First Build - PRS-1F

[Waylander]

Hi all,

Will use this post as introduction/log/place to source answers to any issues I might have.
So, I'm a soon to be 40yr old ( Bday in 4 days ) husband and dad of eleventy million kids. And for the last 5 days have been on Iso due to one of my sons first, and now the wife as well having covid.
Had holiday booked already for my birthday so what better to spoil myself with a DIY guitar kit

As far as guitar history is concerned, I don't really have much. I know a few chords and can play a few songs from numbered tab learning. But I want to actually learn properly and do it right as a side hobby. And I also would class myself as pretty handy, and love building things/taking em apart to see what makes em tick. So this was a natural choice I think.

Enough about me anyway, so heres what I just ordered and will be dealing with/plans:

Kit: PRS-1F Flame Maple
Upgrade Option: Grover Black 6 Inline Mini Locking Rotomatics
Plus a bunch of tools required for the build.

Dyes: After a fair bit of research and seeing what was available I settled with theleathershed for the order and got 2 colours from Cobblestone ( Spirit based dyes )Turquoise and Blue.
My plan is to have dark blue edging with fade into turquoise center. After watching a ton of staining/dying vids I would of preferred to stain it all dark blue, sand it back to isolate the blue and then turquoise on top with a black edge. But I also read here that the veneer is super thin and doesnt allow for sanding to accomplish this.
I feel using the 2 colours I have chosen together should hopefully turn out ok.

Body sealer: I'm planning on using a wipe on poly. And am thinking Feast Watsons from bunnings. I want a satin finish. But not sure if this will compliment stain. So any thoughts on this would be appreciated.
Im also planning of using it for the back of the neck. Once again, any input on this choice would be appreciated.

Will probably go with true oil for fret board. But am undecided at this point as Im still researching it.

Anyways, I chose express option in shipping so should hopefully have it in my greedy lil mitts shortly

Thanks for having me :thumbsup:

[McCreed]

Hi Waylander, and welcome.

There have been some recent builds of that kit (or similar) here, and there are some common issues that accompany them.
First is glue on the veneer, and second is neck angle for good playing action.

I would suggest having a read through these two build diaries:

PSH-1 Build by vivek-rc

First Build - PSH-1 Hollowbody by mrpearson

There is a lot of info from first-hand experience about dealing with those specific issues and how they can be overcome.
I have also completed a PRS1-TS (similar but older kit) and happy to offer help where I can. Heaps of other support here to!

Cheers,
Mick

edit to add:

Will probably go with true oil for fret board. But am undecided at this point as Im still researching it.

That kit has a rosewood fretboard, and rosewood is typically not sealed (unlike maple). You can seal it with Tru Oil if you want to, but is not necessary.

[mrpearson]

Hey there welcome to the forum and a great way to learn more about your guitar (hobby / addiction). It’s a fine line that I crossed during my build.

If you are worried about sanding through try blending your dyes whilst wet. A lot of the prs videos get great effects blending dyes and you don’t always need to dye black and sand back.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=mDpMExunvfY&feature=share

Check of my build where I have still managed to accentuate the figure and added a burst. Instead of sanding you can use 0000 steel wool to knock back your base coat. When doing my burst I blended a darker stain whilst a bottom layer was still wet similar to the prs videos.

The other technique is to wipe down your base coat with turps which should leave figure accentuated.

Now figure aside you need to work out where the nasty glue stains are. I would recommend doing a very diluted light stain to figure out where they are first and then attempt to remove with goof off (the darker obvious ones) or water for where it has soaked through. The reality is the soak through ones need to hidden with dye or markers or both. The reason for the diluted stain is that turps by itself is not showing where they are. If you find them with a dark stain it is harder to work with to bury and you run the risk of damaging the veneer.

As McCreed says you won’t need to use tru oil on the fret board. Lemon oil is fine.

When buying tools the most important ones are a decent fret file ( make sure it is for super wide frets). Also a fret rocker and fret level are important. Most other tools you get in a cheap luthier kit you won’t use so would recommend invest in buying better tools.

