Well that's nice! I was just looking at the ad for the AGD-612L, and lo and behold, somebody has started one.
I started a left-handed standard Stratocaster a couple of years back. I've got it working and it plays really well, but due to family problems beyond my control, my workroom suddenly became somebody's bedroom and my woodworking stuff was buried under a pile of cardboard boxes, so I never got round to the final finishing touches.
I've only just recently gotten to the stage where I can get back to it again, and I'm also looking seriously at a AGD-612L.
Regarding Basswood, I just wanted to share what I did for the final finish.
First of all, I don't agree with the notion that your guitar has to look like something that's been dipped in glucose syrup to be a successful build.
You can see plenty of examples of big-name rock stars who play the most decrepit-looking instruments. Flea of The Red Hot Chili Peppers plays an extremely "distressed"-looking shell pink Fender Jazz Bass, and not only is he clearly not interested in having it restored, Fender actually make a "Flea" Jazz Bass, with all the banged-up paintwork faithfully reproduced!
Francis Rossi of Status Quo has been playing the same beat-up green Telecaster for over 60 years, and there are places that will custom modify new guitars to look like your particular hero's "vintage" job.
I've used Feast Watson fine rubbing oil and cabinet wax on the Strat and an earlier Jazz Bass I built, and I'm more than happy with the finish. The great thing is that you can just apply it with fine steel wool which automatically smooths the surface down, it just smells like furniture polish, not paint thinner, and you don't have to clean anything up between coats.
I originally went for a Sunburst design. To achieve that, I first brushed the body down with a weak solution of yellow inkjet refill dye, and then carefully rubbed the edges with a cotton wool pad dipped in a weak cyan inkjet dye. That produced a nice green-and-gold sunburst effect; but the only problem was that once I'd applied the wax, the join between the two pieces of basswood became painfully obvious!
(Unfortunately I don't seem to have a photo of that).
So then I got some very coarse sandpaper and carefully cut a series of scratches through the wax coating along the grain, and then rubbed over it with the cyan dye pad, producing a what looks like green woodgrain that nicely disguises the joins in the wood! I did a bit more heavy duty rubbing around the edges to enhance the "worn out by love" effect, al la Francis Rossi's Telecaster.
I also re-shaped the headstock into an animal claw shape and dyed it with more inkjet ink. The maple grain really takes it up well as you can see.
The only problem with the design is that, unless you're fairly close, it's not obvious what it's supposed to be.
The hole where the guitar lead normally plugs in is meant to contain a valve (tube) with an orange LED to make it look like it's actually operating. I'll have to find that, and the mesh cover I made for it.
Last edited by Keith Walters; 06-07-2020 at 02:42 PM.
Reason: Minor errors
Reply With Quote