My RCA-4 Build :-)

[stuzl873213]

Whats the chance of this, RCA-4 from Aus and yours lands just up the road from me. I am in Poynton and finished my RCA-4 in November. I also used Wudtone (BMW). Have a look at my build diary for pitfalls

[Gary B]

Well that is amazing:-)
I know there are a few brits on here but being so near and building the same guitar - as you say what are the chances.
I have had a good look at your build diary and was suitably impressed.
I was in Poynton on Thursday night to see the Billy Walton Band!

[Gary B]

Well I don't know how it is for the rest of you but that is quite a moment applying the first bit of finish to that lump of wood you have grown to know and love over the past weeks.
I agonised over what finish to go for but finally decided to try a burst with Wudtone Hot Auburn on the outer and Burning Sun inner.
This is looking exactly as I had hoped. There are some edges a little harder than I would like but I am sure I can blend them with further coats and I think I need to be a bit less subtle with the darker colour.
But overall I am well happy with this



Phone photo under fluorescent light not the best but hopefully you get the idea

[Simon Barden]

Very nice colour, Gary.

[Fretworn]

The blending is the hardest part of doing a burst, but you've picked the right colours to get a great result.

[rook]

Looking good, Garry.

Is this sprayed or done by hand?

Been thinking of trying a burst myself. Would love to hear about your process and what you learned by doing it. What you would do differently, etc...

And I agree with you, you could go darker around the edges. Nice work!

[Gary B]

Looking good, Garry.

Is this sprayed or done by hand?

Been thinking of trying a burst myself. Would love to hear about your process and what you learned by doing it. What you would do differently, etc...

And I agree with you, you could go darker around the edges. Nice work!

Thanks Rook.
It is a stain applied by hand just rubbing into the wood with a cloth.
I have used Wudtone products as they are in the UK but I think it is similar to Dingotone which there is lots of info available on this forum!
I should think there will be similar products available in Canada or the US.
If you search on Youtube for 'Wudtone sunburst' there are a couple of videos showing how it is done.
Basically they recommend starting with the darker colour so I went around the outside of the body first then a narrow band around the edge of the front. Then the lighter colour from the inside out to meet the dark. Then it is just a case of blending the join by adding more of whichever colour you think it needs.
It really is quite straightforward to do.
I guess if you wanted to you could do a 3 (or more) colour burst by the same method.
The stains I am using have a deep colour coat which is applied first. That is the stage I am at and will probably give it 2 maybe 3 coats. Then there is a base coat (seems odd that it goes on second!) then a clear top coat which has options for satin, gloss, ageing etc.

I have done a Danish Oil and a couple of rattle can spray finishes on guitars in the past but this is my first time using this sort of stain and I am finding it good so far!

[Gary B]

As it is quite cold in my guitar workshop (aka the loft) I am going to leave at least 48hrs between applications of stain so have had to turn my thoughts to the electrics.
I spent some time figuring out how the selector switch and stereo jack work and think I have come up with a plan as sketch below.



I'm sure this is laughably simple (or completely rubbish) to those who understand this sort of thing but I would be grateful for any comments (WeirdBits if you are out there?)
Looking at this again if this would work then could I just run the wires to the tip and ring terminals on the stereo jack and from there to the common on the mon jack?

Thanks in advance for any advice
Gary

[Simon Barden]

To get it to work properly you'll need to get a replacement selector switch, otherwise you can't separate the two pickup outputs so one goes to each jack. You may also need a different type of jack for the main socket. There are wiring diagrams for it on the Ric website.

[Gary B]

Thanks Simon.
I have the switchcraft selector switch.
Will have to look into the jack socket??