If you haven’t ordered upgrade to the bone nut. You won’t need nut files as the nut is precut.

And as McCreed says sort out the damn neck angle to make sure that your strings are just touching the frets when the bridge is at its lowest point. You are likely to need a shim if the kit is the same as mine. The shim is easy enough to make and there is a guide provided in my build diary by another builder.

And whilst taking about bridges buy a new good quality one. For a wrap around bridge guitar the bridge quality has the biggest impact on your sustain and vibrations. I went with a gotoh one which also solves for the bridge tilt problem.

I upgraded all my electrics as well and managed to build a better sounding guitar than my real prs se. But if you going for a solid body you can always change out the electrics later with not too much fuss (you may want to upgrade to cts pots which have larger hole diameter than the kit ones and hence good to fit before you stain and finish. (They only cost around $10 each).


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[Waylander]

Hi Waylander, and welcome.

Thanks for the welcome and reply bud. Im sitting on a cart in amazon which I would appreciate both yours and mrpearsons thoughts on.

After mrpearsons suggestion about the Bridge with known issues I did a bit of research on his recommended product and came up with this: https://www.amazon.com.au/GOTOH%C2%A...s%2C274&sr=8-1
And in regards to the Bone nut suggestion. I'm thinking of an adjustable brass one, so Id like thoughts on this:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Kaynes-Adj...45&sr=8-1&th=1
I think this should be fine as the dimensions are the same as the Pitbull bone offering.

And in regards to the electrics ( More importantly the Pots ) I found this, which seems like good quality and are from a reputable source:
https://www.amazon.com.au/ToneShaper...s%2C261&sr=8-2

Eventually my plan is to upgrade the pickups as well, but Im already stretching the budget and think this is a good starting point.
I also thank you both for the suggestions in regards to the finish and the fret board.

I look forward to your response.

[mrpearson]

Hi
I didn't realise your kit was not a wrap around bridge and see it is a tunomatic style. I cannot really comment on the quality of the kit version, it maybe ok. The kit wraparound was way too high for a decent action but your maybe ok. Other builders may have an opinion. In terms of buying components checkout https://www.realparts.com.au/ They are australian based and offer free express shipping. Amazon US will take forever to arrive.

I am not sure about the Brass bridge, i reckon simpler is better for your first build. If budget is a concern I would recommend the Bone upgrade from Pitbull and put the money into Pickups. The Toneriders are excellent value for money and sound great. A luthier at my guitar school was pretty impressed with their tone. However pickups come down to personal preference.

[McCreed]

I agree with mrpearson re: having a look at Realparts.
I have used the Gotoh 103B-T on several builds and they're great. Much better than the ABR-style kit ones. Realparts doesn't have it in black, but do in chrome, nickel and gold. FWIW they're good value.

That brass bridge is not designed for G-style nut slot. It's for a ST or TL type. Personally I wouldn't use it on those either, but that's just me. I would go with bone or Tusq or similar.

I'll also echo mr. p's sentiment about how you spend your money within your budget. You will get more improvement out of upgrading the pickups than just upgrading the pots. If you have a set budget, swapping the pickups and nothing else, is going to give you the best result. Better quality pots won't make unremarkable pickups sound remarkable, and lesser quality pots won't make remarkable pickups sound unremarkable.

I know it goes against what most people do here, but you may want to consider not over-capitalising on your first build. (said the kettle to the pot ). You can always upgrade bits & pieces once you have it finished and playing nicely.

[Waylander]

Thought I'd post a quick update.
Kit was delivered, but the Upgraded Machine Tuners I ordered weren't in stock, so they only shipped the stock kit ones.

I have also done my trip to bunnings and got all prep supplies ( abbrasives/paint tape etc ) and a spray paint respirator ( As I have ordered a 2k Spray Clear Coat )

My delivery of colour stains has arrived today.

In the interim, I ordered a bunch of stuff for it and am now just waiting on all deliveries to arrive.

After some research I also Took the advice offered here and ordered CTS Audio Taper and Linear Taper pots, plus Capacitors. In regards to the wiring, do you guys reckon I should order more wiring? Or would I be able to salvage the wiring from the kit?

