abutton

[abutton]

Hello, my name is Alan - I have never joined anything like this before and I am not familiar with many of the requirements of communicating like this.
I am also out of my comfort zone learning the guitar and music - tabs, music theory etc. and to top it off I am going to try and build a guitar??
I am in my 50's and have decided to just give these sorts of activities a go and see how far I get
I have ordered and received an SG12F Guitar and want to order the stain for it.
I don't know whether you need to stain the neck and if so what color - the videos don't show this bit - as far as I can see.
Could somebody help with this as their are stain colors for the neck on the Dingotone webpage.
Thanks,
Alan

[gavinturner]

Welcome Alan!

There are plenty of experts here who can help you with your queries on Dingotone. Personally I colour my neck and headstock, but it's personal preference. Minimally you'll have to apply some form of clear coat to seal and protect the wood. While you wait to make final decisions on your finish, I would suggest doing a mock build to make sure all the parts fit together, and to get any necessary wood working out of the way. You can then start sanding (and sanding and sanding) long before final colours have been chosen . Start a build diary thread for your build and share your experiences with all of us. It's a gret way to ask questions and get support and encouragement as you go.

Most of all, enjoy your build!

cheers,
Gav.

[Scott J.]

Hey Alan, welcome to the "gang"... don't worry age, you're never too old (or too young) to enjoy yourself with something new (and there's plenty of us "old fogies" in the PBG crew! ) ... and as Gav said, there's a plethora of information in the different forum threads and a mountain of experience in its members just waiting to be tapped ... and we're all keen to share the experience (and our opinions! )

... and do start a build diary (under the "My Build Diary" section) and keep it happening with plenty of pics (we all like looking at pics!) ... and also post there any problems you encounter - we all read each other's build diaries and you'll always get a number of answers to your queries.

[WeirdBits]

Welcome Alan, comfort zones are overrated... just jump in with both feet. Gav's advice is on the money, and the mock build especially is a great place to start. Some people stain the body and neck with different colours, others carry the body stain through to the neck, personal preference really and depends on the look you're going for. Typically with products like Dingotone the top coat for the neck is a slightly different formula, which provides a harder more durable finish and remains fast to play under the hand. So, there can be value is using neck-specific concoctions.

I'd suggest having a look at the complete SG-1F's (I'm assuming that's what you have) in the Gallery section, and the in-progess builds in My Build Diary area and see if any colours or stain combo's leap out at you. Also, maybe search some SG images on Google and find a colour or look you particularly like, then the collective forum wisdom can offer some advice on how to achieve that finish.

Good luck with the build and don't be afraid to ask any and all questions.

(BTW, the 2nd half of the Dingotone video Part 2 shows the application of DT neck stain, I'll add a link here)

[Fretworn]

Welcome Alan! It can be a bit scary when you first start building. If you are in any doubt about anything, just ask a question here. I've never failed to receive an answer, usually very quickly.

[Rob L]

Welcome Alan! I'm 52 and still can't read music, tab, and know nothing about theory. I just know what I like when I play/write it!
As to finishing, it's a personal thing really. While I have painted my headstocks in the past I have never dyed or painted the back of a neck. I sand them smooth and use tung oil on them.
Even with guitars I bought the first thing I do is sand the neck and tung oil. It's all in what you think will work for you.

[Brendan]

Alan - you will need to finish the neck in something - the wood needs something to stop it from drying out and a good finish feels nice under your hands. The DingoTone stains go from colourless through to ambers - if you look at guitars on the web, they vary in amberness (new word I know) from natural wood to an almost orangy yellow. Comes down to personal preference - I like natural wood colours, others like Gav like a more amber stain.

[kells80aus]

Hi Alan,
welcome to the group. Age is no barrier, I'm over 60, I started building guitars a few years back as an alternate hobby to spending my life in front of and knuckle deep inside PC's. I was an IT specialist in a past life. I am the first to admit I can't help about the shape I'm in
I can't sing I ain't pretty and my legs are thin. The guys here have coated and coloured their kits in any number of different products.
They've used Wudtone, Dingotone, Shellac, Tung oil, Tru-oil, acryllic, Nitro-Cellulose, and even stuff out of spray cans. So there is a wide range of knowlege about what works and what doesn't.

Did you mean your kit was a SG1F, because if there is a 12F I want one... being a 12 string.

Cheers PK
Somewhere on the other side of Melbourne.

[abutton]

Thanks Gav,

Sorry I did'nt respond earlier I thought the posts would come thru to my email address

Thanks heaps for your advice - I will try and set up my Build Diary

Thanks again - I thought nobody was interested in my comments

Cheers,

Alan

[abutton]

Thanks Scott,

I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to my comments.

Really helps make me feel welcome and not a bit of a dill for having a go at building a guitar.

Also not too good with computers neither ha!

I will take your advice and start up a build diary

Hope to stay in touch

Cheers,

Alan