GHQ-1M - Pinky

[Fretworn]

Looking forward to seeing this one complete.

[B'Lark]

Thanks Fretworn, almost there, coulda been there last night but well when do things ever go perfectly to plan.

So all the hardware is on now, and I'm really pleased with how it looks





I did mention offhand that I'd stained the back of the neck purple in one of my previous posts, but this is the first picture I've popped up. Since I used pink on it first it ended up a lighter purple than the body, which I am totally happy with, it still looks nice to me.



Now, no strings on it at the moment because while I was grappling with understanding this (to me) completely alien bridge and nut system, I was trying to lock down the low strings and I'm not totally sure if I crossthreaded the screw or if it was just the metal isn't very solid, but I stripped the thread of the nut. I've ordered a replacement for it and I'll be a bit more careful with it. Hoping I don't have to resort to completely redoing things to fit a new type of nut on, but we'll see what happens.

[B'Lark]

Actually might be useful to comment on the stains too.

Now that I've used these, I wouldn't say I don't recommend them, but there's some caveats with it all.

The way that the stain feels to apply, it kind of feels like it sits on top and doesn't penetrate the wood very well. With the Pink it worked fine because it was a light colour and the figure was able to shine through well. The purple though, there was a good few rivers of figure throughout the fretboard and the back wood, but none of that really came through at all, it was all just a deep purple.

But in saying that, I don't think that's strictly a bad thing. I think if you've got a less interesting wood or something that you want to get a more solid colour on (like it was with the back of mine) then I'd say go ahead. The stains are nice to work with, the colours that I got were really nice, plus there's a whole whole heap of colours available, and I do possibly have plans to use some of the others in future. Some cool Pearlescent and Metallic ones are available that I suspect could look pretty good honestly.

But yea, I'm happy with how it turned out, but they're definitely not gonna be ideal for every project.

[JohnH]

The purple is a nice shade, even if it covered some grain!

[B'Lark]

The purple is a nice shade, even if it covered some grain!

Yea definitely can't complain about the shades, happy with that part for sure!

Got the replacement nut today, and got strings on there safely, but looks like the nut is sitting up a bit, and not pulling the B and high E strings down on the Zero fret properly. I'll have to pull it back off in the morning and see if filing the shelf down a bit will do the job, or if I'll have to fill and re-drill a hole.

[B'Lark]

Alright, tried to shim and do a little bit of filing and so on to try and get the nut sitting properly, but no luck. So re-drilling it is gonna be the go. Got it all set up, just waiting on it to dry now.

[PJSprog]

I really like the way the purple came out on the back of the neck.

[B'Lark]

I really like the way the purple came out on the back of the neck.

Thanks PJ! Happy with it too!!

I think we're all done now!! Had a bit of an issue with the grounding but sorted now. Had a wire heading to the bridge, and ran it under the bridge plate, but the connection there wasn't doing the job, so soldered it on to the corner of the plate. Looks a little sloppy, but it's not right up front and it saved having to take it apart at all haha



And a couple outdoor shots







I think that's about it! Happy with how the pickups are sounding in it too. Overall, quite happy with the build

[Fretworn]

What’s it like playability wise?

[B'Lark]

What’s it like playability wise?

It's... Different. The headless-ness throws me off a little bit, but not so much that a bit of playing won't get past that. The action would probably be too high for most people, and there's not a great way to lower it at all because the posts on the bridge aren't adjustable. But I've never been a big shredder so it's not the end of the world for me personally.

Honestly though, getting a good replacement for the bridge would make it a good deal better, because that's really the weakest part of the kit. The fine tuners aren't great, the saddles are super tall so there's only so far you can lower them, and it just doesn't feel great. I've had the bridge locked the whole time so as a Trem bridge I can't say for sure, but I've seen other people talk about the bridges being awful for it, and just from what I've felt from it, I would definitely suspect they're right.

Everything else about the guitar though I dig. It's insanely light (even with the bridge), the neck feels good and the semi-hollow nature helps with sustain. So I'm happy with it overall.

I'm going to have to preface my comment with damn you too. I didn't realise he had a headless kit either. Now I gotta get one.
Love the stain work all except the back which is just a tiny bit dark for me but that's a personal thing.

I KNOW RIGHT?! He just got me again with a surprise Mockingbird kit too, so I guess there's no escape haha

Thanks!! I do kind of agree with the Purple on the back. If I did it again I'd put a layer of Pink on first as with the neck, but I'll still take it as it is haha