Thanks Wokka. The more I think about it, the more questions I form. I'll sit down at some stage and write a spec list of what I'm looking for - get them all in one place - then send it in and you can see just how my brain works (...or doesn't, as the case may be...)
Wazz... What can I say? I spent a significant amount of today going through threads and quite a few of them were yours... You don't need me to tell you this but you do mighty fine work, man. I have a LOT to learn about PUPs - active/splits/*insert other buzzwords here* etc - so I'll be studying your builds in detail (with a pen, notepad and a dictionary beside me)
13 years ago I bought a Gibson Explorer. It was gloss black with chrome hardware, standard PUPs and a mirror-finish scratchplate.
I owned it for about three days.
I thought it was my dream guitar but when I played it, it felt like a scaffolding plank with strings on it, so I brought it back to the shop and exchanged it for an ESP LTD EX351, which I LOVED immediately. Not the classic Ex shape, but way back in 1991 or so, I'd been given a guitar neck by a school-friend and then "designed" an Ex body shape to go with it. I never got close to building it but from what I can remember, it bore more of a resemblance to the ESP (JH4)model than the original Gibson shape.
Still... There's something about that shape that keeps drawing me back - but not to Gibson. If I could have my absolute favourite Explorer in my hands right now, it'd have to be a Ken Lawrence version (I always thought with an ebony top, but I'm not so sure about that any more).
It's been many years since I spoke with Ken about his version (I was quoted between 5 & 6k for a "Hetfield spec", and I simply couldn't/can't justify that expenditure for what I play), but I reckon with the right parts, a bit of care and a LOT of patience, I can turn out a halfway decent personal interpretation of what an Explorer is for me.
About 8 years ago I took up bow-making and have spent a lot of time since then justifying to my wife why I needed more staves, or blanks, or tools; and to be fair, she's not seen very much by way of return. So it was with no inconsiderable amount of trepidation when I mentioned "DIY guitar kit building".
She took it very well and mentioned how she prefers acoustic guitars (she plays a Taylor (518CE, I think)), and I was most surprised when she said she liked the ES-5V model, but would prefer a natural, warm colour, instead of solids, or even dark bursts...
So I think my first build will probably be an ES-5V of some kind. I'd also like to maybe build one for/with my daughter, though I don't know what model she'd choose. I'm thinking that if I build a guitar for her, she'll let me have my ESP back...
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