GPR-1M Build X2

[Simon Barden]

Looks like a great finish on there to me, well worth the effort and tears.

What's it sound and play like? Do you find the three wiring options per pickup useful?

[Super Spesh]

Super cool build! I'm working on my GPR kit right now with on/on switches for coil splitting, but I'm struggling with the wiring. Do you have a diagram or something?

[dozymuppet]

Oh my, that yellow finish looks so good!

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[DarkMark]

I particularly like the headstock. Well done.

[fender3x]

Oh my, that yellow finish looks so good!

Agreed! Is that the famous TV yellow?

[Simon Barden]

Agreed! Is that the famous TV yellow?

Definitely not. More a canary yellow.

TV 'yellow' was originally an off-white/light cream nitro straight onto mahogany, then grain filled with a dark tint, with the 'clear' nitro lacquer of the time sprayed on top. This 'clear' was quite amber, and both the white and the amber went more yellow with exposure to UV. Later, with more UV-stable paint and clearer lacquers available, the white base became a pale yellow to try and mimic the aged look.

Some of the original Jrs that were kept in their cases and rarely exposed to UV still retain the near-white look.

So any true TV yellow finish needs those three parts; the base coat, the dark grain fill to highlight the pores and clear over the top.

[Simon Barden]

The GPR-1 yellow reminds me of the yellow colour of the Selfridges bags (a posh UK department store). I had some control panels painted that colour when I was working on the construction of their Birmingham store back in 2002/2003. I never found out if they appreciated my small tribute.

[Fatboy]

Gents, thank you all for the words of encouragement especially as the yellow should have been stained and ended up solid !
To answer your questions:
Yes the three way switch does make a difference to the tones, some useful and others not so useful.

There are 9 different switchings as well as the tone control so a wide palette of sound is available.
The only thing was that this setup needs three way switches and the kit came with two way ones.
Good old ebay and a 10 day wait brought some of the finest switches from China at a reasonable price.

The yellow is a Halfords (UK motor factors) 'arty' rattlecan spray which is quite bright but also not harsh if that makes sense.

Here is a link to the switching for Superspesh:

https://guitarelectronics.com/2-humb...plit-parallel/

You can buy their stuff or borrow the diagrams, there are also simpler ones on their website.
I made a life size cardboard template, mounted the hardware and then wired it up.
Also bought some 3 and 4 way plug/sockets to help the wiring so I did not have to battle with
a loom for both sides. I thought that getting the hardware in would be a difficult operation.
A bit of thought and planning and it was done in 30 minutes. Phew !

As for playing well, hmmmm... not bad is my answer.
Despite slackening off the truss rod there is a tad too much back bow in the neck which means that the action
is just a bit too high otherwise the strings buzz on frets higher up the neck.
As the higher frets are not likely to be used by me or its new owner I could level those frets flatter but I will press
on with the build of No 2 for now and let the set up of No 1 settle.
I may learn more on No 2 which will help to improve No 1.

Again, thank you for your comments and feedback, always very welcome.
Might put it forward for Geetar of the Month.
Cheers, FB.

[Fatboy]

Oh, forgot to say that the Humbuckers supplied with No 1 had wiring for split coil for which I had to work
out the coils and the orientation.
Feeling smug and pleased with myself I opened the hardware pack for No 2.
No coil splitting, just two wires....argh !
Fortunately a quick(ish) Google session found some in the UK at a reasonable price that would do the job.
Phew ! again.

[Simon Barden]

The truss rod is dual action. So you should be able to get both concave and convex curves, as well as flat. There’s a dead spot in the middld of the truss rod action where the nut feels loose. But keep turning and it will bite again. If it feels loose, then it must be in its middle ‘do nothing’ position. So you should be able to get just a small amount of concave curve if you keep turning.