So I just completed my latest build..."The Little Green Snake".
I built this one in honor of one of my sons who used to love to have me tell him bedtime stories when he was young, about a little green snake who was the best friend of a little boy (he loved reptiles and has had several snakes as pets).
It began as a Schecter SGR. Sorry, I don't have pics of the build process, just the final result. I carved a deep forearm relief on the top, and deepened the belly cut on the back. I used a lime green base with a dark green burst on the edges (same on the back and headstock). Finished with multiple (10-15) coats of clear gloss. All paint was nitro.
For pickups, I have a hybrid Custom (screw coil)/Demon with an A2 magnet in the neck. I used A2 because the C/Demon is pretty bright and I really like warm neck pups. This particular combination sounds absolutely amazing...full-bodied warmth but still sparkly with lots of chime and articulation and very responsive and dynamic. In the bridge I have a P-Rail with A8 next to the Rail coil and UOA5 next to the P-90 coil. This is my favorite combination of magnets in the P-Rail after MUCH experimentation with just about every magnet combination possible. The P-Rail is mounted with the Rail coil next to the bridge (thus the need for the A8 next to the Rail coil) for a little extra twang. The UOA5 next to the P-90 coil gives it a little extra warmth and dynamics. Both pups are mounted in Triple Shot rings for mucho tonal versatility.
The neck on the Schecter was really very good to begin with, but I still did some fretwork on it...fret ends were filed and polished until they virtually disappeared. I did some minor fret leveling (they were almost perfect to begin with, but I AM a perfectionist and couldn't resist). I crowned and polished all frets until they were so smooth they couldn't be felt.
I made my own compensated nut out of vintage bone, something I do with nearly all of my guitars. I did this nut a little different than the others I have done, I added an "extension" to the nut rather than making an entirely new nut out of bone. In the long run, I think that this way was much harder and more time consuming than just making a totally new nut. I don't think it is quite as solid/strong/good/durable as my others either. Well, we live and learn.
I used Planet waves locking, self-trimming tuners. These are my favorites, they work great, are quick and easy to install new strings, they have a good tuning ratio (18:1 IIRC), and they stay in tune as good as any tuner I have ever used.
Finally I strung it up with DR Neon strings in green 10-46. These strings look awesome and glow under a blacklight. But they ARE coated and they lose that nice crisp brightness that I am used to with my usual strings (Dunlop nickel plated steel in 10-52).
All in all it turned out pretty good for a real player's guitar. Great tones, smooth and easy to play, extremely versatile.
I built this one in honor of one of my sons who used to love to have me tell him bedtime stories when he was young, about a little green snake who was the best friend of a little boy (he loved reptiles and has had several snakes as pets).
It began as a Schecter SGR. Sorry, I don't have pics of the build process, just the final result. I carved a deep forearm relief on the top, and deepened the belly cut on the back. I used a lime green base with a dark green burst on the edges (same on the back and headstock). Finished with multiple (10-15) coats of clear gloss. All paint was nitro.
For pickups, I have a hybrid Custom (screw coil)/Demon with an A2 magnet in the neck. I used A2 because the C/Demon is pretty bright and I really like warm neck pups. This particular combination sounds absolutely amazing...full-bodied warmth but still sparkly with lots of chime and articulation and very responsive and dynamic. In the bridge I have a P-Rail with A8 next to the Rail coil and UOA5 next to the P-90 coil. This is my favorite combination of magnets in the P-Rail after MUCH experimentation with just about every magnet combination possible. The P-Rail is mounted with the Rail coil next to the bridge (thus the need for the A8 next to the Rail coil) for a little extra twang. The UOA5 next to the P-90 coil gives it a little extra warmth and dynamics. Both pups are mounted in Triple Shot rings for mucho tonal versatility.
The neck on the Schecter was really very good to begin with, but I still did some fretwork on it...fret ends were filed and polished until they virtually disappeared. I did some minor fret leveling (they were almost perfect to begin with, but I AM a perfectionist and couldn't resist). I crowned and polished all frets until they were so smooth they couldn't be felt.
I made my own compensated nut out of vintage bone, something I do with nearly all of my guitars. I did this nut a little different than the others I have done, I added an "extension" to the nut rather than making an entirely new nut out of bone. In the long run, I think that this way was much harder and more time consuming than just making a totally new nut. I don't think it is quite as solid/strong/good/durable as my others either. Well, we live and learn.
I used Planet waves locking, self-trimming tuners. These are my favorites, they work great, are quick and easy to install new strings, they have a good tuning ratio (18:1 IIRC), and they stay in tune as good as any tuner I have ever used.
Finally I strung it up with DR Neon strings in green 10-46. These strings look awesome and glow under a blacklight. But they ARE coated and they lose that nice crisp brightness that I am used to with my usual strings (Dunlop nickel plated steel in 10-52).
All in all it turned out pretty good for a real player's guitar. Great tones, smooth and easy to play, extremely versatile.
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