More SDUGF Green Singlecut Madness: Seeking Custom Guitar Finisher for Warmoth Regal

[Snake Aces]

It has been another long day, but seeing all these gorgeous green singlecuts only makes my itch to finish one of my upcoming projects stronger. I need to get this project moving forward.

One of the upcoming Warmoth Regals I am currently planning requires a very special finish. I usually have Warmoth finish the bodies I order from them, but they will be unable to accommodate this request due to the custom color I want. I am looking for a transparent neon green finish, almost lime green. I want it to be bright. The guitar will have a purpleheart neck, I am a big fan of the colors bright green and purple when combined together. Similar color scheme as the Joker in the 1989 Batman film.

The body will be swamp ash, I am hoping the carved top will be swamp ash as well. If the top cannot be swamp ash due to supply limitations, then I will go with the best flame or quilted maple top I can find. Black hardware and (sorry Seymour, I always use Duncans but this one will have...) Bare Knuckle Rebel Yell pickups.

However, I cannot take the next step forward (ordering it) until I can find somebody who can guarantee me this color/finish on the body. Who is the best of the best out there when it comes to custom guitar finish requests? I would like to know if it is possible and get their estimate before moving forward. I really hope this can be done.

Any suggestions for who I should contact about an estimate? I want this guitar to look incredible!

[orpheo]

First of, Rebel Yells are fairly bright sounding. Just be warned

Other than that, no idea. You could try to do it yourself but getting a finish to a high gloss is no cheap investment

[Snake Aces]

First of, Rebel Yells are fairly bright sounding. Just be warned

Other than that, no idea. You could try to do it yourself but getting a finish to a high gloss is no cheap investment

I was hoping the purpleheart would balance some of the brightness from the pickups.

As far as finishing goes, I have zero finishing skills. That is why I appreciate skilled luthiers such as yourself, you guys do amazing work that is worth paying for!

[ItsaBass]

I would contact Marty Bell with your idea. Try the phone instead of e-mail. He is about the best there is, and his prices are ridiculously reasonable.

My second choice would be R.S. Guitar Works. They're into tackling custom stuff, and very good, but also very expensive.

Third choice: Guitar Mill (but they have a very long turnaround time).

Whoever you are thinking about using, have them do some test runs for you first. They can paint 6x6 inch scraps, or similar, and send them to you.

Personally, if I was doing something that specific, and going to be that finicky about it, I'd just bite the bullet and dive in to learn everything I needed to learn to do it myself. It's not that hard. It takes some practice, though.

I would be using an aniline dye and clear coat if I was doing this. But that's because I like that look. It looks like a clear shell around a piece of wood that is actually the crazy color. A tinted clear looks like a colored shell around a naturally colored piece of wood. They're both nice...but the clear over dyed wood is more dimensional/deep looking.

If you want to visualize the difference between a clear coated dyed finish and a tinted finish, compare the center of a '50s Fender sunburst over alder to the center of a modern run of the mill two tone burst over alder, e.g. a Fender AVRI '57. The '50s burst was dyed then cleared, then bursted, then cleared again. Your typical modern sunburst process uses a tinted clear for the center color, and no clear coat before bursting. It does't have anywhere near the depth and crystalline look as the real '50s burst over alder.

You also might want to experiment with wood bleach. It's a touchy process, and takes some experimentation to nail, but it can really give outstandingly bright results when used prior to dyeing. It can't make a piece of wood totally white, but it can reduce the amount of pinkish-yellow that pollutes your desired color when doing translucent finishes. For example, if Fender had used wood bleach before spraying blonde in the '50s, the blonde finishes would have been close to dead neutral white, instead of that very slightly fleshy color.

[orpheo]

I was hoping the purpleheart would balance some of the brightness from the pickups.

As far as finishing goes, I have zero finishing skills. That is why I appreciate skilled luthiers such as yourself, you guys do amazing work that is worth paying for!

noooo, the purpleheart won't balance that at all. Purpleheart is hard and brittle and will give you a LOT of snap in your tone. Wenge gives you a warm, fat tone and purpleheart a snappy, bright, cutting tone. If wenge is mahogany on steroids, purpleheart is maple on steroids.

[Snake Aces]

noooo, the purpleheart won't balance that at all. Purpleheart is hard and brittle and will give you a LOT of snap in your tone. Wenge gives you a warm, fat tone and purpleheart a snappy, bright, cutting tone. If wenge is mahogany on steroids, purpleheart is maple on steroids.

Oh wow, thank you so much. I had no idea purpleheart was such a snappy wood (I have not owned a purpleheart neck yet, this will be my first).

