alignment correct before drilling. Its a bolt on neck so it matters none and the pickguard will hide any gaps. if you dont like it I would shim it with some veneer offcuts from said marquetry pack.

good luck mate

[Grubsta]

Hi Andy.

Thanks for the advice mate much appreciated.
The wonky tuner holes aren't a deal breaker for me so ill plug them up and re-drill them i like the idea of veneering the headstock though something i would never have even considered.
The pups i suspect will be good for the bin ill check them today if i get a chance i have 2 spare humbuckers kicking around so ill only need a replacement for the single coil.
Ill also get my hands on some tubing for the bridge posts that part makes perfect sense to me now.
Ill probably shim the pocket but ill see how it looks once I've squared and aligned the neck properly it may not look so obvious once thats done and your right the pick guard does cover most of it.
Thanks for clearing those few points up for me.

Cheers
Russ