Also ordered upgraded Pick-ups.

And from Pitbull I ordered a bone nut to replace the stock one.

I want to do everything in the order I have for it in my head. So I'm just waiting for all the deliveries and it will start in earnest.

To clarify on my plan for the body work. It's to colour stain the maple top obviously, and the rear and sides to be stained Black.
Then the body will get a good few coats of the 2k.

And the Neck/Headstock, I've ordered tru oil. So will do a few coats of that and see how I like the feel of it. If needed I have 0000 Steel wool to finish it if it's too grabby for my liking.

As always, thoughts are appreciated

[dbeltrami]

Hi Waylander,

Good quality cloth wire is not expensive. I would ditch the wire in the kit, especially since you are upgrading pots and pickups.

Will be interested to see how your black stain turns out. I used a black on my PSH kit. The basswood seems to have given it a blue-black tint. I actually like the colour but not what I envisaged.

[McCreed]

Kit was delivered, but the Upgraded Machine Tuners I ordered weren't in stock, so they only shipped the stock kit ones.

First, I just noticed in your first post that you ordered "Grover Black 6 Inline Mini Locking Rotomatics" - that kit requires 3 x 3 (???).
As for the kit tuners, I think there actually quite good. They're typically 15:1 ratio and unless there is a definite internal defect, they operate smoothly and are stable.
There is a lot of misinformation on the internet about "cheap tuners" and "tuning stability". Most of it is BS. Tuning issues very rarely have anything to do with the tuners!

After some research I also Took the advice offered here and ordered CTS Audio Taper and Linear Taper pots, plus Capacitors. In regards to the wiring, do you guys reckon I should order more wiring? Or would I be able to salvage the wiring from the kit?

The kit wire is reasonably small gauge. It will do the job and allow a signal to pass just fine, however larger gauge wire provides more solid connections by being less prone to flexing and causing breakage. It's also a lot easier to solder IMO. If you're going to the expense of upgrading the pots and pickups, I would advocate for better quality wire, 22 AWG is a good workable gauge.

And the Neck/Headstock, I've ordered tru oil. So will do a few coats of that and see how I like the feel of it. If needed I have 0000 Steel wool to finish it if it's too grabby for my liking.

I think you'll find that "a few coats" will not be enough. The first 3-4 coats will penetrate and seal the timber to a degree, but it will not really "build" IYKWIM. If you want to develop an actual protective film, that will require upwards of 20 coats IME.
As to the feel, it is very similar to polyurethane (which is in Tru Oil). It can be given a more satin feel and appearance with light sanding, however I DO NOT recommend using steel wool for anything at any point of your build. Fine synthetic sanding pads or even wet/dry paper is better.

[mrpearson]

Agree with McCreed. For truoil get a tex pad from sandpaper man. https://www.thesandpaperman.com.au/g...nding-pad.html

Apply 4-5 coats of TO and just give it a light rub with the tex pad every 5 coats till you get a Matt finish. You are just wanting to knock off any dust really. Repeat 4x times till you get to 20 coats. Then apply a couple of coats of truoil diluted with turps. Best method I found was using a synthetic chamois cut into squares, soak in turps, ring out any excess (damp not wet) and then a couple of drops of truoil. Apply. Light passes help get rid of the tiny bubbles and you will have a great smooth glossy surface.

When applying your 20 coats of neat truoil I used coffee filters. Aeropress ones are great as you can buy a pack of 100 or so for less than $10. Perfect size and very little fluff if any. They don’t work so well for gloss coats at the end. When applying make sure it is super thin. You should not see and oil or streaks if you are doing it properly. It dries fast so you can easily do 2-3 coats per day.

Avoid wet and dry if you can. If You rub too hard you can easily sand through or create a dull patch. I made this mistake a lot as I was flattening oil I applied too thick. (See point above). The only time i used wet and dry in the end was to remove drips from mistakes. The tex pad won’t remove drips or major blemishes.

When you are finishing your guitar the tex pad is great for touch ups. Even if you rub and get a dull finish a bit of car polish will bring back the shine.


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