King IzzO)))
Ultimate Kitten Puncher
GimourD requested more info and pics, so here. It's just a 70's Hondo explorer with a refin'd 80's Charvel neck. Body is sen ash or whatever, kinda soft but heavy-ish, very pine like. The OG control cover was a tele plate, which looked lame, so I hand cut, shaped, and polished that one (which is the same shape and size as a Rhoads V plate, just reversed) out of aircraft aluminum, along with the jack plate that is oversized to cover doweled holes from the original and it's second replacement. The neck pocket was full of holes that have been doweled with walnut and re-drilled to match this neck plate. The original string throughs and holes from the original bridge were all doweled as well. I had to plug and re-drill the mounting rings too, they were all crooked... It's full of dowels, but not to it's detriment, it's super resonant.
I got the neck from a local shop for free, some goober had stripped it, lost the truss rod nut, and left it there 20 years ago or something. It's an odd sized rod, the only nut I found that fit was some long bullet type. It didn't fit all the way into the channel so had to cut down the length to fit behind the nut, I liked that option better than grinding a recess into the nut. Works perfect now, not a ton of up range without adding a washer, but there's enough to work my setup. I did a full on proper Behlen sealer/lacquer finish, which I don't know if I'd do again. The finish is kinda thick, but it's really slick and fast. I did my ghetto fret level/dress and round edge treatment, frets weren't in the best shape. It's got a couple spots that buzz a little, but not noticeable amplified, so I call it good. Tuners are Schaller M6's, Tusq XL nut.
Bridge is Schaller roller top mount thing, heavy chunk of metal. there's no string through, but it sustains for a month. I'll post a crappy clip at some point. Pickups are EMG58 (yes, 58) and 60 in the neck, 1 25K volume. It's setup with 11-56 strings in drop C.
It plays really well, not perfect, but it's solid. Just a couple spots have a little buzz, but nothing major enough to even bother with. I think I'd prefer it to any actual Gibson explorers I've played (I've owned a few). There's definitely no one else that has one in the entire world. Oh, and this is the Explorer I call Dora in honor of Crusty.
I got the neck from a local shop for free, some goober had stripped it, lost the truss rod nut, and left it there 20 years ago or something. It's an odd sized rod, the only nut I found that fit was some long bullet type. It didn't fit all the way into the channel so had to cut down the length to fit behind the nut, I liked that option better than grinding a recess into the nut. Works perfect now, not a ton of up range without adding a washer, but there's enough to work my setup. I did a full on proper Behlen sealer/lacquer finish, which I don't know if I'd do again. The finish is kinda thick, but it's really slick and fast. I did my ghetto fret level/dress and round edge treatment, frets weren't in the best shape. It's got a couple spots that buzz a little, but not noticeable amplified, so I call it good. Tuners are Schaller M6's, Tusq XL nut.
Bridge is Schaller roller top mount thing, heavy chunk of metal. there's no string through, but it sustains for a month. I'll post a crappy clip at some point. Pickups are EMG58 (yes, 58) and 60 in the neck, 1 25K volume. It's setup with 11-56 strings in drop C.
It plays really well, not perfect, but it's solid. Just a couple spots have a little buzz, but nothing major enough to even bother with. I think I'd prefer it to any actual Gibson explorers I've played (I've owned a few). There's definitely no one else that has one in the entire world. Oh, and this is the Explorer I call Dora in honor of Crusty.
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