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  • #16
    Originally posted by JB_From_Hell View Post
    I'd recommend Burt's Feed & Wax Beeswax as an alternative for the neck. I strip the poly finishes from all my maple necks, rub in a light coating of tung oil, then finish with the Burt's. Everybody says Tru-oil is superior to tung oil, but I'm using up an old can. I got an EBMM John Petrucci guitar recently, and the neck feels very similar to the ones I do with the oil & wax.

    My PRS has Graph Tec saddle savers, no complaints.
    Thanks for the tip! A former colleague of mine is into woodworking and makes his own furniture, I'lll see if he can let me borrow some oil and wax to finish the neck. Locally, I cannot find and the stuff that everyone is recommending, so I'll see if he has something equivalent.

    A quick question on the tung oil. Does this mantain the natural tone to the wood? I saw on wikipedia and I was wondring if lineseedoil, which is the main component of tru-oil, would give a yellowish darker color to it. I would not like to change the color to much, so tung oil may be a better solution for me.

    Another question. Can I askip the oiling process and apply the wax directly? This may mantain the tone of the wood as is, right? Or will I miss some important process that the oil is going to play?
    "I don't want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me."

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    • #17
      Alright!

      Thank you all for the great suggestions and valuable comments! I now have a clearer idea of what to do and in which order of priority. I guess I'll start by finishing the neck and then move onto the electronics. Since this is my only guitar at the moment, I may need to find a temporary one to be able to play in the meantime. Otherwise I'll get anxious and try to finish things too fast and cut some corners.

      I've made a shopping list of all needed and ideal components and things seem to be within reach. I'll invest some time into how to do things in order to minimize the chances of messing up

      Here is my plan, in order of priority.
      1. Remove neck, hardware and electronics.
      2. Level and polish frets.
      3. Order and install new machine heads. Still undecided if go for locking or non-locking...
      4. Fill up remaning holes in the wood, sand, apply oil and wax the neck.
      5. Move pickup and volume to my experimental pickguard. Install tone pot with a temporary switching system to try different capacitor values.
      6. Assemble guitar to try the feeling, tuning stability and sound.
      7. Try it for at least a week to see what I like best and decide what stays and what goes.
      8. Move electronics to the final pickguard (black pearl) and reinstall all components.
      9. Enjoy the finished guitar!
      I have some other ideas, that based on your comments and the current state of the guitar are not needed, but more optional if I want them. So I can leave them for later.

      Here they are in no particular order:
      • String trees
      • New TUSQ nut, maybe compensated
      • Stainless steel frets
      • Matching black strap locks
      • Graphtech saddles

      What do you think?

      Anything that I should do differently? Am I missing any important steps?

      Stay tuned because I'll keep you posted as much as I can. Nothing is set in stone yet.

      Cheers,
      Walter
      "I don't want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me."

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      • #18
        Originally posted by waltschwarzkopf View Post

        Thanks for the tip! A former colleague of mine is into woodworking and makes his own furniture, I'lll see if he can let me borrow some oil and wax to finish the neck. Locally, I cannot find and the stuff that everyone is recommending, so I'll see if he has something equivalent.

        A quick question on the tung oil. Does this mantain the natural tone to the wood? I saw on wikipedia and I was wondring if lineseedoil, which is the main component of tru-oil, would give a yellowish darker color to it. I would not like to change the color to much, so tung oil may be a better solution for me.

        Another question. Can I askip the oiling process and apply the wax directly? This may mantain the tone of the wood as is, right? Or will I miss some important process that the oil is going to play?
        None of my necks have darkened from tung oil.

        I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t just wax it. The Burt’s stuff I mentioned is cheap, and available in any hardware store in the US, more common than the gunstock wax.

        I’ll second the recommendation to sand, but I’d recommend leaving a little texture. If the neck is glassy smooth, there’s more surface contact with you hand, which means more surface tension.
        “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

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        • #19
          Originally posted by waltschwarzkopf View Post

          Excellent idea! It is exactly what MM use, I just looked it up under Neck Finish it says: “Gunstock oil and hand-rubbed special wax blend”.

          I have not found that exact product locally (Switzerland) but I found a colorless antique wax, I guess that should work. Any components that I should look for or avoid?


          Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
          In Europe it's sold under the brand name Baretta.
          Not especially cheap but it can be found. I had to get it online, although I can't remember exactly where - I wasn't able to buy it directly from Birchwood Casey's site.

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          • #20
            Originally posted by playas View Post

            In Europe it's sold under the brand name Baretta. …
            Thanks for the tip. I guess it is this one:



            I also found a forum where they discussed hot to apply oil and wax to a gunstock. Coincidentally, it is exactly the same process that everyone was recommending on this thread.


            Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
            "I don't want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me."

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            • #21
              Yep, that's the one.
              Btw, good luck with the work.
              A couple of comments...

