Ken's first build - LP-1S

[kenfu]

Wokka, it is the stock nut. I used Gavin's great neck and intonation guides (but didn't level the frets, don't have the tools yet) and I did sand off some of the nut but maybe still too high? Think I was very nervous about going too far... I'll give that a go. Thanks!

[crundes]

Loved seeing this build come together Ken. It seemed to take you no time at all! Im definitely keen to try the steel wool method now! With the nut you can always just shim it if you go too far. Not ideal but all is not lost if you take too much off.

[kenfu]

Wokka, thanks for the tip! In the guide it had said when fretting @ the 3rd string it should just be touching or you should just see a little light under the first fret... My idea of "a little light" was much too far on the "safe" side. Using my handy dandy credit card device, I saw the gap was actually more than the card. So I took the nut, put the card next to it, drew a line with a fine tip marker, and sanded till I was in the line. Restrung the low and high e strings and clamped the nut in place, and I could slide some paper in there easy. Made a few more passes and blammo! Perfect. I figured since I had the nut off, I'd follow Gavin's guide and DB's tips for low-tech fret leveling. I had already adjusted the neck so I had to get it level again, and took a couple light whacks with my rubber deadblow on the offending frets. Did some sanding and very careful finger sanding to recrown, put it all back together... Still got some buzz on the low e string on the highest frets.

Very frustrated this morning, I decided to take a break and just play the darn thing. Plugged in Rocksmith, and went through a couple lessons. One was pick technique. The lightbulb went off over my head. When I used to play, it was on an acoustic with very high action and very heavy strings. I wasn't so much picking the strings on the LP as I was beating sound out of it. Started playing less like I was in a brawl and more like I was tickling a baby- No buzz! I could not for the life of me figure out what they meant by "volume" in reference to picking. I pretty much had an off/on switch. Zero or Five Finger Death Punch. I just relaxed and let the guitar do the work... It was kind of an epiphany moment. Without much effort, I could pick a lot faster and actually hear a difference in volume...

So a couple lessons well learned. One, how important micro adjustments are and how small the margins are. Two, it is most certainly *not* easier to wait for final adjustments "when you have better tools." I thought my guitar was great before, but now that I know how much difference addressing the frets makes, I'm not going to put it off until later. Three, make sure it is an actual problem, not operator error.

One of my favorite troubleshooting acronyms for someone just being an idiot is PEBKAC: Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair. So now I'm going to check my problems for PEBSAG: "Problem Exists Between Strap And Guitar."

Crundes, it did come together super fast. I'm pretty lucky, I work as a computer contractor from home. So when I work on a project, I can take small breaks and work on it all day. I don't have to wait until evening or weekends to do it. It's pretty easy to get a lot of hours in on something during the week.

EDIT: I had completely forgotten about this. I don't like the plastic "rhythm treble" switch. So I apparently ordered a new one. Completely forgot when I was building and decided to leave the cover off and go with just the switch. I finally got this in the mail today. There's a new sheriff in town!



And I did orient the switch so it goes up and down relative to the pick ups. I've never understood why they had it mounted relative to the player. Seems like an unnecessary layer of abstraction. Just make the switch point the direction of the pickup - toward the neck, middle, toward the bridge.

[Fretworn]

And I did orient the switch so it goes up and down relative to the pick ups. I've never understood why they had it mounted relative to the player. Seems like an unnecessary layer of abstraction. Just make the switch point the direction of the pickup - toward the neck, middle, toward the bridge.

The traditional Les Paul switch orientation makes it very easy to change pickups while playing. But also easy to do this unintentionally. You will find it slightly harder to do sleight of hand pickup changes. But not that much harder.

[kenfu]

Maybe it is my programming brain. But if your hand has to move from picking to switch in this direction <-> isn't it easier for it to move that direction vs 2 moves like <-> ^|v? Not trying to be contrary, I really want to learn.

[stan]

great switch plate Ken, is it from Hell Guitars?

I have some of their stuff to go onto projects, it's very cool.

I think is is silly to have such nicely crafted guitars and put cheap plastic bits on them, but i do like what you did with the truss rod cover

[kenfu]

Yep, found it on ebay. Pleasantly surprised at the quality. Will definitely get more of thier stuff

[Fretworn]

Maybe it is my programming brain. But if your hand has to move from picking to switch in this direction <-> isn't it easier for it to move that direction vs 2 moves like <-> ^|v? Not trying to be contrary, I really want to learn.

Well the picking motion is perpendicular to the strings, so you can incorporate pickup switching into the picking motion.

[BonneyFromClyde]

Hi Kenfu, what a beautiful guitar. I am in love with the finish and feel inspired to do it myself. This is my first build and I just wanted to ask you for a bit of advice.

How much sanding did you do before the chemical stain? You mentioned being weary of sanding the face too much and ruining the spalt, so I don't know what I can get away with and don't want to push it too far... thanks!

[Slayer666]

Dude that looks amazing! Well done. What pickups are those?