BNGBD! Belated-New-Guitar-Build-Day!

ExplorersRock

X-Files Duckbucker
Ok, so I’ve had this project on my hansd for a LONG time! Almost two years! I finally finished gathering all the parts as of August, and had my tech assemble it. I can handle wiring but I’m not good at neck adjustments and fret work. The body is solid swamp ash from Warmoth in Dragon burst. It had a contoured heel but is otherwise a standard Strat body. The neck is from USA Custom Guitars and is quarter-sawn maple with rosewood. I have abalone dots, 6105 frets, standard c-shape, and a 12”-14” custom compound radius. The nut is about 1 & 11/16” and is Graph Tech. Hardware includes a Fender Deluxe Strat bridge floating to let me bend a ½ -step and the tuners are locking Sperzels. I used 500k CTS pots and Sprague Orange Drop .022 mfd caps. The pickups are a Whole Lotta Humbucker in the bridge position and an Alnico II Pro in the neck. I used a 5-way super switch to give me the following options:
Position 1: Bridge Full HB
Position 2: Bridge Slug Coil & Neck Slug Coil
Position 3: Bridge Full HB & Neck Full HB
Position 4: Neck Screw Coil
Position 5: Neck Full HB
This thing plays PHENOMENAL! The USACG neck is just incredible. Their satin finish is so smooth it feels like bare wood! Still dialing in pickup heights to hit the sweet spot, but that’ll come with time. The overall tone is really awesome. I even had a custom headstock decal made for it. Mainly, I like to have something written on the headstock.
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Re: BNGBD! Belated-New-Guitar-Build-Day!

Nicely done. It looks great. It's great satisfaction when something like this comes together so well.
 
Re: BNGBD! Belated-New-Guitar-Build-Day!

Beautiful. Love the color and the reverse headstock. I dig it for sure!
 
Re: BNGBD! Belated-New-Guitar-Build-Day!

Can't say I'm crazy 'bout the knobs but Dragon Burst is IMO one of the coolest finishes ever done. Pretty f*ckin' sweet, dude!
 
Re: BNGBD! Belated-New-Guitar-Build-Day!

Awesome, bet it sounds great too! Small chrome knobs would look killer on that.
 
Re: BNGBD! Belated-New-Guitar-Build-Day!

Thanks for the responses, guys! Glad you like it! Sorry, the week was busy so I didn't get a chance to get in here and post.

Very nice!

Wanna sell me that Explorer now?
I can't do that! That would be like cutting off my di... uh, ahem, heart... well, you get the idea anyways.

Nicely done. It looks great. It's great satisfaction when something like this comes together so well.
Thanks. And yes, it was fun to plan and get the proper stuff going for it. I just wish I had the skills to have put it together myself. Someday...

It is surreal!
:lmao:

Beautiful. Love the color and the reverse headstock. I dig it for sure!
I am glad so many people like the headstock. I dig the style, and personally I find it easier to tune. I will admit that restringing is a bit tougher.

Cool all over! Where did you have the headstock decal made?
I got it at the website below. It took a while to make, but the end result was worth the wait. I emailed them to make me a custom design separate from their normal selections so it cost me a lot for a decal. If you do one of their standard fonts it's about $8 to $15 bucks depending on options. Keep in mind it's a vinyl decal not a water slide type.

http://www.best-decals.com/
 
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