              1. From a purely practical standpoint wouldn't it be better to just remove what you need for each step to keep everything else together? i.e. just take off the neck to do fret work and replace the tuners etc. To avoid losing parts or not knowing what goes where if there's any possibility of that happening.

              3. Check how the tuners are held in place, a stud offset screws etc and see if you can find what you need by way of replacement with the same attachment method. Might save you having to add more unnecessary holes.

              I have some graphtech saddles & nuts.
              I like them but note that the saddles will change the sound a bit.
              I wouldn't bother with either unless there is actually something wrong with your current ones.

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              • #22
                Originally posted by playas View Post

                1. From a purely practical standpoint wouldn't it be better to just remove what you need for each step to keep everything else together? i.e. just take off the neck to do fret work and replace the tuners etc. To avoid losing parts or not knowing what goes where if there's any possibility of that happening.

                3. Check how the tuners are held in place, a stud offset screws etc and see if you can find what you need by way of replacement with the same attachment method. Might save you having to add more unnecessary holes.
                1. Good idea, I'll do it in steps, unless I can advance on another part while one is on hold.

                3. That was my goal, but I have the original machinehead from the previous neck with to diagonally oppossing hole. The problem is that I cannot find anything with this pattern, only some cheap ones from amazon... See pic below:

                Click image for larger version  Name:	51DbaK4M1kL._AC_SL1200_.jpg Views:	1 Size:	33.6 KB ID:	6131044

                Does anyone know if there is a GOOD manufacturer that makes BLACK tuners with this hole pattern?
                Last edited by waltschwarzkopf; 11-25-2021, 05:33 AM.
                "I don't want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me."

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                • #23
                  I figured I'd mention the tuners in case you hadn't considered it. I haven't seen that pattern before - that doesn't mean you won't find tuners with a similar one - but you might be more likely to find tuners with one of the two that match...or may be so much hassle that it's just not worth it.

                  Good luck in any case.

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                  • #24
                    Hipshot tuners use a plate that might cover up any existing holes.
                    Administrator of the SDUGF

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                    • #25
                      Originally posted by Mincer View Post
                      Hipshot tuners use a plate that might cover up any existing holes.
                      That's a great tip! I just saw them.

                      I'll see what I can get locally and online and then decide. But so far my shopping list is almost complete. I am really tempted to go all in and order everything that I need AND want...
                      "I don't want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me."

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                      • #26
                        Even if you don't get anything to cover those holes feel comfort that it's a common thing.

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                        • #27
                          But really, there should be a standard tune footprint by now. How come there are so many?
                          Administrator of the SDUGF

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                          • #28
                            Originally posted by Mincer View Post
                            But really, there should be a standard tune footprint by now. How come there are so many?
                            I was thinking the same. There are tuner with 2 screws likes the ones I had, and opposing screws like Fender. Then there are tuners with one screw either below, on the right or at 45 degrees. Then there are tuners with no screws but with two pins lime the sperzels…

                            I’ll pick the ones I like best and then refill and redrill. It’s all part of the fun!


                            Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                            "I don't want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me."

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                            • #29
                              Originally posted by Little Pigbacon
                              The original Evolution bridge is going to be bright, probably brighter than you might like in that guitar, especially without a tone knob. If you like Steve Vais tone, the DiMarzio Breed works really well in basswood with an all-maple neck. Its warmer than the Evo and is more like a hot PAF with an Alnico 5 magnet. Its full and fat sounding but still has some bite when you dig in.

                              The Evo 2 bridge is said to be a little warmer than the original and to clean up better when you back off the guitar volume knob. I think there were good reasons for coming out with that pickup, and for changing the fretboard on the white Jem production model from ebony to rosewood.
                              Agreed on the Evo bieng a little harsh and bright the Evo 2 is better but still not my thing. My absolute favorite Vai pickup is the Gravity Storm. HUGE sounding alinico 5 pickup that is fat but very balanced. A pickup that I have used a couple times really cool pickup and one of only a few Dimarzios i really like.
                               
                              Guitars
                              Kiesel DC 135, Carvin AE 185, DC 400, DC 127 KOA, DC 127 Quilt Purple, X220C, PRS Custom 24, Washburn USA MG 122 proto , MG 102, MG 120.
                              Amps PRS Archon 50 head, MT 15, Mesa Subway Rocket, DC-5, Carvin X50B Hot Rod Mod head, Zinky 25watt Blue Velvet combo.

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                              • #30
                                Originally posted by Mincer View Post
                                But really, there should be a standard tune footprint by now. How come there are so many?
                                It seems to me that the double pin is becoming the standard, I've seen it on different models and most Fender necks come pre-drilled like that.

                                I think im going for the Graph Tech RATIO locking tuners. I liked the idea of the different ratios since I first read about them, they come with the double pin design too, but they include different plates to fit most headstocks, so I may need to redrill at all.

                                "I don't want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me."

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