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Bunch of new axes built

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  • Bunch of new axes built

    Rosewood/cocobolo thinline with Seymour Duncan Psyclone pickups, wenge/bubinga/maple laminated neck, ebony fretboard, hipshot gold hardware










  • #2
    Re: Bunch of new axes built

    Flamed maple top on swamp ash back 45mm thick (strat thickness), 5pcs maple/walnut neck, ebony fretboard, 25.5" scale, 22 frets, Hipshot US Contour trem & tuners, Seymour Duncan APS2 singlecoils and '59TB bridge









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    • #3
      Re: Bunch of new axes built

      Black korina body with carved front (no top), solid Honduras Rosewood neck shaft, indian rosewood fretboard with trapezoid inlay and maple binding, 24.75" scale & 22 frets, custom singlecoil pickups (NOT p90!)







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      • #4
        Re: Bunch of new axes built

        Black korina body with carved front (no top), solid purpleheart neck shaft, indian rosewood fretboard with block inlay and maple binding, 24.75" scale & 22 frets, custom p90 pickups









        That's all for March! Got two nice ones for April lined up. May will see three repairs that will take up my time fulltime, but from June till October, it's full-on custom builds! Four LP's, strat, tele, Jazzmaster, Firebird, doublecut, SG.

        After that? Done

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        • #5
          Re: Bunch of new axes built

          Wow those finishes just glow. Nice guitars, and really nice configurations.

          Just curious, how do you pick which woods to use for what parts? For example, when you decide are you thinking of what the pickups sound like and choosing woods to accent/compliment or counter that signature to create an effect? Or do you choose more for cosmetics and only give a more general consideration of tonal character of the wood?

          Also, I’ve always wondered, for multi-ply necks is there some kind of guidance for what works best, eg x number of layers is strongest but y layers allows more tonal vibration, and soft woods need to be >50% of the layers and hardest woods <30% of the overall width of the neck, or like 3/8” strip of x, 1/8” strip of y, 3/4” strip of z, 1/8” strip of y, 3/8” strip of x results in ‘some specific’ effect, etc. or is that overthinking it?

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          • #6
            Re: Bunch of new axes built

            Originally posted by beaubrummels View Post
            Wow those finishes just glow. Nice guitars, and really nice configurations.
            Thanks!

            Just curious, how do you pick which woods to use for what parts? For example, when you decide are you thinking of what the pickups sound like and choosing woods to accent/compliment or counter that signature to create an effect? Or do you choose more for cosmetics and only give a more general consideration of tonal character of the wood?
            It totally depends! If I wanna go with the classic "F" type sounds, I almost always gravitate towards a maple neck plus hard ash body. If it's a "G" style guitar, it's often black korina or swamp ash with a maple cap; the neck is whatever I find. A purpleheart neck will be a bit stiffer, a bit harder so it will give a slightly brighter tone than wenge for example. I posted something about tonewoods earlier today but the gist is: the species don't matter nearly as much as the thickness of the material.

            Also, I’ve always wondered, for multi-ply necks is there some kind of guidance for what works best, eg x number of layers is strongest but y layers allows more tonal vibration, and soft woods need to be >50% of the layers and hardest woods <30% of the overall width of the neck, or like 3/8” strip of x, 1/8” strip of y, 3/4” strip of z, 1/8” strip of y, 3/8” strip of x results in ‘some specific’ effect, etc. or is that overthinking it?
            More layers only makes a neck stiffer and more stable but doesn't make a guitar sound better, per se, nor does a single piece neck. I try to keep the width of the inner pieces within the width of the nut minus 10 millimeters but that's more for appearance' sake than for anything structural. I don't like the pinstripes popping out on the outside of the neck shaft when the neck shape is carved. Doesn't matter much structrually, it's just a visual thing.

            I don't actually have a method to how I laminate my necks. I pick what I have, try to maximize the yield of the materials I get in so I don't have to waste as much (wood is expensive, y'all!) and that's that I guess.

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            • #7
              Re: Bunch of new axes built

              ink cream Tele and Purple Paul are SWEET!!!!

              Get some gold metal knobs on that Paul dammit.
              Originally posted by Bad City
              He's got the crowd on his side and the blue jean lights in his eyes...

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              • #8
                Re: Bunch of new axes built

                Beautiful!
                Oh no.....


                Oh Yeah!

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                • #9
                  Re: Bunch of new axes built

                  So great! I remember you used to do Warmoth build, are you building from scratch now or using suppliers for bodies and necks? Either way, love what you are doing here!
                  -=The Dali
                  --== Unabashed Alex Lifeson Fan

                  Visit My Guitar Building Blog at www.hammersandchords.com

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                  • #10
                    Re: Bunch of new axes built

                    Gosh you can even make a tele beautiful!!!