Okay, so, in your opinion, if I use a body such as mahogany or black korina, will it be be enough to balance the snap of the purpleheart? Or should I just choose different pickups?

[Snake Aces]

I would contact Marty Bell with your idea. Try the phone instead of e-mail. He is about the best there is, and his prices are ridiculously reasonable.

My second choice would be R.S. Guitar Works. They're into tackling custom stuff, and very good, but also very expensive.

Third choice: Guitar Mill (but they have a very long turnaround time).

Whoever you are thinking about using, have them do some test runs for you first. They can paint 6x6 inch scraps, or similar, and send them to you.

Personally, if I was doing something that specific, and going to be that finicky about it, I'd just bite the bullet and dive in to learn everything I needed to learn to do it myself. It's not that hard. It takes some practice, though.

I would be using an aniline dye and clear coat if I was doing this. But that's because I like that look. It looks like a clear shell around a piece of wood that is actually the crazy color. A tinted clear looks like a colored shell around a naturally colored piece of wood. They're both nice...but the clear over dyed wood is more dimensional/deep looking.

If you want to visualize the difference between a clear coated dyed finish and a tinted finish, compare the center of a '50s Fender sunburst over alder to the center of a modern run of the mill two tone burst over alder, e.g. a Fender AVRI '57. The '50s burst was dyed then cleared, then bursted, then cleared again. Your typical modern sunburst process uses a tinted clear for the center color, and no clear coat before bursting. It does't have anywhere near the depth and crystalline look as the real '50s burst over alder.

You also might want to experiment with wood bleach. It's a touchy process, and takes some experimentation to nail, but it can really give outstandingly bright results when used prior to dyeing. It can't make a piece of wood totally white, but it can reduce the amount of pinkish-yellow that pollutes your desired color when doing translucent finishes. For example, if Fender had used wood bleach before spraying blonde in the '50s, the blonde finishes would have been close to dead neutral white, instead of that very slightly fleshy color.

Thank you! I am going to contact those three places before I even think about learning how to do it! However, I really appreciate your advice, a lot.

[Mincer]

I look forward to pics and description of a purpleheart neck. I think it would be beautiful, but it is the opposite tonally of the kind of sound I like

[Masta' C]

Warmoth won't do a transparent neon finish for you? They offered a Transparent Neon Green not too long ago. Here's one in gloss and one in satin, which is super sexy!

[Snake Aces]

Warmoth won't do a transparent neon finish for you? They offered a Transparent Neon Green not too long ago. Here's one in gloss and one in satin, which is super sexy!

I have not asked them. I feel guilty asking them any more questions because I know they are working hard to keep up with everything right now. In the past, sometimes they have been hesitant when I ask for special requests with the finish. I already asked them to try to make it possible for me to build 2 to 3 more Regals with a swamp ash top. They are working hard to find a way to make that happen for me. I have not heard from them yet, so I feel like I should not ask them if they will be able to do a neon green transparent finish or not, but if they can, wow, that would make this whole guitar come together smoothly!

I will ask them for sure, as soon as they are able to get back to me about the ash request! Those strats are gorgeous! I am tempted to buy the satin one if it is on their site now! It would just become another unfinished strat in my collection though, which is why I want to do this color on a Regal!

[Masta' C]

The bodies above are not currently on their site, but they were sold in the last year or two. Obviously it was after the satin finishes came out, so it couldn't have been *that* long ago. My point is that they CAN do the cool neon trans finishes. Whether or not they WILL is another question, but it is definitely a question worth asking! Don't "feel bad"...you're about to drop serious coin with them. Plus, the dudes on the phones are not the dudes in the warehouse, so they don't have the same degree of "catching up" to do.

[orpheo]

Oh wow, thank you so much. I had no idea purpleheart was such a snappy wood (I have not owned a purpleheart neck yet, this will be my first).

Okay, so, in your opinion, if I use a body such as mahogany or black korina, will it be be enough to balance the snap of the purpleheart? Or should I just choose different pickups?

Yes, purpleheart and korina is a GREAT combination!

[Snake Aces]

Thanks dude, I am going to think about it more now. I am worried the slightly darker colored black korina may not be able to have such a bright green transparent finish in comparison to the swamp ash.

[orpheo]

And you're right about that.

[Snake Aces]

I may stick with the swamp ash plan with the purpleheart neck. However, instead of using Bare Knuckle Rebel Yells, I will have to choose different pickups.

I have a lotnofnexperience with the A2P. Maybe I will use an A2P neck. I need to think about a good bridge humbucker to use. I do like the CS 78, but it is a bright pickup too. However, it does seem to work with ash body/maple neck guitars...