GTL-1 First Build

[Simon Barden]

10s for me on electrics, except for my 5-string open G Vintage V130 LP Jr DC alike, with 12s.

I find a lot more scratches when actually applying the stain, as it pools in the deeper scratches which really highlights them. Then I can't unsee them, so it's out with the sandpaper, remove the scratches and re-stain.

[jugglindan]

I used to use 11-49s (D'Addario EXL115s) but I switched to 10-46 last year and love it. In hindsight I wonder why I stuck with 11s for so long. I still find large bends hard, but that's probably me rather than the strings. I might set up my tele for 9s initially just for the experiment.

[Jomasgaard]

Do people normally go heavier or lighter on Gibson scaled guitars?
I’ve used 10-52s on all my fender style guitars for years, need that snap, been a long time since I played a 24.75

[Simon Barden]

The 'norm' is 9s for Fenders and 10s for Gibsons due to the shorter scale length of the Gibsons, which supposedly gives them a similar playing feel. Can't say it did for me. But a lot will depend on how your guitar is set up. It's a lot easier playing heavier strings with a low action, as you don't have to add so much extra tension to push the strings onto the frets as you do with a high action.

[Simon_B]

I've been using Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinkys 9-42 on my Fender and Rick since 1989 and recently Mangan or D'Addario NYXL 10-46 on Gibson scales.

As a kid in an Indie band, I didn't like Gibsons back then

Edit: spaces.

[Guerito]

Progress!




Between work and life getting in the way and me nearly losing the will to live trying to get the scratches out of the endgrain on the sides, I hadn't done anything on the guitar for a while. So to get back into it I focused on the neck. Printed off a template and spent an hour with a coping saw and sandpaper cutting and shaping. Came out pretty well apart from near the nut on the treble side where I cut slightly inside the line. I was able to more or less mask that with a file and a lot of sanding. First pic is just after cutting/shaping, second pic is from last night with the first coat of Crimson's finishing oil on.

The fretboard is still raw, I'll apply the oil to it a bit differently from the rest of the neck but it does highlight how much the oil colours the raw maple. It's really humid here and the oil was still a bit tacky this morning after hanging for about 7 hours in my bathroom (I don't have a balcony or even windows that open!) so I think I'll be lucky if I get two coats applied per day.



After getting somewhere with the neck I went back to the body. I finally managed to hide the scratches that I can't seem to avoid putting into the body endgrain by taking a little more time to follow the grain while sanding. It's very swirly so it took a while but it's not looking too bad now. I've given up on removing the factory scratch marks, they're just going to be a feature of the finished guitar.

I re-coloured the front and back then sanded with 400 grit to try to get a burst. With the way the ash absorbs the stain it's not perfect but it's not too bad either. Tonight I'll go back over everything with 400 to lighten the colour a bit, then redo the colour on the edges to darken them. I'm in the home straight now. Hopefully after tonight all that will be left will be clear-coating, fret dressing and final assembly.

Because I just can't leave good enough alone, I also got a set of pickups delivered from axetec in the UK - stacked single coils where you can engage one stack (slightly hot at around 7.5K) or both stacks together which are 11K in the neck and 16K in the bridge! The toneriders will still go in first. But I also ordered a spare pickguard and control plate, as well as some new standard pots, a push-push pot and a mini toggle switch to do some trick wiring with the new pickups.

[jugglindan]

The stain on the ash body looks great! I really like it a lot.

Also, to add to the conversation about string gauges, since my last comment I have put a set of D'Addario EXL125s on my G&L. They are a 9-46 hybrid set. Unwound strings from 9s, wound strings from 10s. So far I am loving them. A minor truss rod adjustment was needed though, and I still need a small intonation adjustment too. But they feel great.

[Guerito]

First coat of oil on the body last night (the colour isn't as green in real life):






I doused the body in the Crimson finishing oil and used 600 grit (initially) to create the slurry. After just one coat the grain is very close to completely filled. You can feel just the slightest bit of grain when you run your fingers over it. The sandpaper did remove a little of the colour around the edge of the burst and on the sides, though, so I switched to 1200 grit halfway through. I'm not a huge fan of relics, but that bit of it isn't too bad.

I thought that the colour in the middle would get a bit "dirty" from the slurry picked up from the black parts around the edge and sure enough it did. I considered sanding the colour off and redoing it, but with the hardware dry-fitted it's much less noticeable and I kinda like the overall look.

I'm going to do another coat tonight, try to get one done in the morning and see how it looks after that. This first application was a soak and grain fill coat, so the finish should start building up from here.

The neck has had four straight coats of oil and a oily wet-sand with 1200. There's a nice, thin finish on it now which feels surprisingly hard, if a little bit squeaky. I put one very thin coat on the fretboard this morning and I'll do a few more until it feels built up enough. Then on to fret dressing.

[Guerito]

Building up the finish, four (I think) coats in. Slow going because the humidity is 85%+ most days. It's coming along though, it now has a decent satin sheen.

I followed Crimson's guide for the first three coats: pour on a generous amount, then wipe off the excess after a few minutes. I'm starting to run low on oil so I put the last coat on in the standard tru oil style, a super-thin coat wiped off quickly. This went on on Sunday afternoon and it's still tacky now on Tuesday, even after moving the guitar to a bigger, better-ventilated room.





Link to an Imgur gif showing the sheen seeing as the link wouldn't embed:
https://imgur.com/gallery/ch8dpTn

And the neck:


I've got 5 coats on the neck. I tried rubbing the oil into the neck with my finger but no matter how well I rubbed it off, I couldn't avoid some pooling by the frets. I switched to just using a rag for the last coat. Which is also still tacky. Once this dries I'll get started on dressing the frets.

Once the body dries I'm going to do a light sanding to get rid of some crud which has stuck to the latest coat, and maybe a wet sand with 1500 grit, not sure. Then a few more thin coats followed by a final coat of mineral spirits/oil 50:50 mix and I'll call it done.

[Simon Barden]

You can only upload 4 photos per post. So if you want to upload more photos, you just have to break your post up into two or more posts.

High humidity affects the way a lot of of finishes dry. Unfortunately you just have to wait.

Looking good though.