                    That's some top notch quality right there buddy! Keep it up!
                    Go buy my book. https://www.amazon.com/dp/198405564X

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                    • #11
                      Re: Bunch of new axes built

                      Originally posted by The Dali View Post
                      So great! I remember you used to do Warmoth build, are you building from scratch now or using suppliers for bodies and necks? Either way, love what you are doing here!
                      You are absolutely right! I used to do warmoth but as of 2013, I haven't bought a single Warmoth and started building from scratch. It took a while to get to this level, I have to admit. I do everything myself nowadays (necks, bodies, fit 'n finish, lacquering, assembly, inlay etc). However, I out-source my fretboards. It is just too cost-prohibitive to do fretboards myself. Also, if a guitar needs a maple laminate neck (like this blue LP), I have that made to my specs as well because it is just more economical. I can do it: I do all my other laminations, but the 'plain-jane' maple laminates, I have that done for me

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                      • #12
                        Re: Bunch of new axes built

                        Originally posted by 80's_Metal View Post
                        Gosh you can even make a tele beautiful!!!

                        That's some top notch quality right there buddy! Keep it up!
                        thatś the intent! I never cared much for a tele and I could never find what I wanted in a tele, so I started doing it myself... same with strats by the way

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Bunch of new axes built

                          Originally posted by orpheo View Post
                          You are absolutely right! I used to do warmoth but as of 2013, I haven't bought a single Warmoth and started building from scratch. It took a while to get to this level, I have to admit. I do everything myself nowadays (necks, bodies, fit 'n finish, lacquering, assembly, inlay etc). However, I out-source my fretboards. It is just too cost-prohibitive to do fretboards myself. Also, if a guitar needs a maple laminate neck (like this blue LP), I have that made to my specs as well because it is just more economical. I can do it: I do all my other laminations, but the 'plain-jane' maple laminates, I have that done for me
                          That's awesome. Are you selling these or building for your own collection? I could probably do a body, but a neck build is pretty intimidating.
                          -=The Dali
                          --== Unabashed Alex Lifeson Fan

                          Visit My Guitar Building Blog at www.hammersandchords.com

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Bunch of new axes built

                            Amazing, inspiring, beautiful

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                            • #15
                              Re: Bunch of new axes built

                              Originally posted by The Dali View Post
                              That's awesome. Are you selling these or building for your own collection? I could probably do a body, but a neck build is pretty intimidating.
                              Some are 'for me', some are for sale. I am still trying to get my customshop-company of the ground under the moniker of Orpheo Guitars but that is moving slowly. It's only been since 2018 that I feel truly confident in my work and I'm either restoring or rebuilding or revisiting old models so they actually look the part. My axes always sounded great but getting them to look and play as amazing, that's the hard part, haha.

                              Interestingly, a neck isn't that difficult. A body is MUCH more difficult!!

                              What's difficult about a neck? Getting an even radius: you've got a straight edge for that. Cutting the slots to the correct depth: well, you've got a depth gauge on your saw, so that's easy. Leveling the frets and pressing the frets in level: you've got a fret rocker for that. The hard part of a neck is the nut, but there are aids for that too but still... a nut is hard; hard part of a neck is getting the shape even but you can do that with a rasp, files, leveling blocks and you're done. (it only becomes hard if you wanna make a bit of money out of a build and have to have a neck done under an hour ). Other than that? nothing much, really.

                              Why is a body so hard, then? Because the neck pocket has to be super-tight fitting but not so tight that when you bolt down or glue in a neck, the finish cracks. The difference between a perfect neck joint and junk is just the thickness of a piece of paper. Also, hard is getting the bridge lined up JUST perfectly. Sometimes, that's off center for just 0.1mm but still... it shows. That's hard. But what's super-hard, and that's what makes a body look premium or just decent, is to get all the radii perfect. All super-even, all across the body. To get the pots to be level with the top. To get the pickguard to be flat everywhere without using double sided tape (yeah I've seen that happen, haha!).

                              I have been doing this for so long now, poured so much money into it, quitting now would be flushing away all that money. So I have to make this work I have given up on the idea of ever turning a profit, but I do would like to see people knowing my brand and finding it, eventually. I know that the website is not online, but the business had a tumultuous start. My business partner quite in '17, I had a very, very bad year in '18 and only now I am seeing the light at the end of that dark tunnel all the while trying to build guitars and getting them better and better, building up a catalog and a portfolio. Once I have made all the ones I wanna make, I will launch that website. That would be, by the by, 4 years after my business partner left, which would be 8 years after I started working on my first one. How time flies.

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